Americans Edged 5-4 in OT by Riverkings in Front of Sellout Crowd
March 26, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Allen Americans News Release
ALLEN, Texas- The Allen Americans let a four-goal lead slip away Saturday night, and dropped an overtime decision to the Mississippi RiverKings by a score of 5-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 6,004 at the Allen Event Center. For "Fan Appreciation Night," Americans fans were treated to an incredible assortment of over 700 different give-aways.
The Americans got things started with a Liam Huculak backhand goal 16:43 into the period. Huculak's shot deflected off the skate of Mississippi defenseman Andrew Lackner, and through the legs of goaltender Larry Sterling.
Judd Blackwater's 19th goal of the season put the Americans up 2-0 17:10 into the first frame. Blackwater tossed a puck on net from behind the goal line that found its way through Sterling and into the net.
Justin DaCosta gave the Americans a 3-0 lead, on the power play at :36 of the first period, hammering home a one-timer from the boards past the blocker of Sterling.
In the second period, Dave Bonk buried a silky backhand shot on a break-away to give the Americans a 4-0 lead.
The tide then turned in favor of Mississippi. A Louis Dumont short-handed goal made it a 4-1 game, 9:29 into the second period. Through two periods, the shots on goal advantage was 25-11 in favor of Allen.
The third period saw the RiverKings through 18 shots on Americans goaltender Chris Whitley, scoring on three of them. First, a Derek Landmesser goal midway though the stanza made it a 4-2 game. Then, at 16:17, Chris Auger put home a nice RG Flath feed for yet another short-handed tally for Mississippi. With just :43 seconds remaining in regulation, Matt Boyd put home a rebound chance while his club had the extra attacker on the ice, tying the game at 4 and sending it to overtime.
After a scoreless overtime, the Riverkings had all sorts of success in the shootout, scoring on all three of their shots, while the Americans shooters were thwarted in all three of theirs, giving Mississippi the 5-4 victory.
Allen will now travel to Tulsa Sunday afternoon to take on the Tulsa Oilers at 4:00 PM. With a victory, the Americans can tie the WPHL/CHL record for the most road wins in a single season (24). The game can be seen on CHL-TV and heard via 975klak.com. Fans in the Allen area are encouraged to visit Boston's The Gourmet Pizza on 121 in McKinney for the Official away game watching party.
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Central Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2011
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