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Awards season: Americans rack up hardware to go with top record
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Ever since the Allen Americans franchise began in 2009-10, goaltending has been a strong point.
From Charlie Effinger, the team's original starting netminder, to franchise stalwart and fan favorite Chris Whitley to former NHL third-round draft pick and CHL All-Star Marco Cousineau, Allen has always been stacked between the pipes.
This season appears to be no different.
"[Dell] stops a lot of pucks for us," said Steve Martinson, Americans head coach. "And we're not surprised he's doing so well; you tend to see that quite a bit from young goaltenders at this level, where they step right in and perform."
The 6-foot, 209-pound native of Airdrie, Alberta, started his career in earnest with two seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09) skating for the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Dell's statistics improved markedly that second season as he went 25-17-8 with a 2.53 GAA and .923 save percentage.
Dell followed up with three seasons at the University of North Dakota.
In the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Dell's standout season came as a sophomore (2010-11) where he went 30-7-2 with a 1.79 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Skinner honored as well
Good goaltending often goes hand in hand with good defense and last Thursday was another example of that as on the same day Dell was named Goalie of the Month, Americans defenseman Brett Skinner was tabbed as the CHL Easton Player of the Month.
Skinner is one of the more well-traveled and decorated players on the Allen roster.
Taken in the third round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft (Vancouver Canucks), Skinner made it to the NHL in 2008-09 after three seasons at the University of Denver and various stops in the AHL. Skinner played 11 games with the New York Islanders, sporting a +2.
After two seasons overseas, Skinner has been a standout for the Americans.
Despite being on the 14-day injured reserve list, Skinner led all CHL defensemen in points when he captured the award (five goals and 16 assists in 17 games). He also holds the longest point streak for Allen this season, scoring in his first 13 games.
"Brett is a top of the food chain offensive player; we knew that when we signed him," Martinson said. "He's also been solid defensively. He's been physical, he finishes checks and takes a hit to make a play; he's been absolutely fabulous."
Allen wraps four-game homestand with split
Falling into second place clearly doesn't agree with the Americans.
After leading the league for the entirety of the season, Allen slid to second place following Friday's 2-1 loss to the Denver Cutthroats.
That stay in second lasted 24 hours.
Allen, which got defenseman Mike Montgomery back from their AHL affiliate (Houston Aeros), did so by defeating the first-place Wichita Thunder, 3-2.
"It was one of those games where I thought we all played real well," said Richard Matvichuk, Americans assistant coach. "It was a gut check for us. We obviously have had some injuries as of late. Scott Howes is out, (Brett) Skinner is out, we probably lost (Brian) McMillan for a little bit. Today is a character win; these are ones that you build the team around.
"I thought they responded real well from last night's game."
Allen took a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes off goals from Trevor Ludwig and Anthony Maiani, but Wichita tied it up by the second. The Thunder wouldn't score again as Allen sealed its 3-2 win 5:43 into the final frame when Daryl Bootland, who had assisted on Maiani's goal, wristed a shot past Torrie Jung.
The victory put Allen (14-5-1) back into first.
But once again, that would only last 24 hours as Wichita (14-7-2) defeated the Quad City Mallards, 3-1, to regain a one-point advantage. The Americans have three games in hand on the Thunder.
Allen returned to the ice Wednesday against the Arizona Sundogs (results not available at press time) and will remain on the road Friday and Saturday to play the Cutthroats in their first trip to Denver Coliseum.
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