KC Mavericks roll into Halloween showdown still undefeated for best start in a decade

After picking up three wins this past week, the Kansas City Mavericks are off to their best start in 10 years, now sitting at 5-0-0 early in the season.

The Mavericks got the week started off on the right note, defeating longtime rival Wichita 3-2 on Tuesday night at Cable Dahmer Arena. Defenseman Jake McLaughlin got the scoring started for Kansas City late in the first period with his first goal of the season. Then it was Cole Coskey, back for his second season in Kansas City, scoring two goals of his own in the second period to put the game away.

The Mavericks left the comfort of their own arena with a 3-2 victory.

Tuesday’s victory was the 100th career head-coaching victory for Mavericks general manager and head coach Tad O’Had. The Yakima, Washington, native is one of two Kansas City coaches with 100 wins during their ECHL tenure.

A long divisional road trip to Rapid City, South Dakota, was up next.

Friday night’s game against the Rapid City Rush was one of the crazier games in the ECHL to this point. Despite being outshot in the first period by the Mavericks, Rapid City scored the first two goals of the night to hand Kansas City its first multi-goal deficit of the season.

Midway through the second period, rookie Cade Borchardt scored his third goal of the season to get the Mavericks on the board, trailing 2-1.

In the third frame, the Mavericks were led by a pair of newcomers who were able to put the game away. In his fourth game in Kansas City, forward Patrick Curry scored his first goal of the season to tie the score with under five minutes to play.

With the game looking like it was headed for overtime, rookie Kyle Jackson found the back of the net on a power play with less than 90 seconds remaining. That sealed the win for Kansas City.

The Mavericks recorded 50 shots on goal in the game against the Rush, and first-year Kansas City goaltender Cale Morris stopped 29 of 31 Rapid City shots to secure the win.

Saturday’s game was another nail-biter for the Mavericks. It was again Rapid City who got on the board first. The Mavericks answered quickly with goals from Justin Nachbaur and Theo Calvas. The second period saw back-to-back goals from Rapid City, as the Mavericks trailed 3-2 heading into the third period.

For the second night in a row, Borchardt scored to tie the score at 3-3. Kansas City headed to overtime for the first time this season.

The overtime period didn’t last long, as Jacob Hayhurst found the back of the net to send the Mavericks back to Kansas City with a two-game road sweep in Rapid City and the first 5-0-0 start for the franchise since the 2013-14 season.

Upcoming KC Mavericks schedule

Kansas City is back at Cable Dahmer Arena on Halloween Night to start a three-game home set with Rapid City.

Prior to puck drop on Oct. 31, more than 20 local vendors will line the Cable Dahmer Arena concourse for trick-or-treaters to get their candy fill before watching three periods of Mavericks hockey.

Tickets can be purchased at kcmavericks.com or via the Mavericks ticket office at 816-252-7825.