ALLEN, TX – The Allen Americans and Missouri Mavericks faced off in game four of their best-of-seven ECHL Kelly Cup Western Conference Semi-Finals series Friday night. An enthusiastic crowd of 5,262 fans at the Allen Event Center saw a tough battle between the two clubs that ended with the Mavericks on the brink of elimination.
Missouri hit the ice flying in the opening frame, creating several quality scoring chances in the opening minutes in a desperate bid to bring the series even. Despite the blitzkrieg, it was Allen who got the all-important first goal of the contest when Vincent Arseneau fired a shot past Josh Robinson at the 14:29 mark. It would be the only goal of the period as Missouri outshot Allen 14-10 yet trailed 1-0 on the scoreboard at period’s end.
In an odd instance of happenstance, Allen extended their lead to 2-0 again at the 14:29 mark in the second period on a goal by Gary Steffes. Missouri continued to outshoot the Americans 12-8 for the frame but were now down 2-0.
The third period opened with a frenzied attack by the Mavericks and within less than four minutes the game was level at 2-2. Missouri started strong when Tyler Barnes fired a rocket over the right shoulder of Riley Gill to bring the Mavericks to within one, just 11 seconds into play. Then Ross Johnston knocked in a rebound to even the score at 3:26, as Missouri continued to dominate play through the majority of regulation.
Spencer Asuchak with the game winning score in the third period / Photo by Kimberly Sauer (PHN)
Allen got the wind back in their sails and found themselves on the right course when Spencer Asuchak batted in a loose puck at 13:16 and the Americans continued the pressure, keeping Missouri frustrated and unable to find the evener. With just over a minute to play, the Americans put the game to bed when Arseneau scored his second of the night on the empty net.
Allen now leads the series 3-1 and has the opportunity to close out the series in their own building on Sunday afternoon.
Game five of the series is set for Sunday afternoon at the Allen Event Center with the puck drop scheduled for 4:05PM CDT.
Contact the author at maurice.fitzgerald@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer: Kimberly.Sauer@prohockeynews.com
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