It was an emotional roller coaster that ended in disappointment for any Allen fans that stayed up late last night to watch or listen to the Americans lose to the Utah Grizzlies 5-4 in a shootout. Here are a few of the ups and downs of the game.
- Allen scored the first goal of the game even though it came 91 seconds into the second period. The Americans record going into the game when scoring first was 20-3-0-1.
- After scoring first Allen gave up two goals to give Utah a 2-1 lead.
- Allen scored 61 seconds after Utah took the 2-1 lead to tie the score after the second period.
- Utah appeared to break the game open with two goals in just 12 seconds early in the third period. It wasn't even close to the all time ECHL record for two fastest goals (3 seconds) but very demoralizing all the same.
- After trailing 4-2 in the third period Allen came back to tie the score to send the game to overtime. Even better was the fact the tying goal was a shorthanded goal. It was the third shorthanded goal the Americans have scored in the last four games.
- Both teams had good chances in overtime and it appeared Allen had won the game as the overtime period expired on Alex Breton's third goal of the game. However, after video review it was ruled the puck crossed the goal line just after time had expired.
- Allen went 0-3 in the shootout (Sheehy, Breton, Guptill) while Utah's third shooter scored to give Utah the win.
- Allen was out shot in the game 43-26. It was the fourth straight game against the Grizzlies the Americans have allowed 40+ shots on goal.
- It was the fourth straight game special teams have carried the Americans. They had a power play goal, a shorthanded goal and were perfect on the penalty kill. In the last four games the power play is 47.1% (8-17), the penalty kill is 100% (0-11) and the Americans have scored three shorthanded goals. WOW!
- It was certainly disappointing not getting the win especially with the disallowed goal at the end of overtime but getting the one point on the road is big. The Americans will have another chance to take two points from Utah tonight.
- Goal scorers for Allen were Alex Breton (5, 6), Jordan Topping (19) and Josh Brittain (8).
- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/overtime-game-winner-overturned-allen-loses-in-a-shootout/
- It is always interesting to get game recaps from Allen's opponents website. Here are two from the Grizzlies:
First, the recap from Tyson Whiting the Utah broadcaster. https://www.utahgrizzlies.com/en/grizzlies-news/grizz-win-5-4-shootout-thriller
This second game recap by Grizzlies Insider, Adam Turner, talks about what it is like when the Allen Americans come to town: https://www.utahgrizzlies.com/en/grizzlies-news/grizzlies-insider-adam-turner-on-5-4-shootout-winner
- I had a chance to talk to coach Martinson at some length this morning and it was clear he was not pleased with the effort of some of the players last night. Martinson said the same thing in several different ways:
"We scored enough goals to win but we had too many weak turnovers and poor defensive play."
"We did enough good things that allowed us to score four goals but we have to work harder defensively."
"Some guys gave great effort to help us comeback from the 4-2 deficit but others are not working hard enough."
"Some of our players need to get smarter and play harder."
"We had some guys that played their tails off and some guys that just showed up."
"We have the same guys not back checking and not playing hard enough defensively."
"I plan to show video before the game of our mistakes and call out the guys that need to work smarter and harder.
"We have enough goal scorers, we need more players that work hard defensively."
REMATCH PREVIEW
- The Americans did a lot of good things in the game last night which will hopefully carry over to tonight. They scored the first goal of the game, the special teams have been clicking and Allen has made the most of their opportunities. The Americans shooting percentage in the five games against Utah this season is 14.8%, last night is was 15.4%.
- If Allen expects to win this rematch they need to limit Utah's shots. The Americans were out shot 43-26 and that is not the formula for success.
- Fans who watch the game tonight will get quite a treat as the two players tied for the ECHL lead in scoring with 51 points will take the ice. Allen's #8, Tyler Sheehy (18G, 22A) and Utah's #23, Tim McGauley (17G, 34A) will be fun to keep an eye on.
- Jordan Topping is within one goal of hitting 20, Tyler Sheehy is with in two and Jared VanWormer is with in three. Gabe Gagne (24) and Alex Guptill (20) have already reached the 20 goal plateau.
- You never know from game to game how things play out but there were only six penalties called in the game last night and the same referee (Stan Szczurek) is scheduled tonight. He called just one penalty in the last half of the game.
- Allen's regular season record in Utah since joining the ECHL is a respectable 8-6-0-1.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Allen has earned more points in overtime and shootout games (28) than any team in the league. Eight of those points came from losses. The one point Allen earned last night was big. The Americans maintain a nice point lead in the division but keep in mind they have played more games.
Here are the current Mountain Division point standings with games played in parenthesis:
66 points - Allen (45)
55 points - Utah (42)
54 points - Idaho (44)
49 points - Rapid City (42)
44 points - Wichita (45)
42 points - Tulsa (44)
37 points - Kansas City (41)
- South Carolina won again last night giving up just one goal. The Stingrays have given up just 82 goals in 41 games. No other team in the league has given up less than 105 goals. South Carolina has eight shutouts, given up one goal nine times and two goals 10 times. Their winning percentage of .805 is very close to the all time record of .806 set in 2001-02 by the Louisiana IceGators.
- There is a full slate of games in the ECHL tonight with all 26 teams in action. Here is the ECHL Today with the matchups and previews: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2020/1/echl-today-jan-25
DID YOU KNOW: Allen continues to be involved in more overtime games than any other team in the league. The overtime last night was number 18 on the season which leads the league. The Mountain Division has by far the most overtime games. Allen is #1 in the ECHL with 18, Idaho is #2 with 15, Utah is #3 with 14 and Wichita is tied for #4 with 12.
Here is my ECHL Stats & Information post for today, you can find it on Twitter (@ECHLStats) or Facebook (ECHL Stats & Information), which breaks down overtimes by percentage.
Four ECHL teams, all in the Western Conference, have had 30% or more of their games go to overtime this season. Here are those teams with their winning/points percentage for games that go to overtime or shootout in parenthesis:
40% - Allen Americans (.556)
34% - Idaho Steelheads (.600)
33% - Utah Grizzlies (.500)
30% - Fort Wayne Komets (.500)
At the other end of the spectrum, the Brampton Beast have gone to overtime in only 9.5% of their games.
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