Mavs perfect in shootout to make up for power (play) outage

All that was missing was a touching montage and an a capella “We Are The Champions” from the players.

After outshooting the Wichita Thunder 42-25 and only netting two goals through overtime, the next three shots for the Mavericks lit the lamp to seal the first win at the brand new Independence Events Center.

Center Chad Hinz, forward Jeff MacDermid and center Bill Vandermeer hit the three shootout goals, respectively, in the first shootout for either team this year.

“It was exciting,” Vandermeer said. “Obviously, we’d rather win the game in regulation, but a win is a win, so you can’t complain about that.”

After MacDermid netted the game-tying goal with 4:45 left in regulation, Missouri had two power play opportunities to put the game away in overtime, but they were killed off, making it a depressing 1-for-their-last-31 with a man advantage.

But Mavericks head coach Scott Hillman still had something up his sleeve – it just had to wait until the end of overtime.

“After those power plays in overtime, I told the guys, ‘Don’t sell the farm.’ I felt really good about the shootout,” Hillman said. “Those three guys pulled through.

“(Goalie) Doug (Groenestege) had that look. (Defenseman) Tyler Fleck knew Hinz, he had seen him before in a shootout, so he knew he had something. After that, it was just gut. MacDermid had looked so good in practice, and he had the hot stick, so we put him out there, and Vandermeer put the last one in.”

Hinz had a lot on his shoulders after Groenestege stiffed Wichita’s Mike Kneeland on the first shot, but the Mavs’ leading scorer deked goaltender Scott Campbell and snuck the puck past him to put his team up.

Hinz had a four-game point streak – one that included four goals and two assists – snapped, but the shootout goal was all that mattered to him.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Hinz said. “I’m just trying to put the puck in the net, and after the game, you look at the stats and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ It’s just kind of a bonus.”

MacDermid played his first game with the Mavericks in the home opener, and he proved to be an effective waiver-wire pick up.

“I don’t know how it could have gone better,” MacDermid said of his debut. “It had to be exciting for the fans; I think I got some goosebumps. It’s great to get that first win in the first game with these guys who have been battling on the road all year.”

The Mavericks forward, in his second year in the league, had scored one goal with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in four games before being waived, but he made a good first impression on the Mavericks, not to mention the fans.

“I knew it was simple, I just had to get pucks to the net and do my job. We got the goals, worked hard and got those big two points,” MacDermid said.

“It was huge to get that first goal. It’s a huge difference with that one-goal cushion. You miss it’s not all that big of a deal.”

MacDermid gave credit to the only guy who didn’t shoot, Groenestege, for the win.

“He’s an absolute wall. I had seen him in previous years in Oklahoma City, and everybody knows he’s really good. It just makes it that much easier.”

After Hinz and MacDermid scored and “The Wall” stopped all three Thunder shots, it was left to Vandermeer to put the game away.

“We had played them in exhibition, so I’d gone against him before. I knew if I could get him to bite on the forehand, I could get one,” Vandermeer said. “He bit on it and I got lucky.”

It was the third win of the year, all three against Wichita, a team that’s proving to be a hot rival.

“This win definitely fuels the fire,” Vandermeer said. “They’re the closest team to us, and we’ve beaten them before.”

The Mavs will have a chance to make it four in a row against the Thunder Saturday night. But coach Hillman isn’t one for repeat drama.

“We made a lot of mistakes tonight,” Hillman said. “We had a lot of poor decisions from the blue line and a lot of odd-man rushes off them. Both their goals came off odd-man rushes.

“But we need to eliminate those mistakes, because they’re going to play better tomorrow, so we need to play better tomorrow.”