Salt Lake City, Utah - The Allen Americans, ECHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators (NHL), and Belleville Senators (AHL), opened the second half of the road trip on Thanksgiving Eve in Utah, and it was the Americans coming out on top 4-2 on Wednesday night at Maverik Center.
The Grizzlies jumped on the board first in the opening period as Jack Ricketts scored his seventh goal of the season with an assist from former Americans forward J.C. Campagna to put the Grizzlies in the lead 1-0. The Americans tied the game seven minutes later as Hank Crone netted his third of the year and ninth point of the season to tie the game at 1-1. That’s the way the period ended with the Americans holding a 10-9 advantage in shots on goal.
The Americans took the lead in the second period or so they thought. Spencer Asuchak set up Brayden Watts for his 6th goal of the season, but it was reviewed and determined no goal as the net was off its moorings. The Americans would score later in the period as Michael Gildon took a pass from Thomas Caron and walked to the front of the net and slid the puck through the five-hole to give Allen the 2-1 lead. Utah evened the game later in the middle frame with a shorthanded goal from Reed Lebster and it was tied again at 2-2.
The teams traded scoring chances in the third period but neither team was able to break the tie until late in the game. Spencer Asuchak won a faceoff in the Utah end back to Sam Sedley who fired a shot in on the Utah net. The rebound came to Brayden Watts who put the puck past Kyle Keyser for the go-ahead goal. The Americans would add an empty net goal later from Colby McAuley his first of the year, as Allen ended their losing streak at six games.
The teams will take Thanksgiving Day off and resume the three-game weekend series on Friday night at the Maverik Center.
They Said it:
Steve Martinson: “We skated hard tonight and got rewarded for it. It was a fun game to watch.”
Michael Gildon: “It was a complete team victory. We came together as a group and dug deep for the big win. All the way through the game we played hard. We need to continue the hard work the rest of the weekend"
Three Stars:
1. ALN - B. Watts
2. ALN - M. Gildon
3. UTA - R. Lebster
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