The St. Joseph Mustangs had their game Sunday night at Nevada postponed due to wet field conditions and rain in the forecast.
There is no makeup date set at this time.
St. Joe’s summer college baseball team had a relatively light week as they had three days off and two games were postponed. The Mustangs’ game with Sedalia on Thursday was postponed in the bottom of the third inning.
St. Joseph’s schedule gets much more difficult now as they dont’ have another scheduled off day until Monday, June 29. They’ll play 17 games in 14 days as they have three doubleheaders on their schedule.
The Mustangs are 12-1 this season and 9-1 in the MINK League and they are on the road Monday at Sedalia. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m.
B.C. Lions quarterback Travis Partridge was among players cut Sunday by the CFL team. Photograph by: Ric Ernst, PNG
By Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun
KAMLOOPS – Last year’s up and coming quarterback is now down and out for the B.C. Lions.
Second-year player Travis Partridge, who last season looked like he might be a keeper, was one of eight players released Sunday by head coach Jeff Tedford as the Canadian Football League team pared its training camp roster to the mandated limit of 65 (excluding non-counters).
Nickelback Torri Williams, who dressed for 16 games last season, and defensive back Derrick Morgan, running back Brendan Bigelow, offensive linemen John Estes and Kaycee Ike, defensive lineman Alex King and receiver Reggie Jordan were also let go. Jordan, a late addition to camp, played college football with Partridge at Missouri Western.
In a pitched battle with rookies Jon Jennings and Greg McGhee for a roster spot, Partridge is another classic example of a young quarterback unable to keep pace with the development timeline set out for him. Chris Hart (2014) and Corey Leonard (2012) were other developing quarterbacks of recent vintage who didn’t last past their second Lions’ training camp.
The turnover of head coaches from Mike Benevides to Tedford and changes in offensive philosophy also didn’t work to his advantage, although Partridge insisted he didn’t feel extra pressure, being a holdover player forced to prove himself again under a new regime.
“I don’t think there’s any added pressure because there’s a new coaching staff,” he said. “It’s a new system, but I know about (CFL) defences a little more (as a second-player player).”
Partridge dressed for 14 games last season as the team’s third quarterback and saved his best for last, throwing for two touchdown passes after relieving starter Kevin Glenn in a 53-17 East Division semi-final blowout loss to the Montreal Alouettes.
Unfortunately, he was unable to build on that modest success in his second camp, with Jennings and McGhee, two of Tedford’s recruits, looking more the part of what the noted quarterback guru wanted.
Though the Lions failed to score a touchdown in Friday’s 20-6 preseason defeat in Calgary, Jennings put up decent, if not spectacular numbers, showed poise, defensive recognition and the ability to handle and elude the kind of pressure he’ll face in the CFL. He completed five of 11 passes for 116 yards, one of them a 62-yard pass to Terence Jeffers-Harris, a late addition who has stood out in camp.
“Some good things happened, and some not-so-good things happened,” Jennings explained. “But it’s all learning material. I was glad to go out there and show I could make a couple of plays. But there’s some things I need to work on as well.”
Partridge completed two of four passes for a cumulative three yards against the Stampeders. He was intercepted on his second play from scrimmage, evidence that he was forcing the ball and likely aware of falling behind Jennings and McGhee. Interceptions had also bedeviled Partridge in training camp.
Jennings, just 22, graduated from Saginaw Valley State in 2013 as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s player of the year, throwing for 31 touchdowns and running for 12 more. Those eye-popping stats earned him invites to mini-camps with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and a workout with the Green Bay Packers.
“I had a blessed career in Saginaw,” Jennings said. “I didn’t have any injuries. None. Not like high school.”
Jennings grew up in Columbus, Ohio and went to Westerville South, the same school that produced former Lions receiver Nick Moore, now with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and his older brother, Lance Moore, an NFL veteran receiver who has moved on to Detroit.
He broke his ankle and elbow in his sophomore year of high school, played safety in his junior year and fractured his collarbone as a senior quarterback, completing just half a season. That spotty participation record partly explains why Jennings ended up at an NCAA Division II school, where he excelled.
During his 43-game career with the Cardinals, he threw for 10,710 yards and 96 touchdowns.
