The Allen Americans followed up their 3-2 shootout win over Wichita on Friday night with a decisive 4-1 win over the Thunder last night. Great team defense, great goaltending by Frank Marotte who was starting his first game since April 23 and a resurgence of even strength goals were the keys to victory. The teams will play game three of the series this afternoon (2:05 pm) and Allen has a chance to virtually wipe out the points percentage lead Wichita held going into this series, if the Americans win in regulation time. It is a big if when you consider Wichita has lost three straight games only one time all season. It will take a huge effort by the Americans but if they can pull off a regulation win this afternoon their points percentage will improve to .6454 and Wichita's will drop to .6465.
- The game last night started out in a similar fashion as Friday night with the script flipped. The opposite of Friday night, Allen scored the first goal of the game early (2:33 mark) on Matt Register's third goal of the season. The Thunder answered back later in the period on the power play, just as Allen did on Friday. The teams went into the first intermission tied 1-1 just like Friday.
- The comparison to Friday ended in the second period when Allen scored two quick goals. Brett Neumann scored his third goal of the season which would become his second game winning goal in the last three games. Just 71 seconds later Les Lancaster scored his 16th goal of the season to make the score 3-1 which the Americans took into the second intermission. With a second period lead Allen is almost unbeatable with a record of 23-1-1-0 and that proved to be the case last night. Allen added to its lead in the third period when Matt Register scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season to make the final score 4-1.
- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans which includes this quote from Les Lancaster, "We jumped on them early and forced them to play our game. We played one of our best games of the season. We need one more like that tomorrow afternoon." https://allenamericans.com/media/game-recap/americans-impressive-in-4-1-win-over-thunder/
- Here are the video highlights from the Allen Americans YouTube channel:
- Defensemen had three of Allen's four goals last night. The dynamic duo of Matt Register (three time ECHL Defenseman of the Year) and Les Lancaster (favorite for 2021 ECHL Defenseman of the Year) continue to put up incredible numbers. Lancaster has 42 points (16G, 26A) and is now tied for the team lead in points with Corey Mackin. Les's 16 goals are five more than any other defenseman and his 42 points lead all ECHL defensemen. Register is just one point behind Lancaster with 41 but with a different mix of goals and assists (4G, 37A). Matt is #3 in points on the team and #2 in points among ECHL defensemen. Register leads all top scoring ECHL defensemen in assists (37) and points per game (.80).
- Lancaster and Register have a combined total of 83 points. The next highest ECHL duo of defensemen is in Kansas City and has 54 points.
- Spencer Asuchak had an assist last night and has five points (3G, 2A) in the last three games. Asuchak has been on a hot streak in scoring goals the last few weeks. Spencer had seven goals in his first 33 game this season. He has nine goals in the last 13 games. Asuchak is tied for second on the team with 16 goals.
COACH'S CORNER
"We are playing good team defense again and the offense is improving. We are not beating ourselves on defense but we are still staying aggressive."
"We held a good Wichita to 23 shots on Friday and 22 last night which is a good accomplishment."
"I think the team took a big step in coming together as a team the way they responded after the first period on Friday."
"I was disappointed when Wichita captain, Ryan White, who is an NHL veteran, wasn't suspended after the Friday game when he jumped Zane Franklin, a rookie, who was standing holding his stick. We have had players suspended in the past for doing less. You lose respect when a veteran player with White's resume jumps a player rather than squaring up and fighting."
"We did everything right on the one goal Wichita scored. Sometimes a team makes a good play and that is what happened on the power play goal. Guys were in the right position, we had two sticks in the passing lane and the pass got through to set up the one timer goal."
"Matt Register has the best stick in the ECHL when he challenges players for the puck,"
"We are making too many bad decisions on our power plays. How we react to what the penalty killers are doing when we get setup is key. We have not had much time in practice to work on the power play
"Jake Paterson will get the start in goal this afternoon."
"Corey Mackin has been cleared to play and will be in the lineup this afternoon."
"My understanding is Justin Kaplemaster will play today for Cleveland when they play the Texas Stars."
"The reason the Iowa Wild recently got a goalie from Fort Wayne rather than Allen was because of COVID protocol. The Wild needed to find a goalie that was close enough to drive to meet the protocol. It is the same reason Cleveland requested a goalie from Allen, they could drive to Austin where Cleveland was playing three games this weekend. They didn't have time to fly in a goalie and have them meet COVID protocol.
GAME THREE PREVIEW
- Once again the key to the game this afternoon is more of the same. Last night Allen scored first, held Wichita to 22 shots and scored four even strength goals. Until last night the Americans hadn't score four even strength goals in a game for over a month.
- The one area that needs improvement is the power play. That is not easy because Wichita has the best penalty kill unit in the ECHL (88.9%). Over the last five games against Wichita, going back to early February, Allen is just 1-17 (5.9%) on the power play. Wichita is 5-18 (27.8%) on the power play the last five games against Allen. If the Americans can win the special teams battle this afternoon they should win the game the way they are playing.
- The referee will be the same (#32 Kyle Lekun) as the first two games so the players should be used to how he calls a game.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Had a request to explain the penalty Allen goalie, Frank Marotte, took a penalty early in the second period for delay of game for playing the puck in in the restricted area. Here is the official language from the ECHL rulebook, Rule 63.2:
"A goalkeeper shall not play the puck outside of the designated area behind the net. Should the goalkeeper play the puck outside of the designated area behind the goal line, a minor penalty for delay of game shall be imposed. The determining factor shall be the position of the puck. The minor penalty will not be assessed when a goalkeeper plays the puck while maintaining skate contact with his goal crease."
- Here is an article that explains the trapezoid rule (with pictures) and talks about when and why the rule was put in place. A good read: https://hockeyanswered.com/what-is-the-trapezoid-in-hockey-with-pictures/
- Three of the top four teams in the ECHL in points percentage come from the Western Conference. These are the only teams with points percentages above.600.
.686 - Fort Wayne
.658 - Wichita
.651 - Florida
.639 - Allen
DID YOU KNOW: How good is Jake Paterson in shootouts? He is perfect and the best in the ECHL.
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