The Mavericks rounded out the 2019 portion of their season with a four-game weekend at the USPHL Chicago Showcase in West Dundee, IL. Facing off against teams from the USPHL Midwest East and Midwest West divisions, the Mavericks came out of the weekend with a 2-2 record, and some positives as well as improvement opportunities to take into the holiday break. The Mavs kicked off the showcase on Friday as they took on the Decatur Blaze and USPHL points leader, TJ Dougan. The Mavs would hold Dougan and the Blaze scoreless to take home the victory, 3-0. Mavericks Captain, Trevor Kraska started off the scoring just three minutes into the first period with a goal assisted by recent additions Duncan Crawford and Mitch Gillespie. The second period saw a number of back and forth opportunities but would remain scoreless, allowing the Mavs to head into the third period with a 1-0 lead. Jack Wrightsel would improve the lead at 14:32 in the third period with a goal assisted by Dakota Falk. Colby Slate would seal the deal with an empty net goal with just 11 seconds remaining, assisted by Jack Wander. Hayden Hoover got the start in net for the Mavericks and picked up his second shutout of the season, turning away all 30 shots he faced. Day two of the showcase would see the Mavericks put on a goal scoring display as they took on the Detroit Fighting Irish. The Mavericks improved their showcase record to 2-0 as they beat the Fighting Irish 9-1. The Mavs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first period with goals by Trevor Kraska, assisted by Jack Wrightsel, Jordan Winrod, assisted by Jack Wander and Bryce Gould, Keegan Hoover, assisted by Trevor Kraska and Mitch Gillespie, and Jack Wander, assisted by Bryce Gould. The second period was more of the same as the Mavericks added four more goals by Mitch Gillespie, assisted by Jack Wander and Ryan Coyne, A.J. Kandel, assisted by Jared Matley and Trevor Kraska, Marquise Crockett, assisted by Bryce Gould and Jordan Winrod, and Keegan Hoover (unassisted). The Fighting Irish would manage one goal during the second period to cut the deficit to 8-1 going into the second intermission. Jordan Winrod would round out the scoring in the third period at 13 minutes in with an assist by Olim Toirov. Jonathon Szekeres got the nod in net for the Mavericks and stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced. The third and final day of the showcase would see the Mavericks tackle a double header against two Minnesota teams, the Minnesota Mullets and the Rum River Mallards. The morning contest against the Minnesota Mullets gave the Mavericks their first taste of Minnesota Junior Hockey as they fell to the Mullets 7-2. The Mullets would jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period with goals by Cooper Hoheisel, and a pair by Tyler Perkins. The Mullets would start off the scoring in the second period as well as they popped two more in to extend their lead to 5-0. The Mavericks answered back at 15 minutes in with a goal by Keegan Hoover, assisted by A.J.Kandel and Braydn Krajicek. The Mullets would score one more before the end of the period to go into he second intermission leading 6-1. The Mavs got their second and final point of the game with a goal at 12:00 in the third period by Jared Matley, assisted by Colby Slate. The Mullets would add their final goal of the game just before the end of the period to round out the scoring at 7-2. Luke Bell got the start in net for the Mavericks, stopping 10 of 13 shots, before Hayden Hoover came in to relieve him, stopping 29 of the remaining 33 shots. The fourth and final game of the weekend saw the Mavericks take on a tough Rum River Mallards team. After a back-and-forth battle, the Mavericks would fall short in an 8-4 final. The Mavericks jumped out to an early two goal lead in the first period with goals by Keegan Hoover (unassisted) and Deric Richison, assisted by Trevor Kraska. The Mallards would respond with four unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead into the first intermission. The second period saw more of the same from the Mallards as they scored two more unanswered goals, taking a 6-2 lead into the second intermission. The Mavericks made a valiant effort in the third period, with two more goals scored by Bryce Gould, assisted by Jack Wander and Jordan Winrod, assisted by A.J. Kandel; however, the comeback effort would fall short as the Mallards would net two more goals to seal the victory at 8-4. Luke Bell got the start in net for the Mavericks, stopping 8 of 11 shots, before being relieved by Hayden Hoover, who stopped 12 of the remaining 17 shots he faced. The Mavericks will get a short break as the players head home to spend the holidays with their family, but will be back in action early in the new year as they head east for the USPHL Boston Showcase, January 3rd-5th. As always, you can catch all of the action at <span style="text-decoration:underline"><a href=http://www.hockeytv.com/ target=_blank>www.hockeytv.com</a>.