Americans hold off Nailers in 5-3 Game 1 win

The defending Kelly Cup champion Allen Americans opened the 2016 Kelly Cup Finals on Saturday with a 5-3 win over the Wheeling Nailers.After a scoreless first period, Tristan King gave Allen a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the first 12:10 of the second period. Wheeling pulled within a goal on a Shane Bakker shorthanded tally at 15:11, but Greger Hanson restored the Americans' two-goal advantage with a power-play goal just 24 seconds later and Spencer Asuchak extended the lead to 4-1 at 19:03.Anton Zlobin scored a power-play for Wheeling 9:06 into the third period and John McCarron added a power-play tally of his own at 10:29 to pull the Nailers within one but a Gary Steffes goal at 18:03 set the final.Game 2 of the 2016 Kelly Cup Finals is Sunday at the Allen Event Center with face-off at 4:05 p.m. CT. Watch all of the action live by visiting ECHL.TV.