2012 Champions: Stat-Nerding the Third-ish Quarter of the Season

That's Charlie Effinger.  He just won the Goaltender of the Week Award for the third time this season, ya heard. 

Although there have only been fourteen games since the last time we checked in with the Mavericks, there are only twenty games left in something like forty days.  So this is as good of a time as any to see what the Mavs are doing right, doing wrong, and need to do during the home stretch of the season.  (Note: this review follows a similar format as the second quarter stats post, so in lieu of me repeating stats, please refer any comparisons to that previous post.)

*Just another note before we get started:  Something that hockey leagues do that annoy me are include a shootout winning goal in the overall goal for/goal against team totals, even though this goal does not get counted toward or against an individual goal scorer or goaltender's total, nor does anyone end up with a plus or minus because of that goal being scored.  I don't know, just kind of dumb.  Anyway, for these particular stats, and any previous stat-nerding posts, goals include shootout winning goals, unless otherwise noted*

*The Mavs are currently third in the Turner Conference with 58 points and a 27-15-4 record.  They have 153 goals for and 144 goals against.

*In the past 14 games, the Mavs are 11-2-1 (!).  They have had winning streaks of four, two, and five during this time.  The five game streak is currently in progress, and is their second longest of the season (six game streak to begin the season).  They are also 3-1 in OT games during this stretch, winning one game during the overtime period, and two in the shootout.  They have also lost a shootout.  They have recorded 55 goals for, and have given up 40 with one shutout.

*Vern Cooper is gone, but you knew that already...

*There are eight Mavs who have played at least 40 games through 46 games this season.

Remember when the Mavs were struggling to score?

*The Mavs have moved up to seventh in scoring overall with 153.  They trail league leader Wichita by sixteen, and division leading Fort Wayne by five.

*96 goals (again, total counting SO winners) over the course of the first 32 games (3.0 avg.).  57 goals during the past 14 games (3.93 avg.).

*73 goals over the past twenty games (3.65 avg.).

*In 2010-11, they had 103 goals over the course of the first 32 games (3.22 avg.), and 35 goals during the next fourteen games (2.5 avg.). 138 goals after the first 46 games (3.0 avg.).

*During this fourteen game stretch:

--Goals during four game win streak: 19

--Goals during next five games (2-2-1): 19

--Goals during current five game win streak: 19

Eerie?  Meh.

*Who is carrying the mail on offense?  Well, in the past fourteen games.

Dale Mahovsky: 3 goals, 11 assists

Seabass:  4 goals, 10 assists, plus one shootout winner

Ed McGrane:  10 goals, 11 assists, plus one shootout winner

JS Dickson:  7 goals, 6 assists (one hat trick)

Dave Pszenyczny:  8 goals, 7 assists

*SeaBass Thinel (“SeaBass” officially from now on) still leads the team with 54 points (14+40=54).  But, Ed McGrane is hot on his trail with 50 points, and the team lead in goals with 22.  Thinel has moved up to sixth in the league in points.  He is second in assists with 40, trailing Evansville’s Todd Robinson by ten.  McGrane is tied for fifth in the league in goals, trailing the leaders, Quad City’s Brandon Marino and Evansville’s Brian Bicek, by six.

*Don’t forget JS Dickson, second in goals on the team with 21.

*New acquisition Patrick Schafer has seven goals in sixteen games with the Mavs.

*Ryan Jardine exists (8+10=18, -2).

*So, the offense has improved, which is nice.  The problem there never appeared to be lack of shooting, either.  McGrane is third in the league with 193 shots, and Thinel is 18^th with 157.  Maybe the scoring problems can be attributed to shooting percentage.  No Mav has better than JS Dickson’s .154%, which is only good for 19^th in the league.

The Mavs still can’t score on the powerplay, right?

*The Mavs are third in the league in powerplay percentage!  Their percentage, 19.89, is over two percentage points below the league leaders (Quad City with 22.09).

*The Mavs are very middle of the pack when it comes to powerplay goals and powerplay opportunities.  Their 36 goals are tied for seventh in the league, and their 181 opportunities are eleventh overall.  That is 16 goals since the last time we left the Mavs.  16 PPG in 14 games!  w00t!

