The Ol' Girl Has a Hot Flash, Injury Report, Four Great Coaching Resumes In The Final

It is the calm before the storm as the players have today off before preparing for three games at home this week that will most likely decide who eventually wins the Presidents' Cup. With the series tied 1-1 either team could claim the cup with a sweep of the three upcoming games (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) at the Allen Event Center (AEC). Not likely but certainly possible.

Understand the "Ol' Girl" had a hot flash yesterday on the trip home from Denver and it sure was bad timing for the AC to go out. There were many high temperature records set for this time of year yesterday, so you can imagine riding on a bus with 25 guys in 90 degree heat. Hot, sweaty, and rank would be an understatement. The Ol' Girl arrived back at the AEC just before 2:00 pm. and from what I understand a lot of shirtless guys came streaming off the bus. The players can rest and relax today (Monday) as it is an optional skate day. There will be some players on the ice and even more at the rink getting treatment for various bumps, bruises and injuries. However, coach Martinson expects everyone to be available for the game on Wednesday.

- It was reported by the Denver media that Cutthroats leading scorer AJ Gale, who was injured on Saturday is home from the hospital and recovering from his lower body injury. One reporter indicated Gale's estimated time of return will be late this week.

- The CHL published a nice article on the backgrounds of Denver head coach Derek Armstrong and assistant coach Brad Smyth and it reminded me of all of the talented coaches in the CHL and how fortunate Allen fans are to have the caliber of coaches they have in Steve Martinson and Richard Matvichuk. Martinson, an undrafted journeyman who had to fight (literally) for everything he got in hockey and had 50 NHL games, has been a successful coach right from the get go winning a championship in his first year as a head coach. He is in his 18th year of coaching and seeking his eighth championship. Richard Matvichuk, who is in his second year as a professional coach, had a completely different route to coaching as he was the eight overall pick in the 1991 NHL draft (Minnesota North Stars) and had an illustrious career in the NHL with over 850 games played which included winning the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999. His passion for the game is obvious when you see him coach and he has the philosophy of you can work hard and still have fun and you see that everyday when you watch him on the ice. Here is a guy that made over sixteen million dollars as a player grinding it out everyday as a coach and spending an inordinate amount of time riding on a 1998 bus all over the US and now Canada. His passion for hockey is self evident. As is said in the article below about the Denver coaches is certainly true about the Allen coaches, "With the pedigree of the two men behind the bench, it is no surprise that the Allen Americans are competing for the Ray Miron Presidents' Cup again."

Here is the CHL article about the Denver coaches:
With the pedigree of the two men behind the bench, it is no surprise that the Denver Cutthroats are competing for the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup in just their second season as a franchise. Both head coach Derek Armstrong and assistant coach Brad Smyth have winning and success in their blood. Armstrong was named the Cutthroats first coach back when the team was announced and in two seasons has posted a 68-43-21 record and earned playoff berths in both seasons.  After this season, Armstrong was voted the CHL Coach of the Year, an award determined by the coaching fraternity of the CHL. Smyth was a player for the inaugural Cutthroats club and made his mark with 25 goals and 53 assists (78 points) in 65 games but most notably was his team-leading six game winning goals showing that winning is what he was all about. The duo were teammates back in the 1998-99 season for the first time while with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. For the next couple of seasons, the pair lead the way for the Wolf Pack helping them to the Calder Cup (AHL title) in 2000 finishing first and second on the team in points with Armstrong earning 82 points and Smyth 76.  In the playoffs, the pair each had 23 points combining for 20 goals and 26 assists with Armstrong earning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (playoff MVP who has been shared previously by the likes of Wendell Young, Carey Price and Olaf Kolzig ).  Future NHL’ers P.J. Stock, Jason Dawe and Manny Malhotra all played on that Pack team. Armstrong finished his playing career with 477 NHL games seeing action with Los Angeles, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Ottawa and St. Louis.  His best season came in 2006-07 with the Kings were he scored 11 goals with 33 assists in 67 games. Smyth finished with 88 games in the show playing with the Rangers, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, LA Kings and Ottawa. The coaching staff of the Cutthroats has their team tied after two games in the Finals and are looking to earn their first championship from behind the bench.  The series heads to Allen where Denver will have to find some road magic.

