Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Mavericks on the Road
One of the hockey teams
that occasionally comes to visit the Florida Everblades hails from
Missouri, the Mavericks. They play most of their games in the central
United States, with an occasional visit to South West Florida.
They recently wrapped
up a weekend visit, coming away with two victories. Their captain sat
out one of the games, nursing a sore back. His name is Andrew
Courtney, and he hails from Belleville.
He played all of his
minor hockey in Belleville, then signed with the Trenton Sting, in
2003. He spent two years with the Sting, amassing 78 points in 88
games. He also racked up more than 100 minutes in penalties. His
coaches in Trenton were Mike Kiley and Lou Crawford.
He moved on to spend 5
seasons at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta. In his final two
seasons, he chipped in a point a game. He graduated in 2011, with a
degree in Kinesiology.
Following his graduation, he signed with the Mavericks, then members of the Central Hockey League. Now playing in his seventh season in Missouri, he has four points in the 12 games played up to this point in the season.
He has played more than
300 games for the Mavericks. Last season, he set a Mavericks ECHL
record with 36 goals. He tied for fourth in the league in scoring.
Twelve of those goals came on the power play. At 6' 3”, weighing
over 200 pounds, he takes up a fair amount of space around the net.
We sat with Andrew
during the game. He mentioned that the veterans in the league have
that key advantage of experience, being able to think a play ahead.
There are many young players from American Colleges and Universities,
and several from the Canadian Hockey League. He moved to the edge of
his seat when the gloves were dropped near the Blades' bench.
Discussing strategy with Lyle Lloyd
One of his teammates a couple of years ago was Jason Shaw, also from Belleville. Jason's brother, Andrew, now toils with the Montreal Canadiens.
One of his teammates a couple of years ago was Jason Shaw, also from Belleville. Jason's brother, Andrew, now toils with the Montreal Canadiens.
Andrew told us that
American billionaire Lamar Hunt, Junior, was the owner of the
Mavericks. They play out of Silverstein's Eye Centre Arena, built for
the Mavericks ans seats 5 800.
Courtney's brother
Eamon also played a fair amount of hockey in and around the area. He
also played for the Sting, as well as the Dukes and the Pickering
Panthers of the OPJHL.
The Everblades picked
up a couple of wins last weekend, and continue to lead the South
Division of the ECHL with 27 points in 17 games. The Mavericks are in
the middle of the Mountain Division with 17 points in 17 games.
At the end of
regulation play, the Blades and the Mavericks were tied at a goal
apiece even thought the Blades enjoyed a 35-15 shot advantage.
Following a 3 on 3 overtime, Sam Povorozniouk from Northbrook,
Illinois, scored to seal the deal for the Mavericks.
Andrew was married this
past summer in Missouri, with his former next door neighbour, Brian
McGuigan, in the groom's party. A long way from Shamrock Road,
Belleville.
November 28, 2016.
# posted by James Hurst @ 3:42 PM 
