Rapid City, South Dakota – The Allen Americans (10-20-7-1), ECHL affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club, powered by Energy Transfer Partners, faced the Rapid City Rush (11-20-4-3) on Friday at the Monument in South Dakota, and it was Rapid City taking the two points in a 4-3 loss in a shootout.
The Americans had a 2-1 lead after the first period of play. Kyle Crnkovic opened the scoring with his ninth of the season at the 1:14 mark of the opening frame. After Rapid City tied the game at 1-1, the Americans had an answer. Quinn Warmuth with his second professional goal and second of the season. Allen led 2-1 after the opening period.
Rapid City had the only two goals in the second period. Brady Pouteau scored his third at the 9:20 mark of the second to even the game at 2-2. Billy Constantinou broke the tie with his sixth of the season to give Rapid City their first lead of the game. The Rush led the contest 3-2 after two periods of play.
The Americans would even the game in the final frame, and it would come late in the period. Brayden Guy scored his 10th of the season at the 19:25 mark to tie the game for a third time sending the game to overtime.
Neither team, despite several chances, was able to end the game during the seven-minute overtime. The Americans would go to a shootout for the first time all season. Rapid City sent Deni Goure over the boards first and Goure would beat Dylan Wells for what turned out to be the game winner in the extra session. Allen's three shooters, Brayden Watts, Patrick Polino, and Kyle Crnkovic were all denied, extending the Americans losing streak to six games. The 39 shots by the Americans on Friday night were the most by the team this season.
The final game of the weekend series is on Saturday night at the Monument in Rapid City with an 8:05 PM puck drop.
Three Stars:
1. RC - D. Goure
2. RC - B. Pouteau
3. RC - B. Constantinou
They Said it:
Brett Ferguson: “Our group has that never out of the fight mentality all year, and tonight was another example. Unfortunately, we ended up on the wrong side of another 1-goal game again. Our special teams weren’t very special, going 0-for-4 on the power play including a 5-on-3, but that’s the way she goes sometimes. We had a big kill in the third to set up the tying goal. Dylan Wells was great for us in net and held us in it to help us secure at least a point.”
Brayden Guy: “Definitely nice to get one late to give us one point and give us a chance for two. On the team side of things, it's clear that we haven't given up. I give all of our guys credit, we're all fighting to climb out of this slump that we're in, and getting out of it is never easy.”
---Allen Americans Professional Hockey ---
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