*JS Dickson has 8 PPG (tied for fifth in the CHL), McGrane has 6, and four Mavs are tied with four.  Thinel and McGrane lead the team in PPA with 14 and 13, respectively.

*The three league leaders in PPG all have ten.  Quad City’s Brandon Marino and John Snowden, and Dayton’s Brandon Naurato.

*This Quad City team sounds fairly decent.

*The Mavs are +16 in goal differential during this stretch, having given up 40 goals and lost one shootout (41 GA total, 2.93 avg.).  Throughout the whole season, the Mavs have given up 144 goals in 46 games (3.13 avg.).

*In comparison, the Mavs gave up 40 goals (that includes the one shootout winner) in 2010-11 during games #33-46.  Overall, by game #46, the Mavs had given up 130 goals (2.83 avg.).

*During the current fourteen game stretch:

--GA during four game win streak: 9 (with one shutout)

--GA during next five games: 22 (includes the one shootout “goal”)

--GA during current five game win streak: 10

*The defense is still not up to par with last season’s D.  But, hey, look at all of the defenders in the black!

--Simoes +13

--Wakita +9

--Good +6

--Ruwe +4

--Pszenyczny +1

*There are still no Mavs anywhere near the league leaders in plus/minus.  Three Fort Wayne players are in the top three, one with a +22, and two with +21.

*JS Dickson is a team worst -6, despite, you know, all of the goals he scores.

Here is something to think about as the Mavs get closer to the playoffs.  Penalty minutes.

*Although, the Mavs have moved up to sixth in the league in PIM with 809, no individuals are killing the team.  The Mavs finished with 1197 PIM last season.

*Pszenyczny leads the team with 97 PIM.  Wakita has 92.  Lewis has 91.  The league leader, Quad City’s Jason Kostadine, has 170.  Lewis had 205 all of last season.  This is something to watch, but not something that is seriously killing them.  Well, actually, let’s look at the PK numbers.

*The Mavs were fourth on the penalty kill (82.6%) through the first half of the season.  Since then, the Mavs are twelfth with 80%.  They have given up 13 goals while on the penalty kill in the past fourteen games.

*The league best is Evansville at 86.18% giving up 30 goals, while the league worst is Dayton with a 74.16% success rate and 54 goals given up.

*13 of 40 goals (not counting shootout winners, obviously) were scored on the PK.  Still not terrible... but, the Mavs PK could take a lesson from its improved PP.

In summation, penalties are not killing them, but it definitely could not hurt to avoid taking untimely penalties.

Oh, and thank goodness for Charlie Effinger.

*He has started the past fifteen games (11-3-1) without Szuper (left for KHL) and Festa (traded).

*Gerry Festa finished his season with the Mavs 2-4-2 with 24 GA, a 3.00 GAA, and .904 SV% in eight appearances.

*Szuper was 1-0, with 3 GA, a 3.00 GAA and .930 SV% in one appearance with the Mavs (a 6-3 home victory over Quad City on January 7^th).

*Effinger is third in games played for goalies with 33, six behind the leader Nick Boucher of Fort Wayne.

*Effinger has given up 41 goals during the past fifteen games, with one shutout.  He has given up 13 goals (one shootout loss) to Quad City in three games and was chased once during that stretch (0-2-1).

*Eff-bomb is second in the CHL in wins (22), trailing Boucher (27).  He is tied for tenth in GAA with 2.77, and seventh in SV% with .919%.

*And a warm welcome back to Jakub Macek, who has finally found a home with the Mavs.  He relieved Effinger in one of the Quad City loses, giving up 4 goals on 13 shots.

*Also, it must have been pretty cool for those rec league guys that played back up goalie while that position was in transition.  Props to you fine gentlemen.

*Home record during the past fourteen games:

7-1-1 (both losses to Quad City)

*Home record overall:

13-8-2

*Away record during the past fourteen games:

4-1

*Away record overall:

14-7-2

*The Mavs remain third in total attendance with 125,650, over 13,000 above Rapid City and 27,000+ below second place Wichita.  The IEC also sees the third most fans on average, up seven to 5,463 since we last checked.

