The Mavs are back in action after a 4-3 victory against the Idaho Steelheads on Wednesday. They play them again tonight and tomorrow night to complete their series. Mason McDonald was in net for the last game and gets the nod tonight as well.
Idaho comes out hot and puts up 15 shots to the Mavs 9. They appear to get a goal about halfway through but it is waved off due to an Idaho penalty. Mason McDonald takes a hard hit and a Steelhead is given a charging call. He gets initial treatment from the trainer and appears okay to finish the period. He will require an extra looking at as the game goes on. That call gives the Mavericks a late power play that will carry into the 2nd period.
Mason Mcdonald stops a point-blank shot off a breakaway a few minutes into the second period but unfortunately cannot stop the rebound and the Steelheads go up 1-0. A couple of minutes later, Joey Sides takes a penalty but Jordan Klimek finds a way to tie it up with a short-handed goal. The score stays the same through the remainder of the period with Mason McDonald getting a lot of tough shots that he stops with great skill. He stops 26/27 through 2 periods. Mavs trailing behind on shots with 19 of their own.
The Steelheads get a goal just over a minute into the third period. Unfortunately, they don't stop there. About 6.5 minutes into the third the Mavs get a penalty call and Idaho scores before the whistle is blown. He comes up on the rush alone and his goal is unassisted. The Mavs get a huge 5 on 3 opportunity for almost the whole 2 minutes and do not do much of anything. 1 shot on goal is registered after the first penalty expires. Nate Widman is called for a penalty in the last 3 minutes of the game, really putting an extra damper on their chances. McDonald tries to sneak to the bench in the last 10 seconds of the penalty kill but KC turns the puck around and he skates back to make a save. Widman comes out of the box and John-Scott Dickson calls a timeout. Idaho gets an empty net goal in the last 11 seconds and really closes the door on this game. Final score ends up being 4-1. Shots end 35-30 for Idaho.
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