Courtesy CHL Memes

                          

DID YOU KNOW: Since Allen joined the CHL in the 2009-2010 season the team that won the second game of the championship final series has gone on to win the President's Cup every year.  




 

Schaafsma OT Gem Ties Series, Martinson & Armstrong Post Game Comments, Graham & Gale Injured

The Allen Americans capped off an Anthony Maiani extra attacker tying goal last night with just over a minute to play in the game with a spectacular individual effort by Jamie Schaafsma as he scored the game winning goal at 1:51 of the second overtime.

 Allen jumped off to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Schaafsma and Lessard only to have Denver come roaring back, taking the lead 3-2 when they scored two goals in 27 seconds early in the second period. It could have been worse as Denver had a goal disallowed when the referee ruled the puck had been kicked into the net. The teams traded goals in the third period to make the score 4-3 Denver before the Maiani and Schaafsma heroics at the end of the game and in overtime.

It was obviously a big win for Allen to get a split in Denver as they head back to Allen for the next three games. Maybe experience served them well in this game as the Americans found a way to win despite being outshot 51-41 and losing the special teams battle as they did not score on the power play and allowed Denver two power play goals.

So the end result was a 5-4 double overtime victory before a crowd of 3843 at the Denver Coliseum to tie the series at one game a piece. The bus ride home, which commenced right after the game, was certainly more enjoyable after the dramatic win. The team will arrive back in Allen early this afternoon (Sunday). The series continues in Allen as the teams will play Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Two key players were injured during the game and did not return after their injuries. Denver's AJ Gale was taken to the hospital with what was described by Coach Armstrong as a lower body injury after what both teams described as a clean check. Allen lost Bruce Graham to an injury which knocked him out of the game. Hope both of these guys are okay and will be able to play when the series continues on Wednesday.



COACH STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- Unlike game one, we got off to a great start to take a 2-0 lead but turnovers and a bad penalty resulted in a momentum shift for Denver. After they took the lead I thought we settled things down.

- This game could have gone either way, it was our turn tonight as percentages were in our favor.

- I was very concerned how we would play tonight, especially when the game went to overtime, as we had four games in five nights with 30 hours of travel. Even with all of that our pace in overtime was incredible.

- Jamie made a huge play on the game winning goal. Jamie is one of those guys that can create his own offense. Hopefully we can get a replay of his goal on the big screen on Wednesday night for everyone to see.

- Our defense made some great passes tonight as they were in on all five goals.

- Now we head back to Allen with home ice advantage and an opportunity to get some much needed rest.



COACH DEREK ARMSTRONG POST GAME COMMENTS:

- It was a good hockey game, obviously when you play against the champs you have to expect some push back. The game could have gone either way but I thought we played well tonight and competed hard. A couple of miscommunications kind of cost us and that is part of growing and learning as an organization. They got their split and now we have to go to Allen and win.

- It is tough when the referee puts the whistle away and then all of a sudden calls two penalties at the end. That is why this league has been so tough the last couple of years with inconsistency. I know the referees are young guys but when they start having impacts on games it is difficult. It isn't the reason we lost the game but it does change momentum quite a bit. You never know what they are going to call. Yes, they were penalties but there could have been ten the other way as well. This league struggles at times with consistency.

- It was a nice goal they scored in overtime. It goes bar and in and that is every kids kind of dream. It is part of the adventure, you are playing the champs and they have a lot of push back and experience. They have something like 14 guys who have played in the finals and we have one guy that has played in the finals.

- To win in Allen we need to continue to compete they way we are competing. Continue to grow and work hard.

OTHER COMMENTS:

- Denver has certainly flipped the script on Allen when it comes to special teams play. After two games Allen is yet to score a power play goal and is now 0-10. Denver is scoring power play goals at a 40% clip (4-10). Allen will have to improve on both the power play and penalty kill to be successful in this series.