*The Mavs are celebrating 500,000 fans this Friday!  It only took less than three seasons to accomplish what the New York Islanders could not do all of last season. (Joke not intended.  That is a real stat.)

*If the season ended today, the Chicago Wolves would be a five seed in the Western Conference of the AHL playoffs.  But, they trail the division leading Charlotte Checkers by two points with a game in hand with 26 games remaining.  They have 146 GF and 129 GA, and they are an ugly 0-3 in the shootout.  Goalie Matt Climie is among the league leaders in SV% (0.927%).  JP Testwuide has an assist in sixteen games, and fifteen PIM.  Dustin Friesen has a goal and two assists in nineteen games, and is a +6.

*Oh, but what about our dear, sweet Mavericks?  What are their playoff chances you ask?  Well, four teams qualify from each division, so the Mavs would clinch as the third place team in the Turner Conference with 58 points.  They trail second place Fort Wayne by four points, and lead fourth place Quad City by three.  They lead fifth place Rapid City by only four.  They have twenty games remaining, ten at home and ten on the road.  Thirteen of those games are against Berry Conference teams, two are against Rapid City, one against Dayton, two against division leading Evansville, and two against cellar dweller Bloomington.  It should be pretty damn interesting over the next few weeks!

Scoring has picked up, and that’s good.  The defense is still, well, the same defense, but the Mavs have put themselves in the best possible place with a stable roster going into the final month of the season.  Of course, it won’t be easy, but if the offense stays hot, and Effinger plays at the top of his game, this team should skate into the playoffs as a three or four seed.  Without any head-to-head games against Fort Wayne remaining, it may be hard to unseat them as the two seed.  Evansville would have to play uncharacteristically to fall out of the top spot, let alone the top two spots.  Finally, head coach Scott Hillman has a functioning powerplay, so, yeah, hopefully they don't screw it up.  Of course, the Mavs should have clinched a playoff spot by now, but I guess they are just trying to give the other teams some hope, which is pretty damn nice of them.

Please check out the Missouri Mavericks official site for news and updates from your favorite local hockey team, or at the CHL’s official site for league-wide news as we creep closer to the playoffs.  Also, the KC Star and the Pitch have Mavericks news occasionally, so be sure to check those sites.  Be sure to read Mavericks Weekly on the Mavs’ site every week for updates, game previews, and upcoming events at the IEC.  And, for constant Mavs news and recaps, shoot on over to the Missouri Mavericks Blog.  He does interviews and everything, like a real journalist!  I feel like a jerk for not referring you there in the past, so make it up to me by visiting his site.

2012 Champions: Stat-Nerding the Second Quarter of the Season

Mavs President and GM Brent Thiessen won the Commitment Cup! Whatever that is...

Welcome to the CHL All-Star break!  Your Missouri Mavericks are currently fifth in the seven-team Turner Conference with 35 points.  They are 16-13-3 overall, and are 8-8-1 with 17 points over the course of the second quarter of the season.  The Mavs are technically still a playoff team with this record.  They have 96 GF and 103 GA. 

2010-11 season, after 32 games:

18-11-3

39 pts

103 GF

90 GA

-7 GF and -13(!) GA from one season ago.  Where has everything gone so terribly wrong?

*C-Bass Thinel is still the team leader in points (9+30=39).  He has slipped into a tie for seventh in the league in this category.  There are no Mavs among league point leaders in the top twenty.  Thinel is tied for second in the league in assists, seven behind the leader.  Dale Mahovsky’s 30 points is second on the team (13+17=30).  The league leader has 48 points.

*The Mavs are ninth of fourteen teams in the league in goals for.  They are eighth in goals against.  That is very middle of the road-y.  Not good for a team that started the season with much of the same defense as last year, and brought in A LOT of offensive help.

*48 goals in the first fifteen games of the season (3.2 avg.), 48 goals over the course of the past 17 (2.82 avg.).

*In 2010-11, the Mavs had 103 total goals in their first thirty-two games (3.22 avg.), and 62 goals between Games #16-#32 (3.65 avg.).

