Hometown favorite Colton Hargrove’s hat trick enabled the Allen Americans to square their series against the Norfolk Admirals with a 5-2 victory Friday night before 3,960 in Texas.
The teams will decide the three-game set with a game at 8:10 p.m. Saturday in a suburb of Dallas.
Spencer Asuchak’s power-play goal gave the Americans (23-16-4-0), who are affiliated with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, a 1-0 lead 5:17 into the game. Ben Zloty tied the score at 1 for the Admirals (16-23-2-0) with a goal at 7:32, with Chase Yoder — who, like Hargrove, grew up in the Dallas area — joining Jack O’Leary in getting assists.
Then Hargrove struck. The 2012 Boston Bruins draftee scored at 12:35, then followed with another goal just 45 seconds later to give Allen a 3-1 lead after one period.
That margin held until late in the third period.
Norfolk’s Jaydon Dureau trimmed the margin to 3-2 with a goal at 16:07, but former Admiral Danny Katic doomed his old team with a goal at 17:25 for a 4-2 lead.
With Admirals goalie Isaac Poulter out for an extra attacker, Hargrove completed his three-goal night by scoring into an empty net with just 15 seconds remaining. It was a memorable night for a 33-year-old who has been a pro since 2015, when he closed a three-year college stint with Western Michigan.
Allen goalie Jackson Parsons got the victory with 27 saves, joining Hargrove and Asuchak in being given star citations.