- If you look at the box score it is nothing special but watching the game on CHL TV it seemed as if Daniel Tetrault was a man possessed last night. He was all over the ice, throwing his body around and I know he is dinged up a little bit. A great leader by example. The oldest guy on the team (he will be 35 in September) and he is one of only two guys (Asuchak the other) that have played in every game this year. You can see why everyone wants to win a championship for him. And by the way, Daniel leads the CHL in plus/minus for the playoffs with a +14.

- Talk about stepping up in big games how about Jamie Schaafsma with identical two goals and one assist in both games in Denver and a highlight reel game winner in the second overtime last night. And it is not the first time Jamie has been the hero in overtime in championship finals. Almost four years ago to the day Jamie scored an overtime goal for the Flint Generals in game three of the Turner Cup finals in the International Hockey League.

- Tommy Daniels mentioned during the broadcast last night that according to CHL Director of Operations, Bob Hoffman, the decision to not use two referees in the finals was made at the owners meeting last summer. Unless I completely missed the new release on this decision it was a well kept secret right up until the championship finals began. My recollection is after last season it was said they thought the experiment was a success and they would do it again this year. I did go back and look at the CHL press release (July 23, 2013) which outlined changes made at the Board of Governors meeting and there was no mention of going back to one referee for the finals. I don't think the teams were aware of this decision either.

- Jamie Schaafsma and Anthony Maiani are tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with 17 points. Jamie leads the team in goals (8) and Anthony leads is assists (12).

- Garett Bembridge's comment on the check that put AJ Gale out of the game. “I didn’t really see anything,” Bembridge said. “I just had my head down going to the net. I guess it was a clean hit, he was just in a bad, vulnerable position and you know that’s the way hockey goes."

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: Some professional hockey players never make it to the championship finals. Jamie Schaafsma has been to the championship finals for six straight years.
2009 -  HC Bolzano (Itlay)
2010 -  Flint Generals (IHL)
2011 -  Gherdeina (Italy)
2012 -  Gherdeina (Italy)
2013 -  Allen Americans (CHL)
2014 -  Allen Americans (CHL)

Keys to 5-4 Loss, Game Recap, Martinson & Armstrong Post Game Comments, Back Up Goalie Details

Let's start out the assessment of the game last night by checking how the Allen Americans did in the keys of the series talked about in the preview yesterday. Allen needs to score early as Denver has a big goal advantage in the first period, Nope. Win the special teams battle, Nope. Control the top line and make the other two lines beat you, Nope.

Given the fact the Americans did not meet any of the keys to the game it was quite an effort they put in on short rest to come back from a three goal deficit to tie the game 3-3 (goals by Lessard, Maiani & Schaafsma) going into the third period. Even after Denver's top line got two third period goals (both by AJ Gale for a total of four on the night) to make the score 5-3 the Americans fought back when Jamie Schaafsma scored his second goal of the night with six minutes left in the game. Despite getting a power play opportunity at the end of the game and pulling the goalie the Americans could not score with a six on four advantage and lost the game 5-4.

The best thing you can say about the 5-4 loss to the Cutthroats before a small crowd of 2744 at the Denver Coliseum is there is lots of room for improvement and the team doesn't have to think about losing very long as the are back at it again tonight with a 7:05 puck drop Allen/central time.

STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- It is pretty obvious we have to do a better job against their top line and AJ Gale in particular. We don't get last change when we play here in Denver so when that top line is on the ice we have to do better than we did tonight.

- We made some bad choices on passes and shots when we were on the power play and that ended up being the difference in the game. Our power play has been so good in the playoffs but was not good tonight.

- Offensive zone stick penalties are the worst to take. We always tell the guys we have 200 feet to defend a break out so if you get beat in our offensive zone just put your head down and skate, don't take a stick penalty. They scored tonight on this type of penalty.

