The largest crowd of the season (2392) at the Allen Event Center (AEC) watched Justin Kapelmaster record his first professional shutout as the Allen Americans shutout the Tulsa Oilers last night 3-0. Playing short a player and with just nine forwards the Americans were in charge from the opening puck drop scoring a goal 32 seconds into the game. Kameron Kielly scored his fifth goal of the season assisted by Spencer Asuchak and Frank DiChiara. It was the same line that scored the first goal on Wednesday.
- Corey Mackin made the score 2-0 late in the second period and Samuel Laberge finished the scoring into an empty net with 79 seconds remaining in the game to give the Americans a 3-0 win and their third shutout of the season. It was an entertaining game as the Americans played their physical style with everyone finishing their checks and committing to defense. When Allen had defensive breakdowns Kaplemaster came up big stopping all 29 Tulsa shots he faced.
- The Americans killed all three Tulsa power play opportunities in a game where the referee let the players play. Tulsa wasn't called for a single penalty until there were 22 seconds left in the game.
- The goals scorers were Kameron Kielly (5), Corey Mackin (14) and Samuel Laberge (9). Here are the video highlights from the Allen Americans YouTube Channel:
- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/general/kapelmaster-leads-allen-over-tulsa/
- Here is the Tulsa game recap: https://www.tulsaoilers.com/allen-halts-oilers-five-game-win-streak/
- After two games at the AEC the teams headed for Tulsa after the game last night and will play twice more, tonight and Sunday afternoon. Playing the same team four times in five days usually causes hard feelings and the game was intense last night. Wouldn't be surprised if there are more fireworks tonight. The only reason that may not happen is Allen will be playing shorthanded again.
- Allen has now played Tulsa six times this season with a record of 4-1-1-0. The Americans have scored the first goal in all six games and have one of the best records in the ECHL when scoring first at 16-2-1-0. It is noteworthy that two of the three games Allen has lost after scoring first have been against Tulsa.
- Allen hasn't had a power play goal in the last three games though they have had just five chances in those three games and the one power play opportunity last night doesn't really count as it came with 22 second remaining in the game. The last time the Americans played in Tulsa (January 24) they were 2-3 on the power play.
- Allen as a team is playing with an urgency and intensity through a difficult week of call ups and injuries. If the team can continue to play the way they have in the first two games of this series they will be just fine.
- The line centered by Spencer Asuchak with Frank DiChiara and Kameron Kielly has found some great chemistry very quickly. In the two games against Tulsa they have a goal in each game including the game winner by Kielly last night, five assists, 14 shots and are +6.
- It is hard to understand why second year pro and AHL free agent Les Lancaster has not had a look by some AHL team. Les leads all ECHL defensemen in goals (8) and game winning goals (3), is #3 in points (24), #4 in assists (16) and #5 in shooting percentage (12.5%). This guy deserves a shot at the next level.
- Rookie defenseman Phil Beaulieu leads the Allen Americans in plus/minus (+13) and is also tops among all ECHL rookie defensemen in plus/minus.
- Jesse Mychan and Jake Paterson did not make the trip to Tulsa. Justin Kaplemaster will get the start in goal after is 29 save shutout last night. The lineup tonight will be the same as last night.
- Allen signed goalie Hayden Hawkey to a standard player contract (SPC) yesterday to serve as the backup to Kapelmaster. With Jake Paterson on the sidelines with an injury Allen could not continue to go with an EBUG. Hawkey was the sixth round draft choice of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 NHL draft. He attended Providence College and in his senior season (2018-19) played in 41 games with a GAA of 1.88 and a save percentage of .921. He has played sparingly since turning pro (2019-20) including five games with Wheeling last month in which he had a save percentage of .847. Keep in mind Wheeling is the worst team in the ECHL who has won just eight of 33 games.
OTHER COMMENTS
- All 14 ECHL teams were in action last night and what has to be a first in the ECHL 12 of the teams have the same opponent and are playing three games in three days. The exception is Utah at Rapid City who do not play a third game on Sunday. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of all seven games tonight: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/3/echl-today-march-20
- Fort Wayne lost last night but the other top three teams in the Western Conference won and the bottom three lost. Tulsa had a five game win streak snapped in the loss to Allen. Rapid City also had a five game winning streak snapped though it did earn a point in a 5-4 shootout loss to Utah.
- Fort Wayne is the only team in the ECHL that has won more than six of the last 10 games. The Komets are 8-1-1-0 in the last 10 games.
DID YOU KNOW: I posted this on ECHL Stats this morning. I am always amazed at the point totals Chad Costello had in his three seasons with the Americans. Also notable is five of the last six 100 point scorers in the ECHL were coached by Steve Martinson. If you are a top end forward, Steve Martinson's style of play is the place to be. The number of players that have had their best offensive season as a pro in Allen is a mile long.
Go Red! Crazy season for all sports.
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