The quote of the night, as I walked around CUTX Event Center between periods and after the game, was "Now that is Martinson hockey." In a game reminiscent of the championship years, Allen overwhelmed Idaho in the first period with a combination of physicality and skill. Every Allen player was finishing every check, and they weren't those running into the player type of checks.
- It took just 32 seconds after the opening puck drop for Allen to get on the scoreboard. A great pass from Andre Anania to Brayden Watts in the slot, and the puck was in the net on the first shot of the game. Scoring first has been a magic elixir for the Americans this season. After last night, their record when scoring first stands at 31-2-4-2.
- Danny Katic made it 2-0 at the 16:31 mark of the first period. Sam Sedley walked the puck to the front of the net, and Katic was in his office (blue paint) to tap the goal into an open net. When the dust settled on the first period, Allen had outshot Idaho 14-7, outscored them 2-0, and delivered 15 big hits (5 by Danny Katic).
- The back-breaker goal was scored by Colton Hargrove early in the second period (2:14). Allen had killed off a carryover penalty from the first period. Allen grabbed the momentum when Landen Hookey sprung Hargrove on a breakaway with a great cross-ice pass, and Colton did one of his patented moves of fake right, go left, and tap the puck into an open net. With a 3-0 lead, the game was pretty much over at that point.
- Hargrove's goal was scored on the first shot by either team in the second period. At that point, Allen had a 15-7 shot advantage. From that point, Allen had only 12 shots over the remaining 38 minutes of the game, and two of them were open-net goals (McAuley & Watts). Idaho scored a goal in the second period to cut the score to 3-1., Allen took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission, and that was pretty much lights out for the Steelheads. Allen's record with a second-period lead is now 31-0-2-0.
- Here are the video highlights and game recaps. Pay attention to the primary assists on the goals, as there were some good ones.
- Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/idaho-steelheads-vs-allen-americans-apr-23-2026-game-1
- Allen Americans recap: https://echl.com/videos/idaho-steelheads-vs-allen-americans-apr-23-2026-game-1
- Idaho Steelheads recap: https://echl.com/videos/idaho-steelheads-vs-allen-americans-apr-23-2026-game-1
- What are the keys to the game tonight?
- A repeat of the first period from last night. Score the first goal and accentuate the physical play.
- Keep the foot in the gas for all three periods.
- Stay out of the penalty box, especially avoiding retaliation penalties after the whistle.
- Win the special teams battle.
- Coach Martinson outlined the plan for tonight when he talked about the 5-1 win with the season ticket holders last night:
"It was a great start, at one point we were outshooting them 18-5, and then the BS started, and we were biting into it, and retaliating. What irritates me with the stuff after the whistle is how they hand out the penalties. When all of the after-the-whistle stuff started happening, and they got some back-to-back power plays, our lines got all messed up, and we ended up losing momentum."
"I told the guys what intimidates is the hard hits, and that is what we were doing in the first period. We know when the stuff after the whistle happens, like a glove in the face, it is just BS, and they are not going to fight."
"We have to be more disciplined after the whistle stuff was the difference in the game. We just didn't have that fluid play in the second half of the game. We have to learn from that."
"We padded our stats with the two empty net goals, which looks good on the stats sheet."
"Mirwald was good again in goal. He still hasn't lost a game in regulation time. (6-0-1-0 &.952 save %).
"Our power play sucked, and we have to work on a couple of things for the game tomorrow. We have to get on the drawing board and get a little tighter on our power play. It was frustrating."
"It was a good start, and we will take it. We have to have the same kind of start tomorrow. That will be our focus: what we must do to repeat that start."
"Our centers were good tonight on faceoffs. I had Jason keep track of how each center was doing against their centers, so if we got to a point when we really needed to win a draw, we could get the right center out." (FYI, final tally on faceoffs favored Allen 56% to 44%.)
- There will be a different pair of referees working the game tonight. Logan Gruhl (#29) and Emile Charron (#43). The linesmen will be Michael Miggins (#47) and Daniel Barnes (#76).
OTHER COMMENTS
- How important is winning the game tonight? History says teams that win the first two games at home go on to win the series almost 90% of the time. A split at home turns the series into a near coin flip and hands Idaho the momentum.
- The playoffs really get going tonight with seven of the eight series in action. The only teams not playing are Bloomington and Toledo. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/04/echl-today-april-24
- If the Allen vs Idaho series goes seven games, it would end on May 3, the earliest of the eight first-round matchups. Three series have game seven on May 5th, and four have game seven on May 6.
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about the declining number of players reaching 70 points in a season. Allen's numbers are different. The Americans had two 70+ point scorers this season (Watts & Harrison), none in 2024-25 and 2023-24. In 2022-23, Allen had four players with 70+ points. Crone (105), Combs (95), Hargrove (85), and Finlay (70):
