Allen Americans crowned Kelly Cup Champions

ALLEN, Texas – It took seven games, but the Allen Americans are finally ECHL Kelly Cup Champions. The Americans claimed their third-straight championship, their first in the ECHL, by way of a 6-1 thumping of the South Carolina Stingrays in front of a sellout crowd of 6,125 at the Allen Event Center on Sunday afternoon.

The Americans claimed the final two CHL Ray Miron President’s Cup Championships before all seven teams from that league were admitted into the ECHL as expansion franchises just 10 days before the 2014-15 ECHL season began.

Allen scored early and often, taking a 5-0 lead into the second intermission and making the remaining 20-minutes a mere formality. Chad Costello and Vincent Arseneau each scored twice, while Gary Steffes, Jamie Schaafsma and Chris Crain all posted multiple points in the game that saw the Americans become the second expansion team in ECHL history to hoist the Kelly Cup. Riley Gill (13-7-0) was a solid backstop for Allen, allowing just one goal on 28 shots.

Chad Costello celebrates one of his two goals during Allen’s 6-1 Kelly Cup clinching win over South Carolina

Costello opened the scoring midway through the opening period, ripping a shot past South Carolina goalie Jeff Jakaitis off of a faceoff at 10:31 with Schaafsma picking up the assist. A little over a minute later Arseneau made it 2-0 on a goal while being set up by Crane and Steffes. Arseneau poked in a rebound off another faceoff at 11:47 to score the eventual game-winner. Allen took a 2-0 lead and 10-8 shot advantage into the first intermission.

The Americans added three goals in the second period, with the first two coming just three minutes apart.

Costello netted his second of the night, from Schaafsma, on a breakaway at 3:16 of the middle frame. Schaafsma took the puck off of a Stingray stick just outside the blue line and fed a pass ahead for Costello who broke in alone on Jakaitis, deked to the left, and tucked the puck inside the right side of the cage to make it 3-0. Steffes added his 13^th of the postseason at 6:21, taking a drop pass from Crane then cleaning up his own rebound to chase Jakaitis from the game.

Crain made it 5-0 at 19:52 on a power play goal from Steffes. With Stingrays netminder Clay Witt down in the crease, Steffes attempted a shot on the open net that bounced off the post and right to the awaiting stick of Crain who tapped it in for his 10^th goal of the playoffs. Allen enjoyed a 24-17 shot advantage over South Carolina at the second intermission.

Arseneau closed the scoring for the Americans at 8:51 of the third period, with Costello pocketing the assist. Stealing the puck just inside the blue line, Costello worked up the rightwing boards and sent a pass to slot where Arseneau beat Witt stick side to make it 6-0.

Andrew Rowe would score the lone goal of the game for South Carolina on the power play at 11:25 of the third, breaking up Gill’s shutout bid.