Salt Lake City, Utah – The Allen Americans ECHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators (AHL), and Belleville Senators (AHL) won their second in a row over the Utah Grizzlies, walking away with a 6-2 victory on Friday night at the Maverik Center, in front of a crowd just under 6,000 fans.
The Americans split the offense evenly scoring two goals in the first period, two in the second and two in the final period.
Hank Crone scored a pair of goals, his 22nd and 23rd of the year while assisting on Zach Massicotte’s sixth of the year to earn a three-point night. He also extended his point streak to a season-high 12 games.
Jack Combs added a goal and an assist to move into second place in the ECHL scoring race. He has 54 points in 42 games, five points behind Newfoundland’s Zach O’Brien (59). He’s also second in the league with 23 goals, just one behind South Carolina’s Carter Turnbull, who has 24.
Colton Hargrove had an assist on Friday night to extend his point streak to a season-best 17 games.
Liam Finlay extended his point streak to nine games, scoring his 20th goal of the season on Friday. He now has goals in back-to-back games.
Luke Peressini was sharp in net stopping 32 of 34 Utah shots to earn his 10th win of the season (10-9-1).
Grant Hebert and Xavier Bernard both left the game after getting hit by a puck. Bernard was taken to a local hospital to be checked out. His status for Saturday night is unknown. Hebert is day-to-day.
The Americans go for the three-game sweep over the Utah Grizzlies on Saturday night. Game time is 8:10 PM CST.
Watching Party Saturday: Come watch the game on Saturday night along with Americans staff and fans at Northside Drafthouse in Richardson.
Americans Postgame Quotes:
Jack Combs: “It was a great team win tonight. Luke Peressini played awesomely in goal. We need to focus on trying to win tomorrow night and keep on climbing up in the standings.”
Aaron Gens: “Loved our effort tonight. The guys are playing very smart defensively, and when we had a breakdown, Peressini (Luke) made monster saves. Our team is very talented, so if we defend properly, we give ourselves a chance to win every night.”
Zach Massicotte: It was a great pass from Crone (Hank), to set up my goal. Our offense is playing so well right now, it’s tough for teams to defend us.”
Three Stars:1. ALN – H. Crone2. ALN – G. Hebert3. ALN – Z. Massicotte
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