Practice Report, Pineault & Clarke Injury Update, Bus Ride From Hell, Toys For Tots

Briefly stopped by practice yesterday and you can always tell it is going to be a long practice when after over an hour the players leave the ice and head back to the locker room and that ends up being the half way point of practice. The Zamboni resurfaces the ice and the boys are back at it again. As coach Martinson said after the game on Saturday, "We will work hard this week and do a better job when we play Missouri next weekend." Not sure how the weekend will turn out but on the hard work part he is a man of his word! Jarret Lukin and Greger Hanson did not participate in practice.

- Rapid City had one of those bus trips from hell after sweeping Allen this weekend. If you recall the game on Saturday finished late. Two of the on ice officials were last minute replacements because the bad weather prevented officials from Tulsa getting to Allen. The start of the game was delayed about 30 minutes. Overtime and the shootout also extended the game. It didn't take long for the problems to start for Rapid City after they left the AEC  as just 35 miles north of Allen the roads were so bad the bus was stranded on the ice covered highway for 14 hours. To make matters worse the satellite dish on the bus was frozen and wasn't working. Bottom line is the team did not arrive back in Rapid City until Monday morning at 10:00 am which meant something like a 35 hour bus trip home. UGH!

- The marathon bus ride and short turn around (Rush played St. Charles Tuesday night) didn't effect the high flying Rush as the headline in the local story says. "Rush put a freeze on the Chill 7-2." Rapid City now has a five point lead in the standings over Missouri who moved into second place with a 6-1 victory over Arizona last night.

- Garrett Clarke was knocked unconscious late in the Missouri vs Arizona game last night and was removed from the ice on a stretcher. Sure hope Clarke is okay. He did raise his arm as he was being taken off the ice. There are always two sides to these stories and I have only seen the Missouri interpretation of events. According to a Missouri blogger who talked to the coach, Colt King and Clarke were exchanging words coming up the boards by the Arizona bench, after exchanging  a few slashes Clarke knocked King's stick out of his hand. Clarke supposedly challenged King to fight at which point King, who did not have a stick, was able to throw off his gloves quickly, threw and landed a devastating punch before Clarke could defend himself, knocking Garrett immediately unconscious.
My guess is when the Sundogs version of this is known the other side of the story will be that King sucker punched Clarke when he was defenseless. For the record, referee Trevor Harding gave no penalty to Clarke and a intent to injure match penalty to King. Since King is a repeat offender this year you would expect a longer suspension than the three games he got last time but you never know the way the CHL hands out suspensions. In any event, King will not be playing in the home and home series with Allen this weekend.
UPDATE: I just talked to Garrett and this is what he said, "I was skating up the ice and became conscious in the ambulance. Very confusing and scary moment for me. For the record, I challenged nobody to fight. I just remember him being overly aggressive moments before I lost consciousness.
I broke my jaw and have a concussion. Will see a specialist soon."

- Adam Pineault had surgery yesterday to put plates and screws in his broken jaw. With is normal positive attitude and sense of humor he posted this before and after shot on Twitter with the caption, "Difference a slap shot in the mouth can do with a broken jaw. Pics taken 1 wk apart. Look better on Left, lol."  Here is wishing Adam a speedy recovery from all of his Allen fans!

Adam Pineault - "Before & After"

- As a follow up to the article in the blog posted yesterday about "Hockey & Heels" wanted to give everyone in North Texas a heads up that the next session will be on Saturday, December 21st. They are still putting the details together so the official announcement will be forthcoming from the Americans. The event will go something like this. You will arrive at the AEC at 5:30 pm. for the program. There will be some on ice demonstration (you will be on carpet when on the ice) and then some off ice instruction which will take place in a conference room or a suite. The off ice portion will include wine tasting. And you can sit is a suite for the game. The best part about this is the price. If you already have a ticket for the game the cost is $10 for the class, wine and a suite ticket. If you don't have a ticket to the game the cost is $30. From what I understand you will be able to sign up for Hockey and Heels on line. If you have any questions or need additional information contact Erik Adams at erikadams@allenamericans.com.

- Ryley Grantham and Aaron Dell are two examples of how being on an American Hockey League (AHL) team can be a blessing and a curse. Being able to be on an AHL roster, one step from the NHL, is a dream for these players. But once you are on the roster it doesn't help your development if you don't play. This is the situation for Ryley and Aaron. Grantham has been with the Springfield Falcons all season and has only played in one game. Aaron Dell has had call ups to the Norfolk Admirals and is currently with the Manchester Monarchs. He is yet to get into a game. Dell has only played in three games all season and that was the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) just before his call up to the Monarchs.


- It is still early in the season to talk league MVP but two players really stand out in my opinion. Goaltender Tim Boron from Rapid City has been outstanding as he leads the league in wins (14), GAA (2.05), and save percentage (.937). The other stand out candidate is Denver forward Garett Bembridge. Bembridge played in Japan last year and had a brief stint with Wichita in 2011-2012. He has 244 AHL games. Bembridge leads the CHL in points (34) and his 20 goals are five more than any other player.

- If you enjoy hockey and want to support a great event check this out for tomorrow night. The Holiday Hat Trick is an event organized around Toys For Tots, which is supported each year by Fox4 News. The second component of this event is the hockey game between Allen Eagles Varsity and Richardson/ Rockwall Varsity teams. As a third component and during the first intermission, the Holiday Skate Show, presented by the Allen Community Ice Rink, will be performed. Tomorrow (Thursday, December 12th), the Allen Eagles Varsity Hockey Team will be participating in the first annual Holiday Hat Trick at the Allen Event Center Arena. Allen will take on the Richardson/ Rockwall Raiders with puck drop at 7pm. Admission for the event will be free to all fans. Fans are asked to park in the south garage and enter the Event Center at the south entrance adjacent to the Allen Community Ice Rink. For every person who brings in a toy for Toys For Tots, the participant will receive an opportunity to enter a drawing for a free suite night, for 20 people, at an Allen Americans game and a Dallas Sidekicks game. Food will be included. There will be Allen Americans players in front of the AEC accepting the Toys For Tots gifts and Tommy Daniels will broadcast the game (live stream) on 107.3 FM.


DID YOU KNOW: - Defenseman Daniel Tetrault played in his 538th CHL game on Saturday moving him past Jason Tessier into the 20th spot on the league’s all-time games played list. Tetrault could get as high as 12th all time by seasons end. There are only two active players ahead of Tetrault on the list. Scott Wray (Rapid City) is #6 with 706 games played and Sebastien Thinel (Missouri) is #7 with 653 games played.