Tulsa Shuts Out Allen 2-0, Martinson's Post Game Comments, Crane is ECHL Player of the Week & More

The Allen Americans were shutout 2-0 by the Tulsa Oilers last night before an announced crowd of 3687 at the BOK Center. The Americans were out hustled, out worked, out played, out shot (43-25) and out scored by the Oilers. In defense of the Americans, it was their fourth game in five days which is a rare occurrence even in AA hockey.

- The one bright spot for Allen was the play of goalie Joel Rumpel who was peppered with 43 shots and saved 41. That computes to a save percentage of .953. For his effort, Joel was named the #3 star of the game.

- Tulsa won the special teams battle scoring a power play goal while holding Allen scoreless in their only power play opportunity. It is noteworthy that Allen was called for five penalties while Tulsa had just one penalty.

- With the win, Tulsa is now nine points behind second place Allen in the Central Division standings with five games in hand. If you look at win percentage, Allen is at .607 and Tulsa is at .568. With three games this weekend (Allen Friday, Tulsa Saturday, Allen Sunday) it is possible Tulsa could pass Allen in win percentage before the week is over.


STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- We need to get back to basics and will work on that at practice this week.

- This was our fourth game in five days after playing three games in three days against Wichita. That made for a tough game tonight. I expect we will be much better on Friday at home.

- We need to get more traffic in front of their goalie. If we want to be successful we need to get more shots on goal and more traffic in front.

- We will spend time at practice to create a better five man attack for the weekend.

- Our forwards have been weak defensively and it cost us tonight.

- I am not sure why we aren't getting more power plays the last few games. Tonight was another example where we were called for five penalties versus one for Tulsa.


OTHER COMMENTS

- Allen has the #2 ranked power play in the ECHL but has not had much chance to utilize that advantage recently. The Americans had just one power play opportunity last night and in their last three games have had a total of just five power play chances while their opponents have had 14 power play opportunities.

- Including the shut out last night, the Americans have scored zero or one goal 12 times this season. Check "Did You Know" below for the historical perspective.

- Allen has an 11-8 record against Central Division teams but that includes being 7-0 against last place Wichita. The Americans have a losing record against Missouri (1-3) and Tulsa (3-5).

- Congrats to Chris Crane who was selected as the ECHL Player of the Week yesterday. Chris had eight points (5 goals 3 assists) last week in four games, including a game winner and a shorthanded goal, to lead Allen to a 3-0-1-0 record. The ultimate team player, Chris gave credit to others. Here is his quote from the Americans press release. "I want to thank my teammates for a great week, I couldn't have done it without them. I'm looking forward to the second half of the season and defending the Kelly Cup. My experience with San Jose earlier this year has really helped me to develop my game and working under Coach Martinson on a daily basis has really helped me grow as a hockey player."

Chris Crane, ECHL Player of the Week, discusses a win with Maurice Fitzgerald - photo by Lauren Lyssy

DID YOU KNOW:  The Allen Americans have played 42 games this year and have scored zero or one goal 12 times. At that pace they will end the season with 20 games with zero or one goal. Here is the number of games Allen has scored zero or one goal in each season in their history. The struggle the  team has had scoring goals this season is evident in this data.
2015-16     12 (thru 42 games)
2014-15     6
2013-14     4
2012-13     9
2011-12     10
2010-11     6
2009-10     13