DENVER COACH DEREK ARMSTRONG'S POST GAME COMMENTS:

- I knew Allen would comeback after we got the 3-0 lead. They are an older team, they have won championships, they have won for a reason, they know how to win and it is a good learning lesson for us. Every game is going to go down to the wire and we have to stay in front of guys and play the right way.

- AJ Gale is pretty close to the sun as hot as he is with seven goals in the last two games. He works well with Schwab and Bembridge.

- It is just one game and you are expected to win your home games. We can play better as we got caught puck watching a couple of times and weren't watching for the empty guys.

- We will see a different Allen team tomorrow. They played a seventh game on Wednesday and had to travel. They are resilient, strong and well coached. They are built for the playoffs.



OTHER COMMENTS:

-  What has been a big advantage for Allen during the playoffs proved to be the difference in the game and that was special teams. Denver scored two power play goals in five opportunities while Allen was 0-6 on the power play. It was the first time in the last six games Allen did not have a power play goal.

- The backup goalie for the game and the finals is Ross MacKinnion who arrived in Denver just a few hours before the game. Ross played college hockey at Neumann College and played primarily for the Pensacola Ice Flyers (SPHL) this year. Pensacola won the SPHL championship and Ross was in goal for all of their playoff games on the road to the championship. He had a playoff record of 6-1 with a GAA of 1.40 and save percentage of .937. Ross had two call ups during the season as he played two games with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) and ten games with the Tulsa Oilers (CHL). Ross actually played against Allen three times when he was with Tulsa and played well in those three games despite losing two of them. One of the games was a shootout in which Tyler Ludwig scored the only shootout goal to win for Allen. Ross's first CHL victory came at the expense of Allen in a 4-2 Tulsa win on November 24.

- Have had several questions about the goalie musical chairs over the last ten days. It all started when Will Yanakeff was injured and need to be replaced by an emergency back up goalie which is allowed during the playoffs. Allen brought in Marc-Antoine Gelinas to replace Yanakeff but as a Canadian the paperwork and approval process through immigration became too complicated so the team signed MacKinnon who is from Connecticut and he flew to Denver just in time for the game.

- Here is part of what was in  the CHL news release on AJ Gale's four goal night. Gale is coming off a stretch that has seen him reach record-breaking levels with seven goals over his last two games, the most prolific two game stretch in CHL playoff history.  His four goals in Game 1 of the Finals versus Allen, a 5-4 win by the Cutthroats, ties a CHL record for most goals in a single playoff game reached most recently in 2009 by Scott Sheppard (Texas Brahmas).

- Prior to last night the most goals allowed by Allen in twelve playoff games this year was four.

- Trevor Hendrikx and Cain Franson were the healthy scratches for game one. It will be interesting to see if Coach Martinson makes any changes for game two.

- There were a couple of calls in the game that seemed unusual just watching it on CHL TV. Bruce Graham was high sticked and he was called for a tripping penalty. I asked Steve Martinson about this after the game and he had reviewed the tape and felt the high stick happened first and then Graham dropped his stick which caused the Denver player to trip.  It should have been a five on three for Allen. The referee said Graham tripped the player first and that caused the high stick. According to Martinson, when he told the referee at the beginning of the second period he had reviewed the tape and he got the call wrong the referee said Martinson was calling him a liar and he would not come over to the bench again.  The other call that was hard to understand and this has happened several times with this referee in the playoffs is having a scrum and only penalizing one player when two are involved. If you watch NHL games they always take both guys.

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW:  In the 2013 playoffs Allen and Denver met in the first round. Denver beat Allen 2-1 in game one in Allen. The Americans then won the next four games to win the series 4-1.