*During this seventeen game stretch:

--15 goals over the first six games

--15 goals over the next four games

--The next game was the only time the Mavs have been shutout all season

--18 goals over the last six games

*Ah, but how about goals against?  The Mavs gave up 43 over the first fifteen games (2.87 avg.), but they have given up 60 over the past seventeen games (3.53 avg.).  During the seventeen game stretch:

--30 goals in the first eight games

--30 goals in the last nine games, including one shutout.

*In 2010-11, the Mavs gave up 90 total goals in their first thirty-two games (2.81 avg.), and 47 goals between Games #16-#32 (2.76).

*Speaking of defense, there have been eleven different defenders on this team over the course of thirty-two games.  Last season, the Mavs only used 8 defenders.  In fairness, J.P. Testwuide and Dustin Friesen are with the Chicago Wolves. 

*Remember when only one active defenseman had a negative plus/minus one quarter through the season?  Only Mike Wakita, Zach Carriveau, and David Simoes are in the positive (all with a +3; Carriveau is no longer with the team).

*There are no Mavs among the league leaders in plus/minus.  Wichita has four players in the top five, all with a combined +67.  Andrew Martens, former Wichita Thunder-er and current OKC Baron, has/had a +20.  The top three Mavs plus/minus are a combined +19.  Five current Mavs are positive.  Carlyle Lewis and JS Dickson have the worst plus/minus with -6 each.

*Vern Cooper played in 11 games, had 6 points (2+4=6), was a +5, took 26 shots, and recorded a .077 shooting percentage.  Now he is off to pursue his academic career.  Best of luck to him.

  

*Ryan Jardine, through twenty-seven games, has 8 goals, 10 assists, and 18 points.  After missing five games in the first quarter of the season, he has played every game in the second quarter of the season.  So, that’s encouraging.

*Did I mention the Mavs are not very good on the powerplay?

*The league leader in powerplay percentage is Fort Wayne with 25.45%.  They also have the least amount of opportunities in the league with 110, scoring 28 times.

*The Mavs are ninth in PP% (17.24%) with 116 opportunities and 20 goals.  Only Texas has had fewer PP goals (15).  Laredo also has 20, but only has scored 14.29% of the time.

*Record when the Mavs scored a PPG in the last seventeen games: 4-1-1

*Record when the Mavs failed to score on the powerplay in the last seventeen games:  4-7

*JS Dickson has 14 goals, and 5 of those have come on the PP.  He is tied for sixth in the league in PPG.  The league leader, Brandon Marino of Quad City, has 9.

*Thinel has 11 powerplay assists, which is tied for sixth in the league.  The leader is Todd Robinson of Evansville with 19.

*The Mavs have 3 shorthanded goals, thanks mostly to defenders (Pszenyczny and Kaunisto - before he was traded).  Rapid City, the league leader in this category, has 12.  Oddly enough, three of their top four goal scorers (Les Reaney, league points leader Jesse Schultz, and Shawn Limpright) are all in the top five of this category.

*The Mavs were fourth on the penalty kill at 82.6% with 12 goals against after the first fifteen games.

*They are now tenth at 80.49%, having given up twelve goals on the PK in the past seventeen games.  The league best is Allen at 85.42%.  The league worst is Dayton at 71.43%.

*12 of 43 goals against were on the PK over the first fifteen games, while 12 of 60 goals against were on the PK over the last seventeen games.  Something is wrong, but not just on the PK.

*The Mavs have given up 24 PPGA, which is three less than the league leader, Evansville, with 21 PPGA.  But, the Mavs seventh place standing looks amazing compared to Dayton’s league worst 44 PPGA.

*The Mavs have been shorthanded the third least of any team, 123 times.

*They are now ninth in PIM with 544 minutes, after being fifth for the first quarter of the season with 305.  They have recorded 239 minutes in the last seventeen games.

*No longer do the Mavs have any players in the league’s top fifteen most penalty minutes.  Carlyle Lewis is sixteenth with 78, and Pszenyczny is twentieth with 70.

