Shootout Win, Martinson Post Game Comments Including New Defenseman, Military Specialty Jersey, Bus Video

In a reversal of fortune Allen turned the tables on Arizona last night and came away with a 4-3 shootout victory. The game was the mirror opposite of the Friday night game as Arizona had a 2-1 lead going into the third period and the percentages were with them as the had a perfect 5-0 record on the season when leading after two periods while Allen was 1-9 when trailing after the second period. The Americans played great in the third period, out shot the Sundogs 15-11, came from behind twice on goals by Alex Lavoie and Brian McMillin and sent the game to overtime. After a scoreless overtime period Allen won the game in a shootout on goals by Darryl Bootland and the game winner by Kale Kerbashian. The Americans climbed on the bus immediately after the game for the long 17-20 hour drive home. The two teams will play the rubber game of this three game series on Monday (1:05 puck drop) in Allen. The game on Monday should be an interesting one as Tommy Daniels reported on the broadcast last night the game got really "chippy" and playing a team three times in a row usually ends up with the third game being very interesting. Tommy also had this to say, "We fought hard for those points. In the end we wanted it more. Every point is critical these days with such a tight race at the top of the standings."

MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- We had success going high against Engelage. Both of the shoot out goals were good high shots.

- It will be nice to be back home on Monday against Arizona where we will have better match ups because we will get last change.

- The power play took the night off again tonight going 0-6. I have signed a power play defenseman that should help.

- There is some bad blood between these two teams which will probably carryover to the game on Monday. Arizona has a few "yappy" players.

- We have to make teams work harder for their scoring chances. We have way to many instances where we hand the opponents good scoring chances.

- Garrett Klotz had two good games. His mom was in town and it was nice to see him have a good weekend with a couple of points.

OTHER COMMENTS:

- Kale Kerbashian's game winning goal was his fifth of the season which leads the team. He is tied for third in the CHL in game winning goals. Kale was selected the #1 star of the game for the sixth time and now leads the Oakley Three Star points standings.

- Over the last ten games the Americans are 8-0-2 and have scored an average of 3.67 goals per game. The best part about this streak is the number of players who have been contributing offensively. There are six players scoring over a point a game with  positive plus/minus numbers:
Alex Lavoie:         14 points (5 goals 9 assists)    +8
Tyler Ludwig:     13 points (7 goals 6 assists)    +8
Jamie Schaafsma:  13 points (5 goals, 8 assists)   +10
Kale Kerbashian:   13 points (4 goals, 9 assists)   +8
Jonathan Lessard:  12 points (5 goals, 7 assists)   +3
Greger Hanson:     11 points (4 goals, 7 assists)    +4

- Mark Guggenberger stopped 36 of 39 shots and has now won his last five games.

- Garrett Klotz has not only score points in three of the last four games he has taken over the league lead in penalty minutes at 130.

- It is good to see Charles Lachance back in the CHL. After being released by Allen after just three games he had been playing for the Mississippi RiverKings (SPHL). Charles was recently signed by St. Charles and had a goal and assist last night in a losing cause against Brampton.

- Rapid City won again last night against Denver. The game went to a shootout and Rapid City is unbeatable in shootouts which they proved again by scoring on two of three attempts while holding Denver scoreless in four attempts. The Rush improved to 6-0 in shootouts and have now scored on nine of thirteen attempts. After losing to Denver the first time they played this year Rapid City has won six times straight. Got a kick out of the press release headline from the Rush after the win on Friday, "Day Chief's Two Goals Helps The Rush Filet The Fish For The Fifth Straight Time."

- The Americans will be wearing and auctioning off a specialty military jersey on March 22. If you would like one of these jerseys but can't afford the auction prices the military jerseys will also be available for preorder purchase through Feb 15 in the team store and on the web(note the patches of the five branches arched over the logo). A portion of the proceeds will support the military charity that the team chooses. Here is what it will look like.

- If you are interested in how a hockey sleeper bus looks inside check out the YouTube video about the Rapid City bus. The Americans bus has a different layout in that the coaches quarters are in the very back of the bus but this video gives you a good perspective from a player how the team travels. Check it out by searching: "Rush 24/7 insider - Rapid City Rush bus tour with Riley Weselowski" on YouTube.

- Had to share this photo from my alma mater, the University of Minnesota who had the largest crowd in Minnesota hockey history on Friday night. The Gophers men's hockey team hosted the Hockey City Classic event at TCF Bank Stadium, home to the University of Minnesota's football team. Thanks to a goal by freshman Taylor Cammarata, the Gophers capped Friday's festivities with a 1-0 victory over Ohio State -- even despite the single-digit temperatures.
"Especially when you win, it's a smashing success," said Gophers head coach Don Lucia. "It seemed like everybody had a good time."
That included Minnesota's players, who were reminded of their days as youth hockey players skating on outdoor rinks. Even though the temperature dipped to five degrees by the time the puck dropped for Friday's game, the Gophers said the weather didn't play much of a factor.
Both teams had heated benches, and many players wore extra layers to keep warm. Minnesota had the added advantage of playing in front of 45,021 fans, which helped distract the Gophers from the elements.

Largest Crowd in Minnesota Hockey History - 45,021

DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans have been in seven shootouts this year and three times they have had back to back shootout games.