With the Lions, Jennings is seen as more than just a developmental quarterback. Tedford has declared the backup position behind Travis Lulay to be “wide open.” In addition, Lulay’s history of shoulder troubles could transform his backup pivot into the starter, as it did last season with Glenn.
“It’s very interesting,” Jennings agreed. “I’ve always prided myself on being ready for the next opportunity. I’m just trying to be ready to help this team any way I can.”
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mike Matheny stared at a weather map that seemed to recycle unfavorable conditions every half hour or so, signed some items and made sure no one fell for the inevitable rumors that the game would be rained out.
“There’s always a jokester walks around who says, `They banged it and it’s over’ and nobody knows what’s truth. So I have to kind of make sure we monitor that,” Matheny said after Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals was postponed after a delay of 2 hours, 31 minutes.
“Mark Reynolds wrote that on the board the other day and it wasn’t even raining,” he said. “You get stuck in these dungeons, sometimes you don’t know what’s going on outside.”
During the delay, Matheny also firmed up the rotation. Call-up Tyler Lyons will get at least one more shot, on Friday at Philadelphia, after making a solid showing and earning the victory on Saturday.
The manager could have moved the rest of the starters up. Instead, he looked at the big picture.
“Over the long haul, anytime we can go out there and compete with one of our starters and not continually put the work load on just a few, I think it’ll pay off for us down the road,” Matheny said.
No makeup date has been determined for the final game of the season series. The teams have two mutual open dates, July 23 and Aug. 4.
“I was willing to wait as long as we could,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Those off days are precious and we’re here and I liked the matchup.”
The Cardinals decided it had already been long enough.
Matheny said the forecast was “just kind of repeating itself” with cells coming into St. Louis.
“I think Lackey got ready six times,” Matheny said. “Keeping the fans around here all night around a lot of uncertainty, it looked like something we weren’t going to be able to get around.”
The Cardinals lead the season series 3-2 and outscored the Royals 7-2 the first two games of this three-game set.
St. Louis will stick with John Lackey, the scheduled starter Sunday, on Monday against Minnesota. Lackey said he didn’t do much more than play catch.
“I would have had to get in a game for it to be a big deal,” Lackey said. “I don’t anticipate any problems.”
The Royals will alter their rotation for a two-game series in Milwaukee with Edinson Volquez starting Monday and Chris Young, the scheduled starter Sunday, moving to Tuesday.
“It gives him a day to get his homework done and prepare himself to pitch against Milwaukee, and then stay on regular rotation after that,” Yost said.
Like Lackey, Young was not frustrated.
“Look, it’s life,” he said. “It’s part of the job and what we do. It’s not the first time it’s happened and I hope it’s not the last.”
The Tuesday starting spot had been undetermined with Joe Blanton the probable pitcher. Blanton is now the fallback in case Yordano Ventura, who left Friday’s start after three innings with right hand weakness, has an issue on Wednesday.
The rainout sent home a third straight sellout crowd for the series matching teams with the best record in the National and American leagues.
The postponement is the first at Busch Stadium since May 14, 2014, against the Cubs.
The Cardinals are 41-21 overall and 24-7 at home, both major league bests. They’ve won three in a row and 14 of 19, with pitchers posting a 2.13 ERA, entering a four-game home and home series with the Minnesota Twins starting Monday night in St. Louis.
Yost was true to his word and had resisted shaking up the lineup even though his team has scored two or fewer runs in 12 of the last 17 games.
The Royals were 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position the first two games and are 5 for 33 the first five games of a trip that ends in Milwaukee.
The St. Joseph Mustangs won their seventh consecutive game Saturday night as they defeated a group of Mustangs Alumni players 16-8 inside Phil Welch Stadium.
St. Joe’s summer college baseball team is now 12-1 this.
The Alumni made it difficult early on for the Mustangs as they scored four runs in the third and fourth innings to take an 8-0 lead.
St. Joseph bounced right back in the bottom of the fourth as they set a franchise record with a 15-run inning. The Mustangs sent 20 batters to the plate as they had nine hits and were also walked five times.
Jordan Powell had a big night for the Mustangs as he hit two home runs and drove in five runs. He also walked two times.
Josh Cassidy added three hits, two RBI and two runs scored, while St. Joe natives Dillon Mattice and Patrick Dillon each with 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Mattice drove in two runs and Dillon had one RBI.
