The Allen Americans played their best game of the season last night in a back and forth affair that ended in a 5-4 overtime loss. The announced attendance was 4104 and I noticed several comments about that being overstated. The Allen Americans, as do all ECHL teams, announce tickets sold, not the number of people that come through the door. For every game, especially weekday games, some season ticket holders and many corporate sponsors do not use their tickets.
- Allen got off to a great start scoring two goals on its first five shots and had a 2-0 lead midway through the first period. Wichita cut the score to 2-1 on a power play goal late in the period. It was the first of two power play goals for the Thunder (2-3) who came into the game with one of the worst power plays in the league (5.9%) and 16 straight power plays with out a goal. Allen ended the night 0-3 on the power play.
- Allen took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission and extended the lead to 3-1 early in the second period. Then the ECHL's leading scorer, Michal Stinil scored twice in just over three minutes to tie the score 3-3. The second period has been Allen's weakest for a while. Last season 40% of the goals Allen allowed were in the second period (110). So far this season the Americans have scored one second period goal while allowing 11.
- With the score tied 3-3 heading into the third period you knew the next goal would be huge. Just 69 seconds into the period Wichita took a 4-3 lead on a power play goal. To Allen's credit after blowing a 3-1 lead and trailing 4-3 it fought back on Easton Brodzinski's second goal of the game. Allen had a chance to win the game in regulation when Wichita took a delay of game penalty with 54 seconds remaining in the game. The Americans had a couple of shots but did not score.
- Overtime was advantage Allen, starting with the remainder of the delay of game penalty (1:06) carrying over to overtime. The Americans dominated the overtime period with a 7-2 shot advantage, but could not get the puck past Aaron Dell. With 12 seconds remaining in overtime Wichita scored the game winner. While the loss was disappointing, the Americans took a big step forward.
- Goals scorers for Allen were Brayden Watts (1), Easton Brodzinski (1, 2), Will Gavin (1).
- Here are game recaps from both teams and video highlights. The recap from Wichita has lots of details:
- Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/10/americans-earn-a-point-in-overtime-loss
- Wichita Thunder: https://wichitathunder.com/news/2024/10/finnegan-nets-ot-winner-tonight-in-allen
- Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/wichita-thunder-vs-allen-americans-oct-30-2024
- I had a chance to ask coach Adams about the overall performance of the team and specifically if he has any concerns with the penalty kill that gave up two goals in the game. Here is what he had to say:
"It was a big step in terms
of how we played overall tonight. There were still moments when we reverted
back to the past weekend and that’s where they got their chances and
goals. Overall our style of play was a lot better and a step in the
right direction."
"I'm not concerned with the penalty kill. Coming into tonight we were 80%. We have been pretty good
in our structure on the penalty kill, but have made a couple errors in the last
couple of games that cost us goals. We were seconds away from killing
both those off tonight and just had a couple of mental lapses. Our
clears were way better tonight than the past few games which was a main focus
during our meeting today."
- Here are some of the stat changes based of the results of the game last night:
- Allen scored four goals after scoring just two in the first three games. The Americans raised their goals scored average from 0.67 to 1.50.
- Allen's shot differential last night was -2 (33-35) after having a shot differential of -14, -22 and -33 in the first three games.
- Allen's goals allowed average improved from 7.00 to 6.50, but is still the worst in the ECHL To give you an idea how far Allen has to go defensively to be a playoff contender, 19 ECHL teams have a goals allowed average of 3.00 or lower.
- Both the power play and penalty kill dropped after Allen went 0-3 on the power play and 2-3 on the penalty kill last night. The Allen power play is now ranked #27 at 8.3% (1-12). The penalty kill is ranked #24 at 72.2% (5-18).
- Despite earning a point Allen is still last in the ECHL in points, tied with Rapid City.
- Allen and Rapid City have point percentages of .125. Every other team in the Mountain Division is at .600 or above.