Allen vs Denver Preview, Officials Selected For Finals Including a Future NHLer, Lowest Attendance in History

The CHL championship finals have arrived as the Allen Americans take on the Denver Cutthroats tonight in game one of the best of seven finals. Get ready for "fish humor" to replace "duck humor" for the next couple of weeks. These seem to be two evenly matched teams but their success has been arrived at quite differently. During the regular season Denver had the two highest scorers in the league (Garett Bembridge 104 points and Troy Schwab 96 points) but no other player with 50 points. Allen on the other hand had seven players with over 50 points but only one (Alex Lavoie with 76 points) with over 60 points. Add AJ Gale, who spent most of the year in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the biggest challenge for the Americans will be to slow down what is undoubtedly the top line in the league in Bemberidge, Gale & Schwab.
 

Looking through all of the statistics both during the season and in the playoffs and you can see how both of these team got to the finals. It should be a good series with the likelihood it will go six or seven games. Here are just a few random statistics to prove the point:

- Denver has the highest win percentage in the playoffs (.727) while Allen is second (.667).

- Allen has scored more goals than Denver during the playoffs (42-29) and allowed fewer goals (25-28). Allen has played one more playoff game than Denver.

- Denver's AJ Gale and Troy Schwab lead the CHL in playoff scoring with 18 points. The next two highest scorers in the playoffs are Gregor Hanson and Anthony Maiani with 14 points.

- The top scorer among defensemen in the playoffs is Tyler Ludwig with 11 points and in second place is Steve Kaunisto from Denver with 9 points.

- Of the four teams that made it to the semi-finals (Allen, Arizona, Denver & Quad City) the least penalized team in the playoffs has been Allen with 146 minutes (12 minutes per game) while the most penalized team has been Denver with 195 minutes (18 minutes per game).

- These two teams met seven times in the regular season with Denver having the edge 4-3. Three of the seven games went to overtime so you might expect that in the finals.

- As you would expect, in the head to head match up between these two teams Allen had the more balanced scoring with Hanson at 8 points, Asuchak, Ludwig, McMillin, 7 points and Schaaafsma and Lessard with 6 points. Denver was led by Bembridge and Schwab.

- Thus far in the playoffs Allen is 5-1 at home but only 3-3 on the road. Denver is 4-2 at home and 4-1 on the road.

- During the regular season these two teams scored their goals vastly different if you look at goals scored by period. Denver had a big advantage over their opponents in the first period outscoring them by over 20 goals. Allen had their big advantage in the second period out scoring opponents by almost 30 goals. 

- During the regular season these two teams were very close on both the power play and penalty kill but the playoffs have been another story. Allen is at an amazing 33.33% and Denver is at 14%. Denver leads the CHL in playoff penalty kill percentage (92.31%) and Allen is second (90.20%).

- Two great goalies will be going head to head in this series. Bryan Pitton leads all goalies with a playoff GAA of 1.94 while Denver goalie Kent Patterson leads all playoff goalies in save percentage with .942.

- The last two times these teams met in the regular season was in Allen on March 28 & 29. The teams split the two games but Allen outshot Denver in those two games 99-46.

- The dates for Game’s 6 and 7 have been adjusted and will take place now on Wednesday, May 14 and Friday, May 16 (was originally scheduled for May 16 and May 17). 

-  The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced yesterday the three referees and four linesmen that will make up the on-ice officials crew for the 2014 CHL Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Finals. The referees selected for the finals are Zak Blazic, Jake Brenk and Tudor Floru and the linesmen are Kevin Cassidy, Brandon Gawryletz, Mike Daltrey and Mitch MacPherson. The only thing that will get more humor than the "fish humor" this series will be the referees as Blazic, Brenk & Floru have taken more than their share this year. Combine this with the two referee system for the finals and CHL Memes and others will have a field day.

- With officials getting so much criticism they rarely get any credit. If you want to focus on an outstanding linesman during this series take the time to watch Brandon Gawryletz during a game. He wears #49. Brandon played college hockey at the University of Alaska and you can tell by looking at him he was a big, strong defenseman. His first three strides are as quick as you will see and he always is the first to arrive at a scrum on the ice. He has worked some AHL playoffs games and has a great shot at making it to the NHL.
 

