NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas – The Allen Americans and the Fort Worth Brahmas kicked off this year’s Uncle Bob’s Metroplex Rivalry at the NYTEX Sports Center Friday night, the first of 17 scheduled regular season meetings between the two clubs this season.
It didn’t take long to get things rolling for the Americans as Scotty Howes capitalized on an early power play at the 2:59 mark with assists going to Tyler Ludwig and Brett Skinner. The Brahmas answered right back when Phil Fox found the back of the net unassisted at 4:15 of the first period. Adam Hogg then gave Fort Worth their first and only lead at the 7:00 mark on a penalty shot, where the score would stay through the first period at 2-1. Shots on goal were in favor of Allen 11-9. The second period saw a dominant Allen continue impressive production on the power play, notching a pair of goals with the man advantage to take the 3-2 lead while tripling the Brahmas in shots on goal through the period.
Darryl Bootland lit the lamp first in the middle frame to tie the game with assists from Anthony Maiani and Brett Skinner at 4:46. The Americans then struck again to take back the lead minutes later when Scotty Howes buried his second goal of the night, assisted by Darryl Bootland and Mike Montgomery at the 8:00 mark. The second period came to a close with the Americans running the board, leading the game 3-2, dominating in shots on goal 19-6 for the period and doubling the Brahmas in shots on goal 30-15 through two periods.
Allen%27s Jarret Lukin battles Brahmas Captain Ross Rouleau for the puck
The third period saw much tighter play by both clubs as the score remained unchanged until late in the game when Chad Woollard tied it for Fort Worth at 13:26 of the third period, the lone assist going to Sy Nutkevich. Woollard’s would be the only score of the third period, as the game remained knotted 3-3 and the clubs headed to overtime. Shots on goal in the third were 8-6 in favor of Fort Worth with the Americans leading through three periods 35-19.
The five-minute overtime period passed scoreless, forcing the game to shootout for the second game in a row for Allen. The Americans were once again very strong in the shootout, with three out of four skaters scoring to the Brahmas lone goal. Scoring for Allen was Jamie Schaafsma, Brett Skinner and Adam Pinneault, for the Brahmas it was Phil Fox.
Steve Silverthorn makes a save during the shootout.
The victory is the third straight for Allen as they remain undefeated and the third for Steve Silverthorn who earned the CHL Oakley Goaltender of the Week honors with his back to back victories last weekend, including a 4-0 shutout in his first outing as an American on opening night. Silverthorne’s shutout victory matched Charlie Effinger’s as they are the only two goaltenders in Americans history to win by shutout in their first game for Allen.
The Allen Americans return to the NYTEX Sports Center Saturday night for the second game of the back-to-back weekend series at 7:30 P.M. Contact comments@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
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