Game Day Preview: Must Win!

Photo: C. West

Dallas/Allen, Texas - The Allen Americans, ECHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators (NHL), and Belleville Senators (AHL), play Game 5 of the Mountain Division Semifinals this afternoon against the Idaho Steelheads.  Game time is 4:10 PM CDT. The Americans are in a must win situation after dropping Game 4, by a score of 5-1, on Saturday afternoon.

Allen Americans Tonight: 

Pregame Show: 3:50 PM CST

Puck Drop: 4:10 PM CST

Watch Live: FLOHOCKEY.TV
Listen Live:  AMERICANS 24/7

On the Call: Tommy Daniels and Maurice Fitzgerald

Next Home Game: TBD

Facing elimination: The Americans dropped Game 4 on Saturday afternoon 5-1 at CUTX Event Center. Idaho scored in every period with two goals in the first period, two in the second, and one in the third. The Americans lone goal came early in the first period as Bennett MacArthur tied the game with his second goal of the playoffs, scoring for the second game in a row. Idaho’s Ty Pelton-Byce had a pair of goals for Idaho. His 11 points leads the ECHL in scoring. Nick Canade (1), Will Merchant (2), and Keaton Mastrodonato (1) were the other goal scorers for the Steelheads. Bryan Thomson made his first start in the series picking up the win. He stopped 29 of 30 Allen shots including 29 in a row.

Power Play struggles: The Americans were shutout on the power play for a third straight game going 0-for-3 on Saturday afternoon. Allen had four shots total on the power play. Idaho went 1-for-5 with the man advantage. Ty Pelton-Byce scored on the power play 1:29 into the opening frame. The Steelheads are 2-for-15 over the last three games.

Outshot again: For the fourth straight game in the Mountain Division Semifinals the Americans were outshot by their opponent. Idaho had 31 shots in Game 4, while the Americans had 30. The Americans have held Idaho under 40 shots in every game of the series.

Offense quiet: For the second game in the series, the Americans offense was held to a goal or less. The Americans were blanked 5-0 in Game 2, with just one goal scored in Game 4. The Steelheads are out-scoring the Americans 17-11 in the series.

DNP in Game 4: Mikael Robidoux, Kameron Kielly, and Nolan Orzeck did not play in Game 4 of the Mountain Division Semifinals. Kameron Kielly is the only player not to appear in the series.

Costantini goes back-to-back: Marco Costantini started Game 4 on Saturday afternoon stopping 27 of 31 Idaho shots taking the loss. He stopped 35 of 36 shots on Friday night in the Americans only win in the series. He has a 3.70 goals against average through three starts in the series.

Key Players held in check: Grant Hebert leads the Americans in scoring with four points in four games (0 goals and 4 assists). Hank Crone has three points in four games ( 1 goal and 2 assists), Colby McAuley with two points in four games (1 goal and 1 assist), Blake Murray has three points in the series (0 goals and 3 assists).

Comparing Allen and Idaho

Allen Americans

Overall: 1-3

Home: 1-1

Away: 0-2

Last 10: 1-3

Allen Americans Leaders:

Goals: (3) Liam Finlay and two others

Assists: (4) Grant Hebert

Points: (4) Grant Hebert

+/- (+3) James Hardie

PIM’s: (16) Grant Hebert

Idaho Steelheads:

Overall: 3-1

Home: 2-0

Away: 1-1

Last 10: 3-1

Idaho Steelheads Leaders:

Goals: (4) Mark Rassell

Assists: (8) Ty Pelton-Byce

Points: (11) Ty Pelton-Byce

+/-: (+3) Wade Murphy and two others

PIM’s (18) Nick Canade