Mavericks: Horses Out To Pasture

Not long ago, the Flames’ ECHL affiliate Kansas City Mavericks were trying to track down a playoff spot! The team managed to tread water, going .500 through their most condensed and road-heavy part of the season schedule, and were sitting two points out. The team had been unable to make up any ground since, having lost 11 of their last 17 games. That awful month caused their gap to widen from two points out to a whopping fifteen points back of the final Western Conference Playoffs spot. Elimination from the race was all but official, and although the team round out its final two weeks going 5-2 it wasn’t enough to change their fortunes for the postseason.

GAME BY GAME:

MAY 24th- KC Mavericks 4 @ Tulsa Oilers 3 –WIN (OT)

MAY 27th- KC Mavericks 5 vs Utah Grizzlies 2 –WIN

MAY 28th- KC Mavericks 5 vs Utah Grizzlies –WIN

MAY 29th- KC Mavericks 1 vs Utah Grizzlies 2 –LOSS

JUN 2nd- KC Mavericks 1 @ Indy Fuel 4 –LOSS

JUN4th- KC Mavericks 4 vs Tulsa Oilers 3 –WIN

JUN 5th- KC Mavericks 5 vs Wichita Thunder 2 –WIN

THE SQUAD:

As one of the few bright spots in a tough Mavs season, star forward Brodie Reid had been heavy in the chase for the ECHL scoring title for large parts of the season. As ECHL Player of the Month for January to start the year, he spent stretches of the season leading the points race. As the season wound down and Brodie missed two weeks being placed on reserve on May 8th, he eventually relinquished the lead and has now finished the season in 8th place overall. Reid will close out the year leading the Mavericks in scoring, with a 1.00 Points Per Game Average for sixty points in sixty games played.

In was whirlwind season in the blue paint, as the Mavericks went through a ton of goalie transactions and starters. Including this flurry in early 2021: Matt Greenfield was signed to a contract on January 9th after Andrew Shortridge was sidelined due to injury. Mario Vrab was picked up as an emergency backup on February 5th, but released on February 8th. Sean Romeo was signed to a Standard Player Contract on January 28th after Joel Rumpel was loaned to Iowa of the AHL the day before. Matt Ginn was acquired in a trade with Greenville on February 12th. Goalie Angus Redmond was signed to a Special Player Contract on Valentine’s Day but loaned to the AHL Toronto Marlies only two days later. Andrew Shortridge was called up to the Stockton Heat as of February 25th.

Of the bunch, it wound down to a three-man platoon between Greenfield, Shortridge, and Ginn to round out the season with each showing promise. This included Matt Greenfield winning ECHL Goalie of the Week honours in early April, Matt Ginn spending a stint sitting first overall in league GAA and SV%, and Shortridge returning from a two month loan stint with the Stockton Heat to start heating up as well. We’ll have to wait until next year to see how the netminding situation rounds out in KC.

UP NEXT:

Although the Mavericks have failed to qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs, it was a crazy year in a crazy world and we were at least along for the ride. Matchsticks & Gasoline thanks you for following along with our coverage of the Kansas City Mavericks, and we hope to see you back for the 2021-22 campaign!

by MilhouseFirehouse