ALLEN, TX – The Allen Americans’ inaugural season playoff run began Friday night in front of an enthusiastic home crowd that showed more energy in their seats than the team did on the ice for two of the three periods.
Liam Huculak notched the contests’ first goal at the 4:34 mark when a pass he sent from behind the net caromed off a defenseman’s skate and past Bucks goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier, giving the Americans the early lead.
That was to be the only Allen tally of the period as the Americans played tentatively, showing some marked hesitation in their passing game and never really getting a consistent offensive flow going. The Bucks took advantage of this as Mike Looby and Darryl Smith both found the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead for Laredo.
Looby’s equalizer came at the 9:32 mark when he converted an Allen turnover and sent in a shot from the top of the right circle. Smith’s go-ahead goal came in the waning seconds of the opening stanza when Jarred Mohr picked up a loose puck in Allen’s zone and forwarded it to a wide-open Darryl Smith in front of the net. Smith’s backhander was no match for Chris Whitley and Laredo took the lead into the first intermission.
The second period was a solid one for the Americans. They won the battles along the sideboards and corners that they had been losing in the first and their physical play generated some good offensive opportunities.
Their best chance to tie the game came just one minute into the second period. The Bucks, already short a man with Robin Richards in the box for a late first period roughing penalty, went down two men when Mike Looby was called for slashing. But with a 5-on-3 advantage for one minute, the Americans failed to capitalize and the Bucks were able to kill both penalties.
Allen tied the game at 5:31 of the second when Tobias Whelan beat Pelletier in a foot race to the puck in the Bucks’ defensive zone. Pelletier came out to sweep away the puck at the top of the faceoff circle but Whelan was able to get to it first, knocking it under Pelletier’s stick and into the open net. The two collided with Whelan taking the brunt of the impact which left him lying dazed on the ice for a short stretch before getting up and skating to the bench under his own power.
Exactly one minute later, Allen defenseman Eric Adams was able to send home a rebound from the breakaway shot of Bruce Graham. Chris Whitley was solid in net in the second, turning away 13 Laredo shots to preserve the Americans’ 3-2 lead.
The Americans pride themselves on being a tough third period team but on this night, pride wasn’t enough to get the job done.
The Bucks’ Mike Looby notched his second goal of the game at the 2:46 mark from the right wing boards, evening the score at 3-3. Near the middle of the frame Allen was caught in an odd man rush and Todd Griffith sent a nice feed to Neil Trimm who beat Whitley over the glove side for the lead.
The Americans were never able to get it going from that point forward, playing as flat and inconsistent as they did in the first period.
With 1:09 remaining in the game, Allen pulled Chris Whitley for the extra skater and were able to keep the play in the Laredo zone, generating their best offensive push of the period. There was a frenzied mix of red and blue jersey’s around Pelletier’s net but the Americans were unable to find the back of the net as time ran out.
Allen will have one more opportunity to win on home ice Saturday night before venturing down South to Laredo for three games. The Americans will have to get over their apparent first game jitters and settle down to get their groove back, or this could be a short series.
Contact the author at mauricefitzgerald@prohockeynews.com
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