Tanner Smith started and struggled for the Mustangs as he allowed seven hits and eight runs in 3.1 innings or work.
Blake Kolons earned the win in relief as he and three reliever combined to pitch 5.2 innings of shutout baseball. Those four combined to allowed just two hits and no runs, while stricking out 12 and walking three.
The Alumni were led by Johnny Coy offensively as he went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Joe Koerper had three hits and drove in one run, while Houston Slemp added two hits and two runs scored.
St. Joseph is back on the road Sunday as they play at Nevada. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.
ST. LOUIS — Jason Heyward closed his eyes in the bright glare of the sun, dropped slowly to the turf on his backside, and hoped for the best.
The St. Louis Cardinals right fielder made the key defensive play against the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals strictly by feel, preserving an eighth-inning lead by snaring a sinking liner by Kendrys Morales.
“I saw it off the bat and that was the last time I saw it until I went to throw it in,” Heyward said after the 3-2 victory on Saturday. “I felt it hit my glove and I was surprised when it hit my glove.”
The catch for the second out of the eighth with a man on was certainly deflating for the visitors.
“That was a lucky catch,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I mean, there’s some skill involved with that, but if you watch the replay he wasn’t even looking.
“That’s when you start thinking, `Whoa, we may be in trouble here.”
Call-up Tyler Lyons had a solid outing and Mark Reynolds hit the go-ahead homer in the fifth for the Cardinals, who held the Royals’ offense down for the second straight day.
“I figured it was either out or it was going to be a can of corn,” Reynolds said. “So I just jogged anyway.”
Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez homered for the Royals, who took two of three from the Cardinals at home last month and will be trying to avoid a sweep in the finale. The series matches teams with the best records in each league and the Royals have been held to two runs and 10 hits.
“Sometimes you go through slumps like this,” Gordon said. “But we’ll get out of it.”
Matt Carpenter and Jason Heyward added an RBI each for St. Louis, which is a major league-best 41-21 overall and 24-7 at home. The Cardinals used five relievers over the last four innings to hold a one-run lead with Trevor Rosenthal getting the last four outs for his league-leading 21st save in 22 chances.
The Royals’ eighth did not lack for dramatics. Rosenthal rallied from a 3-0 count to get Gordon on an infield popup with two on for the third out.
The first two games were sellouts, giving the Cardinals 13 on the year. Most of announced attendance of 45, 981 stuck around after a 24-minute rain delay before the top of the sixth.
Lyons (1-0) allowed two runs and three hits. He failed to make an impression in three starts earlier in the year in place of injured Adam Wainwright, entering with a 5.54 ERA, but fared much better replacing injured Lance Lynn.
Gordon’s eighth homer gave the Royals the lead in the second and Perez tied it at 2 with his 10th homer in the fourth.
The Cardinals scored two runs on five hits in the third, a rally that began with Kolten Wong’s leadoff triple. Reynolds’ fourth homer, in the fifth off Jeremy Guthrie (4-4), snapped a 2-all tie.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: LHP Jason Vargas (forearm strain) was placed on the 15-day DL.
UP NEXT
Chris Young moves up a day to start the series finale for Kansas City. He took a no-hitter into the seventh his last time out. John Lackey is 6-1 with a 2.02 ERA in 11 career starts at Busch Stadium, including 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA this year.
TACTICAL PLAY
Both teams played the infield in with a man on third and one out in the first and didn’t get burned. The Cardinals clicked again in the sixth, helping to preserve the lead, when Matt Belisle got Salvador Perez on a broken-bat groundout.
WEAK PRAISE
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Lynn was the pitcher who had made the most improvement at the plate “by far — mostly because he couldn’t have gotten much worse.” Lynn is batting .182 with one RBI after entering the year a career .065 hitter.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jaime Garcia pitched eight innings of four-hit ball and saved some shutdown stuff for the media, too.
The St. Louis Cardinals lefty had little to say about perhaps his best outing in two years.
“I’m extremely happy for the team,” Garcia said without conviction after also helping himself with an RBI single in a 4-0 victory that ended the Kansas City Royals’ four-game winning streak Friday night in the opener of a high-profile interleague series.
“When you’re healthy and you’re going out and competing, you’re always happy,” Garcia added. “I’ll enjoy the win tonight for the team and turn the page and get ready for the next one.”
