Allen wins 5-2, match recap, video highlights, Martinson commentary, tonight’s preview. All-time hat tricks, Iron Men stats and more

Allen flipped the script on Norfolk last night, beating the Admirals 5-2 after losing 2-1 on Wednesday. The games were different in so many ways. This is what the Americans achieved last night and led to victory:

• Scored the first goal. Allen’s record when he first scored improved to 15-2-3-0 (.825).
• The first goal was a power play goal.
• Allen led 3-1 after the first period. Norfolk’s trailing record after the first period drops to 0-13-0-0.
• Allen led 3-1 after the second period. The Americans’ lead record after the second period improved to 16-0-1-0. Norfolk’s record when trailing after the second period is 0-17-0-0.
• Allen won the special teams battle, going 1-4 on the power play and 0-5 on the penalty kill. Allen’s penalty kill has risen again to No. 5 in the league (84.8%).
• Jackson Parsons stopped 27 of 29 shots for a .931 save percentage. He played eight games in Allen this season and had a save percentage below .909 just once.
• Allen recorded his seventh hat trick of the season.

– Spencer Asuchak got the party started, scoring his 11th goal of the season (fourth power play goal) from his office, which is right in front of the goalie. Asuchak scored a rebound of Andre Anania’s shot from the top of the circle. After Norfolk tied the score at 1-1 at 7:32, Allen retook the lead 2-1 on a similar move to the first goal. Sam Sedley took a shot from the circle and Colton Hargrove hit it into the net, for his twelfth goal of the season. Allen had a 2-1 lead, with both goals coming via pucks to the net and guys in front.

– Allen’s third goal of the first period was a beauty from Colton Hargrove, his second of the game and 13th of the season. It was a 2-on-1 with Hank Crone, and Colton faked out the defenseman and goalie before sliding the puck into the net. Allen took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

– Allen struggled in the second period. The Americans had to kill three penalties and only managed six shots. The six shots came from Gildon. Gursoy, Anania, Chiasson, Watts, and Simmons-Fischer. Between good defense and good goal work, the Americans stopped all nine of Norfolk’s shots and took their 3-1 lead into the second intermission. It was a good sign considering Norfolk hasn’t won a game all season when trailing after the second period.

– The Admirals pressured Allen in the third period. Allen killed two penalties and was outshot 12-3 before Norfolk scored with 3:53 left in the game to cut the score to 3-2. Allen responded just over a minute later with an insurance goal to regain the two-goal lead (4-2). It was another guy at the net, charging for a rebound. Jake Chiasson shot a puck from close range onto the crossbar and it fell just outside the goal line. The ball didn’t go into the net, but Danny Katic, as he has done so many times this season, jumped on the puck and shoved it into the net before anyone else could get there. It was Katic’s 21st goal of the season. He leads Allen with five goals and is fourth in the league despite having played ten fewer games than those before him.

-Norfolk pulled the goalie with 2:09 left in the game, but never managed a shot on goal. Allen spent the final two minutes trying to get Colton Hargrove for a hat trick. Time and time again, Hargrove had the chance for an empty net goal, but it took until 15 seconds for it to happen. Coach Martinson described it to season ticket holders after the game: “It was funny on that last shift, trying to get Hargrove the hat trick. I thought, okay, shoot him in. Oh, he’s not shooting him now. Why is he passing it to Colby behind his back? I’d seen a lot of things in my time, but I’ve never seen anything like it with a goalkeeper pulled out and trying to get a guy a hat-trick. Obviously you’ve seen a lot of unselfish actions here where the goalkeeper is pulled, trying to get a man a hat-trick. But Hargrove giving up the puck instead of shooting it is new.”

– How good was Hargrove last month?

• Multiple points in 10 of 14 games.
• Nine goals in fourteen games.
• 14 assists in 14 games.
• Points per game average of 1.64.
• Improved his plus/minus to +13, second on the team.

– Here are the game recaps and video highlights. Rewind Hargrove’s second goal several times to see how good that move was:

EXAMPLE FROM TONIGHT

– You’ll definitely see some lineup changes tonight. Djibril Toure has been recalled to Belleville. Coach Martinson didn’t expect him to stay in Allen long. The good news is that he has played the required five ECHL games to qualify for the playoffs. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be in Allen for the playoffs, but he’ll be eligible. FYI, the same goes for Mark Duarte and Jake Chiasson.

– Allen has at least one player on the daily list, and it has yet to be determined who will start in goal. The bottom line is that there will be at least one and probably more than one lineup change tonight.

