The Kansas City Mavericks and Toledo Walleye resume their series in Game 6 of the ECHL Western Conference Finals on Monday night. Several key items to keep close tabs on.
The Kansas City Mavericks and Toledo Walleye meet for Game 6 of the ECHL Western Conference Finals on Monday.
The Mavericks, who hold a 3-2 series lead, will look to punch their ticket to the franchise's first-ever Kelly Cup Finals appearance. Meanwhile, the Walleye will try to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in Independence, Missouri, on Wednesday.
Toledo limited Kansas City to just 16 shots on goal in Game 5 and used two third-period goals to skate past the Mavericks.
Brandon Hawkins opened the scoring on the power play at 9:20 in the first period. Kansas City responded with a power-play marker of their own on David Cotton's sixth goal of the playoffs.
After a scoreless second period, Toledo took the lead on Jacob Graves' goal less than two minutes into the final frame. Brandon Kruse put the game out of reach via the empty-netter with 56 seconds left in regulation.
Here are several key items to know in advance of Monday's Game 6.
Sniper Sawchuk
Toledo's Riley Sawchuk has been on fire this postseason and leads all skaters with ten goals and 17 points. The Walleye rookie forward has not scored in his last two games but still found a way to make a positive impact. Sawchuk matched a playoff-high three assists in Game 5.
Lead The Way, LaFontaine
With Cale Morris getting the nod in Game 5, expect Jack LaFontaine to start between the pipes for Kansas City on Monday. The Mavericks goaltender owns the best save percentage (0.954) in the playoffs. He is also no stranger to closing out series, doing so in Game 4 against Tulsa in the first round and Game 5 against Idaho in the Mountain Division Finals.
Likewise, Lethemon
Toledo goaltender John Lethemon has started four of the five games in the series, including the last three. He has been excellent, especially in his last two games, stopping a combined 40 of 43 shots on goal, which is good for a 0.930 save percentage. It's likely that he will be starting in another elimination game.
Third-Period Threat
In the first five games of the series, the Kansas City Mavericks have outscored the Toledo Walleye in the third period, 6-3. Both teams have been evenly matched in the first two periods, with Toledo holding a slight 8-7 goal advantage over Kansas City. The Mavericks dominated the third period in the first three games, outscoring Toledo 5-0. However, in the last two games, the Walleye have tightened up defensively and have a 3-1 goal advantage in the final 20 minutes of play.
Game 6 between Toledo and Kansas City will get underway from Cable Dahmer Arena, with puck drop set for 4:05 p.m. CST.