It is no secret that the Allen Americans expected to sweep this series against Greensboro this week. After all, the Gargoyles have the worst road record in the ECHL 9-23-3-0 (.300). You add that to the fact that Greensboro is without six of its top seven scorers because of trades and call-ups, and it is understandable why the Gargoyles have lost eight of their last 10 games. The six players who are no longer with the team represent over 40% of the offense.
- The big surprise came on Thursday when Greensboro, which had scored a total of four goals in its three previous games, laid a five-spot on the Americans in what was a one-goal game (6-5) until Allen scored two empty net goals at the end..
- Whatever ailed Allen defensively on Thursday got fixed last night in a 6-0 shutout win over Greensboro. Goalie Brett Mirwald, making his first professional start, was the #1 star of the game with a 25-save shutout. It wasn't Mirwald's first shutout of the season. A month ago, he was still playing college hockey at the University of British Columbia, where he recorded two shutouts.
- Back-to-back delay of game penalties, four seconds apart, created a long 5-on-3 power play opportunity for the Americans. The first delay of the game penalty was on the goalie for playing the puck in the restricted area, and the second was for shooting the puck out of play. It took just 17 seconds for Sam Sedley to score. It was his team's leading eighth goal by a defenseman and proved to be the game-winner. Sam has had four game-winning goals on eight goals scored.
- Allen wasn't done with the power play goals. A minute later, Brayden Watts scored his 22nd of the season and third in this series to give Allen a 2-0 lead, which they took into the first intermission. A good start proved to be effective once again for the Americans. Allen has won five straight games and scored first in all five. The Americans are almost unbeatable when they score first, 26-2-3-0 (.887). Only Kansas City (.929) has a better point percentage than Allen when scoring first.
- Any thoughts of coming back from a deficit like Greensboro did on Thursday were quickly eliminated in the second period. Two even-strength goals by Colton Hargorve, his 24th at 1:58 and Quinn Warmth, his seventh at 2:58, gave Allen a 4-0 lead. Kevin Gursoy scored his third goal of the season late in the period to give Allen a 5-0 lead at the end of the second period, and the Gargoyles' fate was sealed. Allen's record with a second-period lead is 26-0-2-0.
- Allen added one more goal in the third period to make the final score 6-0. Lukas Sillinger scored his second goal of the season and second in as many nights. Allen's goal totals have been something to behold:
- 14 goals in the two games against Greensboro
- 34 goals on this five-game winning streak (6.8 goals per game average)
- Season-long goals per game average is up to 3.68, #1 in the ECHL.
- A recap of the goal scorers: Sam Sedley (8), Brayden Watts (22), Colton Hargrove (24), Quinn Warmuth (7), Kevin Gursoy (3), and Lukas Sillinger (2). Here is another super highlight package from the Allen Americans that shows not only the goals but also how they were set up. Some great passes on these goals. Note on the 6th goal, Danny Katic doesn't get an assist, but made a sprawling play to keep the puck in the zone.https://echl.com/videos/greensboro-gargoyles-vs-allen-americans-apr-3-2026
- It is always enjoyable to revisit the keys to the game after a lopsided affair like last night.
- Allen scored first.
- Allen outshot Greensboro in all three periods, 39-25 for the game.
- Allen led 2-0 after the first period, 5-0 after the second.
- Allen won the special teams battle, going 2-3 on the power play, 0-3 on the penalty kill.
- Here are the game recaps from both teams:
- Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/04/game-recap-rookie-blanks-greensboro
- Greensboro Gargoyles: https://gargoyleshockey.com/news/2026/04/gargoyles-shutout-6-0-on-friday-night-in-allen
- What does Allen have to do tonight to sweep the series? Coach Martinson had the answer to that question when asked, "More of the same."
- MARTINSON'S POST-GAME COMMENTS
"I told the guys I wanted to get 8 goals again, but didn't want to give up any. It was nice to get the shutout, and our new goalie played great. He will play again tomorrow."
"It was nice to get the two power-play goals early. Then everyone is happy on the bench."
"Hank Crone is ready to go and will be back in the lineup tomorrow."
"You have heard me say defense wins championships, but the team that scores the most goals wins every game. We want to be better defensively, and tonight we showed it."
"I am not surprised some things went a little off on Thursday. When you are playing a last-place team that has traded away some guys, you can tell the players all you want that they have to be ready, but they are not listening; they have to experience it. They got a little wake-up call in that game and responded well tonight by playing a smart defensive game."
"I am still expecting to get help from Belleville, but not sure of the timing. Belleville has not been eliminated from the playoffs yet, so that will be a factor. We could get one player as soon as next week."
Here is the lineup for tonight. Hank Crone returns after a couple of injury setbacks. He has played in only three games since the end of February.
- 49 goals - Hank Crone
- 39 goals - Colton Hargrove
- 36 goals - Jack Combs
- 33 goals - Liam Finlay
- 2.40 - Michael Gildon, 12 points (3G, 9A)
- 2.00 - Colton Hargrove, 10 points (6G, 4A)
- 2.00 - Sam Sedley, 10 points (4G, 6A)
- 1.80 - Harrison Blaisdell, 9 points (5G, 4A)
- 1.80 - Colby McAuley. 9 points (4G, 5A)
- 1.60 - Brayden Watts, 8 points (3G, 5A)
- Tahoe has a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win today and join the 10 teams that have already qualified for the playoffs. If that happens, the Mountain Division will be the first to have all four of its playoff teams decided. In other action, Kansas City has another chance to win the Brabham Cup, and Florida has a chance to win the South Division. Here are the details and the game previews for the 13 games on the schedule today: https://echl.com/news/2026/04/echl-today-april-4
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