– After a great first period last night, Allen only managed 12 shots in the final two periods. The Americans must repeat the first period again tonight, but generate more offense later in the match. They also need to stay out of the penalty box, even though Allen hasn’t allowed Norfolk to score on the power play (0-8).

– The third game in the three-game series was a problem for Allen earlier this season. Coach Martinson attributed that to the team not being in top form. The Americans were 1-4 through December 6 in the third game of the series. Since then, their record is 4-1.

Winning the third game of this series with Norfolk will be crucial. Here’s how Allen has done this season in the third game of a three-game series:

• November 1 – 6-3 win over Rapid City
• November 15 – 4-2 loss to Tulsa
• November 22 – 5-2 loss to Idaho
• November 29 – 3-2 loss to Utah
• December 6 – 6-3 loss to Utah
• December 13 – 5-1 win over Rapid City
• December 20 – 6-0 win over Tulsa
• January 4 – 5-1 win over Tahoe
• January 11 – 7-6 win over Wichita
• February 1 – 6-3 loss to Rapid City

– Don’t forget that the Police vs Fire match precedes the Allen vs Norfolk match tonight. Doors open at 4:30 PM and the match starts at 5:05 PM. Allen Americans assistant coach Jason Deitsch will play for the Allen Fire Department, even though he is a firefighter at McKinney. I hear there may be ringers on both teams. One ticket is all you need for both games.

COACH’S NOTES

“We talked about getting off to a good start before the game and not giving up easy scoring opportunities like we did on Wednesday. I told the players that there were a few AHL guys here looking for players for next season. They definitely responded in the first period. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of our young guys got an opportunity this season based on what they saw.”

“After watching the video, I thought their first goal was a goalkeeper interference.”

“We shot the puck to the net and scored off the rebound on the first power play, but didn’t do it again. I told the guys if it works, there’s nothing wrong with doing it again ten times in a row. Keep doing it until they take it away. I think this will be my video for tomorrow.”

OTHER NOTES

– Colton Hargrove’s hat trick was the seventh of the season for the Allen Americans. That’s No. 2 all-time for hat tricks in a single season, and there are 29 games left to play. FYI, no other ECHL team has more than three hat tricks this season (see list below). These are the seven hat-tricks this season and the all-time record of eight hat-tricks in 2022-2023. A few well-known names are on both lists.

• 2025-26 – 7 hat-tricks (through 43 games)
• 2 – Danny Katic
• 1 -Harrison Blaisdell
• 1 – Mark Duarte
• 1 – Brayden Watts
• 1 – Henk Crone
• 1 – Colton Hatgrove

• 2022-23 – 8 hat-tricks
• 3 – Henk Crone
• 2 – Colton Hargrove
• 2 – Liam Finlay
• 1 – Jakov Novak

– It is very difficult to play in every game, and very few players will play in every game this season. Approximately 1% of all ECHL players play in each game. Between injuries and call-ups, most don’t make it.

Allen has played 43 games, so 60% of the season is in the books. Only five players have played in all 43 games (Harrison Blaisdell, Hank Crone, Michael Gildon, Sam Sedley and Brayden Watts). These five players have a chance to join one of the toughest clubs possible, the Ironman Club, by playing in all 72 matches this season. Congratulations and stay tuned for all the Allen Ironmen past and present! It is a very exclusive club. Special sticks for Hall of Fame Ironmen Chad Costello and Kris Myllari who haven’t missed a game for three consecutive seasons!

• 2024-25 – None
• 2023-24 – Kris Myllari
• 2022-23 – Kris Myllari, Ryan Gagnon
• 2021-22 – Kris Myllari
• 2020-21 – The Lancasters
• 2019-20 – None
• 2018-19 – Spencer Asuchak
• 2017-18 – Joel Chouinard, Casey Pierro-Zabotel
• 2016/17 – Chad Costello, Joel Chouinard
• 2015-16 – Chad Costello
• 2014-15 – Chad Costello, Aaron Gens, Jamie Schaafsma
• 2013-2014: Spencer Asuchak, Daniel Tetrault, Mike Berube
• 2012-13 – Jamie Schaafsma, Jason Deitsch
• 2011-12 – Jason Deitsch
• 2010-11 – Colton Yellow Horn, David Strathman
• 2009-10 – Bruce Graham, Christian Gaudet

DID YOU KNOW: How impressive are Allen’s seven hat tricks this season? Check out this statistic: