WT.........HECK , ALLEN???  WIN TONIGHT OR SAY "GOODBYE" 'TIL NEXT SEASON

*Please note while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

Will someone please tell us where the Allen Americans are.  They certainly have not been on the ice at the Citizens Business Bank Arena.  We stated the other day that this situation is not as dire as some may think....well this situation is dire, as Allen has painted themselves into a corner that they have to win out or hang their skates up until next season.

After not incurring a playoff shutout since 2012, the Americans have been shut out in 2 of their last 3 games. In the first period last night, it seemed as Allen had made some of the necessary adjustments needed as we were getting traffic in front of the net and controlled the tempo, but after Ontario scored first, we appeared to lose our momentum. Tonight is sink or swim, as of right now we are drowning,

Ontario scored 3 goals in 2 mins, and 5 goals total for the night.  Of the 5 goals scored 1 involved a 2 on 1 odd man rush,  1 was a break away,  and 1 was a 5 on 3 power play. Additionally the first goal of the night appeared to have deflected off the skate or leg of Ontario's forward David Rutherford.

Ontario's longest winning streak is 4 for the entire season, but for the playoffs they are 7-1 at home and 8-1 when scoring first (Allen is 5-0 when scoring first).  Both teams are undefeated when leading after the 1st, and 2nd periods, and Ontario is winless when trailing after the 1st and 2nd periods.  We need to score 1st and maintain the lead. Allen is capable of scoring as evidenced in game 1.  Forcing Ontario into a more wide open game should work to Allen's advantage.

In the last 3 games with Ontario, we have had 88 SOG, Ontario has had 65. Allen's SOG for the playoffs is 34.8 per game, Ontario's is 25.9.  Ontario has figured out how to shut us down and we need to solve this in order to win tonight.  This is a scenerio that, quite frankly, Allen was unprepared to face.


Keys to victory:  

• score first - Allen is a perfect 5-0 when scoring first
• maintain lead- both teams are undefeated when leading after 1st and 2nd periods, however Ontario is winless when trailing after either period
• score on the PP - Allen is #2 on the PP with 14, but only 1 on the road!  Our road pp is 1-27, 3.7%
• avoid unnecessary penalties - Ontario leads the playoffs with 21 PP goals (23.1%) . In last night's game,we were in the box for 37 mins while the Reign were only in for 15 mins.
• penalty kill has to be strong to stop their PP goals, as stated above, they are #1 and lead the playoffs
• goal tending and play in the defensive zone must be at it's best. For the playoffs, Allen has allowed a combined GAA of 2.85 and SV% of .879 - these figures have to be better tonight if we are going live another day.

The referees for tonight's match up are - Pierre Lambert and Stephen Reneau.  Both are experienced in the ECHL.

In closing, there is still hope, and hope reigns eternal (pardon the pun).  Ontario Coach Christie said "It doesn't mean nothing.  You've got to come out and make sure you are ready to play.  All those other wins are done. This is the game where we have to make sure we're focused on tomorrow."  As Coach Martinson is unavailable for post game comments, we are certain he is telling Allen similar views, telling them the losses are in the past, and we can still pull this out.

As fans, there will be many of us watching ECHL TV or listening to Tommy, cheering our hearts out, screaming at the top of our lungs for an Allen victory.  Will they let us down, or pull us up? LET'S GO RED with a big victory tonight so we may cheer for you Tuesday and Wednesday at the AEC.


Did you know: Do ECHL players improve with age?  The youngest team in the ECHL is Greenville at 24.38 years of age, Tulsa is the oldest at 27.39 years.  Allen ranks 7th at 25.93.