The Allen Americans finished a three game weekend sweep of the Utah Grizzlies on Sunday with a dramatic shootout win before a crowd of 2864 at the Allen Event Center. Nothing comes easy for the Americans and that proved to be the case on Sunday. Just like on Friday night Allen got off to a great start taking a 3-0 lead in into the first intermission only to give up three unanswered goals in the second period. The Americans took a 4-3 lead in the third period but Utah tied the score with 99 seconds remaining. Both teams had four shots in overtime. It appeared that Allen had scored but the goal was waived off as the referee ruled goalie interference. The Americans played the last 59 seconds of overtime shorthanded.
- Allen chose to go first in the shootout and Zach Pochiro scored a goal to put the pressure on Utah. C.J. Motte then stopped one of the most dangerous goal scores in the league, Caleb Herbert. Dante Salituro started the second round and missed followed by Utah's Josh Dickinson who made his attempt. Adam Miller scored in the third round with his patented shootout move. Utah sent out Ryan Walters who had two goals in the game and after egging on the home crowd before he made his attempt was then stoned by Motte to give Allen their fourth shootout win of the season.
- The game did not play out the way you would draw it up but once again the Americans showed the resiliency and drive to get the victory. Allen blew a 3-0 lead for the second time in three games, they lost the special teams battle and they allowed 55 shots. C.J. Motte faced the most shots (55) and made the most saves (51) of the entire season.
- Here is a game recap that includes the press release from the Utah Grizzlies: http://prohockeynews.com/grizzlies-come-up-short-in-shootout-in-allen/?doing_wp_cron=1551098785.4409289360046386718750
- The goal scorers for Allen were Josh Atkinson (2), Zach Pochiro (29), Dante Salituro (14) and Alex Breton (14). Adam Miller had the game winner but you don't get credit for a shootout goal which has always seemed strange to me.
Here are the Sporfie highlights of the four Allen goals:
Atkinson
Pochiro
Salituro
Breton
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
"It was frustrating to give up the three goal lead and we were soft on the goal Utah scored to tie the game 4-4."
"It is great to get four straight wins but we have some work to do defensively. It is a lot easier to work
on things when you have won."
"The two goals we scored in the shootout were great. Pochiro's was a really sweet move. Miller's shootout move looks easy but it is really hard to do."
"Emerson Clark told me after the game that he has been traded by the Toronto Marlies to the Milwaukee Admirals. I thought when he was assigned to Allen he would eventually get traded so it is not a surprise. It will solve the veteran problem so we won't have to sit out a vet once Chouinard returns.
"We will have the day off tomorrow and my plan on Tuesday is to have a fun practice for the guys."
OTHER COMMENTS
- Steve Martinson hit victory 998 with the win last night. Allen has two games against Tulsa this week. If the Americans beat Tulsa at home on Friday, Martinson's 1000th win could come when the teams play in Tulsa on Saturday. With just one of 18 games on the road between February 15 and April 4 it would be ironic if the 1000th win comes at that one road game.
- Dante Salituro and Riley Bourbonnais have been a dynamic duo playing together five on five, on the power play and killing penalties. Since January 1st they are the top two in points on the team combining for 53 points (19G, 34A) with a plus/minus of +31. They also have four of Allen's eight shorthanded goals this season.
- Allen has won four games in a row. In those four games Alex Breton had eight points (5G, 3A) and his plus minus was +8. In his last 16 games Breton has had a negative plus/minus only twice. Alex had a goal last night and is now tied for the ECHL lead in goals by a defenseman (14) and is tied for second in points (39) for ECHL defenesmen. It is a matter of time before the AHL comes calling for Breton and he certainly deserves a chance.
- Allen has made some progress in getting out of the Mountain Division cellar but still has a ways to go. In the last 10 games four teams (Idaho, Kansas City, Rapid City, Allen) have identical records at 5-4-1-0. Here are the points earned in the last 10 games for all teams:
12 points - Tulsa
11 points - Allen
11 points - Idaho
11 points - Kansas City
11 points - Rapid City
5 points - Wichita
- Here are the current Mountain Division standings based on winning percentage with games remaining in parentheses.
.636 - Idaho (17 games remaining)
.630 - Utah (18 games)
.596 - Tulsa (15 games)
.558 - Kansas City (20 games)
.456 - Rapid City (15 games)
.447 - Wichita (15 games)
.397 - Allen (14 games)
- Allen is now 4-2 in shootouts this season. In those six shootouts the Americans have made 38.9% of their attempts. Shootout attempt percentage ranges from 100% (2-2) for South Carolina to 0% for Norfolk (0-8) and Greenville (0-6).
- Allen's average attendance after 25 of 36 home games is 3947. The Americans average attendance last season was 4082. To equal last year's attendance Allen will have to average 4388 per game over the last 11 home games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Mountain Division is unique for a couple of reasons. It is the only division in the ECHL that the top team does not have a winning percentage above .700. Here are the leaders:
.769 - Central Division (Cincinnati)
.728 - South Division (Florida)
.704 - North Division (Newfoundland)
.636 - Mountain Division (Idaho)
There are four teams in the ECHL with over 1000 penalty minutes and they are all in the Mountain Division:
1244 - Allen
1192 - Rapid City
1112 - Idaho
1007 - Wichita
We were commenting on Emerson yesterday during the game...as one of the smallest, height wise, guys on the team, he certainly has been the scrappiest of late. He has been a force on the ice and I hate to see him go.
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