Allen Wins A Strange One, Game Recap, Steve Martinson's Post Game Comments, Rematch Preview, Overtime Stats and More

Allen beat Tulsa last night 6-3 before a crowd of 4861 at the BOK Center. The game started out as an offensive explosion with the first goal scored just 31 seconds into the game and three goals scored in less than a minute at the end of the first period that saw seven goals scored on 27 shots. The Americans gave up the first goal but came back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. Allen scored twice in the last minute of the first period (19:16 & 19:42) to take a 4-3 lead and never looked back.


- Tulsa out shot Allen 22-10 in the second period but the Americans won the period 2-0 to take a 6-3 lead into the third period. There was no scoring in the third period. A game that had seven goals scored in the first 20:36 had one goal scored in the last 39:24, go figure. Allen goalie Zach Sawchenko was a difference maker once again. Though he gave up three goals early, Zach shutdown Tulsa stopping all 31 shots he faced in the last two periods. In total he faced 43 shots and had a save percentage of .930.


- The goal scorers for Allen were Alex Guptill (8), Josh Brittain (2&3), Jack Sadek (1), and Corey Durocher (1&2).


- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/big-first-period-helps-allen-to-6-3-win-over-tulsa/



STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

"It was a strange start for sure. The key for us in the first period is every time they scored we countered with a goal."

"The line of Josh Brittain, Cory Durocher and Jared VanWormer were really good for us tonight. It took Brittain having to go off for stitches to slow them down."

"We have three lines that can score so if one is having a tough night, like tonight, other lines stepped up."


REMATCH PREVIEW

- Allen and Tulsa will be back at it this afternoon (4:05 pm) in a rematch. Allen matches up well against the Oilers as evidenced by their 3-0 record this season with all three wins coming in Tulsa. In total Allen has outscored Tulsa 14-8.


- For having such a good record the Americans have struggled early in games giving up the first goal in 10 of their 19 games. Allen is close to unbeatable when scoring first (8-1) so even though they won last night after allowing the first goal just 31 seconds into the game, they need a better start tonight.


- Both teams failed to capitalize on the power play last night. Allen was 0-3 and Tulsa was 0-4. The Americans road power play is now ranked #18 at 12.0% while their #1 ranked road penalty kill has improved to 95.7%. Tulsa's home penalty kill is now ranked #22 at 11.3% and their home penalty kill is now ranked #21 at 79.3%. A key for Allen in the rematch today is win the special teams battle.


- Another key today is shots on goal. Tulsa leads the ECHL in average shots on goal (38.18) and exceeded their average last night with 43. At one point in the second period the Oilers were out shooting Allen 21-4 and in the final two periods the Oilers out shot the Americans 31-21. While scoring six goals like the Americans did last night will win most games, Allen needs to reduce the shots allowed if they expect to win today.


- Jake Paterson will get the start in goal today. Since Jake gave up nine goals in a relief appearance when Dereck Baribeau was injured on October 18 in a 10-4 loss to Utah, Paterson has lost just one game and that was a 1-0 overtime loss in Cincinnati. Jake has started seven games since October 18th. He won four of them in overtime, two in regulation and his only loss was the 1-0 overtime game in Cincinnati. In those seven games Paterson's save percentage is .935.


- While the line of Brittain, VanWormer and Durocher led the way last night with with four goals, five assists and a plus/minus of +12, the line of Archambault, Asuchak and Gagne had no points and were -9. The strength of the Allen team this season is their depth with three lines that can score. You never know which line will lead the way. Allen has eight players with five or more goals and that doesn't include Brittain who has three goals in three games or Durocher with two goals in seven games.       



OTHER COMMENTS


- Congrats to Jack Sadek who got his first pro goal last night and finished the game +3. For the season Jack is now +13 which leads all Allen defenseman and is #4 league wide for defensemen.


- With his game last night Zach Sawchenko has now played enough minutes (360) to meet the minimum amount of playing time for the qualified goalie stats. He debuted on the goalie charts as #4 in save percentage (.937) and #5 in GAA (2.17).


- Two Mountain Division teams that struggled mightily last season sit atop of the ECHL standings today. Rapid City is #1 with 31 points and is on pace to finish the season with 101 points after totaling just 69 points last season. Allen is #2 in the standings with 30 points and is on pace to a 113 point season after totaling just 56 points last season.


- The top five ECHL teams by winning percentage are:

.875 - South Carolina
.789 - Allen
.705 - Rapid City
.700 -  Cincinnati
.690 - Reading


- Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of the five games on the Sunday schedule:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2019/12/echl-today-dec-1



DID YOU KNOW: Allen is 6-2 in overtime games this season and have 14 of their 30 points (47%) from games that went to overtime. Last season the Americans were 3-4 in games decided in overtime. They also had six games that went to a shootout and were 4-2 in those games. In total the Americans earned 20 of their 56 points (36%) from games that went beyond regulation time.