Post Game Comments and Musings - 2/3/13

Grantham Called Up By Houston - photo by SceneByKimberley

The frustration continued last night as the Americans once again let a lead slip away before a large enthusiastic crowd (5003) at the Allen Event Center. They could not hold a 2-0 lead and lost in a shoot out by a score of 3-2. The Americans suffered their sixth straight home loss on Military Appreciation Night.

There was no post game press conference as the camouflage jerseys worn by the players were auctioned off right after the game.

Here are some of my thoughts, observations, and current stats:

- It was announced during the post game auction  that Ryley Grantham has been called up by the Houston Aeros. He did not play in the game as he was serving a one game suspension for an incident in the game on Friday.

- Jamie Schaafsma has quietly moved into second place on the team in goals scored as he got his fifteenth last night. He leads the team in shots (128) and game winning goals (5).

- The iron men on the team are Bootland, Maiani, Schaafsma and Deitsch as they are the only players that have played in all 41 games.

- I didn't pay close attention to the jersey auction so I may have this wrong but the Darryl Bootland jersey seemed to garner the most noise/bidding. It went for something like $850.

- I wish I could have told the guy bidding up the Garrett Clarke jersey that he was bidding against Garrett's mom who was here visiting and wanted his jersey.

- Had a chance to meet and briefly talk to Monique Pineault after the game last night and what an impressive young lady she is. She is feeling great and all of the reports on her health have been very encouraging. If you haven't read the the player profile on Adam, Monique, and their dog Shadow that I posted on January 11th please read it as it is a great love story as well as a hockey story.

- Saw an article in Scientific American that looked the the odds of winning a hockey game when scoring the first goal. It depends on how far  into the game the first goal is scored but but even if the first goal is scored within the the first five minutes of the game the odds of winning the game goes to 70%. All the more frustrating given the Americans have scored the first goal in the last three games.

- Scott Howes who was on a PTO (Professional Try Out) contract with Springfield which has a 25 game limit was signed to a SPC (Standard Players Contract) on Thursday. Congrats to Scotty.

- Brett Skinner played in his second game for Grand Rapids last night. The Griffins won both games. They play again Wednesday and we should know after that game whether his call up will be extended.

- Colton Yellow Horn had two more goals Friday night and now has 36 on the year. He continues to lead the ECHL in goals and has 10 more goals than his nearest competitor.

- Thanks to Tommy Daniels for inviting me to be part of his radio broadcast as a between periods guest on Friday and Saturday to talk about the blog. Please share with your friends who are Americans fans our web site (allenamericansblog.blogspot.com) and also our twitter handle (@allenamericans1)

- I know I have mentioned this in the past but wanted to mention it again. It is great to listen to the radio broadcast inside the Allen Event Center while watching the game. Give it a try and I am sure you will agree with me that it enhances the game experience. Just tune your radio to 97.5 KLAK.

- Will be working on the "Where Are They Now Story" on Bruce & Whitney Graham today and will post it tomorrow morning.

Rapid City Scores Winning Shoot Out Goal on Military Appreciation Night - Photo by chlphotos.com