WHO WOKE UP THE SLEEPING BEARS?


*Please note while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

If Allen went into the game last night thinking "we got this", we sure hope that we were the ones "awakened" and not the bears.  It is not too late to get back on track and put the Grizzlies back into their caves.  One wonders where to start when analyzing the game last night.  Missed passes, sloppy passing, not enough shots on goal in the first period.  We looked like a group that is every man for himself instead of playing as a team.  C'mon guys get it together and show the bears they don't stand another chance against the Americans.

It was disappointing that Chad Costello was not able to register his 500th point last night.  Chad's response was if we do not win the game, the points do not matter. Hopefully, he will be successful in attaining that goal, as well as assisting an Americans win.  Chad also had his league leading road point streak snapped.

We mentioned before the importance of AHL affiliations.  Last night, Bryan Moore, just assigned from San Diego yesterday, tallied 5 points on 2 goals and 3 assists.

Game Recap:

• Utah scored 4 goals in the first period, 1 being a shorthanded goal
• Allen finally got on the board at the 17:45 mark of the first period when J.P. LaFontaine scored his first from the left face off circle.  This goal was set up from Justin Courtnall, who's adept stick handling drew 4 Utah defenders as he skated past the blue line
• Allen's goalie, Riley Gill, was replaced at the start of the 2nd period and 3 minutes 41 seconds later, Joel Rumpel was unsuccessful in preventing the Grizzlies 5th goal of the night
• Terrible power play performance led to another shortie when Utah scored their 6th goal. On the same power play, LaFontaine notched his second goal of the night.  This goal was a deflection by J.P, in front of the net, off a shot by Aaron Gens from the point.
• On an Allen penalty kill, Utah scored their 7th goal and 2nd power play goal at the 5:36 mark of the third period
• At the 16:40 mark of the third, newly assigned Chris Crane scored the games' final goal.  He was assisted by Vincent Arseneau who maintained a steady presence in front of the Utah net.
• Utah goalie, Taran Kozun recorded his first professional win, and was named the games 3rd star.

Coach Martinson's post game comments:

• Our second unit scored both power play goals
• We gave up 2 shorthanded because we did not work hard enough for the puck
• We got out skated again in the first
• We turned pucks over on soft low percentage plays
• When you are missing key guys, you need to play smarter and harder than we did tonight 

Game Preview:

• Let's hope the trend of a good game following a poor performance holds true tonight.
• As always, scoring first and/or leading after one continues to be of vital importance.  We must start off strong in order to abate Utah's momentum coming off their victory last night,

Did you know: Due to scheduling inequities (5 California teams play 68 games while the 2 remaining teams play 76) the AHL Pacific Division Standings are determined by points percentage instead of points only.