Friday night, the Allen Americans narrowed their series deficit by clinching a 5-1 victory against the Idaho Steelheads during Game 3 of the Mountain Division Semifinals. This remarkable performance took place in front of a 6,012-strong audience in Allen and saw the Americans finding the net in each period of play. Allen was aiming to level the series in front of the home crowd with a win in Game Four on Saturday.
Goaltenders:
Allen – Marco Constantini
Idaho – Bryan Thompson
Period 1
The Idaho Steelheads would hit the ground running, chasing the puck into the Americans zone. Ty Pelton-Bryce would find the net first, with Wade Murphy and Patrick Kudla on the assist. The Steelheads with the early lead, 1-0 at 1:29. The Americans would answer back at 3:38 when Bennett MacArthur, assisted by Grant Herbert and Hank Crone, would even things up 1-1. This marked Bennett MacArthur’s second goal of the playoffs.
The Americans tried to keep the pressure off the Constantini but Idaho’s Nick Canade would put the puck past him bringing the Steelheads up 2-1 at 8:25. Pelton-Byce would be credited with the assist.
Shots on Goal:
Allen – 7
Idaho -10
Period 2
It would be much of the same for Idaho during the second period, as Allen did not seem to have any real driving force behind their game. The Steelheads would strike early once more, finding their way past Constantini just thirty-six seconds into the middle frame. Idaho was now ahead by a score of 3-1, with the goal made by Will Merchant, and assisted by Jordan Kawaguchi and Patrick Kudla (3:13).
Later it was Keaton Mastrodonato, assisted by Francesco Acuri, who would find the net for Idaho, putting the Steelheads ahead of the Americans by a score of 4-1 (3:13). Despite Allen’s attempt to find the net, the remainder of the period was scoreless and we finished out the frame with a score of 3-1 in favor of Idaho.
Shots on Goal:
Allen – 15
Idaho -14
3rd Period
Much of the third period was dominated by Idaho as they continued to keep the Americans at bay and did not allow them to find any solid shots on the net. Jordan-Ty Fournier would be called for roughing and Allen sends Idaho on the Powerplay. The Americans were able to successfully kill that penalty. Later, Allen would get their chance at the man advantage when Connor Mylymok was called for delay of the game, but the Americans were not able to gain traction against the Steelheads.
However, it was only in the last five minutes of the frame that the Americans seemed to find the fire as they tried to make a striking run on the net. At 16:37 into the third, the Americans would pull their goalie, hoping to find some puck luck with the extra attacker. Unfortunately, it would be Idaho that would shut the door on that effort when Pelton-Byce would put up goal five for Idaho. The score was 5-1 as we closed out the game, with Idaho taking home the win in Game Four of the series.
Shots on Goal:
Allen – 8
Idaho -7
Three Stars of the Game:
1. IDH – T. Pelton-Byce
2. ALN – B. MacArthur
3. IDH – P. Kudla
Summary
Ty Pelton-Byce, currently the top scorer in the ECHL postseason, successfully netted two goals for the Steelheads. Pelton-Byce now has 11 points across four games, putting up three goals and eight assists.
Constantini effectively blocked 26 out of the 30 shots aimed at him. However, the Americans struggled throughout the game in attempting to stop the Steelheads’ dominance on the offensive side of the puck. The Americans were unable to convert on the Powerplay and went 0-4 on the man advantage.
The Allen Americans are now just one loss away from being eliminated in the Mountain Division Semifinals with their 5-1 loss. Game Five of the series will take place Sunday afternoon in Allen, Texas, with a puck drop of 4:10 PM CDT.
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