ALLEN, TX – After a couple of lackadaisical efforts down at the border, the Americans came back home to Allen facing elimination in a do-or-die game six against Laredo. Buoyed by a loud and enthusiastic crowd, the Americans showed their tenacity and character, earning the win and forcing a seventh and deciding game on their home ice.
Allen got off to a slow start in the first period, unable to test Laredo goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier until six minutes into the opening stanza when they got their first pair of shots on goal. Laredo had already doubled Allen’s efforts at that point, getting four tries on Americans goalie Chris Whitley. Laredo’s back-check and quick transition kept Allen off balance in the opening minutes before the Americans were finally able to settle down and gain the zone with confidence.
The ice began to slowly tilt in the Americans favor as the period wore on, Allen had two great scoring opportunities but were unable to capitalize on either. The Americans could sense that it was only time before the rubber met the back of the net but it was not be in the opening frame. As the buzzer sounded, Laredo was outshot by the Americans 17-9.
The momentum shift became permanent in the opening minutes of the second period as the Americans sent wave after wave of red jersey’s crashing down into the Laredo zone. Allen’s excellent fore-check dominated the Laredo zone and allowed them to outshoot the Bucks 5-1 in the first four minutes, with the last shot being the first goal of the contest. Bruce Graham spun away with the puck in the right corner and hit a streaking Nino Musitelli, who put a nifty snapshot over the glove of Pelletier giving Allen the 1-0 lead.
The Americans continued their assault on the Laredo net and offensive zone as the Bucks seemed dazed by the play of Allen. That play wasn’t perfect however; late in the period Allen looked a little too overconfident with their one goal lead and it burned them. Laredo’s leading scorer in the series, Todd Griffith found the equalizer, firing through traffic in front of the Allen net to beat Whitley.
Awakened by the tying goal, Allen again came out strong in the third period. Just five and a half minutes into the final period, Matt Radoslovich redirected a pass by Jordie Benn on Pelletier and then banged in the rebound to give Allen the lead once again. The go-ahead goal had the same effect on Laredo as they mounted an offensive of their own that Whitley staved off with some key saves.
Seven minutes later, it would be Justin Bowers who found the game winner that would put Allen over the top. Bowers and fellow CHL All-Star Bruce Graham walked in uncontested against Pelletier where Bowers put on a sweet deke and beat the Bucks netminder like a rented mule. Laredo started to show some frustration at this point, apparently expecting Allen to play as lax as they had twice before in this series.
With 4:39 left in regulation, Colton Yellow Horn was called for hooking after a nicely embellished fall to the ice by a Laredo forward. The Bucks didn’t waste the chance and brought the game to within one, on a goal by Darryl Smith just 15 seconds into the man-advantage.
Seeing that it worked once, Laredo played the card once again and Sylvain Deschatelets threw himself to the ice as Jarret Lukin kept pace with him into the Allen zone. It was a good enough performance for the official to raise the arm and give the gate to Lukin for tripping. With an open net and two extra attackers on the ice, Laredo put everything they had into the last 63 seconds of play but were unable to force the game to overtime.
The seventh and deciding game in the Southern Conference semi-finals will be played Wednesday night at the Allen Event Center.
Contact the author at Maurice.fitzgerald@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at chip.crail@prohockeynews.com
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