STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:
- Jamie Schaafsma was really good again tonight as he has been all series. Jamie, Hanson and Graham put the nail in the coffin for us tonight.
- Can't say enough about the play of Bryan Pitton in this series. He was strong again tonight stopping 28 of 29 shots.
- Our entire defense played like the experienced professionals they are during this series and that will be a key to our success during the playoffs. We have the most experienced defense in the league and while we are known for our offense it will be our defense that will make the difference going forward.
- We will enjoy the victory on our way home and celebrate but Tuesday morning we will be back at practice preparing for our next opponent. We still haven't played our best hockey which I expect will come in the next series.
OTHER COMMENTS:
- Had the chance to ask the voice of the Allen Americans, Tommy Daniels, his thoughts on the series with Brampton and this is what Tommy had to say, "With our great depth at forward I think Brampton really found it tough to match up with the Americans. You never knew what line was going to beat you. One night it was the Asuchak line the next night it was the Graham line. Also our special teams got hot at the right time. Brampton's top players were quiet in the series which has a lot to do with the Americans aggressive game. If we play like that all post-season it's going to be tough for anyone to beat us."
- Mentioned earlier what a dominating performance Allen had in this series. Here are just a few of the statistics to prove that point. All eight teams in the playoffs have played five games thus far. Allen leads in most goals scored (22), fewest goals allowed (11), goal differential (11), plus/minus (+44), GAA (2.20), and save percentage (.932). One category Allen does not lead is in penalty minutes where they rank sixth (67).
- Lots of great performances in this series but Greger Hanson has to be at the top of the list as he scored in all five games, had goals in the last four games, and had the game winning goal in Allen's last three wins. Did I mention he also leads the entire league in scoring with nine points in five games (4 goals 5 assists).
- Hanson leads the league in scoring with nine points, Bruce Graham is second with eight points and tied for third with seven points are Schaafsma and Maiani. Add Tyler Ludwig with five points to lead all defensemen and Daniel Tetrault who is third with four points and you can see why Allen causes problems for opponents.
- Here is a list of Allen players leading the league or tied for the league lead in various categories:
Goals: Bootland & Hanson (4)
Assists: Graham (6)
Points: Hanson (9)
Plus/Minus: Schaafsma (+8)
Game Winning Goals: Hanson (3)
Goals by Defensemen: Ludwig & Tetrault (2)
Points by Defensemen: Ludwig (5)
GAA: Pitton (2.01)
Save Percentage: Pitton (.938)
- It is tough for a visiting player to get one of the three stars of the game in Brampton. In the three games there were nine stars selected and seven of them were Brampton players. You would never know Allen won two of the three games. They got the #1 star right last night as Jamie Schaafsma could not be denied with three points (2 goals 1 assist), plus/minus of +4, and seven shots on goal.
- Allen now awaits their second round opponent which is impossible to determine at this point. All three of the other series are 3-2 in games and they all play game six Tuesday night. The best outcome for Allen would be to have one of the top two teams (Missouri & Denver) lose their series as it would then give Allen home ice advantage for the second round.
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| Courtesy CHL Memes |
DID YOU KNOW: Steve Martinson and Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff were teammates playing for the San Diego Gulls (IHL) in 1992-1993.
That was great to see our team advance yesterday! I didn't know that about Martinson and Ruff. Interesting! Looking forward to seeing how the Stars do in the playoffs too.
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