*Gerry Festa’s stats before being traded:

--8 GP

--2-4-2

--24 GA

--3.00 GAA

--.904 SV%

*New Mav, and former Arizona Sundog, Levente Szuper’s stats this season (one game with Mavs):

--16 GP

--3-6-4

--43 GA (t-last)

--3.16 GAA (19^th)

--.919 SV% (t-4^th)

*Charlie Effinger is back with the Mavs, and is seventh in the league in SV % (.917).  Szuper is tied for fourth with .919%.  The leader is the backup in Dayton, Larry Sterling, with .928%.

*Effinger has started nine games over the course of the last seventeen games, and is 5-4 with 30 GA and one shutout.

*Effinger is fourteenth in the league in GAA with 2.94.  Szuper is nineteenth with 3.16.  The leader is Mark Guggenberger for Texas with 2.29 GAA.

*Just as an example of how injuries have caused turmoil for this team, the Mavs had fifteen players dressed, plus one goalie (Festa) for their game on December 20^th, 2011.

*The Mavs are 6-7-1 at home.  They have gone 5-4 since the first quarter of the season.

*The Mavs are third in average total attendance with 5,456 people per game.  Since the first five home games, the last nine have seen a 255 person average decrease.  The Mavs are safely in fourth in total attendance with 76,388, just under 3,000 behind Rapid City who has played three more home games.

*The CHL is nearing one million total spectators for the season.  The league has failed to achieve over two million total spectators only twice since 2002-03 (2008-09, 2009-10).

*The Mavs are 10-6-2 on the road.  This is among the league leaders.  They have gone 3-4-1 since the first quarter of the season, and 4-6-2 since the 6-0 road start. 

*The Mavs have had one losing streak of three games, and one losing streak of four (0-3-1 over that stretch).

*The longest winning streak, other than the six game streak at the start of the season, is the recent four game winning streak that ended this past Sunday.

*Andrew Courtney is the Mavs only All-Star game representative.  He is fourth on the team in goals (12), fifth in assists and points (10, 22), and is a team best +7.  He was a -2 with seven shots in the ASG.

*Former Mavs Kaunisto and Carriveau played for the hosting Arizona Sundogs in the ASG.

*The Chicago Wolves are in second place in the AHL’s Midwest Division, two points behind the Charlotte Checkers.  They have 106 GF and 96 GA, and are currently on a four game win streak.  J.P. Testwuide has played ten games and is a -2.  Dustin Friesen has played in nineteen games and has three points (1+2=3).  He is a +6.  Craig MacTavish is still the coach.

So, the Mavericks have not played exceptionally well over the second quarter of the season.  They are giving up a lot more goals, but also have to deal with the instability that comes with injuries, big league call-ups, and transactions.  This team still has not lapsed into being “streak-y,” but they do tend to struggle at times.  One area that they cannot afford to struggle is on the PK, where they have been so solid in the past.

The Mavs should not be happy with the offensive output from the first half of the season after bringing in a lot of players to help that issue.  It’s tough to blame the defense for being sloppy over the past few weeks, but the offense must come around for the last thirty games or so for the Mavs to even threaten to make noise in the playoffs.

As always, you can follow your favorite CHL team at their official site and at the CHL's official site.  Also, there is info on the KC Star's site, and every now and then on the Pitch's site.  Be sure to read Mavericks Weekly on the Mavs' site for all of the weekly updates and upcoming events at the IEC.

2012 Champions: Stat-Nerding the First Quarter of the Season

Pic borrowed from the CHL

After fifteen games, your Missouri Mavericks are a mere point out of first place in the Turner Division of the CHL.  That almost guarantees them a spot in the wacky CHL playoffs, and I think a first and second round bye, and a free Blizzard at Dairy Queen.  But, that's not important right now.  Of course, the season is a marathon instead of a sprint and all of that hot garbage, but it doesn't hurt that 80% of the league makes it to the playoffs...

Either way, the first half of the season has been very good to the Mavericks.  At 8-5-2 and with 18 points they have gotten off to the fastest start in franchise history (2009-10: 6-8-1, and 2010-2011: 7-6-2).  There are many factors contributing to the Mavericks success, and it all starts with the offseason acquisitions.

Here are a few bullets to think about:

How did the Mavericks get off to this decent start, well:

*C-Bass Thinel leads the team, and the league, in scoring with 24 points (6-18=24).  In fairness, Evansville's Todd Robinson has 23 points while playing two fewer games, but Thinel is clearly better than him since this is a KC hockey blog and not an Evansville hockey blog.  Although Robinson has one more assist than C-Bass, pushing our man to second overall in that category.  

