ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans and South Carolina Stingrays are set to face off Sunday afternoon to begin the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals in Texas. Both teams had dramatic finishes in their respective Conference Finals, both going to game seven, in order to advance.
The Americans came back from a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Ontario Reign, after losing three in a row. Prior to that, Allen had not lost two games in a row, but the team showed the grit, determination and skill that brought them within one point of the regular season championship. South Carolina was forced to a game seven by Toledo where they went on to win the series in the third overtime, 5-4.
Neither team are unfamiliar with adversity and this will be as much a battle of will as it will be skill, as both teams are stacked with skilled players. Eight of the top 18 scorers in the post-season come from these two teams, four from each.
The Americans will look to their top players, Greger Hanson (10G, 13A), Chad Costello (7G, 16A), Spencer Asuchak (9G, 9A) and Ian Schultz (6G, 8A) to lead the way in front of goaltender Riley Gill. Gill has nine wins in the playoffs and is ranked number two (.900 save %) behind South Carolina netminder Jeff Jakaitis (.900 save %) who has backstopped his team to 12 victories.
The first goal scored has been a big factor for both teams through the playoffs. Allen is 7-0 when scoring first, while South Carolina is 7-3. South Carolina has fared better with the man advantage in fifth place at 19.7% to Allen’s ninth spot with 18.3%. The Americans have the better penalty kill record, ranked tenth at 83.1% to South Carolina’s 79.1% in 14th place.
The scoring between the clubs is close through the first and second periods with the Americans being weakest in the first but dominating the third period of their playoff games to this point, outscoring their opponents 30-12 in the final frame.
South Carolina has plenty of scoring, matching Allen’s 67 goals in 2 more contests than the Americans. Led by the league’s top scorers in the playoffs in the first, second and third spots; Wayne Simpson (9G, 22A), Andrew Rowe (11G, 15A) and Derek Dubois (10G, 14A) with Drew MacKenzie (3G, 12A) rounding out the top threats for the Stingrays.
The big keys for Allen will be continued the continued tight and disciplined defense the club showed in the final three games in the Ontario series. Defensive breakdowns have cost the Americans on several occasions but they’ve shown they can correct that as they did last series. If they can play as stingy as Riley Gill has in net of late, the Americans could head out on the road in good shape.
Offensively, the Americans must continue to be aggressive and get to the net to create plays and opportunities with the rebounds. This was a big reason they won the last series, making these two changes offensively and defensively. Rather than wait and react to South Carolina’s play, Allen needs to play the puck possession game they do so well and force the plays down low while the defense is careful as to when it cheats.
With two power-house offenses and sold goaltending, this should be a fantastic ECHL Kelly Cup Finals.
Game 1 – Sunday, May 31 at 4:05 p.m. CT at Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas
Game 2 – Tuesday, June 2 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas
Game 3 – Wednesday, June 3 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas
Game 4 – Sunday, June 7 at 7:05 p.m. ET at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C.
Game 5 – Tuesday, June 9 at 7:05 p.m. ET at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C. *
Game 6 – Wednesday, June 10 at 7:05 p.m. ET at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C. *
Game 7 – Sunday, June 14 at 4:05 p.m. CT at Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas *
* If Necessary
Contact the writer: maurice.fitzgerald@prohockeynews.com
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