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Independence, MO —
A brilliant performance in the net by Missouri's Mathieu Corbeil ended with another night of frustration.
Behind even more stellar goaltending by Quad City’s Jimmy Spratt, the visiting Quad City Mallards claimed a 2-0 victory before a sold-out crowd of 5,800 at the Independence Events Center.
The Mallards, who had just 17 shots on goal, used a first-period breakaway goal by Obi Aduba and a rebound slap shot by Matt Duffy at 17:34 of the third period to keep the Mavericks in the Central Hockey League cellar with 14 points.
“It's just unacceptable to play like this at home,” defenseman David Simoes said. “We did a lot of good things tonight, but we didn't win. We have another sell out, the fans have supported us all season, and we don't give them anything to cheer about at home.”
The Mavericks are 6-8-2 overall and just 2-5 at the Events Center.
Although none of the Mavericks or coach Scott Hillman would use injuries as an excuse for the shutout, five forwards watched the game from the press box because each of them are on injured reserve.
“We won two games last weekend with the players we had on the ice tonight,” Hillman said. “No excuses – the boys on the ice worked hard. When you hold a team to 17 shots, you should win.
“We ran into a hot goaltender and we didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had, especially early in the game.”
The Mavericks best scoring opportunity came at 14:18 of the third period when Brian Bicek was awarded a penalty shot for being hooked from behind on a breakaway.
But as he did the entire game, Spratt came up big in the net to preserve his shutout. He stopped all 26 shots by the Mavericks.
“When Bicek missed the penalty shot, I didn't sense any letdown from the boys,” Hillman said. “No one was more disappointed that he missed the shot than Bicek. It happens – we just don't like to see it happen in a game where we're having such a hard time finding the back of the net.”
Hillman said the Mavericks made two mistakes in the Friday night loss, and each paved the way to a Quad City goal.
“The first goal was on a breakaway and the second came off a rebound,” Hillman said. “You have to give the Mallards credit – they didn't make many mistakes and they made us pay for ours.”
A brilliant performance in the net by Missouri's Mathieu Corbeil ended with another night of frustration.
Behind even more stellar goaltending by Quad City’s Jimmy Spratt, the visiting Quad City Mallards claimed a 2-0 victory before a sold-out crowd of 5,800 at the Independence Events Center.
The Mallards, who had just 17 shots on goal, used a first-period breakaway goal by Obi Aduba and a rebound slap shot by Matt Duffy at 17:34 of the third period to keep the Mavericks in the Central Hockey League cellar with 14 points.
“It's just unacceptable to play like this at home,” defenseman David Simoes said. “We did a lot of good things tonight, but we didn't win. We have another sell out, the fans have supported us all season, and we don't give them anything to cheer about at home.”
The Mavericks are 6-8-2 overall and just 2-5 at the Events Center.
Although none of the Mavericks or coach Scott Hillman would use injuries as an excuse for the shutout, five forwards watched the game from the press box because each of them are on injured reserve.
“We won two games last weekend with the players we had on the ice tonight,” Hillman said. “No excuses – the boys on the ice worked hard. When you hold a team to 17 shots, you should win.
“We ran into a hot goaltender and we didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had, especially early in the game.”
The Mavericks best scoring opportunity came at 14:18 of the third period when Brian Bicek was awarded a penalty shot for being hooked from behind on a breakaway.
But as he did the entire game, Spratt came up big in the net to preserve his shutout. He stopped all 26 shots by the Mavericks.
“When Bicek missed the penalty shot, I didn't sense any letdown from the boys,” Hillman said. “No one was more disappointed that he missed the shot than Bicek. It happens – we just don't like to see it happen in a game where we're having such a hard time finding the back of the net.”
Hillman said the Mavericks made two mistakes in the Friday night loss, and each paved the way to a Quad City goal.
“The first goal was on a breakaway and the second came off a rebound,” Hillman said. “You have to give the Mallards credit – they didn't make many mistakes and they made us pay for ours.”
Despite the loss, the Mavs rookie goaltender maintained a positive attitude.
“I want to give my team every chance to win,” Corbeil said. “The first goal was a very good shot by (Aduba). He was patient and put the puck right where he wanted to.
“The second goal hit off my stick and right to (Duffy). He made a nice shot and scored. It's disappointing to play so well defensively most of the game and lose like we did tonight.”
The Mavericks and Mallards hook up again Saturday, this time on the Mallards’ home ice in Moline, Ill.
“We don't have much time to think about this one,” Simoes said. “We need to go up to their place and salvage this weekend and get two points.”
Corbeil said the loss Friday will not have any effect on the Mavericks Saturday night.
“I don't think about losing, then getting revenge, or anything like that,” Corbeil said. “We need to win because we have a losing record and we need to get out of last place. And we need to find a way to win at home. We all wanted to win very badly tonight and we didn't do it. That's very disappointing.”
