- Allen's only two goals came on their first shot of the first period and first shot of the second period.
- Allen's All-Rookie defenseman, Justin Baker, skated the length of the ice with the puck and beat Rush goalie Danny Battochio on the glove side with the first shot of the game to give Allen a 1-0 lead just 46 seconds from the opening puck drop. It was Baker's tenth goal of the season.
- Allen's second and final goal in regulation came on the first shot they took in the second period when Greger Hanson got his 27th goal of the season on a pass from Chad Costello. The Rush held Allen without a shot on goal for the first 6:33 of the second period before Hanson scored.
- After taking a 2-0 lead at the 6:33 mark of the second period it all evaporated in under two minutes with Rush goals at 7:06 and 8:22. And who should score the two Rapid City goals but two members of the Allen Americans championship team from last season. Dallas Ehrhardt scored just his fourth goal of the year and Kale Kerbashian his 21st.
- Allen out shot Rapid City by 40-18, however, great goaltending by the "Batman" Danny Battochio sent the game to overtime.
- Neither team was able to score in the third period or in overtime so the game went to a shootout. The only shootout goal was scored by Chad Costello who lost control of the puck but made a spin-o-rama move and scored on the backhand. Rapid City coach Joe Ferras protested that Costello had halted his forward motion with the puck but the referee allowed the goal which proved to be the game winner. Allen goalie Joel Rumpel stopped all five shootout attempts by the Rush.
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| Costello scored the only goal in the shootout on this spin-o-rama move - photo by Lauren Lyssy |
- For the first time with Steve Martinson as head coach and most likely the first time in franchise history the Allen Americans were not called for a single penalty in the entire game. Rapid City had only two minor penalties so these teams combined for four penalty minutes in the game.
- The game ended up in victory for both teams as the one point Rapid City earned clinched second place in the Central Division and home ice advantage for the first round in the playoffs. With the win and two points Allen clinched the best record in the Western Conference.
- Allen and Rapid City meet again tonight with a 7:05 puck drop.
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
- I think that was a first. I can't remember the last time I coached a team that went the entire game without a penalty.
- I am going to take a lot of credit for Rapid City getting a point tonight as I am pretty sure both Dallas Ehrhardt and Kale Kerbashain learned the moves they used to score the two goals when they were playing in Allen.
- We saw Kerbashian score many goals for us just like to goal he scored tonight. He is a good player with great foot speed.
- We will have an optional skate in the morning. We will get Arseneau back tomorrow so we will have a full line up. We are a better team with Arseneau in the lineup.
- There will be several more roster moves before the playoffs start on Tuesday.
- It was great to see Costello, Steffes and Gens recognized on the All-ECHL teams. You can make the case that they should all be on the first team but it is a great honor to be selected on the first or second team.
- With the best record in the Western Conference locked up we still have a chance for the best record in the ECHL. It is not in our control with Toledo having a one point lead and a game in hand. It is important for us to win these last two games.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Chad Costello had one assist last night and now has 119 points. With his next point Chad will have more points than any player since the 1995-1996 season. His 39 point lead in the scoring race is the second biggest lead in ECHL history.
- With Rapid City locking up the second seed in the Central Division last night it leaves Tulsa and Quad City to battle in out for the 3rd and 4th seeds. Here is how they stand:
79 points: Quad City - Saturday Tulsa at home
77 points: Tulsa - Friday at Wichita, Saturday at Quad City
This is going to come down to the winner of the Tulsa vs Quad City game on Saturday to determine the #3 seed.
- Had another jersey auction last night and the range of prices went from $400 - $1100. Here are the jerseys that went for the most money:
$1100 - Chad Costello
$1000 - Joel Rumpel
$950 - Trevor Ludwig
$900 - Greger Hanson
$850 - Jamie Schaafsma
$800 - Konrad Abeltshauser
$750 - Justin Baker
$750 - Gary Steffes
$700 - Aaron Gens
$700 - Garrett Clarke
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| Amateur auctioneers Aaron Gens & Trevor Ludwig - photo by scenebykimberly.com |
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| Winning goalie Joel Rumpel's jersey went for $1000 - photo by Lauren Lyssy |
- Super fan Mike Bowker had the opportunity to spend the first period on the Allen bench last night as the fan club auctioned off this opportunity and Mike was one of the winners. Mike shared it was all business on the bench with coach Martinson letting the players know which lines/players were up next and doing a lot of individual coaching as the players came off the ice. We know from his press conferences that Martinson is known to needle the players and have some fun on the bench but Mike reports last night in the first period it was all business. What a great opportunity the Americans give fans to experience being on the bench. Won't see that in the NHL.
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| "Coach"Mike Bowker on the bench for the 1st period last night - photo by scenebykimberly.com |
- Tommy Daniels conducted an interview with Dyson Stevenson which was posted yesterday. Here is that interview courtesy of the Allen Americans.
DID YOU KNOW: Allen and Rapid City combined for just four penalty minutes last night but that is not close to the fewest penalty minutes in a game in the ECHL this season. Thanks to ECHL Director of Communications, Joe Babik for sharing that on March 21st in a game between Toledo and Kalamazoo there were zero penalty minutes in the entire game. There have been four games in the ECHL this season where there have been just two penalty minutes in a game.
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