3 Takeaways From Wednesday Night In The ECHL
Happy Birthday To Tad
Wednesday was a special night for Kansas City Mavericks head coach Tad O'Had for three reasons.
First and foremost, the Mavericks cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Utah Grizzlies at Cable Dahmer Arena.
Second, O'Had officially tied Scott Hillman as the winningest coach in Kansas City Mavericks history with 186 career victories.
Third, Wednesday was his birthday. It doesn't get much better than that.
The Mavericks didn't wait around to start the party, scoring three goals in a span of less than five minutes in the opening period. Damien Giroux scored twice and Max Andreev added a tally for a 3-0 KC lead heading into the first intermission.
The onslaught continued early in the second frame. David Cotton scored a power-play goal 27 seconds in before the Grizzlies finally responded at the 5:47 mark to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Kansas City quickly took back the momentum as Cotton scored again at 12:52 to restore their four-goal advantage after two periods.
Andreev lit the lamp for his second of the night 39 seconds into the third period for a 6-1 Mavericks lead. Utah scored at 7:47, but KC once again regained control when Giroux completed a hat trick and Andreev did the same a minute later.
THESE TWO HAD THEMSELVES A GAME TONIGHT‼️Congrats to each on scoring Hat Tricks🎩 pic.twitter.com/wI9ouUKYtN
— Kansas City Mavericks (@kc_mavericks) February 27, 2025
Another goal by the Grizzlies made the final score 8-3. It was the first time since 2021 the Mavericks recorded two hatties in a single game. O'Had is poised to break the franchise career wins record Friday against Utah.
A Streak Lives On
The record winning streak for the Rapid City Rush stands at 10 following Wednesday's 4-3 home overtime victory over the Idaho Steelheads at The Monument.
Blake Bennett was the overtime hero for the Rush, scoring 45 seconds into the extra frame to go along with a power-play goal in the first period.
Special teams play was the big factor in this game, as all three of Rapid City's regulation goals were scored with the man advantage. Deni Goure, Bennett and Connor Mylymok each lit the lamp on a power-play.
Neither team managed more than a one-goal lead throughout the game. The Steelheads scored an early goal in each of the first two periods, then tied the game with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
Just as the fans settled back into their seats for overtime, Bennett took a cross-ice pass from Billy Constantinou and fired a wrist shot to the top-left corner of the net for the game-winner.
Bennett, the reigning Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week, now has two game-winning OT goals against Idaho during the Rush's winning streak, with the first coming at the very beginning. He's tallied 14 goals in his first 17 Rush games this season.
Solar Bears Ice Jacksonville
The Jacksonville Icemen came into their contest against the Orlando Solar Bears with a 5-0 record against them in overtime and a 3-0 mark over that same club in the month of February.
Both those streaks went out the window Wednesday after coughing up a three-goal lead and allowing Orlando to roar back to snatch a victory in the extra frame.
The Icemen grabbed a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Orlando began to take control with two tallies in the second, then scored the final three goals after Jacksonville had a 4-2 lead.
After the Icemen outshot Orlando over the first 40 minutes, the Solar bears returned the favor with an 18-2 advantage in the third.
After pulling goaltender Ryan Fanti with under two minutes left in regulation, the Bears tied the game on Aaron Luchuk's second of the night with 23 seconds remaining to force some bonus hockey.
Jacksonville controlled the puck for the first 90 minutes of overtime, but it was the Solar Bears who scored on a 4-on-3 power play.
Jaydon Dureau took a pass from Hudson Thornton and sent a snap shot past Icemen goalie Justen Close to complete the comeback victory.
@jaydon_d15 GIVES US THE W!!! 😱 @ECHL pic.twitter.com/Qs77kasf2a
— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) February 27, 2025
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