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: The average attendance in the 2014 playoffs (3149) is the lowest in recent history going back to 2003. With Allen averaging 3910 thus far and Denver averaging 2329 unless there is a dramatic increase for the finals a record low average attendance seems assured. Here is the average league wide playoff attendance since Allen joined the CHL:
2014 - 3149
2013 - 3629
2012 - 4427
2011 - 3777
2010 - 3669

BIG NIGHT, BIG GAME, BIG WIN

"Do or Die" chapter two was a victory just like chapter one but they could not have been more different games. The Quad City Mallards proved to be the scrappy, hard working team they have been throughout the playoffs who fought to the very end as Allen prevailed 3-2 in the seventh game of the series. Allen's celebration was short lived as they boarded the bus right after the game for the 14 hour trip to Denver and will take on the Cutthroats in the Presidents' Cup final with the first game being tomorrow (Friday) at 8:00 pm Allen time.

The script for the victory was a familiar one as Allen used excellent goaltending and special teams superiority to win the game. Allen was 2-4 on the power play and finished the series 9-24 (37.5%). They held Quad City scoreless on their five power play opportunities in the game. The Mallards finished the series 2-27 (7.4%). 

Allen's two power play goals were scored by Zion in the first period and Asuchak in the third period. The only goal in the second period was a great individual effort by Jonathan Lessard who stole the puck at the blueline and skated in all alone for an unassisted goal.

STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- It was really tough losing game five in Quad City as we out played them but they pulled the goalie and scored. I am a big believer in percentages so I didn't think they would be able to score an extra attacker goal tonight but I was certainly nervous in that last ten seconds when they had so much time with the puck on the wall. Luckily they were not able to find anyone. The win will make for a good bus ride to Denver.

- The power play was good again tonight as we got two power play goals. It was tough giving up that goal in the third period right after Asuchak put us ahead 3-1 with his power play goal. What happened is we over back checked, we worked to hard and came to low and the puck went out to the point and it cost us.

- I think the guys feel real good about themselves being down three games to two, having some adversity and coming back and winning two games at home. I know I feel good about the way they performed.

- We will have the day off tomorrow (Thursday) and get back up on the horse on Friday night.

- We have everyone available at this point. Hendrikx was sick but he is available. Kerbashian is also available and he will probably be in the line up on Friday. The problem Kerby has had is he missed three weeks with an upper body injury and then he broke his finger so he hasn't practiced much or skated a lot over the last two months.

- Garrett Klotz will be the player sitting out on injured reserve for the final series.

- We were confident of our ability during this series. The best team does not always win the best of five series but almost always the better team wins a best of seven. That's why the NHL plays best of seven.

- Quad City is a hard working team and when you combine that with a hot goaltender like Heemskerk they are really tough to beat. You have to give them a lot of credit.

- Part of the reason we are going to Denver tonight is to get in the high altitude so we can become accustom to breathing that thinner air. There is a difference when playing in Denver. There will be shorter shifts.

- Our special teams have been good the last part of the season and during the playoffs and that will have to continue against Denver.

- I am in the process of signing an emergency back up goalie for the finals.

- I am confident about our team going into the finals and I don't mind opening up on the road and then getting three games at home. We have been a pretty good road team all year.


TERRY RUSKOWSKI POST GAME COMMENTS:

"I didn't know what to say to them (after the loss)," coach Terry Ruskowski said. "I told them it was a tough loss and it was good season but I think we could have done better than what we did, and then I walked out. There wasn't much to say."

"People can say it's a small victory but I still say it's a void in my hockey life that I need to fill."

"It was the seventh game and we took stupid penalties and it cost us," Ruskowski said.

"We just don't have that go-to guy, when the chips are down that we can put him out there and he can create a chance to score," Ruskowski said. "That's what we're missing and this summer I'm going to see if I can get one or two guys who are capable of scoring."

"When we work hard, we're tough to beat," Ruskowski said. "When we don't work hard, we're not tough to beat. Everybody has to get in and grab the rope and pull."

