Losing Streak Snapped in Role Reversal, Game Recap, Coach's Comments, Rubber Game Preview, Playoff Teams, Empty Net Goals and More

 

The Allen Americans snapped their eight game losing streak with a 5-2 win over Utah last night. The Americans flipped the script on what has happened to them so many times this season. Here are some examples:

• Allen scored the first goal of the game on the first shot of the game 15 seconds after puck drop.
• Allen took a 2-0 lead before the first period was halfway over and never looked back. 
• Allen led 3-0 after the first period and the game was over. 
• Utah's record when trailing after the first period is 3-25-4-0.
  
• Utah never got closer than two goals once Allen had a 2-0 lead. 
• Allen led 4-1 after the second period.
• Allen's record when leading after the second period is 12-1-3-1.
  
• Utah's record when trailing after the second period is 1-30-2-0.
• Allen's three goal margin of victory is the widest all season (tied).

 

- The entire night was setup by Brad Morrison's first goal since joining the Americans six games ago. He fought off three defenders to get Allen on the scoreboard 15 seconds into the game. Allen had given up the first goal in every game of its eight game losing streak. Scoring first last night was huge.   

- Scoring three first period goals is unheard of for the Americans. It did happen one other time this season. In Allen's first win of the season on November 2nd the Americans scored three first period goals on the way to a 6-4 win over Utah. That was only time Allen scored six goals in a game this season, and it happened on the road. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Brad Morrison (4), Miko Matikka (5), Mark Duarte (20), Reid Perepeluk (1) and Liam Gorman (6). J.C. Brassard had two assist. Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/03/game-recap-americans-end-losing-streak-with-a-big-win-in-utah 
• Utah Grizzlies game recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2025/03/lamaster-scores-first-pro-goal-in-5-2-loss 

- Luke Richardson was outstanding in goal saving 32 of 34 shots for a .941 save percentage. Richardson will have to carry the load for Allen the rest of the season. Anson Thornton was injured on Wednesday (lower body) and has been placed on 14-day injured reserve. No one is saying officially Thornton is out for the season. He will be eligible to come off IR for the last two games of the season on April 11 and 12, however, there is no doubt he is gone for the season. My guess is coach Ferguson will sign a goalie that is just finishing his college/junior career to backup Richardson for the final seven games of the season. 

 

- Here is what coach Ferguson had to say after the win last night:

"It was nice to jump out to a lead for once, especially so early in the game. We ran a little faceoff play to start the game. Morrison saw some open ice and entered the zone and made a great play on that goal."

"We emphasized pucks to the net of the rush tonight and three of our goals came off the rush. The other 5-on-5 goal was the result of a great forecheck, which has been a strength of ours in this series. Perepeluk was in a good spot, used the defenseman as a screen and put it home."

"We did a great job at the end of the game killing a couple of penalties and Richardson stood tall all night."

"They had some push back in the second period as expected, but we stood our ground. It was a great effort by our group."  

- Allen will have a chance to win a series tonight for just the second time in four months. The only series win for the Americans since last November was the sweep against Rapid City at the end of January. A win tonight will also give Allen a season series win against Utah. Allen is 4-3-1-0 against the Grizzlies.

 

- More of the same from last night is the recipe for success tonight. A good start, play with the lead, commitment to defense, good goaltending and staying out of the penalty box will lead to another win. Easier said than done. 

- The referee will be the same tonight as the first two games. After calling 19 penalties in game one he called only four last night. Would expect there will be more than four penalties tonight, but he will still let the players decide the game.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Allen doesn't have much to play for the rest of the season other than pride and jobs for next season in Allen or elsewhere. The Americans could still avoid having the worst record in the league but it would take a big turnaround. The bottom three teams are Allen (40 points), Utah (50 points) and Adirondack (51 points. If Allen wins its last eight games it would have 56 points. Any combination of Allen losses or wins by Utah and Adirondack that totals six points assures the Americans last place. However, there are a few other stats Allen can escape last place if they win a few games down the stretch. It would be small victories, but something to shoot for. Here are some examples:

• Allen is #29 in goals scored (152), just behind Indy (153).
• Allen is #28 in goals allowed (264), just ahead of Utah (268).
• Allen is #29 average goals scored (2.38), just behind Indy (2.39).
• Allen is #29 in average goals allowed (4.13), just behind Utah (4.13)
• Allen is #29 in average shots allowed (37.88), just behind Wichita (35.95).  

 

- In the race for the playoffs in the Mountain Division, Tahoe beat Idaho last night and has opened up a six point lead for second place. Tahoe is on an 8-0-1-0 streak and looking like it will be the #2 seed behind Kansas City. It looks more and more like the race will come down to Wichita (79 points), Tulsa (76 points) and Idaho (73 points) battling for two playoff berths. Rapid City is lurking in sixth place with 67 points. Tulsa has lost five straight and is at home against Rapid City tonight and Sunday afternoon. As usual in the division the final playoff team will not be decided until the last two games of the season.

 

- Hank Crone played his first game for Norfolk last night since being traded by Idaho. All he did was lead Norfolk with three points (1G, 2A). It looks like Norfolk will be the #2 or #3 seed in the North Division. Crone's former team, Idaho, is in a fight to make the playoffs.

 

- Kansas City clinched a playoff spot last night with its 3-0 win over Wichita. Orlando and Tahoe have a chance to punch their tickets to the playoffs tonight. Orlando clinches if Atlanta loses and Tahoe clinches if it beats Idaho in regulation time. Here are the teams that have qualified for the playoffs. Seven of the 16 teams have been decided. Here is the list in point percentage order by division:

South Division

• .750 - South Carolina 
• .727 - Florida
• .652 - Jacksonville

North Division

• .714 - Trois Riviéres

Central Division

• .705 - Toledo
• .633 - Fort Wayne

Mountain Division

• .700 - Kansas City

 

- Last season two teams (Allen and Tulsa) made the Kelly Cup playoffs with a losing season and Maine qualified with a record of exactly .500. This season it looks like every playoff team will have a winning record. The only division that is close is the Central. Bloomington and Indy are tied for fourth place with .500 point percentages. You would expect whichever team makes it to the playoffs will have to play better than .500 hockey down the stretch. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Today's ECHL Stats post is about empty net goals. Allen has scored eight empty net goals and avoided the list below with Liam Gorman's empty net goal last night. The other empty net goals were scored by Mark Duarte (2), Easton Brodzinski (2), Spencer Asuchak (1), J.C. Brassard (1) and Kyle Crnkovic (1).

 

Brady Fleurent (Norfolk) and Jay Dickman (Wichita) lead the ECHL with seven empty net goals. Six entire teams have seven or fewer empty net goals. Here is the list:

 

3 - Greenville

3 - Idaho

7 - Fort Wayne

7 - Indy

7 - Maine

7 - Worcester

 

- Here are the teams that lead the ECHL in empty net goals:

17 - Norfolk

17 - South Carolina

15 - Florida

15 - Savannah