The Allen Americans lost to the Wichita Thunder last night 3-2 before a crowd of 3053 at INTRUST Bank Arena. After a scoreless first period the Thunder scored three unanswered goals in less than five minutes early in the second period. The first two goals came just 38 seconds apart (2:05 & 2:43) with the third goal added at the 6:42 mark. To the Americans credit they kept grinding after falling behind 3-0. Allen cut the score to 3-1 at the 6:42 mark of the third period on Jack Combs' third goal in as many games. With the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Colton Hargrove scored with five seconds remaining in the game to make the final score 3-2.
- Some stats and thoughts:
- Allen outshot Wichita in all three periods and doubled up the Thunder in shots for the game (31-16)
- Allen is now ranked #3 in the ECHL in average shots allowed per game (24.0) after finishing #26 last season allowing 35.3 shots per game.
- Allen was 1-6 on the power play and Wichita was 1-5.
- The #1 star of the game was Dillon Hamaliuk who had two of Wichita's three goals. Hamaliuk was the 3rd round (#55 overall) 2019 NHL draft pick of the San Jose Sharks. He has played two games for Wichita and has five points (4G, 1A).
- The #2 star of the game is another assigned player from the Sharks, Strauss Mann. Since joining Wichita he has played in three games, won them all with a GAA of 2.00 and a .947 save percentage.
- The #3 star of the game was Jack Combs who scored Allen's first goal. Jack has a point in all five Allen games this season and is tied for the league lead for longest goal scoring streak (3 games). Combs leads the team in points (6) and goals (3).
- Colton Saucerman had an assist last night and now has five points (2G, 3A) in five games. He is tied for third in points among all ECHL defensemen.
- As predicted Nico Blachman and Wichita's Stefan Fournier dropped the gloves and it took just six seconds after the opening puck drop. You can see the fight in the video highlights below:
- Game Recaps:
- From the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/media/third-period-rally-falls-short/
- From the Wichita Thunder: https://www.wichitathunder.com/en/news/second-period-eruption-leads-thunder-to-win-vs-allen
- Video Highlights: https://www.echl.com/en/video/2022/11/allen-americans-vs-wichita-thunder---nov-4-2022-P1GxYuBN
CHAD COSTELLO COACH'S COMMENTS
- "We made a few bad plays in about five minutes early in the second period and it ended up costing us the game."
- "We have been the better team in all of our games, but we need to translate that into results."
- "Now is no time to panic, but it is absolutely time to respond and get after it as a group."
- "We have areas where we can improve and that will be our focus this week."
- "We have a few experienced pros out of the lineup. Hopefully there will be some changes soon."
OTHER COMMENTS
- In other Mountain Division action last night Utah won in Kansas City, beating the Mavericks 4-3 in overtime and Idaho beat Rapid City 4-1 at home. It is still early but there is starting to be some separation from top to bottom in the division. Remember, history proves the teams in playoff positions at Thanksgiving have about an 80% chance of making the playoffs. The Mountain Division standing by points percentage;
- .833 - Idaho
- .700 - Kansas City
- .700 - Wichita
- .500 - Utah
- .400 - Allen
- .400 - Rapid City
- .333 - Tulsa
- While Allen is idle the rest of the weekend the other six teams in the division will be in action. Tonight Utah is at Kansas City, Wichita is at Tulsa and Rapid City is at Idaho. On Sunday Tulsa is at Wichita.
- The number of teams that haven't won or lost a game is now down to just two. Worcester is 6-0 and at home against 1-5 Norfolk tonight, so a good chance the Railers can extend their winning streak to seven. Iowa is 0-6 and plays Fort Wayne at home on Sunday in an effort to get its first points of the season.
- Put this in the odd stat category. Allen is oldest team in the Mountain Division averaging 26.17 years old, but no other team in the division has more than the nine rookies on the Americans roster.
DID YOU KNOW: Riley Gill is on many of the ECHL career stats lists. Maybe the most impressive are his three Kelly Cups and the most playoff wins (53) of any goalie in ECHL history. Here is my ECHL Stats post for today with another appearance by Riley:
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