OTHER COMMENTS:

Here is the CHL news release on the finals including dates and times;
The 2014 CHL Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Finals is set with the Denver Cutthroats and the Allen Americans facing off in a best-of-7 series that gets underway on Friday, May 2 at the Denver Coliseum.  The Cutthroats earn home ice in the series thanks to finishing second in the regular standings with a 38-17-11 record (87 points) while the Americans finished third with a 39-22-5 record (83 points).  Denver will host Game’s 1 and 2 as well as Game’s 6 and 7 (if necessary), while the Americans will host Game’s 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary).  The series will be a 2-3-2 format. The teams met seven times in the regular season with Denver winning the season series with a 4-2-1 record including winning both games at the Denver Coliseum.  Allen went 3-2-2 during the series with a 3-1-1 mark at the Allen Event Center.  Three of the seven meetings were decided in overtime/shootouts with Denver winning two of those and Allen winning once.  Four of the seven contests were decided by one goal.  In the all-time series, the teams have split wins in 10 contests and this marks the second straight season the clubs have met in the post-season with Allen winning in the Opening Round last year by a four games to one count. The trip to the Finals is the first in the brief history of the Cutthroats who are playing just their second season.  Allen has been to two previous Finals winning last season and falling to Rapid City in 2010.  Denver made it to the Finals with a 4-2 series win over Tulsa in the Opening Round and a 4-1 series win over Arizona in the Conference Finals.  Allen’s path went through the Brampton Beast in the Opening Round (4-1) and the Quad City Mallards (4-3) in the Conference Finals.

Conference Finals (best-of-7)
Denver Cutthroats (2) vs. Allen Americans (3)
Game 1 – Fri., May 2 – Allen at Denver, 7:00
Game 2 – Sat., May 3 – Allen at Denver, 6:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 7 – Denver at Allen, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., May 9 – Denver at Allen, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 10 – Denver at Allen, 7:05
*Game 6 – Fri., May 16 – Allen at Denver, 7:00
*Game 7 – Sat., May 17 – Allen at Denver, 6:00

*if necessary
all times local

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: Since the Central Hockey League was formed in 1992 only two teams have won back to back championships. The Wichita Thunder in 1994 & 1995 and the Mississippi River Kings in 2002 & 2003.

Photographer Chip Crail Loses His Battle With Cancer

I want to start off this morning by adding my condolences to the family of Chip Crail, a gentle soul and great photographer who has lost his battle with cancer. This is the message put out last night to his friends. Hi all. This is Kelley, Chip's wife. It's with a heavy heart that I tell you that Chip lost his year long battle with pancreatic neuro endocrine cancer last night. He fought hard for a long time but in the end the cancer was too strong. 

Chip Crail

I met Chip when I first started writing this blog in 2012 as he sought me out to offer his help to improve my blog by including pictures. Being a novice and technologically challenged I was happy just getting words in the blog but he walked me through how I could use his pictures and improve what I was doing. Chip liked to shoot from all over the Allen Event Center including from the second level and I would often run into him in an empty suite taking pictures. Just the two of us talking about the game in progress and all things hockey as Chip was a big hockey fan which helped make him a great hockey photographer. When the championship rings arrived I asked Chip if he would take a couple ring pictures of Brian McMillin's ring so I could send them to Brian and Wendy who were living and playing in England at the time. Chip graciously brought to the next game a special camera, lens and light just to take the ring pictures. 

Chip approached me and many of his other friends at the beginning of this season to let us know he was in a battle for his life and it was going to be a tough battle that he may not be able to win but he was going to go down trying. When I saw Chip and Kelley at a game a couple of months ago he told me it would be his last game but he wanted to come one last time to see the team. Chip approached life as well as death with such class and dignity and he will be greatly missed. RIP Chip.

