It was the most impressive game of the most impressive series of the season for the Allen Americans as they smoked the Utah Grizzlies 8-1 last night before a crowd of 6415 at the Maverik Center. Allen made a statement right out of the gate, outshooting Utah 20-5 in the first period and outscoring them 3-0. It was the most shots on goal in one period all season. Mikael Robidoux got the first goal followed by Liam Finlay and Colton Hargrove.
- Allen scored two more goals early in the second period to take a 5-0 lead and the game was essentially over. Jack Combs and Hargrove were the goal scorers for Allen. Utah scored its only goal of the game late in the period on a scrum in front of the net when the puck squirted out from under Chase Perry.
- Three more goals in the third period from Gavin Gould, Jared Bethune and Hargrove's third of the game made the final score 8-1. The final three minutes of the game got out of hand with 76 penalty minutes being called, 57 of the 76 against Utah. Here is my opinion on what happened. It is perfectly understandable that a team that was embarrassed at home getting swept in the series and losing 8-1 would want to do something. There is respectful way to go about it as there are plenty of players on Allen's roster that are willing to fight and would gladly accept the challenge. Instead, Utah chose to run guys and jump guys that don't fight or can't fight because of injuries. The goalie fight was laughable. To have a goalie that was pulled after giving up five goals in less than 28 minutes, come back in the game because his replacement got kicked out and expect the opposing goalie to fight him in an 8-1 game is crazy. Chase Perry did exactly what he should have, stay in his crease. When the Utah goalie showed up in Perry's crease after game to fight, Perry acquitted himself quite well. I don't think the league thinks too much of the Utah's goalie's actions either. He has been suspended for one game. These teams play three more games at the end of the month and it should be a great series.
- Goal scorers for Allen were Mikael Robidoux (4), Liam Finlay (21), Colton Hargrove (19,20,21), Jack Combs (24), Gavin Gould (1), and Jared Bethune (5). Hank Crone had three assists, Finlay, Combs and McAuley two. Here are the video highlights. https://www.echl.com/en/video/2023/2/allen-americans-vs-utah-grizzlies---feb-4-2023-0gxQciOB
- Here are the game recaps:
Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/media/americans-sweep-utah/
Utah Grizzlies: https://www.utahgrizzlies.com/en/grizzlies-news/fight-night-at-maverik-center
AARON GENS COACH'S COMMENTS
"Loved the game from our team again tonight. Our team is very skilled, so we continue to focus on the defensive side of the puck. Our guys have bought into our system and structure and are playing for our head coach."
'In Chad's absence, we have been executing his plan by committee. I'm proud of our leadership, and I am humbled to be part of it."
"We will take the day off on Monday to rest and recuperate and be back on the ice on Tuesday to get ready for another big series, against Fort Wayne."
"We came out of the game last night with no additional injuries. I expect Bernard and Hebert will be back in the lineup against Fort Wayne."
OTHER COMMENTS
- Some random stats from the Utah series:
- Eight goals by Allen last night were the most all season, previous high was six.
- 150 combined PIMS last night are second most in the ECHL this season.
- 96 PIMS by Utah is most in the ECHL this season.
- Allen was 3-9 (33%) on the power play last night.
- Allen's penalty kill in the series was 94.4% (1-18).
- Allen outscored Utah 18-4 in the series.
- Allen averaged 6.0 goals per game in the series, Utah averaged 1.33.
- Allen scored the first goal in all three games.
- Allen set a season record for most shots in a period (20).
- Chase Perry's save percentage was .966 (saved 57 of 59 shots).
- Luke Peressini's save percentage was .941 (saved 32 of 34 shots)
- Allen's win last night combined with Kansas City and Rapid City losing, vaulted the Americans into sole possession of third place in the Mountain Division. It may be short lived since Allen is idle today while Kansas City plays in Indy and Rapid City plays in Wichita. Here are the Mountain Division standings by points. Points percentage is in parenthesis:
- 68 points - Idaho (.810)
- 51 points - Wichita (.593)
- 43 points - Allen (.500)
- 41 points - Kansas City (.500)
- 41 points - Rapid City (.477)
- 39 points - Utah (.453)
- 36 points - Tulsa (.439)
Have to admit I am getting a stronger craving for the crow I will be eating if Allen makes the playoffs. If the Americans make it to second place I will have a double helping of crow.
- There is a pretty heavy schedule around the ECHL for a Sunday. Ten game are on tap starting as early as 2:05 pm (Rapid City at Wichita) and as late as 5:15 (Wheeling at Toledo). Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2023/2/echl-today-feb-5
- The Iowa Heartlanders broke their 20 game road winless streak, the second longest all-time, in style . Iowa now has a two game road win streak, beating Wheeling 2-1 on Friday and 7-2 last night.
