Americans break out the broom

ALLEN, Texas – On a hot afternoon in Hidalgo , Texas that was not befitting a hockey game, the Allen Americans closed out the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees’ post-season dreams in strong fashion.
The Americans offensive attack proved too fierce for the hapless Bees, who were able to generate offense only when the Americans eased off their full frontal assault in the third period, content with holding onto their existing four goal lead.
 
The game got off to some fits and starts as there were numerous stoppages due to pucks out of play. Plenty a Bees fan went home with a nice souvenir Sunday afternoon that will have to hold them over during the long off-season.
 
The Bees went for a different look in goal this game, sitting the steady Juliano Pagliero, who has been battling health issues for a while now and starting instead, Jerad Kaufman. Kaufman started the contest a bit shaky and of himself, a portent of things to come for Rio Grande Valley.
 
T he Americans pressed early and often, immediately firing four shots on net in the opening minutes. The ever dangerous Dave Bonk drove hard to the Bees net on a great scoring try and drew a hooking call on Kirk Medernach, giving the Americans their first power play of the game at 5:23.
 
Allen wasted no time on the power play. Just 14 seconds into the man-advantage, Bruce Graham fed Nino Musitelli on the left wing and Musitelli buried a wrister through Kaufman’s pads from inside the top of the left circle on the Americans sixth shot of the game to give the Americans an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Bees were unable to mount any semblance of a cohesive offensive push, instead playing the puck around the boards, taking low-quality perimeter shots that barely tested Americans net-minder Chris Whitley.
While shots would end up in Allen’s favor 18-10 for the period, the quality of those shots was completely unequal. The Americans, using three very talented lines had the greater scoring tries and capitalized repeatedly.
 
Bruce Graham would score a pivotal goal for the Americans that had to break Rio Grande’s spirit and cause them to scout tee times for tomorrow morning. With just eight ticks left on the clock, Graham came from behind the net and put the puck top shelf over Kaufman to give the Americans a 2-0 lead.
 

Aside from the continued creative offensive brilliance of the Bonk-Blackwater-Yellow Horn line, the Graham-Musitelli-Lukin line continues to gel together with some dazzling play of their own. In each game, this line is getting more in tune with one another and should be another one to watch closely in the next round.
 
In the second period, the Americans came out strong from the puck drop and were rewarded with a little extra cushion quickly. At the 2:39 mark, Judd Blackwater one-handed a pass from Dave Bonk past Kaufman who threw his arms up in frustration after the tally.
 
The Bees were unable to match the tenacity of the Americans play, continuing to meander in the offensive zone and becoming increasingly frustrated by a swarm of Allen defenders. The few quality tries on the net the Bees were able to generate were handled confidently by Chris Whitley who looked firmly in charge of his crease.
 
The tempo of the play was completely dominated by the Americans; it was clearly a one-sided period and game to this point and Allen would receive another payout for their efforts.
 
Judd Blackwater drove hard to the net but was stopped on his first and second attempt by Kaufman and the puck trickled into the corner. Colton Yellow Horn picked up the bouncing puck and fed Blackwater at the top of the crease where he one-timed it home for a 4-0 lead at the 8:24 mark.
 
The goal further energized the Americans, who were like sharks at a feeding frenzy already, continuing their unabated assault on Kaufman and out shooting the Bees by a large margin. The Bees had only one shot on net in the first 12 minutes of the second frame and would end the period, out shot 14-5.
 
Rio Grande’s Dan Gendur caught Dave Bonk with a high stick to the face and the Americans went on power play again with 2:14 left in the period.
Allen worked the puck around the offensive zone masterfully. The Bees appeared confused and exhausted from chasing the passing but the Americans became a casualty of their own offensive dominance here. They seemed more intent on trying to setup a pretty, highlight reel goal rather than getting more shots on the net, not that it mattered at this point.
 
The third period saw a more desperate Killer Bees squad come onto the ice; for the first time, it would be they who dominated the shot count by a gigantic margin. More than half of their game total shots would be recorded in this frame, registering 17 shots on net and 2 goals, one of them in the last minute of the contest.
 
Just 1:28 into the third period, Dominic D’Amour’s wrist shot through traffic found the back of the net and gave the Bees fans a reason to celebrate, finally.
Kip Brennan was sent off the ice for a slashing minor and head-butting major that gave the Bees a seven minute power play that they were unable to do anything with.
Adding insult the injury, Americans captain Tobias Whelan picked up a clearing pass from Justin DaCosta at center ice and walked in alone on Kaufman where he undressed him with a pretty deke to score a short-handed goal at 9:24 and give the Americans a dominating 5-1 lead.
 
With just under a minute to go in the game and their season, the Bees gave their fans one last buzzer to cheer for when Mark Magnowski slipped one past Whitley at the 19:07 mark.
 
With the victory, the Americans earn yet another first this season. They are the first team to sweep their series in the Central Hockey League playoffs, earning them a much needed rest and recuperation period.
The team heads home to Allen where they will enjoy a brief respite and await the outcome of the other series’ to see who their quarter-final opponent will be. 
 
Contact the writer at maurice.fitzgerald@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at chip.crail@prohockeynews.com