It is game day for the Allen Americans as they try to snap a four game losing streak and rebound from the 6-2 loss on Wednesday when they allowed a league record this season, 58 shots on goal. It will be a tall task for the Americans given Idaho's home record is 37-5 since the beginning of last season.
- I won't restate all of the stats that indicate how much better Idaho has been this season than Allen. Here are some of them:
- Idaho is #3 in goals scored per game (5.09)
- Allen is #20 in goals scored per game (2.91)
- Idaho is #15 in goals allowed per game (3.36)
- Allen is #28 in goals allowed per game (4.82)
- Idaho is #1 in shots on goal per game (40.18)
- Allen is #27 in shots in goal per game (26.73)
- Idaho is #8 in shots allowed per game (29.27)
- Allen is #28 in shots allowed per game (45.64)
- Here are the cumulative stats in the three head to head games Allen and Idaho have played this season. All three took place in Idaho with Allen winning game one 5-2 and Idaho winning game two 8-5 and game three 6-2:
- Idaho has outscored Allen 16-12
- Idaho has outshot Allen 145-72
- Allen's power play is 4-14 (28.6%)
- Idaho's power play is 2-17 (11.8%)
- Here are the keys to victory for the Americans tonight:
- A good start is critical against the Steelheads. Allen gave up the first goal on Wednesday just 24 seconds into the game and the Americans trailed 3-0 midway through the first period. That can't happen tonight. Since the beginning of last season the Steelheads are 21-2-0-0 at home with a first period lead and 31-1-0-0 with a second period lead. The Americans can't play from behind and expect to win.
- Allen has to reduce the shots allowed to Idaho. The Americans can't play the same style they have been playing hoping to win 6-5. To be successful Allen will have to sacrifice offense for defense, change the forecheck to clog up the neutral zone and hope to win the game 3-2.
- Special teams have been an advantage for Allen against Idaho. The Americans have four power play goals and three shorthanded goals against the Steelheads in three games. If Allen can win the special teams battle tonight the Americans will have a chance for victory.
- Special teams alone will not win the game. In Allen's two losses to Idaho this season the Americans have struggled to score even strength goals. A total of seven goals with just two scored even strength. To win tonight Allen needs to match Idaho when even strength.
- Allen will need a great goalie performance to beat Idaho. In the Americans win against Idaho in October, Leevi Merilainen had 43 saves and a .956 save percentage. Mark Sinclair had a hard to believe 52 saves and .912 save percentage in the loss on Wednesday. Sinclair will be in goal tonight.
- Allen acquired defenseman Andrew Jarvis yesterday in a cash trade with Tulsa. Jarvis just came off injured reserve having been on IR since the beginning of the season. He played 11 games with Allen after finishing his collegiate career in 2021-22. Jarvis is not a big defenseman (5'9" 180 lbs.) but is a hard working, hard nosed player committed to playing defense. Jarvis will be in the lineup tonight.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Idaho is one of the best teams in the league with a points percentage of .818. While Allen is at the bottom of the list with two contracted players (Crone & Sinclair), Idaho is in the middle of the pack with six contracted players. Teams with 8+ contract players include Florida, Fort Wayne, Indy, Kansas City, Maine, Newfoundland, Orlando, Trois Riviéres, Tulsa, Utah, Wheeling and Worcester.
- It is a big night in the ECHL with 12 games on the schedule. A lot of the higher ranking teams are taking on lower ranked teams so the gaps could widen even further. In the North, South and Mountain Divisions one or two teams are way ahead of the rest of the teams. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://echl.com/news/2023/11/echl-today-nov-17
- Here are four former Allen players having outstanding seasons in Europe:
- Olivier Archambault - 27 points (8G, 19A) in 16 games playing in Slovakia
- Alex Lavoie - 25 points (8G, 17A) in 16 games playing in France
- Steve Owre - 21 points (13G, 8A) in 18 games playing in Austria
- Dante Salituro - 21 points (11G, 10A) in 14 games playing in German
- Allen is in on the road for six straight games while Disney on Ice takes over the CUTX Event Center. After the three games in Idaho, Allen will visit Tulsa for three games next week. After the Tulsa series the Americans play two home games (Wichita & Utah) and then are back on the road for three games in Utah followed by three games in Kansas City. With a schedule like this in the next month, 11 road games and two home games, it will be difficult for Allen to make progress in the standings.
- Talk about great special teams stats, check these out:
- Wheeling's road power play percentage is 40.0% (8-20)
- Greenville and Toledo have 100% road penalty kill percentages, both 0-11.
- Cincinnati and Atlanta have identical stats. Five shorthanded goals in nine games played. Four of the five shorties were scored on the road.
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about teams, last season and this season, with points percentages above .800. Allen's current points percentage is is .273 (3-8-0-0). At this point last season the Americans points percentage was .500 (5-5-1-0).
After predicting the final score 6-2 Wednesday I thought I would give it a go tonight. Idaho 7-1, SOG Idaho 49-Allen 22. As a bonus Allen will be -44 for the game and the new ownership will be one game closer to cleaning house! LET'S GO RED!!!
ReplyDeleteFun Facts - Colby McAuley is on pace for a -83 +/- year.
ReplyDeleteKolten Olynek plays for my home team in France2. His efforts are good but his stats aren't as high as it should as à foreign player in this league. Thanks for the update. Benjamin from France.
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