The Allen Americans beat the Utah Grizzlies 5-3 last night in the first of their four game series. A crowd of 1302 disappointed Grizzlies fans watched Allen score five unanswered goals after Utah took a 3-0 lead in the second period.
- The Americans got on the scoreboard at the 15:22 mark of the second period when rookie Brett Neumann scored his seventh goal of the season to cut the score to 3-1. Trailing 3-1 after the second period presented a real challenge for the Americans. Allen's record on the road when trailing after the second period was 1-10-0-0. Combine that with the fact Utah had not lost a game in regulation time at home all season when leading after the second period (10-0-1-1).
- In what was one of those character building games the Americans scored four goals in the third period for the comeback win. Rookie Collin Shirley scored twice in 31 seconds early in the period to tie the score and give Allen the momentum. With less than a minute remaining in the game Josh Lammon scored the game winner as Allen players swarmed the net. Corey Mackin finished the scoring and sealed the victory with an empty net goal with nine second left in the game and the Americans had their best comeback of the season. It is just one game of the four game series in Utah and Allen has a lot of work to do this weekend but what a great start.
- Allen out shot Utah 22-7 over the last two periods and 28-18 for the game. It was the fewest shots Utah has had in a game all season.
- Goals scorers for Allen were Brett Neumann (7), Collin Shirley (2,3), Josh Lammon (11) and Corey Mackin (27). Dyson Stevenson had a big presence in the game finishing checks, blocking shots and assisting on three of the five goals. Here are the video highlights from the Allen Americans YouTube channel:
- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans which includes this quote from Josh Lammon, "We took over the momentum in the second period and never gave up. Collin Shirley started the big rally and I was able to get a rebound in front for the game winner. Utah has been the hottest team in the league of late, so what we did tonight was impressive." https://allenamericans.com/news/general/amazing-comeback-ends-utahs-seven-game-winning-streak/
COACH'S CORNER
"We had a rough start but I liked the way the team came back. We out played them in the final two periods."
"On Utah's first and third goals we made defensive mistakes we have to clean up. The second goal was just a seeing eye puck into the net, not a breakdown on our part."
"I have said all along it takes rookie players a while to get going after hardly playing in the last year. It was good to see Collin Shirley get those two goals in 31 seconds early in the third period to tie the score."
"Zane Franklin, who was behind the bench helping me tonight, will be back in the lineup on Friday."
"I will be adding defenseman, Terrance Amorosa, today. He was with the Laval Rocket (AHL) this season."
"I will also be adding another player, whose team is in the AHL Pacific Division, after the playoffs are concluded."
"I am also talking to a forward about joining the team."
"Darian Skeoch stayed in Allen dealing with a lower body injury."
OTHER COMMENTS
- Allen snapped Utah's seven game win streak last night and extended its win streak to two games. With a 7-2 win at home on Monday and 5-3 win last night the Allen offense has come alive. Over the last five games the Americans are averaging 4.8 goals per game.
- Brett Neumann scored the first goal for Allen from the slot on a great pass from Dyson Stevenson. Neumann had no goals and just one assist in his first six games with Allen. Since that time he has played in 14 games and has 13 points (7G, 6A). Brett had only played four games of hockey this season when he arrived in Allen a month ago. In his last two seasons in junior hockey in the OHL (2018-19 & 2019-20) Neumann had 45 goals each season. Coach Martinson had predicted it would take him some time to get up to speed. It looks like that has happened and Neumann could turn into that rare player that can average a point a game and half a goal per game.
- With the win in Utah last night the Americans have tied Fort Wayne for second place in the Western Conference with a points percentage of .643. Wichita is in first place at .667. Wichita is in Fort Wayne to play the Komets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- The bottom four teams in the Pacific Division had a single elimination play-in to see who would join the top three teams for a best of three playoffs. San Jose beat Colorado 5-1 last night to move on to the playoffs. The Barracuda will now take on the top seeded Henderson Silver Knights in a best of three series beginning on Friday. In the Barracuda win over Colorado, Krystof Hrabik, who spent time in Allen before San Jose pulled its players, score two goals and was named the #2 star.
- The Americans gave up the first goal of the game the last five times they played Utah going back to April 3. This is one area that needs improvement this weekend.
- The odd stat of the day is Allen won last night even though Les Lancaster and Matt Register did not have a point. After 63 games this season you can find only two games that Allen has won when neither Lancaster and Register had a point. Prior to last night the only other time that happened was way back on December 27 in a 5-1 win over Tulsa at the AEC. Zach Sawchenko, on loan from San Jose, stopped 46 of 47 Tulsa shots in the win.
DID YOU KNOW: Steve Martinson has a lot of rookies on the Allen roster, 14 if you count injured players, and has consistently said the team should improve as players get more pro experience. How young is the Allen roster?
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