- This group of four will have to get a special name soon if they keep putting up the numbers they have been putting up. They all had 3+ points last night.
Allen is averaging exactly five goals per game over its last eight games. Here is an update after last night:
- Colton Hargrove - 18 game point streak, 17 goals in last 17 games
- Liam Finlay - 10 game point streak, goal in 8 of last 9 games, GWG in four straight games
- Hank Crone - 13 game points streak, 22 points (8G, 14A), leading rookie scorer (55 points)
- Jack Combs - points in 16 of last 18 games, 1st in ECHL in goals (24) and 2nd in points (57)
Allen has won 21 games this season. This group of four has the game winning goal in 15 of the 21 and nine of the last 10 wins.
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stat post today is about rookie scoring. Allen rookies have scored 142 of the team's 377 points which is 37.7%.
So many things to take away from this series. Allen definitely looks like a different team, it’s exciting. Gens is a great in game coach. I can definitely tell a difference between him and Costello in terms of utilizing the right line at the right time. The Bethune line if used in the wrong situation is a massive disadvantage. But Gens used them perfectly all series and it won’t show up in the box score. But that line was amazing.
ReplyDeleteBarry, I completely agree with your take on Utah’s reaction to getting stomped. I love a good dust up and like you said, it’s understandable for the home team to throw some punches when they get embarrassed. But this was just dirty. My reaction was cringe. Can’t think of another word to describe it. Even the Utah announcers were embarrassed. I think one of the guys said, “lost in this whole thing is that we got beat 8 to 1”, as the goalie is skating around the ice trying to pump up the crowd. What a dummy. like scoring a touchdown when you’re getting your ass beat and then celebrating like you won the Super Bowl.
On that note, I have to say that the announcers for Utah and their whole production is fantastic. And we have to mention the beer chugging skills from some of the women. Very impressive. If you have a chance to watch a replay on flohockey I recommend it.
Lastly, I’m super proud of our guys and how they behaved. They could’ve gotten sucked into a dirty Wichita-ish shit show, but they didn’t. Robideaux definitely has a target on his head, kind of like when A-Rod came back from suspension and all the pitchers were throwing at him. This could work to our advantage in the next 10 games if Robideaux doesn’t lose his mind.
-Bobby 226
The ebb and flow of a hockey season...lose a few, win a few. No team is a down for very long. This has been the easy stretch of our schedule, now the challenge is to keep playing well against solid defensive teams. That has been the tough part for us all season. Sometimes you catch the right team, at the right time of the season and I think that is primarily what we are seeing with the past game against KC and Utah.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope they keep the flow going, but the road does become now, on and off the ice.
The ebb and flow of a hockey season...lose a few, win a few. No team is a down for very long. This has been the easy stretch of our schedule, now the challenge is to keep playing well against solid defensive teams. That has been the tough part for us all season. Sometimes you catch the right team, at the right time of the season and I think that is primarily what we are seeing with the past game against KC and Utah.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope they keep the flow going, but the road does become tougher now, on and off the ice.
The name of the four guys you pointed out…should be “The 4 Horseman”
ReplyDeleteCarrying a heavy load consistently is the motto…but the entire team is playing at a high level…sustaining this type of play and winning 2 games for every 1 loss…will put us in the 2 or 3 spot…in our division…obviously Idaho has the #1 spot on lockdown.
Really proud of this team…battling through adversity and overcoming obstacles along the way…boys are growing into MEN on and off the ice.
I think we can all agree that this is a one line team (+1) with a hot goalie. We will need more depth to have any chance to sustain this run. It's easily noticeable in the stats. Enjoy the journey, but it's all about the destination and the shiney trophy at the end.
DeleteI’m just happy to be here (Twitter: @AmericansMan)
ReplyDeleteWhy no suspension for the goalie kicking in the last few minutes of the game?Everyone but the refs saw it!
ReplyDeleteAgree. Gens is doing great. Someone to think about. Also less time in the penalty box helps and having players back helps. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteYou do know Costello was still the one making the lines and game plan right? And that Steffes was the head coach for the home games.. Costello is a great coach and this team is positioned to make a serious run now with him back.
DeleteYep I know that. That’s why I was very specific when I said “in game”. And there was a very different in game management during the Utah series. Specifically with the lines that were not the top lines. It reminded me of the Dallas stars of the late 90s. They managed their forecheck lines perfectly, just like Gens did in the Utah series. -Bobby 226
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