Allen is the Pickle in the Middle, Catching Up with Former Players, Asuchak's Rise in the Record Book, Dyson Stevenson's Allen Fight Card & Videos

The hill got a little steeper for the Allen Americans last night (Colorado & Idaho won) as they are now the pickle in the middle of the Mountain Division standings. The Americans occupy fourth place in the division but the three teams ahead of them are all at least five points ahead. The three teams behind Allen are well behind except Tulsa who is five points in back of the Americans with a chance to close the gap to three points when they host Allen Saturday night.


- Colorado beat Wichita at home last night 4-3 to solidify their hold on first place in the division. Colorado is on one of their famous streaks having gone 13 games without losing in regulation. Wichita who was almost unbeatable early in the season has dropped three straight games.


- The rest of December will be critical for the Americans and will go a long way in determining whether they are going to join the three teams at the bottom of the Mountain Division or the three teams at the top. I say that because in the next two weeks fourth place Allen plays the team five points behind them in the standings and in fifth place (Tulsa) three times. The Americans play the team five points ahead of them in the standings (Wichita) four times.


- Many factors go into how many different players a team uses each season with injuries and call ups the primary reasons. In the last three seasons  Allen's totals were 45, 46 and 41. Thus far this season the Americans have had 28 different players play at least one game. The range for the other teams in the Mountain Division goes from 33 (Rapid City) to 23 (Tulsa).


- Being in the top five all time in any statistical category for the Allen Americans is quite a feat. A lot of times data base websites will only show the top five. Spencer Asuchak just made the list for the first time. He passed Tyler Ludwig in career points. Spencer is at 173 points and needs six more to pass Colton Yellow Horn for fourth all time. Spencer is seven goals away from cracking the fifth spot for career goals currently held by Jarret Lukin (67). He is six assists away from the fifth spot in career assists currently held by Colton Yellow Horn (111). Asuchak is #8 all time in games played (196) but needs only 20 more to make the fifth spot currently occupied by Brian McMillin.

Asuchak will be all over the career top five list by the end of the season but the one record he has a chance to be #1 all time is the one he wants the most. Another Kelly Cup would make four championships in Allen for Spencer. No other player in team history has more than three championships. 


- Here is a new list for you. The top ten scorers in any league in the world of former Allen Americans players. This list courtesy of eliteprospects.com. The years the player was in Allen is in parentheses after their name.

26 points (13 goals 13 assists) - Spencer Edwards (2011-12) who is playing in France
26 points (12 goals 14 assist) - Wade MacLeod (2016-17) who is playing in Germany
26 points (10 goals 16 assists) - Colton Yellow Horn (2009-12) is playing in the Czech Republic
26 points (8 goals 18 assists) - Matt Register (2011-12 & 2015-16) playing in Colorado (ECHL)
25 points (7 goals 18 assists) - Judd Blackwater (2010-11) who is playing in Slovakia
24 points (9 goals 15 assists) - Jake Newton (2011-12) is playing in Finland
23 points (12 goals 11 assists) - Jack Combs (2014-15) is playing in Germany
23 points (7 goals 16 assists) - Austin Smith ((2014-15) is playing in Italy
22 points (10 goals 12 assists) - Alex Krushelnyski (2016-17) is playing in Reading (ECHL)
21 points (7 goals 14 assists - Matt Willows ((2016-17) is also playing in Reading


- Here are some favorite players from the past not on the list above:

 Chad Costello - Chad missed some games because of knee surgery but is now back. Chad has 13 points (5 goals 8 assists) in 18 games. His team (Iserlohn Roosters) is tied for seventh place is a 14 team league.

Alex Lavoie - Alex recently switched teams from Finland to Sweden. He has played four games since joining Timra IK and has scored three goals. His team is in first place in the 14 team league.

Greger Hanson - Greger has been in Utah most of the season but did get called up by San Diego (AHL) for four games earlier in the season. Hanson has played in 18 games for Utah and has 17 points (6 goals 11 assists). Utah is in sixth place in the Mountain Division and it is unlikely they will make the playoffs.

Dyson Stevenson - Dyson is having a great season after being traded to Wichita in the off season. He is the captain of the team, is second in points (17), first in assists (11) and first in penalty minutes (58). Dyson is the only forward on the team that hasn't missed a game and he also leads the team in fights with seven. Stevenson has helped turn Wichita around from a perennial last place team to a Kelly Cup contender. Wichita is currently ranked #3 in the ECHL in points (34) and winning percentage (.739).

Trevor Hendrikx - Trevor plays in the third level hockey league in Germany for a team called EC Harzer Falken. The rugged defenseman has eight points (2 goals 6 assists) in 16 games. His team is in 13th place in the 14 team league. Trevor leads his team in penalty minutes with 57.




DID YOU KNOW: Dyson Stevenson is fearless and has over 120 fights in his hockey career. He is listed as 6' 0" and 187 pounds on the official Wichita roster but I would bet that is overstated. He is always fighting guys 20-40 pounds heavier than he is. According to the website dropyourgloves.com in 2012-13 when Dyson was still playing junior hockey he had 19 fights and in only one was he taller and heavier than his opponent. The one exception happened to be against a future teammate, Tanner Eberle. The website shows Stevenson a whopping one inch taller and one pound heavier than Eberle. Here is a list of current and former Allen players Dyson has fought in his career with the number of pounds he gave up against each: Tanner Eberle (0), Ayrton Nikkel (15), Jessey Astles (20), Harrison Ruopp (20), Dylan King (15), Travis Brown (8), Jim McKenzie (30), Derek Mathers (46), Brett Lyon (25), Judd Blackwater (10), Darryl Bootland (15), Vincent Arseneau (29) and Garrett Clarke (12). Here are a few of Dyson's fights against players that have played in Allen. The first video is a classic against Eberle, the second is against Derek Mathers who out weighed Dyson by 46 pounds, the third is against Aryton Nikkel and finally a fight with Darryl Bootland.