Allen, Texas – The Allen Americans, (ECHL) affiliate of the Ottawa Senators (NHL), scored late in the third period to defeat the Rapid City Rush 3-2 at Credit Union of Texas Event Center in front of a home crowd of 3,825.
Rapid City opened the scoring late in the first period with a goal by Colton Leiter (2) and outshot the Americans 17-10 in the first frame.
With less than a minute into the second period, the ECHL Player of the Month Hank Crone (32) found the net for his first goal of the night, tying it up 1-1. Crone (33) lit the lamp for a second time in the period, this time on the powerplay, to give Allen a 2-1 lead heading into the third period.
Matt Marcinew (24) tied the game with a tip-in goal late in the third period to make it 2-2. However, the Hank Crone magic was not done, scoring his third goal of the night to finish off the hat trick with the eventual game winning goal for Allen in a 3-2 victory over Rapid City.
Crone’s hat trick Saturday night was his first in an Allen Americans sweater, and good enough to earn first star honors.
Allen goaltender Chase Perry recorded 36 saves on 38 shots, as he was awarded the second star.
The win against Rapid City was Allen’s first against the Rush this season. The Americans improved to 27-25-1. Allen closes out the series against Rapid City tomorrow afternoon, with a chance for a two-game sweep.
Americans Post Game Quotes:
Hank Crone: “It was awesome to get a hat trick at home on Texas night. Thanks to my linemates as always, I couldn’t do it without them. We’re playing well right now and we’re looking to keep it going down the stretch.”
Chase Perry: “The guys played great in front of me tonight. We needed this win, as we continue to battle for playoff positioning in a tight Mountain Division race.”
Three Stars of the Game
- ALN – H. Crone
- ALN – C. Perry
- RC – M. Marcinew
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