*The Mavs are 7-3-1 when Thinel has a point.  They are 1-3 when he does not have a point (he had a shootout goal in the one win).

*Fellow forward Dale Mahovsky leads the team, and is in a six-way tie for third in the league, with nine goals.  Both Mahovsky and Thinel are on the positive side of plus/minus at this point, although nowhere near the league leaders.  First-year Mavs Ed McGrane and JS Dickson round out the top four scorers on the team.

*Mahovsky has the best shooting percentage on the team with nine goals on 38 shots (.237%).  McGrane has the most shots with 52, but only five goals (.096%).  Ryan Jardine has 22 shots, but only one goal (.045%), but is only the second worst among forwards (Lachlan MacIntosh, zero goals on ten shots).

*MacIntosh doesn't do much stat-wise (three points/assists, +1, two PIM in eleven games), but must pull his weight on the penalty kill to be starting so often.

*Ryan Jardine is off to a slow start.  He suffered a minor injury, he has five points (1-4=5), and has only played ten games so far.  He has not yet seen any time at the AHL level.  He had 54 points in 66 games a year ago.

*Record in games Jardine has played: 5-4-1.  Record in games Jardine has not played: 3-1-1.

*Does that mean anything?  Probably not yet...

*(Also, there is some guy named Cotton Yellow Horn playing for Allen that I never noticed before!  HOLY CRAP, name of the year candidate!)

*Vern Cooper has six points in eleven games, and is a +5.  Hopefully he is just warming up.

*The Mavs are tied for seventh in the league in goals for with 48.  They had 213 total last season.  One-fourth of that is about 53 goals, which means they are actually regressing in the goal department.  They had 200 total in 2009-10, which means they are ahead of schedule.

*In reality, the Mavs had 44 goals after the first fifteen games in 2009-10, and 41 goals after the first fifteen games in 2010-11.

*8 goals in the last five games (1-3-1).  40 goals in the first ten games (7-2-1).

*The average scoring has not translated well for the powerplay.  The Mavs are twelfth in the league at 17% on the PP.  Twelve goals on 70 opportunities.

*The Mavs have never had a good PP under head coach Scott Hillman.

*The Mavs did not actively seek to improve last year's league stingiest defense, and they have only given up 43 goals.  Last year they gave up 173 all season.  They appear to be just behind schedule in this department.

*The Mavs are fifth in total penalty minutes at this point in the season.  

*The Mavs are tied with one other team for the most players in the top twenty in penalty minutes with three.  Those three (Dave Pszenyczny, Mike Wakita, and Carlyle Lewis) total 136 of the team's 305 total penalty minutes.

*They are fourth on the penalty kill at 82.6%, giving up twelve goals.  At least they are pushing even on special teams.

*The Mavs have had one of the better PKs since last season.

*Only one active defenseman has a negative plus minus:  Pszenyczny with a -1.

*As advertised, Charlie Effinger is getting the majority of the starts (10).  Gerry Festa is not (5 starts).

*Eff-bomb is 6-3-1, the OTL being a shootout loss.  Festa is 2-2-1.  Neither have a shut out.

*Effinger has a 2.49 GAA (the league leader has a 2.15), and a .934 save percentage (the league leader has .939%).  Festa is serviceable with a 2.99 GAA and .901 SV%.  That is still better than Laredo and Rapid City's starters.

*The Mavs have won as many as six in a row (remember when they were undefeated?).  All of those were on the road.

*The Mavs were on a five game "non-win" streak until the other night, gaining one point during that time.  Three of those loses came at home, and make up the three game home losing streak the Mavs have currently. 

*The Mavs are 1-3-1 at home, as opposed to 7-2-1 on the road.

*The Mavs outscored their opponents 24-9 during the six game winning streak to start the season.  The Mavs were outscored 21-10 during their five game "non win" streak.

*Hillman thinks the Kansas-Mizzou rivalry is overrated.  Hmm... I respectfully disagree.

