PHN’s Best Shots of the Game: Allen Americans vs. Tulsa Oilers 11/2/12

ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans downed the Tulsa Oilers 4-1 on Friday night at Allen Event Center. Allen came back from an early 1-0 deficit to score four unanswered goals in the victory. *”(Tulsa) has some guys that will score if you give them the opportunities,” Americans head coach Steve Martinson said. “But I thought we did a much better job limiting their opportunities tonight, especially on the power play.” The second period proved to be a juggernaut for the Americans, as they outscored the Oilers 3-0 in the period and never looked back. Jamie Schaafsma got Allen on the board 5:08 into the second with his second goal of the season with assists to Jarret Lukin and Brett Skinner. Lukin scored just four minutes later on a short-handed breakaway to give the Americans a 2-1 lead. The third Americans goal of the night may have been the prettiest of the season. Lukin got the puck on-side just below the Tulsa blue line and faked a shot as the Oilers defense scrambled to get in front of the slot for a possible block. Lukin instead fed the puck to Darryl Bootland just below the right circle, who made a perfect pass across the crease to Ryley Grantham, who buried it for his first goal of the season. Grantham’s goal gave the Americans a 3-1 lead they would take into the third period. He added an unassisted empty-net tally to seal the game with seconds remaining. “I had Ryley last year so I know he’s a tough guy to play against and he’s got good hands,” Martinson said. “If you give him the opportunity to score, he will bury it. He doesn’t take a night off and he has a mean streak to him. He’s a nice guy off the ice and a mean one on the ice. He’s my kind of player.” Aaron Dell got his second start of the season in net for Allen. He stopped 18 of 19 shots to earn his first win of the season. “I thought Aaron was great,” Martinson said. “He showed why he was an All-American.” The win gives the Americans a 5-1-0 record on the season, good for tops in the Berry Conference. “We had a couple of key guys out tonight in (Scotty) Howes and (Kip) Brennan, but we have good depth,” Martinson added. “(Brian) McMillin sits out a few games and comes in and scores a few goals. I like what I see and I like what our goalie did tonight. I like the way we’re looking.” The two teams will face off again tonight in Tulsa. The following images were recorded on Friday evening at the Allen Event Center.