Americans Weekly Report (3/10/10): Chasing the Jackalopes
Every Wednesday, Big D Hockey will present a report on the Allen Americans. This will include any relevant news or noteworthy stats from the last week’s games, as well as a look at the upcoming games and then the team itself. Through these reports, we hope to offer you an insider’s look at the Dallas Stars’ CHL affiliate and some of the players who may one day play in Big D.
Looking back over the last week of games, we can see the Allen Americans did their job in making sure they had at least the #2 slot in the Southern Conference for the playoffs.
The weekend started rough for the Americans; On Tuesday they began their second straight stretch of four games in five days. The first two games were on the road; Allen picked up a solid 3-2 win in Bossier-Shreveport on Tuesday. David McKee made his first start in net for the Americans (and his first CHL start as well), and picked up his first win. The team then travelled to Laredo to play the Bucks on Thursday. McKee made 40 saves for Allen, but he faced an onslaught of shots from the hungry Bucks, who picked up their first win against the Americans, 6-1.
The Americans picked up 3 more points over the weekend, with a 5-2 win on Friday and a 3-2 overtime loss on Saturday; both games were against the Mississippi RiverKings. By taking a point in their final game of the weekend, Allen assured that they will finish no lower than 2nd in the Southern Conference this season.
But, as mentioned many times in game stories and video clips, Allen Americans head coach Dwight Mullins isn’t satisfied with that. After Saturday’s game, he looked frustrated and upset about the opportunity for additional points that was passed up. But now, all they can do is look ahead. And, what’s ahead is a very important three-game road trip, including a game tonight against the Texas Brahmas and then two games this weekend in South Dakota against the Rapid City Rush. The Americans then head back to the AEC to finish up the regular season with three more games.
Headed into action on Wednesday, the Americans trailed Odessa in the standings by 9 points. And, with only six games left in the regular season, they will need to pretty much win their schedule outright in order to have a chance at the top spot. The Jackalopes also have six games remaining – two against Missouri, two against Laredo, one in Amarillo and one at home against Rapid City. The Jacks just need a win and a tie in that stretch in order to ice the top spot.
But, as far as first-round matchups go, that doesn’t really matter much. The Americans’ opponent will most likely be either Laredo or Texas. And depending on the day you check the standings, the opponent Allen faces flip-flops. The Bucks and Brahmas will be duking it out, and we won’t have a real clear picture of the final playoff scenario for another week and a half.
Past Week’s Transactions:
3/2/10 Maxim Chamberland, F – signed contract.
3/4/10 Chris Whitley, G – returned by Lake Erie (AHL).
3/5/10 Tyler Shelast, F – assigned by Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL).
3/8/10 Maxim Chamberland, F – placed on waivers.
3/8/10 Mick Berge, F – placed on waivers.
3/8/10 George Bradley, D – signed contract.