*Through five games, the IEC has the third best average attendance with 5,711.  That's over 98% capacity.  Good job everyone!

*The Chicago Wolves are fourth in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference after eighteen games played.  Needless to say, they are pretty average and do not have any glaring weaknesses or needs.  That can be a good thing for the stability of the Mavs, if you're into that kind of thing.

Bottom line, the Mavericks are 8-5-1 and in third, and the key players have remained relatively healthy (expect for Jardine for a few games).  Last season they really got it going mid-season, and then iced it at the end of the season to get into the playoffs.  If this team can stay away from being so streak-y, they should remain at the top of the standings.  This has to be the most talented team in the three years of the Mavs existence, but they don't play games on stat sheets.

What say you?  Have you been out to the IEC yet this year?  Watched online?  What have you seen?  Comments and opinions are welcome.

If you aren't already, you should be reading Brian McGannon's Mavs Insider.  Brian does a wonderful job gathering great insight from all of your favorite Mavs players, coaches, etc.  Basically anything you wanted to know about what Mavs personnel are saying about anything and everything.  Good stuff.  Read it!  

Also, be sure to read Mavericks Weekly every Monday on the Mavs' site for all of the weekly updates and upcoming events in Mavs World.

Of course, you can always follow your favorite CHL team at their official site and at the CHL's official site.  Also, there is info on the KC Star's site, and every now and then on the Pitch's site.

2012 Champions: The Beginning of Something Great

First off, Macek was waived, and Jardine was given a "five-game contract allowing the Mavericks to start the season with 20 players on the roster" since he has a two-way contract with the Mavs affiliate in Chicago.

Also, the Mavericks opened up with a win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.  Hogg and Mahovsky picked up goals, so thanks for nothing McGrane.  Effinger had 29 saves, and the Mavs were 0-4 on the powerplay.  If the season ended today, the Mavericks would share the title with three other teams.  Think about that...

Here are some season previews for your perusal:

CHL Team Preview

Mavericks Preview

2012 Champions: Saying Goodbye is the Hardest Part...of Progress

Via

The Mavericks, currently in the training camp portion of their 2011-12 title run, have cut and traded their roster in an attempt to get to the "Perfect 19" necessary for a CHL roster.

At the end of last week the team announced they have waived forward Matt Dias and defenseman Janis Brakss (by the way, defensemen preview coming up after camp ends).  I had Dias as high as the second line in some projections, but, uh, I suppose that was wrong.  This left the roster with 27 players.  Only 8 more to go!  See more moves after the jump.

Earlier on Monday, the Mavericks rid themselves of six more players.  Defensemen Joshua Hepditch and Jared Lavender, and forward Derek Knowles were all traded away.  Lavender spent the past two seasons with the Mavericks, recording a +9 and playing in 94 games.  Knowles played last season with the Mavs, but only played in 38 games and two playoff games.  He had seven points overall.  My early projection had him riding the bench on the expanded roster, so his departure does not seem so surprising with so many new faces.  All were traded for future considerations.

Meanwhile, the remaining three players were waived.  They are forwards Toms Hartmanis and Derek Pallardy and defenseman Steven Later.  Pallardy played nearly all of the past two seasons with the Mavs, and his departure seems the most curious.  Although not a potent scoring threat (13+31=44 points in two seasons), he was a young player learning head coach Scott Hillman's system nearly straight out of college.  I would imagine he did not provide the scoring punch the team appears to be looking for this season.  The Mavs were sixth in goals for last season, and just appear to need more out of a second line-type forward.  I stated earlier that Hartmanis and Vern Cooper may be in a battle for a second line wing spot, and if I was accurate then it is safe to say that Cooper won the battle.  Later played the end of last season in Independence totaling 13 points in 18 games, and playing 9 playoff games.  This leaves the skater roster at 21, meaning two more players need to be cut.

Typically the Mavs carry six defenders, about eleven forwards, and two goaltenders.  This would mean three full defensive lines and nearly four full forward lines.  Who will be the next two players cut?  My guess is O'Nabigon or Dickson, just because they are similar players fighting for a bottom six-type role.  The other cut will probably be the goalie Macek, but he may stay somehow connected with the organization.

