The Kansas City Mavericks defeated the Iowa Heartlanders 3-2 in preseason competition on Friday night. In what proved to be a high-intensity, hard-hitting affair, the Mavericks showed great physicality, strong goaltending, and sneaky offensive prowess. In a game that saw one full-blown fight, as well as several other hot-tempered moments, the Mavericks showed they will not be pushed around this season. One thing was definitely clear after the game ended: a new rivalry has been born between the Mavericks and the Heartlanders.
The first period began with Iowa controlling the puck quite effectively, while Kansas City was getting hemmed into their own zone. Up to the task was Mavericks goaltender Angus Redmond. The first Kansas City shot on goal did not occur until the latter part of the opening period. Around that time, physicality started to ramp up considerably. Loren Ulett was back to his game, throwing huge hits both left and right. Guelph Storm alum Jake Bricknell also made a statement. About midway through the frame, Bricknell dropped the gloves with Iowa right-winger Nick Pastorious. Bricknell threw several hard punches and soon had Pastorious down on the ice. The two continued to jaw at each other, while both were sent off to serve time in the penalty boxes. This would not be the last that Pastorious would see during the game from inside the penalty box. By the 14:55 mark, the Mavericks had evened up the shot count at 7 apiece. However, around this time, winger Bryan Lemos coughed up the puck in front of the net and the Heartlanders scored from an empty slot. The rest of the frame was uneventful. After twenty minutes, Iowa, who had nine shots on goal, was on top with a 1-0 lead.
The second period started out quickly, with the opposing Mavericks winning the opening face-off. Kansas City, with renewed intentions, was rather quick to put a flurry of shots on goal. Not long into the frame, a corner battle involving Bricknell led to a turnover and Jesse Mychan received a centering pass and tucked the puck in the net. After tying up the contest at one, the Mavs started to skate with a lot more intensity and speed. The second saw several nifty passes by Darik Angeli and Theo Calvas of Kansas City as well.
The real story from the game’s middle frame occurred when Nick Pastorious levelled Marcus Crawford behind Kansas City’s net. Immediately, several players piled onto Pastorious, who came up swinging trying to fight the whole team. As Pastorious was escorted to the penalty box, Crawford left the ice with Head Trainer Nick Potter. Meanwhile, Angeli and Head Coach Tad O’Had were arguing for more penalties to be issued. Eventually, the decision was made to eject Pastorious from remainder of the game. As he left the box, he got tangled up with Mikael Robidoux, however, stayed clear of instigating another fight. As Pastorious skated past the Mavericks bench, he exchanged a couple taunts with the Heartlanders’ bench. At that point, Robidoux required two linesmen to hold him back. The winger was assessed a penalty for his role in the matter, which led to both sides skating four-on-four. This would lead to a sequence of back-and-forth penalties. Most of the second half saw both teams alternating between the penalty kill and the power play. Crawford would eventually return after spending some time being checked in the locker room.
Offence-wise, the second frame was probably the best for the Mavericks. Though they only scored one goal, the quality of shots and the plays created were superior to Iowa. Some of these shots came from Willie Corrin on a hard slap-shot, Theo Calvas on a well-located wrist shot from the point, and Nick Pastujov on a beautiful backhand right on the doorstep of the goaltender’s crease. After 40 minutes, the contest was deadlocked at one apiece.
The third period saw Kansas City come out a bit disjointed at first. Willie Corrin got into a tussle with an Iowa player, however, no penalty was called after a discussion with Coach O’Had. Then Nick Pastujov was tripped up behind the net, a play which saw him being knocked to the ice. Fortunately, he was not hurt on the play. This led to the Mavericks being handed another power-play. Iowa was able to kill the penalty, but Kansas City would score shortly after the penalty expired. Marcus Crawford found the puck on a rush from Nick Pastujov, and put a shot on a goal, which saw Shawn Weller finish the play with a rebound.
At the six minute mark by this point, Heartlanders defenseman Adrien Beraldo pinned Lane Scheidl on the ice and repeatedly cross-checked him in the back. This sequence seemed to last for an eternity before the officials noticed it and attempted to pull Beraldo off of Scheidl. Unfathomably, both players were handed penalties. After the ensuing four-on-four, the Mavericks started to raise the pressure on Iowa. That saw Kansas City call a timeout, meanwhile, the Iowa bench appeared visibly exhausted. Shortly after play resumed, Tommy Muck scored from the point, which made a 3-1 game.
At this point, it seems like the Mavericks’ face-off wins were hovering around 65 percent. Kansas City was absolutely dominant in the face-off circle, but the excitement of the third goal didn’t last for long, as the Heartlanders quickly pounced again. After this, the Mavericks seemed to get back on their heels and got hemmed in for the remainder of the frame. This is where goaltender Angus Redmond really started to stand on his head. He held on against a flurry of shots in the final minutes, which only helped Kansas City’s cause, as they secured the 3-2 victory.
The key takeaways from this game were the level of physicality the Mavericks showed, as well as the offensive skills, which showed themselves in glimpses. Nick Pastujov was perhaps the most noticeable player throughout the tuneup game. The Canadian was joining in on offensive rushes, he was responsible for starting many creative plays himself, had several strong shots on goal, and held his own defensively as well. He seemed to also be faster on his skates then we was last season. He will be a strong offensive asset for the Mavericks this year.
In terms of physicality, Loren Ulett can always be counted on to provide the heavy hits. But Jake Bricknell also shone in this role. His fight aside, he was strong in the corners and laid several heavy hits to knock players off the puck. Overall, this was a great first game, and will be a good primer for Kansas City to begin their season. They open the season with a home-and-home series against the same Heartlanders, which begins Friday, October 23rd at Xtream Arena in Coralville.