American Superstars Take a 2-1 Series Lead

From the Central Hockey League: www.centralhockeyleague.com

The Allen Americans dominated the Laredo Bucks 4-1 on the road to take a 2-1 series lead in the Conference Semifinals. The lead is the first series lead in the team history for the expansion club.

For the first time in the series, Allen kept Laredo off the scoreboard in the opening period. The Americans scored two goals in an 11-shot frame for both teams. 2010 CHL All-Star Starter Justin Bowers redirected a shot to give Allen the first goal of the game at 7:17. Four minutes later Ryan Fairbarn gave the Americans a two goal cushion.

Laredo cut Allen's lead in half 6:53 into the 2nd period. Forward Todd Griffith scored on a backhander to make it 2-1. The heat between the clubs continued to escalate until Allen agitator Mike Salekin and Griffith dropped the gloves immediately after a faceoff four minutes later. Salekin landed five quick right punches before sitting in the sin bin. Any momentum the Bucks got in the middle frame was squashed when Captain Jarret Lukin found Erik Adams rushing to the net. Adams beat Laredo backstop Pier-Olivier Pelletier for his 19th career playoff point.

Allen started the third with a 3-1 lead and did not give Laredo any opportunities. The Americans limited the Bucks to three shots in the final period. With 32.8 seconds remaining in the game, Justin Bowers sealed the deal with an empty-net goal. The final score was 4-1.

The Allen Penalty Killing unit continued to shutout the Bucks, killing off all four Laredo Power Plays Tonight. Chris Whitley made 24 saves, while Pelletier made 29 stopped 29 pucks.


Allen Americans Lead Series 2-1

Game Boxscore

Allen Americans 4 Laredo Bucks 1 (2-0, 1-1, 1-0)

1-0 ALN: Justin Bowers (Musitelli, Fairbarn) 7:17 1st

2-0 ALN: Bruce Graham (Fairbarn, Bowers) 11:13 1st

2-1 LAR: Todd Griffith (Deschatelets, Lehr) 6:53 2nd

3-1 ALN: Erik Adams (Lukin, Yellow Horn) 19:24 2nd

4-1 ALN: Justin Bowers (PP) (EN) (Musitelli) 19:28 3rd


Game Stats

SOG: ALN 33 LAR 25

PP: ALN 1/6 LAR 0/3

PIM: ALN 15 Minutes on 6 Penalties LAR 19 Minutes on 8 Penalties

Goalies: ALN Chris Whitley 24 SVS on 25 Shots LAR Pier-Olivier Pelletier 29 SVS on 32 Shots

ATT: 4017

3rd Star: Bruce Graham (ALN)

2nd Star: Chris Whitley (ALN)

1st Star: Justin Bowers (ALN)