- The Americans caught an early flight this morning headed to Salt Lake City for games with the Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday. By leaving early the Americans will be able to have a practice once they arrive in Utah. There will a complete game preview tomorrow, but it should be noted the game on Friday will be the home opener for the Grizzlies. Utah has a record of 2-1-0-0, but have played all three games on the road. The two wins came in Rapid City and the loss in Idaho.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Florida extended its record to 4-0 last night with a 4-3 overtime win in Atlanta. Colton Hargrove was the #1 star of the game with a goal and an assist including the overtime game winner with 45 seconds remaining. In four games Hargrove has six points (2G, 4A) and is +7.
- Goal differential is a good proxy for identifying good teams. 14 ECHL teams currently have a positive goal differential. It is still very early in the season, but here the teams at the top and bottom of the goal differential list:
Top Teams
- +16 Kansas City
- +10 Florida
- +10 Kalamazoo
- +10 Tulsa
Bottom Teams
- - 20 Allen
- -13 Rapid City
- - 9 Maine
I still maintain fire BJ and Ferguson.
ReplyDeleteLJ - step up to the plate and make big girl decisions, or sell the team.
0-4 is abysmal.
Big mistake firing Costello. Fix it, before it gets worse.
Yep, Hargrove and Crone are starring elsewhere.
DeleteBoth did not want to leave Allen.
Total decimation of a roster by one stupid decision.
Same old BJ excuses as he gave Erie before he was fired.
0-4 is not a good look.
The coaches are the issue.
DeleteAs GM he blew up a roster and continually traded assets away up until this week.
Barry gets it, look at Smedsrud’s stats.
Very few of the former players even wanted to speak to BJ.
You’d be surprised as to how many BJ actually made a call to. Hard headedness or Ernst influence?
F&@$ you Joe Ernst.
It's really time for LJ to execute "The LJ Way".
DeleteWe play Utah this weekend.
I fully expect us to be 0-6.
This is far from what BJ was hired to do.
BRING BACK COSTELLO AND GIVE HIM TIME TO REBUILD SEEING JOE ERNST CONVINCED YOU TO FIRE HIM AND CREATE THE DUMPSTER FIRE THIS FRANCHISE NOW IS.
Don’t forget BJ continues to trade away proven talent for collegiate level players.There may be some exceptions where collegiate skills are needed here, eg: Will Gavin.
DeleteLooks like he focused it appears on OHL players that have historically performed well, eg: Duarte.
Some of the stats look good on paper historically, some don’t.
Teams don’t gel together in practice sessions and one preseason game.
The thought to implode a roster and not gradually add talent blows my mind. BJ is in a tough spot. Results will continue to be bad.
I would REALLY have liked to seen a shoot out between Thornton and Dell.
ReplyDeleteYesss!
DeleteAlthough Allen did much better with 4 goals last night, three of the goals were from the 1st line, and the goals scored were by seasoned players. We need to have to have scorers on all lines to be successful.
ReplyDeleteBlind Freddy can see that.
DeleteWhy can't BJ see or understand that?
What does Ferguson do, serious question?
That’s what you get with an OHL coach.
DeleteA solid half a season OHL head coach at that.
Ferguson is not coaching on the bench. I can only assume he is a video guy and stands on the bench for moral support. I’ve not seen him formally coach during timeouts like Gens did every game, however he did take the lead on one defense discussion last night.
This team is a mess.
Glad I stayed home. Allen may have a slight edge against Utah or any of the other bottom end teams, but that's because they're at the bottom just like Allen. The mid tier they might eek out a win too but thinking that's going to get me across the street to games is pretty far fetched.
ReplyDeleteOne OT loss is no different than an all out loss. You're not getting out of the cellar even if you have 20 of them at seasons end. One OT loss isn't going to convince anyone they've gotten over some hurdle.
Bingo.
DeleteThese owners are trash and these coaches are trash. Welcome to Allen!!!! Home of trash!!!
ReplyDeleteDumpster fire.
DeleteBJ needs to go.