Garcia worked more than seven innings for the first time since May 5, 2013, when he went eight in a 10-1 victory at Milwaukee.
Jon Jay snapped a 2-for-24 slump this month with a two-out RBI triple in the second off Yordano Ventura (3-6), and Garcia followed with his 12th career RBI on an opposite-field single — his first since June 3, 2014, against Kansas City.
The Cardinals are 40-21 overall and 23-7 at home, both major league bests. They got a huge outing from Garcia (2-3), so far a success story off thoracic outlet surgery.
“He was as good as we’ve seen him,” manager Mike Matheny said. “I don’t know if you could ask for anything more.
“It’s no fun to catch, no fun to hit.”
Ventura lasted just three innings for the second straight start, removed as a precaution due to weakness in his pitching hand. In those two starts, he’s allowed six earned runs.
Royals manager Ned Yost said the team was watching closely because Ventura’s velocity was down and in the third the pitcher had trouble with his grip.
Yost said he couldn’t recall the last time he heard the term “right hand weakness.”
“Of course, you have a level of concern because you don’t really know what it is yet,” Yost added. “But we’ll wait till tomorrow and see what’s going on.”
The infield had a meeting on the mound during Ventura’s final at-bat, a flyout by Yadier Molina. Ventura said through translator Christian Colon that his thumb, right ring finger and pinky had gone numb and that he’d felt “really weird.”
Ventura also said he didn’t know whether he’d be able to make his next start.
Garcia struck out six with no walks, fanning Omar Infante to open the eighth for the 500th strikeout of his career, and retired the side in order five times. The lefty lowered his ERA to 2.06 and hasn’t issued a walk in 30 innings.
Garcia has made five starts — the Cardinals have been shut out in three of them — after totaling 16 starts from 2013-14. He’d been 0 for 8 with four strikeouts before the hit.
In the eighth, Randal Grichuk had an RBI triple on a ball that right fielder Alex Rios whiffed on, and Jay added sacrifice fly. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain, who’d also converged on Grichuk’s fly ball, called it a “miscommunication.”
The last four lineup spots combined for five hits, three for extra bases, and three RBI.
“I think you’ve seen that with our lineup before,” Jay said. “Everyone can hit everywhere.”
The Royals got two infield hits with two outs in the sixth but Garcia struck out cleanup man Eric Hosmer on an off-speed pitch that ended up at shoe-top level.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (biceps tendinitis) has made one rehab start for Triple-A Omaha, working four innings Wednesday, and could make a few more before rejoining the rotation.
Cardinals: Setup man Jordan Walden (right biceps) could be back before the All-Star break.
UP NEXT
Jeremy Guthrie is 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA in six interleague starts with the Royals. Tyler Lyons, recalled from Triple-A Memphis to replace injured Lance Lynn, was 0-0 with a 5.54 ERA in three starts earlier this season. He’s 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in his last four minor league starts.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid wrapped up his third organized team activities Friday since becoming the Chiefs head coach in 2013.
Each year has built on the previous, especially during the first year when players went through a familiarization process of what Reid and the coaching staff expected on offense, defense and special teams.
Reid, one of the winningest coaches in the NFL while in Philadelphia, has high standards. The past three weeks of OTAs left him with a positive vibe of the team’s progress despite the Midwest spring humidity.
“You want to see a third-year progression for the guys that have been here three years, and then what kind of shape they’re in,” Reid said. “This gives you a pretty good idea. They’re out here, the heat kind of jumped on us quickly and we were able practice in it I thought very well, and function very well. It looks like they’re a pretty well-conditioned team.”
The players were in shorts and helmets with no contact, of course, and that leaves room for tempered enthusiasm surrounding conditioning before the team reports to training camp in late July.
“We’ll see,” Reid said. “We got to get the pads on eventually in camp.”
Stability with quarterback Alex Smith, running back Jamaal Charles and tight end Travis Kelce, among others, has helped the Chiefs’ growth on offense. And having experienced players meant there wouldn’t be surprises during the OTA workouts.
“They understand the offense,” offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said. “That’s kind of what we’re seeing from our guys that have been around. There are a few guys like (wide receiver) Jeremy Maclin and (guard) Ben Grubbs and guys that we pulled in, and (guard) Paul Fanaika, they’re just kind of plugging in and picking up where we left off. This spring has been really good that way because, now again, everybody understands what we’re doing offensively. It allows us to play and practice faster.”
