A big win in Tulsa last night vaulted Allen into a playoff spot in the Mountain Division. Allen beat the Oilers 5-1 before a crowd of 4818 at the BOK Center. The Americans used their depth and offensive power, with five different players scoring goals, to come away with a decisive victory. The win was the third straight for the Americans, just the fourth time all season they have won three in a row.
- Here are some keys to the game:
- Allen scored first (in 7 of 8 games this season against Tulsa the team scoring first won).
- Allen led 2-0 after the first period (Allen's record with a 1st period lead is 9-2-1-1).
- Allen led 3-1 after the second period (Allen's record with a 2nd period lead is 12-0-1-1).
- Allen won the special teams battle (Allen was 1-2 on the power play, Tulsa was 0-3)
- Luke Peressini stopped 38 of 39 shots. Peressini's save percentage the three games was .974, .941 and .969. He has given up just four goals in the three games.
- Five different players scored goals, eight different players had assists.
- Goal scorers for Allen were JD Dudek (5), Chad Costello (24), Kris Myllari (7), Josh Winquist (6) and Spencer Asuchak (19). In addition, Asuchak and J.C. Campagna had two assists in the game. Here are the video highlights: https://youtu.be/4-MceLHCKQU
- Game recap from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/media/americans-win-the-opener-over-the-oilers-5-1/
Game recap from the Tulsa Oilers: https://tulsaoilers.com/oilers-fall-to-americans/
COACH'S CORNER WITH STEVE MARTINSON
"We had a lot of skill in the lineup last night. We are at a point now where every line can generate scoring opportunities on every shift."
"You could see our skill in action last night with three tap in goals after some great passing."
"I still have to finish doing a complete review of the game but we still have too many unforced errors. We are turning over the puck in the neutral zone. The end result is we don't get a shot on goal and the turnovers often end up with a shot for our opponent."
"We are getting better and the results show that, but we are not where we want to be just yet."
"Branden Troock was injured in the game last night and will be replaced by Dawson Butt in the lineup tonight. We won't know how serious Troock's injury is until we get home and he gets an MRI."
"Luke Peressini will get the start in goal tonight. I thought he was the #1 star of the game last night."
"We have been playing with five defensemen for a while. I have made a trade for another defenseman that will be announced later today."
REMATCH PREVIEW
- As big as the game was last night, another win by the Americans tonight will have them head home in fourth place (at a minimum). If Idaho loses in Toledo, the Americans will head home in third place in the division. On the other hand, if the Americans lose tonight they will be flirting with .500 again.
- Allen has won three straight games which is the second longest win streak in the ECHL right now. The Americans have scored a power play goal in each game of the win streak going a total of 3-7 (42.9%). The penalty kill has been perfect over the last three games (0-7).
- Allen outshot Tulsa 23-20 over the first two periods but were out shot in the third period 19-6 despite outscoring the Oilers 2-0. Avoiding a lopsided period in terms of shots, like the third period last night will be a key tonight.
OTHER COMMENTS
- The Americans have plenty of opportunities to gain on the teams ahead of them in the standings if they continue to play well. Allen has four games in hand over third place Idaho and second place Rapid City. They have five games in hand over first place Utah.
- Current Mountain Division Standings with ECHL points percentage rank in parenthesis:
- .612 - Utah (7th)
- .579 - Rapid City (9th)
- .535 - Idaho (14th)
- .519 - Allen (15th)
- .509 - Tulsa (18th)
- .500 - Wichita (21st)
- .492 - Kansas City (22nd)
- With a goal and an assist last night, Chad Costello now has 61 points (24G, 37A) and is tied for the ECHL scoring lead. Jack Combs is ranked #11 with 52 points (18G, 34A).
- There are 11 games in the ECHL tonight with five Mountain Division teams in action. In addition to Allen at Tulsa, Kansas City is at Utah and Idaho is at Toledo. Rapid City is idle until the 18th and Wichita's next game is in Allen next Wednesday. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of the 11 games on tap tonight. https://www.echl.com/en/news/2022/3/echl-today-march-12
- Luke Peressini has been outstanding in goal since joining the Allen Americans but especially recently. His record in Allen is now 5-3-0-0 with a GAA of 2.27 and a .936 save percentage.
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL stats page today is about top scorers since the beginning of last season. Spencer Asuchak leads Allen in scoring with 82 points (40G, 42A).
No comments:
Post a Comment