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December 21, 2020
Mavericks Stand Tall in Chicago
PLAYER SIGNINGS

The Mavericks rounded out the 2020 portion of the USPHL season this past weekend with a 4-game weekend at the Chicago Showcase. Facing off against tough opponents from the Midwest East and Midwest West divisions, the Mavs came out of the weekend with a 2-1-1 record, including two exciting overtime finishes. The Mavs kicked off the weekend with a Friday matchup against the Chicago Cougars. After the Cougars jumped out to an early 2-goal lead, Tim Kramer answered back with a late first period goal, assisted by Nik Jozefiak. The Mavs got the scoring started in the second with a goal by Deric Richison, assisted by Hayden Ripley and Ethan Bishara. After Chicago netted their third goal of the game, the Mavs answered back with two more goals before the end of the period, scored by Hayden Ripley (assisted by Nik Jozefiak and Deric Richison) and George Zimmerer (assisted by Jack Bortle and Tristen Elmhurst). Chicago would tie the game up half way through the third period to take the game into overtime. Marcus Cornett would come up big for the Mavs just three minutes into the overtime session as he scored the game winning goal, assisted by Tyler Dickerson. Tyler Dorion got the start in net, stopping 32 of 36 shots faced on the afternoon. Saturday would be the busy 2-game day for the Mavs, starting with an early morning contest against the Minnesota Mullets. Not wanting to leave all of the excitement on Friday, this game would also see overtime action. After the Mullets scored the opening goal, Tim Kramer would again start the Mavs’ scoring with a first period goal assisted by Mike Campbell. The Mullets would score the only goal in the second period and carry that lead almost all the way through the third period. With just 8 seconds remaining in the game, Ethan Bishara would score the game-tying goal with an assist from Deric Richison. The excitement of the late game surge would be dampened by the Mullets, as they scored the game-winning goal just 55 seconds into overtime. Rookie netminder, Zach Waizmann, got his second start of the season, turning away 16 of 19 shots in the morning contest. Looking to bounce back from the morning’s overtime disappointment, the Mavericks regrouped as they faced off against the Decatur Blaze for their Saturday evening matchup, in what would be an offensive showcase for the team. For the third straight game, Tim Kramer kicked off the scoring with a goal assisted by Nik Jozefiak. George Zimmerer would add a second goal before the end of the first period, assisted by Deric Richison. The second period saw a flurry of Mavericks goals, including a pair by the newest member of the team - recent acquisiton Sam Adler. The second period tally included goals by Nik Jozefiak (unassisted), Sam Adler (assisted by Jack Bortle and Caleb Fifolt), Sam Adler (unassisted), Deric Richison (assisted by Tyler Hall), and Jordan Winrod (assisted by Marcus Cornett and Noah Staten). The Blaze would pop in their lone goal of the game just before the end of the second period. The third period would go without a goal to see the Mavericks walk away with a 7-1 victory. Alex Toth got the nod in net and turned away 9 of 10 shots faced on the evening. The Mavs rounded out their 2020 Chicago Showcase with a mid-day tilt against the Minnesota Blue Ox. In what turned out to be a physical contest, the Blue Ox would come away with a 5-2 victory. After the Blue Ox netted two first period goals, Deric Richison would cut the deficit to one with a late period goal, assisted by Hayden Ripley. Jordan Winrod would start off the second period scoring for the Mavericks with an early goal, assisted by Noah Staten. That would be the last scoring for the Mavericks unfortunately, as the Blue Ox would tally 3 more goals on the period and hold on for the victory. Tyler Dorion would get his second start of the showcase, and would stop 23 of the 28 shots he faced. The Mavericks are off for a few weeks as the players head home for the holidays. They will return to action in the new year, starting with a two-game home stand against in-state rivals, the Wooster Oilers on January 8th and 9th.
Dickie Dunn
by
Buffalo Stampede join the usphl for the 2021-22 season!
