Allen Beats Tulsa 2-1 in a Shootout, Martinson's Comments, Kruto Vodka, Archambault & Moore Updates

It took a seven round shootout but the Allen Americans finished the weekend with a 2-1 win over the Tulsa Oilers before a Sunday afternoon crowd of 3115 at the Allen Event Center (AEC). It was an important victory for the Americans as they beat the Oilers after losing to them three games in a row last weekend. The win also earned Allen four of six points for the weekend.

- For the first time in eight games the Americans scored the first goal and it was on the power play as Eric Roy got his third goal of the season. Eric took a great pass from Mathieu Aubin, who was playing in his first game since October 14, and fired a shot from the right faceoff circle off the post into the net. Roy scored at the 14:26 mark of the first period and it was Allen's only goal of the game. Tulsa tied the score 1-1 in the second period when former Allen Americans defenseman, Steve Kaunisto, was able to poke the puck in the net after a scramble in front of Allen goalie Stephon Williams. Despite a combined 27 shots (Tulsa 14 & Allen 13) in the third period neither team could score so the game went to overtime.


- The official shot total for the scoreless overtime period was 5-1 in favor of Tulsa but the Americans hit iron twice during the OT. Allen opted to go first in the shootout (home team has the choice) and for five rounds neither team could get a puck past the goaltenders. In round six Jonathan Lessard scored for Allen but Tulsa's Kale Kessy matched that goal. Daniel Leavens scored for the Americans in round seven and Williams stopped the last Tulsa shooter to preserve the win.


- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans with quotes from the #1 star of the game Daniel Leavens and the #2 star of the game Stephon Williams who talks about his approach to shootouts. https://allenamericans.com/americans-beat-tulsa-win-shootout/


- Here is a game recap from the Tulsa World. http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/oilers-road-report-oilers-fall-in-shootout-at-allen/article_3c823a6b-714e-5767-af4f-c84edbca597a.html



STEVE MARTINSON'S PREGAME AND POST GAME COMMENTS

- Here is Steve Martinson's Pregame interview with game host Kayla McLain:

- Here are Martinson's post game comments:

- It was great to get a win at home. It was nice to get a power play goal and it was nice to hold them to one goal against. I liked what I saw from the new guys back in the lineup (Mathieu Aubin & Miles Liberati). We talked about getting Liberati's foot speed on defense and his ability to carry the puck out and he certainly did that all night tonight. Aubin also played well, he is a real smart player and made a nice play on the Roy goal.

- I will have to watch the video to look at the shots. I thought we did a good job of keeping them on the perimeter. I thought we had the better scoring chances.

- I chose to go first in the shootout with the idea of scoring to put the pressure on them. I went with more veteran guys to start. I used Roy because he had the goal and has been good in shootouts in the past. As the shootout goes on you just are going by feel and I basically used the veteran guys. Lessard has a really good shot and I put the rookie Leavens out in the seventh round because I thought he played a real good game even though he hasn't been getting points. He made some smart heads up plays.

- Arseneau got a one game suspension for the instigator penalty at the end of the game on Saturday so he will be back on Friday when we play Idaho.

- We will take the day off tomorrow and then get ready for another three games in three days this weekend against Idaho and Tulsa.

- Finally, this will only make sense to those that attended the Martinson post game chat with season ticket holders. Coach Martinson remembered the term for when you step on the ice and take the risk that something bad might happen and you are by definition consenting to the violence of the game is called "inherent risk."



OTHER COMMENTS

- Connor Reilly was released by the Americans yesterday. Connor appeared in four games for Allen and had no points.
 

- The San Jose Barracuda beat the Texas Stars 6-1 last night. Olivier Archambault scored his first goal since joining San Jose on October 22nd. Archambault has a four game point streak with one goal and three assists. He may have found a home in San Jose. It is a different story for Bryan Moore as he did not play for the second straight game. I have seen this pattern in the past where a player gets a few games on the third or fourth line and then sits out for multiple games. It usually ends up with the player being reassigned back to Allen. Stay tuned.


- In the only other Mountain Division action yesterday Wichita beat Utah 5-4 in overtime to take over the lead in the standings. Here are the current Mountain Division standings with games played in parentheses:

16 points - Wichita (9 games)
14 points - Colorado (10 games)
13 points - Tulsa (11 games)
12 points - Utah (12 games)
12 points - Allen (11 games)
12 points - Idaho (10 games)
6 points - Rapid City (9 games)


- Have you noticed the sticker/advertisement on the Allen Americans helmets that says "Kruto" and wondered what it was all about. Had a few questions about this and found out Kruto is a brand of Vodka that is made in Ukraine and imported to the US by a company based in the DFW Metroplex. If you are interested you can find more details about Kruto Vodka at http://krutovodka.com/

DID YOU KNOW: According to the website eliteprospects.com the shortest player in the ECHL is Tulsa's Vladimir Nikiforov who is 5' 6" and the tallest player in the ECHL is Atlanta's Taylor Doherty who stands 6' 8" tall.