Maclin, who signed a five-year, $55 million free-agent contract in March, reunites not only with Reid, who previously coached Maclin in Philadelphia, but with wide receiver Jason Avant.
While Maclin and Avant provide two proven veterans in Reid’s version of the West Coast offense, there is still room even for a 10-year pro like Avant to get reaccustomed to what Reid expects.
“When I was in Philly, Andy wasn’t calling the plays,” Avant said. “Here he does a lot of that. It’s seamless because I know what he expects, but at the same time, you have to get used to what he thinks about routes.”
The Chiefs should have a smooth transition on defense with the core players returning from last season’s second-ranked pass defense (203.2 yards per game) and seventh-ranked defense in yards allowed (330.5 yards per game).
Coordinator Bob Sutton also welcomes the return of inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in the 2014 season opener. Sutton also is identifying key backups.
“You’re working with your first group, but you’re also trying to develop your depth,” Sutton said. “You’re trying to make sure the young guys — from guys that will come out here on their own, undrafted guys — you want to make sure you evaluate everyone and you haven’t let anyone slip through the cracks.”
The Chiefs conclude the offseason program with a mandatory three-day minicamp next Tuesday-Thursday. While players are required to attend, Reid didn’t appear optimistic star outside linebacker Justin Houston — who has yet to sign his franchise tender and missed all 10 OTA workouts — would be on hand.
“He probably won’t be,” Reid said. “We just move on. I don’t really get caught up in all that stuff.”
NOTES: Strong safety Eric Berry, battling lymphoma, finished his treatments and met with his doctors two weeks ago, but Reid didn’t have an update. “It’s normally three weeks after that,” Reid said of Berry. “We’re getting to right about that time.” . Running back Jamaal Charles, who is holding a weekend football camp in Texas, was excused from Friday’s practice . . Running back Charcandrick West sustained a stinger during Friday’s practice. . Defensive tackle Dontari Poe (back), defensive lineman Vaughn Martin (ankle), and wide receiver Albert Wilson (hamstring) did not practice Friday.
The St. Joseph Mustangs returned home Thursday night against Sedalia, but rain forced the game to get postponed in the bottom of the third inning.
St. Joe’s summer college baseball team was tied 2-2 with the Bombers as the Mustangs were batting with two outs and a runner on first base when the umpires took the teams off the field.
The game will be made up on Monday, July 13 and they will pick up from where they left off.
St. Joseph scored a run in the first inning as Ramsey Scott had an RBI single that drove in Tony Maselli, but Sedalia took their first lead with a two-out, two-RBI double by Jonothan Ramon.
The Mustangs evened the game in the bottom of the third as Scott Braren hit a sacrifice fly to score Jackson Schnurbusch.
Preston Felgate was on the mound for St. Joe and he allowed two runs on five hits in his three innings of work.
The Mustangs are 11-1 this season and 9-1 in the MINK League and they’re back in action Saturday when they play a game against a group of Mustang Alumni. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m. inside Phil Welch Stadium.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – For the first time in more than 70 years, baseball’s two best teams reside in Missouri this late into a season.
The St. Louis Cardinals dropped two of three in Kansas City last month but managed to defeat Royals staff ace Yordano Ventura.
With their offense sputtering a bit, especially when Jaime Garcia starts, the Cardinals look to get to the struggling Ventura early in Friday night’s I-70 Series opener at Busch Stadium.
Kansas City (34-23) took over first place in the AL Central by sweeping a series from Minnesota to push their winning streak to four following a 2-9 stretch. Alex Gordon hit a three-run homer in Wednesday’s 7-2 victory while Salvador Perez singled twice to improve to 8 for 19 in his last five games.
“To get out of town sweeping the series is a good feeling,” manager Ned Yost said.
Pulling off another sweep will be a tall order since the Cardinals (39-21) are a major league-best 22-7 at home.
Ventura’s struggles are another cause for concern in the first matchup between Missouri teams holding baseball’s top two records this late into the season since Aug. 18, 1944, when the Cardinals and St. Louis Browns were atop the standings.
Ventura gave up four runs and six hits in a season-low three innings in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Texas.