DeleteBS excuses.
He should be saying:
"We have a great group of guys, I expect some losses, we are still working on things, a short preseason and one preseason game doesn't help, we are starting with a brand new roster. We shouldn't expect miracles, it's going to be a tough season, but we are all working our asses off. Be patient, it may take a few seasons, but you better believe we are bringing the Kelly Cup back to Allen"
if he had the balls to be upfront and honest, he'd earn my respect.
Enough of the BS excuses.
Own it.
You made GM decisions and elected to trade proven talent away (Farmer, Smedsrud), you failed to pick up the damn phone and call players from last season to convince them to come back, you could easily have separated yourself from Zawyer, and said "I am here to win, I want you here and we are going to win a championship together".
You didn't even call.
That's why you need to be fired, sooner rather than later.
LJ, make leadership decisions.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
DeleteBloomington’s attendance was 777 last night. Do you think that is all they sold plus season tickets Barry?
ReplyDeleteSo you’re saying that 2,800-3,000 people no showed last night? That’s a pretty big number.
ReplyDeleteSTH is less than 1900 I am reliably informed.
DeleteSo ... between corporates which they just "print" off at the venue, and STH no shows, yes, somewhere in that range.
Remember "free tickets" and "corporates" are made up numbers that Allen can determine the night of (I think). There were 1500 people there tops and I mean tops.
No wonder they lose so much money!
Delete1500 butts in seats... um I don't think so. Must be counting players, staff and arena staff and that would still be pushing it.
DeleteI was there. 1200-1500 max. Prob closer to 1200 last night.
DeleteAll anyone has to do it go to the ECHL website and look at the replay and see the stands were mostly empty. Not surprised after what's gone on all summer.
DeleteThere are no league rules stating anything about how attendance is reported, so a team can report any number they want. Last season, roughly 60% of tickets issued per game for Allen home games were comps. And Ive heard they are around that same % through 3 games this season. This team has struggled to sell tickets the last three years because they don't have any type of plan and leadership doesn't put any pressure on the sales director or staff to produce. And it doesn't help that Tommy typically gives away over 100 tickets per game to his "people." Per Rev Entertainment, the team president needs to get better control of that staff.
DeleteJonny does a good job considering what he’s up against. That stunt you pulled last season with your wife & autographing all the jerseys for the fans tells a lot about your character.
DeleteChase didn’t you get fired ? Or you just being a disgruntled past employee still on the blog? Weird
Delete^^^^^^^^^100%
DeleteWhat's this?
DeleteThat stunt you pulled last season with your wife & autographing all the jerseys for the fans tells a lot about your character.
More info pls.
His wife is/was the merchandise manager, she had a lot of jerseys to be signed by the team for giveaways & I guess she had them somewhere & he signed some of them “f&$k you”.
DeleteI got one of them.. yes this is correct.
DeleteSeriously? She should be fired also. Wow!
DeleteDoes she work for Allen or Zawyer?
DeleteWorked for Allen before Zawyer, then Zawyer hired her I guess.
DeleteAgree JM does a good job considering the handcuffs and power he has had removed.
DeleteHe needs that power back unequivocally.
Clearing the pick was a main focus?! Come on. You have to be kidding me.
ReplyDeleteC'mon man, this is the OHL ..... Um, I mean ECHL.
DeleteMost of the people there had free tickets. No reason to be a season ticket holder when thousands of free tickets are handed out
ReplyDeleteSo how do I get free tickets?
ReplyDeleteThe last two former ticket directors were so awful at their jobs that all they could do was give things away.
DeleteYou just need to join their mailing list and subscribe to their text alerts. They send out multiple free ticket links before each game. Or call your account rep, like I did before Wednesday's game and was given 20 tickets for my daughters soccer team.
