If you just looked at the final score from the game last night and saw a 5-2 Allen victory over the Brampton Beast you might think it was an easy win. The facts are Allen won the first period 2-0 on goals by Jesse Messier (2) and Greger Hanson (13). Hanson's goal was shorthanded. The second period was won by Brampton 2-0 on goals by Justin Donati (he played for Steve Martinson in Elmira) and Steve Tarasuk (he played for Steve Martinson last year). It was atypical for Allen to play poorly in the second period as they have scored more goals in the second period than any other team in the league by a wide margin. On the season they have out shot their opponents in the second period 75-38. With a 2-2 score going in to the third period Allen took control with three unanswered goals by Aaron Gens (6) and two by Gary Steffes (30 & 31) to coast to the 5-2 win.
The two teams play again tonight (Friday) but remember the puck drop is 30 minutes later than last night (6:30 CST). With two tough games coming up next week on the road against one of the hottest teams in the league (Ontario Reign) it is imperative Allen wins tonight in Brampton. It will also make the bus trip home much more enjoyable with maybe a couple of beer stops along the way.
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
- We had a good start in the first period taking the 2-0 lead but in the second period we let them back in the game with turnovers and odd man rushes which really hurt us.
- We had a solid third period and I really like how the team self corrected after the poor second period.
- We had great special teams play tonight going 1-2 on the power play and the penalty kill going 0-5. Throw in the shorthanded goal by Greger Hanson and it was an excellent game for the special teams.
- Ian Schultz got hurt and didn't return to the game. He could be okay for tomorrow (Friday). We will just have to wait and see.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Allen is now 4-0 against the Beast for the season and has out shot Brampton 154-102 and out scored them 24-5.
- One of the keys to success against Brampton has been staying out of the penalty box. With Allen being the most penalized team in the league you would assume they have had more penalties than Brampton in their four games. The fact is each team has taken a total of 56 penalty minutes in the four games. Allen is 3-15 (20%) on the power play and Brampton is 1-14 (7.1%).
- Chad Costello had an assist to continue his streak of 16 straight games with at least one assist. He now has 70 points and leads the ECHL scoring race by 21 points.
- With two goals last night Gary Steffes becomes the first 30 goals scorer in the ECHL this year. Gary now has ten goals in the last eight games and his 31 goals leads the ECHL by six goals. Gary is only the fourth player in Allen Americans history to reach the 30 goal plateau. He is still on pace to score 50 goals for the season. WOW!
- The announced crowd for the game last night was 2316. Brampton is ranked #27 in the ECHL with an average attendance of 2460. Only Elmira at 2359 has a lower average.
- All season ticket holders should have received an email yesterday with details about playoff tickets and renewal for next year. Some exciting new offers to save you money.
- In case you have not heard, the game originally scheduled for Wednesday, February 11th has been moved to Wednesday, February 18th. If your seats are in the lower bowl you need to stop by customer service at one f the upcoming games and pick up the reissued tickets.
- Some tickets (not all) show the game on Monday, February 16 as a 1:05 pm start. The game time is actually 7:05 pm.
- Congratulations to Rapid City Rush captain Daniel Tetrault who scored his 500th professional point last night in the Rush 5-4 victory over Tulsa. As Allen fans will attest, a tough competitor on the ice and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet off the ice.
- In one of the worst kept secrets of the last couple of weeks the Missouri Mavericks will hold a press conference at 1:00 PM today to formally announce that Lamar Hunt Jr. has purchased a 100% stake the team. Hunt is one of four children of the late Lamar Hunt who founded the American Football League and Major League Soccer. Noticed some Missouri fans are saying they are going to take a wait and see attitude on this change in ownership but what you read about this transaction looks like a big winner. You have a local owner with deep pockets who grew up in a family where professional sports ownership was one of the the family businesses. Hunt grew up in Dallas and attended Dallas Blackhawks hockey games as a kid but now lives in the suburbs of Kansas City not far from where the Mavericks play. Before he bought the team he made sure the contract of President and General Manager Brent Thiessen, who has guided the Mavericks to be the perennial best franchise in the CHL, was extended. Hunt has said in recent interviews one of his goals going forward is to expand youth hockey in the area. If you ask me having Lamar Hunt Jr. as the owner is not only good for Missouri, it is good for the entire ECHL. To have the amount of influence that Hunt brings to the table and have him get involved in the sport of hockey is a big upgrade for hockey in the Kansas City area.
DID YOU KNOW: Lamar Hunt Jr. graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music Degree and later completed a Master of the Arts degree in counseling at Dallas Baptist University. He was also a flutist in the Kansas City Symphony
for nine seasons. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in both
Kansas and Missouri, where he worked with neglected and abused
teenagers, homeless men with addiction problems, and families in crisis.
Two of his passions in life are classical music (from Gregorian Chant
to Dimitri Shostakovitch) and promoting healthy family relationships in
the community. He is regularly in demand as a public speaker regarding
effective interpersonal relationships. Lamar is married to his lovely
wife, Rita, and between them, they are the proud parents of nine
children and five grandchildren.
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