Game Day, Bus Delayed, Nottingham Highlights, Scott Wray Jersey Retirement, How To Be a Hockey Player

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they take on the Quad City Mallards tonight at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois with a puck drop at 7:05 PM. The Americans didn't get on the road until 1:30 PM Thursday afternoon which was about fifteen hours later then originally scheduled so arrival time in Quad City depending on the weather was somewhere around 3:00-4:00 AM this morning (Friday).

For a complete game preview check the post from yesterday. As for the roster Garrett Clarke did make the trip and is good to go. Tyler Ludwig is not on the trip after the birth of his second child on Wednesday. The referee for the game is Chris Pitoscia. Friday night in Quad City is always $1 Beer/$1 Hot Dog night so you can be sure there will be a big and enthusiastic crowd on hand trying to help the Mallards break a four game losing streak at home. Friday nights have been difficult for the Mallards. Check out "DID YOU KNOW" below to see how difficult.


OTHER COMMENTS

That is all I have related to the game tonight so thought I would cover some miscellaneous items that have been accumulating.

- Mentioned yesterday Bruce Graham was injured Wednesday night as his Nottingham Panthers beat the Hull Stingrays 4-3. What I didn't mention was that Mike Berube scored his second goal of the season in that game and it was the game winner. Here are the highlights (and low lights when it comes to the hit that caused the injury to Bruce).

- Came across this poster that announces the Rapid City Rush will be retiring the #17 jersey of Scott Wray who is #4 all time in games played (739) in the CHL and was captain of the Rush for many years. Scott seemed to be at his best against Allen and will always be remembered as the guy who scored the championship winning goal in the unforgettable sixth game of the 2010 championship. Not that most of you need to be reminded but Allen had a 3-1 lead going into the third period of the sixth game of the championship finals and it looked like there would be a game seven. Rapid City scored twice in the third period to tie the score and Scott put an end to the magical first Allen Americans season when he scored the championship goal with 39.3 seconds remaining in the second overtime. Congrats to Scott and his family as this recognition is well deserved.

- There are some important games in the ECHL tonight in addition to Allen vs Quad City. Wichita is at Brampton and Rapid City is at Missouri so three of the teams (Quad City, Wichita, Rapid City) battling for a playoff spot in the Central Division are in action. Another game to keep an eye on is South Carolina vs Gwinnett as South Carolina will be going for their fourteenth straight win which would be the third longest streak in ECHL history.

- The video below was popular a year or so ago but came across it again when looking for something else on YouTube and thought you might enjoy it even if you have seen it before. It is always good for laugh or two.

DID YOU KNOW: Fellow Team Sin Bin writer Dan Foley who covers the Quad City Mallards had this interesting stat in a story this week. The Mallards have played at home on Friday night eight times this season and have only won once. Quad City is 1-6-1 on Friday night and a combined 11-5-2 on the other days of the week. Must have something to do with those $1 beers on Friday.