San Jose Sharks’ ECHL Affiliate Gunning For Championship
Sep 23, 2014; Stockton, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks defenceman Konrad Abeltshauser (51) checks Vancouver Canucks center Nick Bonino (13) in the third period of their NHL Preseason game at the Stockton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
While the San Jose Sharks had a down year and missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, there’s still one team left in the organization who has their sights set on a championship.
The Allen Americans, the Sharks East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), are currently in the Kelly Cup Finals against the South Carolina Stingrays, the ECHL-affiliate of both the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. Currently, the series is tied at two apiece after Vincent Arseneau scored in double overtime to give the Americans a 3-2 win on Sunday night.
Now, the pivotal Game 5 will take place tonight as Allen will be looking to take a 3-2 series lead back to Texas and try to close out the Stingrays on home ice.
The leader for Allen has been Chad Costello, who torched the ECHL this season. Costello led all scorers with 125 points during the regular season (41 goals and 84 assists), which was 45 points more than the next closest player.
The player who some Sharks fans may recognize is defensemen Konrad Abeltshauser, who was a sixth round pick by San Jose back in the 2010 NHL Draft. Abeltshauser, who is a big, mobile defenseman, stands six-foot-five and 225 pounds.
Abeltshauser spent a majority of his season with the Worcester Sharks where he registered three goals and 16 assists in 50 games. With Allen, Abeltshauser has shown flashes of his offensive potential with five goals in six games during the regular season. He’s matched that goal total during Allen’s playoff run with five goals and nine assists in 21 games.
As always, it never hurts to have championship experience run throughout the organization so it should make for an exciting Game Five tonight as Allen looks to move one step closer to the Kelly Cup.