Allen vs Idaho Preview, Black Friday Team Store Specials and Records in Review on Spencer Asuchak's Birthday

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they are in Boise to begin a three game series against the Idaho Steelheads. The game tonight is the third of 10 meetings between these teams this season. They split their first two games in Allen with the Americans winning 2-1 on November 10 and Idaho winning 5-4 in a shootout on November 11.


- Games within the division are always important and the games in Idaho are no exception. The Steelheads lead Allen in the standings by one point (20 to 19) and have one game in hand on the Americans. With the top four teams in the division separated by just three points, Allen could come home after these three games against Idaho in first place or sixth place depending on the outcome.


- Idaho is one of the few teams Allen does not have a winning record against since joining the ECHL in 2014. They have played 10 times in the regular season and the Americans are 4-3-1-2 in those games. Allen's record in Idaho is 1-3-0-0. In their only meeting in the playoffs Allen beat Idaho in the first round of the 2016 playoffs (4-3) on the way to their second Kelly Cup.


- Both teams have been playing well. Allen is 4-1-0-1 over their last six games while Idaho is 5-1-0-0 with their only loss against Allen.


- Both teams will be missing key players this weekend. Idaho's top goalie, Philippe Desrosiers, was recalled by the Texas Stars (AHL) on Monday and defenseman Joe Faust was loaned to Utica (AHL). Allen will be missing Riley Gill, Zach Pochiro and Alex Schoenborn who did not make the trip plus there are some players on the trip who are day to day. It won't be known until game time what the lineup will look like. If Allen ends up short up front defenseman Miles Liberati will play some shifts at forward.
 

- Here is the game/series preview written by Brian McCormack of the Idaho Steelheads. Brian is the Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Steelheads:  http://www.idahosteelheads.com/blog/steelheads-news/preview-american-thanksgiving/


- Here is a comparison between Allen and Idaho:

                                     ALLEN                            IDAHO

Team Record              8-5-2-1 (19 points)              8-3-3-1 (20 points)
Division Ranking         4th - Mountain                    3rd - Mountain
Conference Ranking  5th - Western                      4th - Western
League Ranking         10th                                    9th
Last Game                  6-4 Loss (Wichita)              3-2 Win (Rapid City)
Goals For                    54                                      50
Goals Against             48                                       44
Power Play                 18.2% (14/77)                    17.4% (15/86)
Penalty Kill                  86.5% (10/74)                    81.0% (16/84)
Leading Scorer           Pierro-Zabotel (4-14-18)    Brassart (8-10-18)
Most PIM's                  Arseneau - 32                    Moroz - 56


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

Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 6th (20.06) - Idaho 5th (22.20)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 11th (3.38) - Idaho 13th (3.33)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 9th (3.00) - Idaho 8th (2.93)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 8th (34.25) - Idaho 2nd (38.80)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 22nd (35.69) - Idaho 3rd (28.13)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (18.2%) - Idaho 12th (17.4%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 8th (86.5%) - Idaho 19th (81.0%)


- Statistically these teams are pretty evenly matched. One exception is Idaho is ranked #2 in the ECHL in shots per game (38.80) and #3 in shots allowed per game (28.13) for a differential of +10.67. Allen's is ranked #22 in shots allowed and their differential is -1.44. The Americans will have to work hard, use puck possession and play good defense to hold down the number of shots Idaho gets in the games this week. The shot differential doesn't transfer to goal differential because Idaho has one of the worst shooting percentages in the league (8.4%). Allen's shooting percentage is a little better at 9.7%.


- Allen and Idaho are two of the most penalized teams in the ECHL which should make for an interesting matchup. Idaho has been called for 104 minor penalties (second most in the league) and 13 major penalties in 15 games. Allen has 98 minor penalties and 15 major penalties in 16 games. You don't think of Idaho as a team that fights a lot but they are ranked #3 in the league with fights (19) while Allen is #4 with 17 fights.


- The overall special team stats between Allen and Idaho show the Americans with an advanatge on the penalty kill (86.5% vs 81.0%) and on the power play (18.2% vs 17.4%). However, if you look at home vs road special team stats the percentages change in favor of Idaho. On the power play Allen is 17.2% on the road while Idaho is 21.6% at home. On the penalty kill Allen is 76.0% on the road while Idaho is 84.1% at home. Another thing to keep in mind that may be a factor tonight is the last time Allen played Idaho the Americans scored four power play goals.


- Both teams have had trouble scoring first. Allen has scored first in only six of their 16 games and is a perfect 6-0 when scoring first. Idaho has scored first in six of their 15 games and has a record of 5-0-0-1. With a combined record when scoring first of 11-0-0-1 you can see the importance of scoring the first goal tonight.


- The referee scheduled for the game tonight is Chris Pontes (#12) and the linesmen will be Scott DeBaugh (#67) and Brendan Gormley (#38).



OTHER COMMENTS

- Check out the new auction items at the Americans auction website. There are practice jerseys, a Brodeur signed puck, a Halloween jersey and a Jamie Schaafsma #22 white jersey that is definitely a collector's item. As Jamie says, "I am a 13 year pro on a 15 year plan to make the NHL." This auction ends on on Sunday (November 26) at 9:00 pm CST. Here is the link: https://one.bidpal.net/goamericans/welcome


- If you are a Black Friday shopper you need to stop by the Allen Americans team store for some great deals. The team store is on the northwest corner of the Allen Event Center and will be open on Friday from 9:30 - 3:30. There will be discounts throughout the day but store manager Michelle Martinson tells be there are special deals from 9:30-1:30. Here is a sample:

All logo T-shirts (four colors) - Buy one for $22 get one for a penny
All Adult & Youth "Property Of" hoodies -  Buy one for $39.99 get one for a penny
All beanie hats - Buy one for $24.99 get one for a penny
All players T-shirts - 25% off


- One series to keep an eye on this week is Colorado vs Greenville. The Swamp Rabbits visit the Eagles for games tonight, Friday and Saturday. Greenville is in second place in the South Division with a record of 9-4-2-0 and Colorado is in second place in the Mountain Division with an identical record of 9-4-2-0. Colorado leads the ECHL in penalty minutes (337) with Greenville close behind in second place with 326 penalty minutes.


- Tanner Eberle scored his first goal as a member of the Jacksonville Icemen last night. Tanner scored the lone Jacksonville goal as they lost to Orlando 4-1. 


DID YOU KNOW: Today is Spencer Asuchak's 26th birthday and as usual he is spending it on the road with the team. Congrats to the guy they call Assman and hope he has a great day. Spencer is a big part of Allen Americans history. He has won three championships in Allen and is one of only three players along with Brian McMillin and Jarret Lukin to play for the Americans in five different seasons. If you combine regular season and playoff stats Spencer Asuchak is the only player in team history that is in the top ten in games played, points, goals, assists, and penalty minutes. He is sixth in games played (266), fifth in points (217), sixth in goals (89), sixth in assists (128) and fourth in penalty minutes (354). 

A throwback pic from the junior days in Prince George circa 2010