DeleteLet's not forget that the "free college tickets" are available to anyone with no need to prove identity and you can get like 8 per person. I'm guilty of reserving a half a row for 2 people so I have space. I guess that really bloats the numbers. We used to buy flex tickets but those don't exist anymore so we just wait and get free tickets or pay less than $10 last minute on TickPick. We spend way less on to tickets now and reserve more seats. With food quality down and prices up, we also eat before we come. I plan to bleed the Jacks for money, that's all they're after anyway. Oh and #HickeyIsForEveryone as if that's something we needed to establish.
ReplyDeleteSo many of the comments on this blog are from former team employees who got fired, or stalled in their careers, and they are just bitter people. Barry, you should consider making access to comments based on registration and verify with real emails. Giving blind access to anyone to say anything really adds nothing of value and creates more drama in a world that is already packed with same. Kind of amazing that the team would endorse and promote a forum where anonymous keyboard cowards can trash anyone at anytime with no accountability. The information here is fantastic, but the presence of these pithy comments that have nothing to do with hockey makes the blog experience brutal at times. I have been reading this blog on a weekly basis since 2015 and the same things are always mentioned, by people writing in their own unique styles to where you know who they are. First it was complaining about the Steven Brothers... then it was Gulati... now it's the Jacks. If the same people keep having the same problems with multiple owners, one should review why they are still fans of the team. If some of these posters were so knowledgeable about the sport of hockey why are they not working for the team... running a team... coaching a team... owning the team... Seems like some people just like to watch the world burn. Barry, you are not like that, so please consider making this change to the comments section so that real hockey fans will feel welcome about sharing their comments and not get drawn into the daily cycle of stupidity. So much of what used to make this team fun to be around has changed due to the owner changes, the coaching changes, the way fans get treated by the arena staff, etc. Restore this blog to a place where there are not 100+ anonymous comments complaining non-stop. If you are one of these people making posts, do you really think anyone in Ownership or Management is going to be stirred up by comments from someone they do not know, respect, etc. Absolutely not. All it does is stir the pot of vitriol and bitterness. Be better.
ReplyDeleteCan you help me remember something? Which Steven brother, Rodney or Brandon, is the convicted felon for illegal gambling and which one is the health club owner with the numerous labor violations and $550K of delinquent back taxes. Which one was arrested for sexual assault back in the day? I keep getting them mixed up.
DeleteThanks Mr Anonymous
You are phukn kidding right?
DeleteAnonymity protects me from truly identifying myself.
I am a fan.
Not an employee, or former employee.
My comments are my own and present many facts.
I posted the person who owns a 10% interest.
I posted many facts.
More comments than ever before lately.
Don't like it? Don't post. Don't read.
Your post is the most ridiculous Ive seen on here in the past year.
DeleteTissue Boy had better posts, and to Dave's point, you posted anonymously. What a nut job.
Seriously, considering not posting ever again.
Posting anonymously while telling Barry to make everyone register...dumb ass
DeleteI’d agree with asking Mr. (Or Ms.) Anonymous to reconsider posting anonymously (or at all) while requesting a registration requirement but (s)he used both “pithy” and “vitriol” in their post which is an impressive use of Word of The Day Toilet Paper. Keep on keeping on Mr. (Or Ms.) Thesaurus Rex.
DeleteMr Anonymous - last I remember it was still a free country where you can voice your opinion, either good or bad. Because the team is currently at the bottom of a pit, you can’t expect fans to stay silent on it. Just as others have a choice to type out their opinion on this blog, you have a choice to either read it or not. If it bothers you that bad, I suggest you skip the comment section next time. When the team improves, so will the comments.
Delete"brutal at times"...then you are weak if you can't handle the truth LOL
Deletesince 2015....like that makes you know more LOL
complaining about anonymous post but post anonymously LOL
simple solution... just read the blog and not the comments
As you also post anonymously.... I see we've found someone that, if comments weren't anonymous, would be hunting people down and retaliating for their personal opinions. That's the only reason you default to looking up to look for a name attached to an opinion, so you can dig and retaliate. Are you close friends with the Jacks? 😂
Delete