This game came up on the Mavericks quick and spiraled out of control faster than they could react. Wichita scores 3 in 9 shots in the first period and the team struggled to play catch up the rest of the night.
Where did the shots go?
It makes it really hard to come back after an early deficit when you are unable to get pucks on net. 60 mins and the Mavericks only put up 14 shots. They played their best in the 2nd yet, are not rewarded until the 3rd when they get their first short handed goal of the season. They showed some life but the Thunder quickly put it back out when they scored their 5th goal and buried this game even farther down than it already was.
McDonald Needs a Boost
McDonald has not seemed to fit in very well into the everyday goalie type of play. He is facing some struggles that we have not seen much of earlier in the season. With Tyler Parsons injured, McDonald has been stepping in for back to back games and has not been rising to the challenge the way he is needed. If he were to have a tough night earlier in the season he could take a night off and have Parsons pick him up but this is not the case anymore. He has not had an exceptionally good game since Parsons’ injury and a well earned win could be the difference in his play right now. He didn’t play with a lot of confidence tonight and a lot of his saves had him scrambling for a puck that sometimes would get poked in.
Too Familiar or Not Familiar Enough?
These two teams see a lot of each other. This was game 7 for the two and you can tell that Wichita has done their homework. They make the Maverick’s rushes look predictable and do not allow for production driven players to even touch the puck let alone get scoring chances. Most of the rushes ended up in a loop that would quickly have the Thunder working into the Mavericks zone soon after.
Battle of Alberta Teams, No Battle Emotions
It was surprising that there was not more grit in this game. Both teams are within a couple of hours of each other and they are affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. The rivalry feel was just not there. The Mavericks still have nagging injuries that are keeping their roster small but usually the likes of Tyler Elbrecht will step up for a spark when the team needs it. There were not a lot of big hits and any pushing and shoving was quickly shut down. These teams seem to be sick of each other and instead of fighting it out, they let the clock be the deciding factor.
The Smith Potential
Hunter Smith could have easily been the one to open up this scoring in this game. He was parked in front of the net and he seemed to be one of the players the Thunder did not have a good feel for. He was able to have room to work in the offensive zones and got some shots in tight that kept the goalie on his heels. He even had a wrist shot ring off the post early in the night. The top line of the Mavericks needed a better outing and Smith was almost the difference maker.
If the Mavericks want to be successful against the Thunder they need to be less predictable and pick up on the same things Wichita gets from them. They should know this team better than they play against them. They need to know what kinds of things will not get past them. It will be interesting to see how they come out tomorrow after a tough loss like this. They will play Wichita again December 23 at 6:05pm MT.
