Americans Defeat Grizzlies 5-4 in Series Opener

Americans Defeat Grizzlies 5-4 in Series Opener 

Allen, Texas – The Allen Americans defeated the Utah Grizzlies 5-4 on a Wednesday night at Credit Union of Texas Event Center. Grant Hebert led Allen with 2 goals and the Grizzlies got 2 goals from Dakota Raabe. 

Allen scored first at Hebert delivered his 3^rd goal of the season 10:27 in. Later in the period Dakota Raabe scored his 2^nd of the year 18:25 in. The score was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. 

Allen took a 2-1 lead 43 seconds into the second period as Hank Crone got a breakaway and scored his 14^th of the season. Crone has a point in 15 straight games. Later in the period Hebert scored his second of the night 9:54 in. Utah cut into the lead late in the frame as Dylan Fitze scored on a one-timer from the left circle 18:42 in. Allen led Utah 3-2 after 2 frames. 

Raabe tied the game on his second of the night 3:59 into the third. Allen’s Easton Brodzinski scored his 14^th of the year 7:52 on a pass from former Grizzlies forward Tarun Fizer, who was making his Americans debut. Allen extended the lead 2 minutes later as Mikael Robidoux redirected a Ty Farmer shot 9:50 in to make it a 5-3 game. Utah scored 17:54 in as Brandon Cutler got his team leading 12^th of the campaign. Utah put together a rally to try to tie the game but time ran out and the Americans got the win to extend their winning streak to 6 games. 

Utah’s Brett Stapley had 1 assist on the night to extend his point streak to 7 games. Grizzlies goaltender Trent Miner saved 36 of 41 in the loss. Allen’s Leevi Merilainen stopped 37 of 41 as his record goes to 9-4 on the season. Both teams had 41 shots on goal. 

The road trip continues on Friday night at 6:10 pm mountain time with game 2 of the three game series. 

Friday, January 12, 2024 – Utah at Allen. 6:10 pm. 

Saturday, January 13, 2024 – Utah at Allen. 3:10 pm. 

Sunday, January 14, 2024 – Utah at Wichita. 3:05 pm. 

All Times Mountain. 

3 stars

1. Mikael Robidoux (Allen) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 1 shot. 
2. Grant Hebert (Allen) – 2 goals, +2, 3 shots. 
3. Hank Crone (Allen) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 shots.