“He has to continue to develop, to understand that with power stuff, you still have to be able to locate and execute your pitches,” Yost said.
Ventura (3-5, 4.62 ERA) got off to another shaky start, allowing four runs in the first two innings. In six outings since the start of May, the right-hander has a 7.50 ERA in the first two innings. Opponents are batting .333 off him in the first on the season.
Against the Cardinals on May 24, Ventura walked Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter to lead off the game and both came around to score. He ended up allowing two more runs on a Carpenter homer and was lifted after the seventh in a 6-1 loss.
St. Louis’ offense, though, hasn’t exactly been clicking, averaging 2.8 runs while batting .205 over a 2/3 stretch. Wong is 3 for 19 with no walks in the last five and Carpenter snapped an 0-for-13 slump by going 2 for 5 Wednesday as St. Louis defeated Colorado 4-2 to avoid a sweep.
“We’ve got the kind of lineup that’s going to be able to put some runs across, but overall, we know that our sustained success begins with our starting pitching,” manager Mike Matheny said.
The Cardinals lead the majors with a 2.71 ERA. No team has finished a season with a better ERA since Houston had a 2.66 in 1981.
Garcia (1-3, 2.67) has been sharp since coming off the disabled list but has received no runs of support in three of four starts. He gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings of Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The left-hander hasn’t issued a walk in his last 22 innings.
Kansas City has regularly frustrated, Garcia, however, knocking him around for six runs and eight hits in five innings last June. He is 0-1 with an 8.31 ERA in four starts in the series.
The Royals had been going through a slump of their own before Wednesday, averaging 2.1 runs and hitting .173 with runners in scoring position in their previous nine games.
“You’re going to have slumps throughout the season. It’s how you respond to it,” Gordon said.
The Royals are 5-2 against the Cardinals since the start of last season and have won five of seven in St. Louis.
Gordon has hit safely in the last seven meetings, batting .381 with three homers and a .519 on-base percentage. He is 4 for 9 with a home run and double against Garcia.
INDEPENDENCE, MO – The Missouri Mavericks announced Thursday afternoon that they have reached an affiliation agreement with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Missouri joins the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL) as the Islanders primary minor league affiliates.
“One of the major priorities that we identified while going through the due diligence process on the purchase of the Mavs was to strengthen our affiliation in the world of professional hockey,” said Lamar Hunt Jr, President & Owner of the Missouri Mavericks. “We are excited for the players and the fans as we bring a whole new level of professional hockey to Independence Events Center, paired up with an organization that has been built through its development to become a perennial playoff contender.”
This agreement marks the first time in franchise history that the Mavericks will be a part of a formal affiliation with an NHL team. The Mavs held previous one-year agreements with the AHL Chicago Wolves during the 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
“We are excited to partner with the Missouri Mavericks as our new ECHL affiliate,” Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said. “The Mavericks are a highly-regarded organization with a high-end coaching staff that’s capable of developing players from the ECHL, to the AHL, and eventually to the New York Islanders.”
Missouri’s new affiliation agreement includes integration into the Islanders scouting system, strength and conditioning programs, and training camps.
“The Mavericks are thrilled to be affiliating with a first-class organization in the New York Islanders,” said Brent Thiessen, General Manager of the Missouri Mavericks. “We are excited to develop their prospects and work closely with the team moving forward.”
“Today is an important day for the Mavericks, solidifying a strong NHL affiliation with a storied and proven franchise ensures we will have some of the best hockey talent available showcased at the IEC on a nightly basis,” said Thiessen. “Our fans will see NHL prospects that graduate to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League and hopefully to the New York Islanders at the NHL level.”
Several Islanders prospects saw time in the ECHL last season, including former second-round pick Sebastien Collberg, third-rounder Loic Leduc and seventh-rounder Lukas Sutter. Three Islanders players that finished the 2014-15 season with the team who spent a portion of their careers in the ECHL include Eric Boulton, Colin McDonald and Kael Mouillierat.
The Mavericks begin their 2015-16 campaign on the road in Anchorage, Alaska for their first-ever matchup against the Alaska Aces. The Mavericks will play longtime rival, the Wichita Thunder, in their home-opener on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Independence Events Center.
The St. Joseph Mustangs had their game Sunday night at Nevada postponed due to wet field conditions and rain in the forecast.