Remember, forward Ryan Jardine, defenseman David Pszenyczny and Dustin Friesen, and goalie Charlie Effinger are all under two-way contracts with the Chicago Wolves and Mavericks.  Friesen is currently one of eight defenders on the Wolves roster and has played in all four of their games and has a -3.

Also, along with trading for Knowles, the Rapid City Rush have also picked up former Mav Blake Forsyth.  He spent all of last season and seven games in 2010-11 with the Mavericks scoring a total of twenty points (3+17=20) and was a +26 last season.

2012 Champions: Jardine Rediscovered and Goalie Preview

Via

The Mavericks have reported that Ryan Jardine has returned for his second season with the organization.  The veteran had 54 points (23-31=54) and played in all 66 games last year for the Mavs.  Jardine has a two-way contract and could see some time with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this season.  The Wolves are the new "AAA" affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks and the Mavs first affiliation to a high-level professional organization.  It will be good to have Jardine's presence on the ice, especially with all of the new faces.  He understands head coach Scott Hillman's system, and can maybe help to integrate the multitude of new forwards.

In addition, Mike Berry has been released to make room for Jardine.  So, forget Berry is in the lineup and just pencil in Jardine instead.  This sounds like a mutual agreement, since Berry will surely get an opportunity elsewhere.  It's easy to assume Berry believed the Mavs were getting top-heavy among the forwards.  This can be seen as a good or bad thing, of course, as the organization is getting better and even very good players feel they may not get a legitimate opportunity.  But, it can be bad because an overzealous front office may have upset Berry and prompted him to look for work elsewhere.  You don't want to upset the stars, they're fragile.  Either way, good luck to him in all of his future endeavors.  Therefore, the Mavericks have lost their top two point scorers from a year ago.  But, they get Jardine and all of those other guys.  So, we got that goin' for us, which is nice.

Chances Jardine gets called up to Chicago at some point?  Eh, probably pretty good.  Alas, that's the reality of an affiliation.  Quality players can get taken away by better competition.

For those of you asking for the whereabouts of Nick Sirota, he is currently playing with the Kalamazoo K-Wings of the ECHL, which, oddly enough, are also affiliates of the Canucks.  So, a good player leaves the league that wants to be the "AA" of hockey to go to a competing "AA" league.  Alrighty then...

Goalie preview after the jump.
First, in order of signing.

Jakub Macek, from Slovakia, begins his first season in America.  Although his professional European resumé isn't incredibly deep, the Mavericks want to give him a shot.  At only 24 years old, he has nothing to lose.  He may be the odd one out in camp though, as the Mavs bring back two familiar faces.

Gerry Festa returns for a third season with the Mavs.  He is one of just a handful of players that have been with the organization since the beginning.  Goalies have come and gone for the Mavs, but he has been the constant bench presence.  He will have a lot to prove in camp to hold down the backup job from now on.  A 3.11 goals against average last season isn't terrible coming off of the bench, and his .894 save percentage is certainly starter worthy on some clubs in the CHL.  Provided he continues to post solid stats, he could see a lot of starting time due to the two-way contract of...

Charlie Effinger!  Ol' Charlie is back, sporting a two-way contract that could allow him to see some time in Chicago.  Effinger led the Mavs to the second round of the playoffs in 2010, then split for Newcastle, UK and the Elite League (the UK's highest level of hockey competition).  He was 14-39-2 (!) with Newcastle, and obviously did not see time in the playoffs.  He will look to recapture the magic of 2009-10 where he was 17-6-2 in CHL regular season play.  The Canucks are not in need of goaltenders, and the Wolves currently have two solid goalies on their roster, so it appears Effinger's future depends on how he plays.

Maybe, just maybe, the goaltenders are the weak link in the impending championship run for the Mavs.  The organization appears to have spent most of their time adding forwards and rehabbing the defense and just pieced the net minders together as an after-thought.  Let's hope not, but it's hard not to look past Effinger's poor showing in Europe and Macek's lack of experience.

My guess: Effinger starts with the Mavs, Festa and Macek switch off as backup until someone is dealt down the line.  Effinger stays at the CHL level for a majority of the season.

Training camp starts next week and the first game is October 21st!