Following a visit with Mavs broadcaster Bob Rennison, who was taping a segment that will air between periods of tonight’s home contest against the Wichita Thunder, the wise-cracking coach quipped, “Talking to the media again? The guy’s head is so big now he can’t fit on the (bus), and when he gets in his head bobbles from side to side – geez!”

Needless to say, it’s a loose camp when you’re riding a 13-game winning streak, have an ECHL-best 18-2-0-1 record and a gunslinger like Jesse Root, the CCM ECHL Player of the Month for November, on your roster.

In a more serious vein, the coach lauded the play of the young forward who scored eight goals, added nine assists and had a plus-7 rating in November, helping the Mavericks to a 12-0-0 record during the month.

“There are some talented young guys on this team, and Jesse is one of them,” Matvichuk said. “We like everything about him – he can play, he’s a great young leader and he’s a good fit in the locker room and the community.

“We have so much more talent this year – and you can see it in our record. We’re having a lot of fun, and I hope the fans are having fun, too.”

The 25-year-old forward has at least one point in nine of his 12 games, including six multi-point games. Root scored two goals and added an assist in a 4-3 win at Quad City on Nov. 4 and did it again in a 5-2 victory at Wichita on Nov. 21.

He ended the month on a six-game point streak, scoring 12 points (six goals, six assists).

Under an American Hockey League contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Root leads the ECHL with 13 goals, 27 points and 77 shots on goal.

No wonder he skates off the ice with the biggest smile on his face.

“I love it here,” Root said, chuckling at his coach’s comments. “I’ve been on some very good teams but I’ve never been on a team that has the chemistry of this one. I don’t care what line I’m on, I don’t care who I’m out on the ice with – we have one goal, and that’s to win the game we’re playing that night. We don’t care about the personal stats, none of that, we just want to win.”

And that approach has permeated throughout a Mavericks team that breaks a single-season win streak mark with each new victory.

Root, who led Yale to its first NCAA national championship in 2013, is a young man with a plan. He majored in political science and hopes to one day visit the Truman Library, as he studied the effects the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan had on World War II.

“I can’t wait to visit President Truman’s Library,” the native of Pittsburgh, Pa., said. “I love history and think it will be fascinating to tour the library and find out more about President Truman.

“And I love this community. You have the Royals and Chiefs right down the road, great food, great music venues and great players to go and blow off a little steam and have some fun on your nights off.

“I’m finding that more and more of the guys on the team really didn’t know that much about Missouri before they came here, and now they feel the same way I do, we’re with one of the best franchises in the ECHL.

“And the affiliation with Bridgeport (AHL) and the Islanders makes it even better. Our end game is to advance, but while we’re here we’re with the best organization in the league.”

Root has scored 41 points (21 goals, 20 assists) in 35 career ECHL games with Missouri and Idaho while adding 13 points in 48 career AHL games with Bridgeport and Texas.

“I can honestly say I’ve never had more fun playing with any team, and we’re still getting to know each other,” the forward added. “We can’t wait to get back on the ice and play in front of the best fans in the ECHL Saturday night.”