You wouldn't call it a must win game, but when you play the worst team in the ECHL, with a recent record of 4-12-3-0 (.289) at home coming away with two points is essential. That is what the Allen Americans accomplished last night in a methodical 3-1 win over the Wichita Thunder before a Wednesday night crowd of 2811 at the CUTX Event Center.
Allen was in control of the game from opening puck drop and the game was not as close as the final score. If not for some outstanding goaltending by Wichita's Trevor Gorsuch the margin of victory would have been much wider. The number of grade A chances Allen had in the game had to have been in double digits. The Americans hit every key to the game and had a trifecta in the three goals it scored, a full strength goal, a shorthanded goal and a power play goal. Here are the game stats:
- Allen scored first, bringing its record when scoring first to 16-5-1-1 (.739).
- Allen led 1-0 after the first period and now has a record of 11-0-1-1 (.923) when leading after the first period.
- Allen led 3-0 after the second period and now has a record of 16-2-1-1 (.850) when leading after the second period.
- Allen's penalty kill was perfect (0-3) and also scored a shorthanded goal.
- Allen's power play was 1-3.
- Allen allowed Wichita 28 shots, tied for the low water mark for shots allowed this season.
- Allen outshot Wichita 37-28, just the sixth time in 48 games that has happened.
- Goalie Marco Constantini stopped 27 of 28 shots for a .964 save percentage.
- Colin Jacobs scored the only goal of the first period at the 13:59 mark, tipping in a shot from Blake Murray. Allen added two goals in the second period. Gavin Gould scored his team leading third shorthanded goal at the 11:08 mark. Gould is tied for second in the league in shorthanded goals. Kris Myllari scored his fifth power play goal of the season with 23 seconds remaining in the second period to give Allen a 3-0 lead. Myllari leads all ECHL defensemen in power play goals.
- Wichita spoiled Allen's shutout early in the third period (7:41). but that is as close as the Thunder could get. The Americans outshot Wichita 6-0 over the last six minutes of the game.
- Goal scorers for Allen were Colin Jacobs (3), Gavin Gould (6), and Kris Myllari (9). Here are the video highlights with all the goals and a save by Wichita goalie Trevor Gorsuch that will surely by one of the saves of the week: https://echl.com/videos/wichita-thunder-vs-allen-americans-feb-14-2024
- Here are the game recaps issued by both teams:
- Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/02/game-recap-americans-hand-wichita-3-1-loss
- Wichita Thunder: https://wichitathunder.com/news/2024/02/wichita-drops-valentines-day-contest-in-allen
- Next up for Allen are two games against Tulsa this weekend. The teams will play in Tulsa on Friday and in Allen on Saturday. The Americans will get Easton Brodzinski back after he served his one game suspension last night. Johnny Walker will miss both Tulsa games serving the last two of his three game suspension. Solag Bakich will also miss the Tulsa games, he will be the best man at his brother's wedding.
- Tulsa had to cancel its game on Valentine's Day because mechanical issues with the ice. I assume everything will be fixed by tomorrow night.
OTHER COMMENTS
- With Allen's win last night the Americans have moved back into a playoff spot by themselves. Here are the Mountain Division standings by point percentage with points in parenthesis:
- .793 - Kansas City (73 points)
- .691 - Idaho (65 points)
- .533 - Tulsa (49 points)
- .469 - Allen (45 points)
- .467 - Utah (43 points)
- .426 - Rapid City (40 points)
- .380 - Wichita (35 points)
- Here are the points earned by each Mountain Division team over the last 10 games:
- 17 points - Kansas City
- 15 points - Utah
- 15 points - Idaho
- 12 points - Tulsa
- 10 points - Allen
- 6 points - Wichita
- 4 points - Rapid City
- Here are the penalty minutes for each team in the Mountain Division with the team's position in the division in parenthesis:
- 884 - Allen (4th)
- 631 - Wichita (7th)
- 608 - Rapid City (6th)
- 562 - Idaho (2nd)
- 537 - Tulsa (3rd)
- 504 - Utah (5th)
- 432 - Kansas City (1st)
3ICE COMING TO ALLEN
- 3ICE announced its 2024 schedule yesterday and one of its stops will be in Allen. The CUTX Event Center will host 3ICE on June 19. It make perfect sense to have Allen host one of the 3ICE weekly tournaments since Chad Costello was the MVP and won the championship in the 3ICE inaugural season in 2022 and Hank Crone matched that in 2023. The Allen Americans have entered into an agreement with 3ICE to sell tickets for the tournament in Allen on June 19. There will be a discount for Allen Americans season ticket holders (STMs). Tickets will go on sale March 1st but it is expected STMs will be able to purchase tickets earlier than the March 1st general public date.
- The 3ICE schedule:
- The league is made up of eight teams of six players and a goalie. There will be eight weekly tournaments with four teams participating each week. Each tournament takes place in a couple of hours. The four teams play an opening round. The two losers then play for 3rd and 4th place and finally the two winners play for the championship. Teams get points based on how they finish in the four weekly tournaments they play. The top four in points make the championship playoffs in week nine, which utilizes the same format as the regular season tournaments.
- The coaches are NHL Hall of Famers and/or multiple Stanley Cup winners. Here is the 2024 launch video:
- If you are not familiar with 3ICE it is a fast pace 3-on-3 game with rules to speed up play. Here are a few of the unique rules.
- Game consists of two running time eight minute halves. The clock stops only for penalties and injuries.
- No power plays. All penalties are penalty shots with the coach picking the shooter.
- Goalies can play the puck all over the ice.
- No overtimes. If score is tied game goes directly to a shootout.
- Pucks going into the netting are still in play.
- Intentional icing is a penalty.
- Goalies can't freeze the puck.
- No coaches challenges.
- Only puck drop is start of the game and second half.
Here is a video that talks about the rules:
- Here is the highlight video 3ICE put together on Hank Crone's MVP season in 2023:
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