The playoff-bound Allen Americans defeated the expansion Missouri Mavericks 5-2 at the Allen Event Center tonight. The win keeps the Americans on track to tie the record for most points earned by an expansion team. Their current record sits at 41-16-5 (87 points) with two games remaining.  

The Americans skated out in festive St. Patrick’s-themed jerseys with green and yellow socks. The jerseys must have brought them luck, as they jumped out to a two-goal lead over the Mavericks. Forward Nino Musitelli scored the two tallies at 12:50 and 17:14 of the first. The second goal came on the power play.

Missouri Head Coach Scott Hillman started netminder Gerry Festa instead of former American backstop Charlie Effinger. Festa stopped 11 shots in the opening frame, while Americans’ goalie Chris Whitley made seven saves.

Mavericks’ forward Nick Sirota scored the lone goal of the second at 4:52 to cut Allen’s lead in half.

The Americans, known for their strong play in the last 20 minutes, came out in full force in the third period. Bruce Graham and Colton Yellow Horn had back-to-back goals to make it 4-1 before Missouri’s Jeff MacDermid lit the lamp on the power play. Rookie Tobias Whelan stuffed a rebound in the cage with 4:09 remaining in the game to bring the final score to 5-2.

Whitley made 19 saves tonight, while Festa stopped 27 pucks.

Prior to tonight’s game, the club resigned forward Maxim Chamberland and placed 2010 CHL All-Star Justin Bowers on 14-day injured reserve, retroactive to March 12.

The Americans close out the regular season with games March 19 and 20. Fans are encouraged to wear black to Friday’s game to show their support of the fight against melanoma. Dallas Stars Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn will be signing autographs prior to the game. Tickets are available by calling 972-912-1000.

Allen has clinched home ice for the Conference Semi-Finals of the 2010 Ray Miron’s President’s Cup. Their first home playoff games will be March 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. as they take on the Laredo Bucks.
 
The box score is available on Pointstreak.com.