Mavericks Christen Home Ice with Sweep of Red River
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Mavericks’ first NCDC home weekend looked a lot like their first road trip: two games, two wins.
Columbus swept the Great Lakes Division rival Red River Spartans in its home-opening weekend. The Mavericks rallied for a 5-2 win Friday night at OhioHealth Ice Haus, then won 6-0 Saturday at OhioHealth Chiller North. The sweep improves the Mavericks to 5-0 in their first NCDC season. They have outscored opponents 36-7 so far.
Friday: Mavericks 5, Red River Spartans 2
For the first time in their brief NCDC history, the Mavericks found themselves chasing a game. Lukas Marek made sure it didn’t last.
Red River struck twice in the first period. Denis Portnoy scored with an assist from Hugo Olsson, then set up Vilem Karal for a 2-0 Spartans lead. Columbus answered 1:40 later when Kenneth Cadwallader scored with 1:58 left in the period, assisted by Ethan Alexander.
The Mavericks took over in the second period. Marek tied the game, assisted by Jan Sebastien Vancura and Jan Valenta. Ethan Zuvela then gave Columbus its first lead of the night, set up by Jameson Motyka and Marek.
Marek added two more in the third to complete his hat trick. His first came with assists from Cadwallader and Austin Letcher. He closed the scoring with 37.2 seconds remaining, set up by Cameron Hill and Motyka.
Marek finished with three goals and an assist. Motyka added two assists, and Cadwallader had a goal and an assist. Gino Texter made 16 saves on 18 shots for the win. The Mavericks outshot the Spartans 49-18.
Saturday: Mavericks 6, Red River Spartans 0
Saturday night belonged to Kellen Ceraldi. He stopped all 21 shots he faced for the first shutout in Mavericks NCDC history.
Columbus broke through late in the first period with two goals just 30.6 seconds apart. Vancura opened the scoring with 1:04 left, assisted by Motyka and Marek. Carter Holbrook followed with 33.4 seconds left, set up by Hill and Gavin Gopal.
Cadwallader made it 3-0 in the second period, with assists from Letcher and Alexander.
Arturs Zirnitis opened the third period scoring with an unassisted goal, his first of the season. Max Bloomfield then scored twice for his first two goals of the year. Gopal and Zirnitis assisted on the first, and Gopal and Holbrook on the second.
Gopal led the way with three assists. Bloomfield had two goals, and Holbrook and Zirnitis each had a goal and an assist. The Mavericks outshot Red River 53-21.
Weekend Leaders
Lukas Marek: 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points
Jameson Motyka: 3 assists, 3 points
Gavin Gopal: 3 assists, 3 points
Kenneth Cadwallader: 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points
Max Bloomfield: 2 goals, 2 points
Carter Holbrook: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points
Arturs Zirnitis: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points
Jan Sebastien Vancura: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points
Cameron Hill: 2 assists, 2 points
Austin Letcher: 2 assists, 2 points
Ethan Alexander: 2 assists, 2 points
Through five games, Marek leads the Mavericks with 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists). Motyka has 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists), and Vancura has 9 (5 goals, 4 assists).
Next up
The Mavericks stay home next weekend for two more Great Lakes Division games against the Chicago Union at OhioHealth Chiller North. Puck drop is 8:30 PM on Friday, Oct. 16, and 7:50 PM on Saturday, Oct. 17. Tickets are available at columbusmavericks.com/fan-zone/tickets, and both games will stream on USPHL+ through Black Bear Sports.