If you are in the area and would like to attend, the family is having a memorial service on Saturday, May 3rd at 1 PM.
Charles W Smith and Sons Funeral Home
601 S Tennessee St
McKinney, TX 75069
972-562-7788

Here are a few of my favorite Chip Crail photos:

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

 

Allen Forces Game Seven, Martinson & Ruskowski Post Game Comments, Back Up Goalie, Chill May Fold

Allen defeats Quad City 6-1 to force game seven - photo by SceneByKimberly.com

Chapter one of "Do or Die" didn't have much suspense as the Allen Americans used goals by six different players (Asuchuk, Graham, Ludwig, Lessard, Hanson, McMillin) to defeat the Quad City Mallards 6-1 before a crowd of 3753 at the Allen Event Center last night. Chapter two of "Do or Die" takes place tonight (Wednesday) in a decisive game seven with the winner heading directly for Denver after the game to take on a well rested Cutthroats team for the Presidents' Cup in a series that starts Friday night.

Steve Martinson Post Game Comments:

- I had a feeling that the offense would break out tonight just because we have had so many chances and haven't been scoring and this team normally does not have a problem scoring goals. I am a big believer in percentages and the percentages were with us tonight.

- We won every period and that is a good sign. We had a couple of ill advised penalties in the third period which gave them some life when they scored their power play goal but we didn't let up and got those two insurance goals late in the period to make it 6-1.

- Special teams were great again tonight as they have been the entire series. Our power play is really clicking at this point.

- The difference tonight was the traffic in front of the net and a lot of buzzing around the net. It is not rocket science as a goalie as good as Heemskerk is going to stop the puck if he can see it. The only way you are going to be successful is to get in front of him and block his vision. You have to make it harder for him to see the puck.

- At this point it is all about the players as they know what to do. If we show up with the same energy tomorrow as we did tonight we will be okay. If we have the net presence we had tonight, go to the tough areas like we did tonight we will score. 

TERRY RUSKOWSKI COMMENTS:

- Here are some Terry Ruskowski post game quotes from various articles. Sounds like coach Ruskowski was already working on getting his team prepared for game seven.

"How's that for a performance?" coach Terry Ruskowski said. "This is a playoff game. This is the sixth game, if they win this we go to a championship. Are you kidding me ... this kind of effort? They stepped it up a notch and we dropped down two."

"I guess all the media coverage and all the fans and all the support we got went to their head and thought we were just superstars," Ruskowski said. "We forgot what got us there and that was hard work and desire."

"It was one of the things we (emphasized) before the game, be disciplined," Ruskowski said. "You can't take unnecessary penalties. You can't take them. You can't because ... our penalty kill is not doing the job and their power play is awesome. So what do we do? We give them six power plays."

"They were taking shots in the slot area in front of our net," Ruskowski said. "They were just peppering our goalies and we just sat around and watched them. We miss (defenseman) Matt Duffy. We do. It screws up all of my defense."


OTHER COMMENTS:

- The special team stats back up what both coaches talked about post game. Quad City was 1-4 on the power play and is now 2-22 (9.1%) for the series while Allen was 3-6 in the game and for the series is now 7-20 (35%).

- With six different guys getting goals and twelve different players getting a point the depth of Allen really showed in the game. It is a big advantage when you can put three lines on the ice and all three can score.

- The three stars of the game were  #1 Bryan Pitton who lowered his GAA to 1.94, #2 Bruce Graham with the game winning goal and #3 Darryl Bootland with two assists and a fight.

- No official word on the referee for game seven tonight but my understanding is the referee will be Tudor Floru.

- I mentioned yesterday the Americans would have a new back up goalie (Marc-Antoine Gelinas) in the line up and that obviously did not happen. Will Yanakeff was the backup goalie. I won't got into the details but nothing is official related to Gelinas at this point. There are paperwork issues that need to be resolved before anything can or will be announced. Until everything gets resolved Will Yanakeff remains the back up goalie and today he celebrates his 22nd birthday so Happy Birthday Will!

- Silly season has already started with rumors of the St. Charles Chill not returning for year two. Apparently employees have been let go and the team is trying to find new ownership in order to keep the team alive.

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans have never lost a game seven at home and in eighteen years of coaching Steve Martinson has never lost a game seven at home.