- It was a similar refrain that cost Allen the game last night. They played one good period surrounded by two bad periods. The Americans started the game getting the first three shots on goal but were then outshot 15-4 the rest of the first period giving up two goals. In the second period Allen looked like a different team in what coach Steve Martinson described after the game as the best period of hockey the Americans have played all season. Allen dominated the play with very few turnovers and the majority of the puck possession. They managed two goals, both by Pavel Jenys, and had numerous other quality scoring chances. When the dust settled on the second period Allen had outshot Tulsa 15-10, scored a power play goal and got the score back to even (2-2).
- What has happened so many times this season happened again last night in the third period. Allen followed up a great period with a bad one that cost them the game. The Americans were outshot 15-4 and until late in the game the shots were 15-2. The Americans were kept in the game thanks to the play of goalie C.J. Motte but a costly turnover led to the Tulsa game winning goal at the 13:22 mark of the third period.
- Pavel Jenys scored both of Allen's goals, his third and fourth of the season. Jenys now has a goal in the last three games and in those three games has four of the Americans nine goals. Here are the Sporfie replays of his goals last night:
- Here is the game recap press release issued by the Tulsa Oilers: https://tulsaoilers.com/oilers-win-third-straight-with-late-goal-from-kaunisto/
- Here are Steve Martinson's post game comments:
ALLEN VS TULSA REMATCH PREVIEW
- As coach Martinson likes to say the team needs to get back up on the horse and get ready to play the Oilers again tonight. The team will leave at 1:00 pm this afternoon on the 230 mile trip to Tulsa, perfect timing for the players to get in their afternoon pregame nap.
- Allen showed themselves how they can play with their second period play last night. That is how they need to play for three periods tonight to stop the bleeding and break this losing streak. If they can replicate what they accomplished in the second period last night they will break the streak. If they give up 40 shots on goal in Tulsa the streak will continue.
- A good sign for Allen is they managed to get a power play goal last night going 1-2. As has been typical, Allen took more penalties (5) than Tulsa (2). Both teams scored a power play goal. Staying out of the penalty box will be a key tonight.
- As strange as it might sound the special teams percentages favored Tulsa in Allen but will favor the Americans tonight in Tulsa. The Oilers power play percentage at home is 12.9% while Allen is at 20.0% on the road. Tulsa's home penalty kill percentage is 81.1% compared to Allen's road penalty kill percentage of 86.4%.
- Allen's record when scoring first has been much worse than in past years. The Americans have scored first in six of their 15 games with a record of 3-2-0-1. That does mean, however, that Allen's only wins of the season (3) have come when they scored first.
- It should be the same lineup tonight as last night since there are no extra players available. The only question is who will get the start in goal. C.J. Motte stopped 37 of 40 shots last night for a save percentage of .925 so coach Martinson may choose to go with him again.
- The referee scheduled tonight is Stan Szczurek (#15) and the linesmen will be Addison Brush (#80) and Micheal Miggans (#47).
OTHER COMMENTS
- The hole Allen is digging for themselves gets deeper and deeper with each loss. The Americans now have the worst winning percentage in the ECHL (.267) but what is more important to their playoff hopes is what is happening in the Mountain Division. Check out these numbers and keep in mind the Americans have just eight points in their first 15 games.
5 points - how far back Allen is from sixth place in the seven team Mountain Division
8 points - how far back Allen is from a playoff spot
11 points - how far back Allen is from first place in the Mountain Division
- The Mountain Division tightened up last night as the top two teams (Kansas City and Utah) both lost. All seven teams will be in action tonight with Allen at Tulsa, Kansas City at Wichita, Indy at Utah and Rapid City at Idaho.
- Spencer Asuchak played in his 245th regular season game as an Allen American last night. He is now just two games behind Tyler Ludwig as the all time leader in games played.
- With all of the recent roster changes, Allen is no longer one of the youngest teams in the league. The average age has gone from under 24 years to 25.04 years. The Americans are now ranked #15 in the league in average age. The oldest team in the league is Kalamazoo (26.00) and the youngest is Maine (23.76).
- There are some great jersey deals on the Allen Americans auction website, Live Source. There are jerseys with bids as low as $25 (pink) and some of the veterans jerseys have starting bids of $199. This auction ends on Tuesday at 9:00 pm. As this new auction website becomes more well known you won't see prices like these in the future. If you don't already have the app here is the link and if you have any questions email Michelle Martinson at mmartinson@allenamericans.com: http://www.livesourceapp.com/
- It didn't take long for Greg Chase and Mitch Maloney to see their first action for Allen after being acquired in a trade with Wichita for Eric Roy. The duo arrived in Allen Thursday night, participated in the morning skate on Friday and played their first game for the Americans last night. Here are a couple of photos courtesy of David Dudich.
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| Greg Chase |
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| Mitch Maloney |
DID YOU KNOW: There are only two teams in the ECHL that are currently on a losing streak of more than two games and the teams are connected. Allen has lost eight straight games and the Reading Royals have lost five straight games.
I will disagree to some extent on the play of the team last night. The 1st two periods we played well (with the exception of some penalties in the first). Our defensemen were jumping into the offensive zone and helping the forwards. It was difficult for Tulsa to exit the zone and they turned it over to us numerous times. Unfortunately in my mind our goalie play was the Achilles heal last night. Almost every shot in warm-up by Tulsa was up in the net. They were practicing that shot over and over and that's were they scored last night. The first goal for them was a gimme - should never have gone in. The third score should never have happened. A shot from the blue line that wasn't a hard shot should have been stopped. In the third period it looked like we were playing "not to lose." Our defensemen stopped jumping into the offensive zone and that along with the questionable interference penalty assessed to us turned the tide.
ReplyDeleteOverall it was good to see the hustle and determination last night. Our players didn't give up. So hoping that carries forward tonight and our goalie play improves greatly.