Photo Courtesy of the Kansas City Mavericks [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9350cd01-b222-4663-96e8-21a664e436cd.png] Photo Courtesy of the Kansas City Mavericks The Kansas City Mavericks sent a strong message to the Toledo Walleye in Game 3 of their Western Conference Finals [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/ambrosio-lifts-walleye-to-narrow-victory-over-everblades]matchup Tuesday: We’re not done yet. Special teams and a two-goal second period gave the Mavericks a 5-2 win at the Huntington Center in Toledo to cut the Walleye’s lead in the series to 2-1. Both of KC’s special teams units were in high gear. The Mavs went 3-for-7 with the man advantage and killed five of its six penalties. Casey Carreau got Kansas City on the board first, burying a rebound on the power play with 23 seconds remaining in the opening period for a 1-0 lead. Early in the second, Luke Loheit stickhandled into the right faceoff circle and sniped a high-glove shot over Toledo goaltender Jan Bednar to extend the lead to 2-0. At 15:01, Cam Morrison made it 3-0 by finishing off a net-front scramble for his fifth goal of the post-season. At 5:30 of the third period, Landon McCallum cut through the Walleye defense and beat Bednar with a beautiful backhander to make the score 4-0. Toledo finally managed to spoil Mavs goalie Jack LaFontaine’s bid for a shutout in the third period. Billy Moskal got the Fish on the board after a scrum in front of the net. The goal was reviewed for potential goaltender interference, but stood and made the score 4-1. Brendon Michaelian and Nick Andrews each picked up assists on the play. Max Andreev added the final blow at 13:19 for KC, rifling a wrister in tight to secure a 5-1 lead. The Walleye scored a late power-play tally by Carson Bantle at the 17:12 mark, but the Mavericks slammed the door from there for the 5-2 final. While the Walleye had a decisive 18-5 shot advantage in the third period, it wasn’t enough to put on a rally and take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. LaFontaine was solid once again in net, turning away 33 of 35 shots to record his seventh win of the playoffs. There won’t be much time to celebrate or lick wounds. Game 4 is Thursday in Toledo, with puck drop scheduled for 7:15 Pm ET.
