Allen vs Colorado Game Preview, Roster Changes, When Costello Was An Eagle & More

A snow storm in Colorado turned a 14 hour bus trip into 21 hours - photo by Tommy Daniels

After an exhausting bus trip to Colorado which took 21 hours to travel 850 miles because of a big snow storm, the Allen Americans take on the Colorado Eagles tonight (8:05 pm CST) in the first game of a three game road trip. It will be the fourth meeting between these teams this season. Allen will play Colorado seven times this season (4 home 3 away) which is the most they play any team outside their own division. In the three previous meetings Allen won in Colorado 3-1 (October 21) scoring three goals in the third period after trailing 1-0, Colorado handed the Americans their worst defeat in team history on November 14 when they beat Allen 8-1 at the Allen Event Center and the following night (November 15) Allen won 4-3.


With equipment manager Nolan Bowker as the emergency back up goalie (EBUG) you can be assured Riley Gill will be in net for all three games on the road trip. David Makowski, who has been injured, is with the team and should be back in the line up but probably not until the games in Idaho this weekend. He is day to day. Finally, defenseman Aryton Nikkel has been released/suspended as he will return to play his final year of eligibility as an overage player in junior hockey.



- Here is a comparison between Allen and Colorado:

                                     ALLEN                               COLORADO

Team Record             15-8-1-0 (31 points)              11-12-2-0 (24 points)
Division Ranking         2nd - Central                        3rd -West
Conference Ranking   2nd - Western                       7th - Western
League Ranking         8th                                         13th
Home Record             7-3-1-0                                   9-5-2-0
Road Record              8-5-0-0                                   2-7-0-0
Last Game                  3-2 L (Idaho)                         4-0 W (Wichita)
Goals For                    76                                         66
Goals Against             68                                          62
Power Play                 19.6% (19/97)                        21.2% (18/85)
Penalty Kill                  84.8% (14/92)                        88.3% (12/103)
Most PIM's                  Stevenson (55)                      Bootland (117)
Leading Scorer           Costello  (10-23-33)               Daavettila (9-16-25)


-  Here is how Allen and Colorado rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:

Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 5th (17.42) - Colorado 1st (21.44)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 7th (3.17) - Colorado 22nd (2.64)
Goals Allowed per Game: Allen 14th (2.83) - Colorado 5th (2.48)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (19.6%) - Colorado 4th (21.2%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 11th (84.8%) - Colorado 3rd (88.3%)

- Based on their first three meetings look for plenty of penalties in this game. In the previous three games, Allen and Colorado have averaged 20 penalties and 60 penalty minutes per game. There have been 14 fighting majors in the three games.

- If you breakdown special team stats into home and road it is a little different picture than the overall special team stats. On the power play Colorado is 19.3% at home while Allen is 23.9% on the road. Colorado has the best home penalty kill percentage in the ECHL (91.2%) while Allen on the road is at 84.8%.

- In the three games Allen and Colorado have played this season the Americans are 1-16 on the power play and the Eagles are 2-11.

- Colorado goalie Eric Levine, who played in Allen briefly (five games) during the 2013-14 season, was named the ECHL goalie of the week last week. In three games, Eric was 3-0 with a shutout, had a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of .959.

- Rick Pinkston has only played in two of the three games against Colorado this season but is Allen's leading scorer with three points (all assists).

- Allen ranks #25 in the league in shots on goal averaging just 27.29 shots per game. They have won two of the three games against Colorado but have been out shot 99-75.

- Officials scheduled for the game tonight are referee Kenny Anderson (#16) and linesmen Lucas Bisbee (#72) and Dylan Peper (#77).

DID YOU KNOW: Chad Costello was the ECHL MVP in 2012 when he played for the Colorado Eagles. Chad had 76 points (29 goals 47 assists) in just 47 games to win the award. His 1.62 average points per game led the league. He also spent time in the AHL that season in Springfield and Worcester. It is still hard to believe how Chad did not win the MVP award last year when he had 125 points (41 goals 84 assists) and averaged 1.74 points per game while playing in all 72 games. 

Chad Costello - 2012 ECHL MVP with the Colorado Eagles