It didn’t take John-Scott Dickson long to discover the unpleasant aspect of his job as the new head coach of the Missouri Mavericks.

The incident took place before last Saturday’s season-opening loss at Allen, when he had to tell a handful of players, including rookie forward Shawn Pauly, that they would not be suiting up for the game.

“That is so tough,” Dickson said, “I can’t even tell you how difficult that was. I remember when it happened to me, and it’s not what you want to hear. But I told myself before the season started that I wasn’t going to text some young player and tell them via social media they weren’t playing – I was going to look them in the eye.

“And you know what? A young player, a rookie like Shawn, really responded. He played Sunday and we watched tape today and he was part of a lot of the positive things I pointed out to the team. I didn’t even have to mention him by name – everyone knew how well he played Sunday.”

Pauly will be on the ice tonight in Wichita when the Mavericks hope to claim their first win of the season, following 6-3 and 4-0 losses last weekend in Allen, to the defending ECHL champion Americans.

And Pauly hopes to be in the middle of everything.

“All I want to do is help this team win,” said Pauly, who played four years at the University of Connecticut, where he scored 83 points for the Huskies.

“I don’t even know where to start when talking about this team, this organization, our coaches and my teammates. This is like a dream. First, the organization is first class. If you need something, they’re going to find a way to help you get it. Coach Dickson and the coaches on his staff are the best – I have already learned so much from them.”

“And we already have chemistry on this team that that is hard to explain. The guys in that locker room really care about each other and this organization. This is a special group – we’re young, and we’re still learning – but we’re going to be a fun team to watch.”

“We have to take care of business Friday night in Wichita and bring two points back to Independence, but I have heard so much about our fans,” Pauly said. “I can’t wait to walk through that door, out onto the ice, and see what this place is like with 6,000 fans in here.

“I get excited just thinking about it.”