Allen vs Rapid City Series Preview, NHL/AHL Players Assigned Update, Allen's All-Time Most Prolific Scores and More

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they start a three-game series against the Rapid City Rush tonight at the CUTX Event Center. Let's start with an update on the roster:

• Goalie Jackson Parsons has been recalled to Belleville.
• Allen will be going with an EBUG tonight and possibly for the weekend.
• Allen now has no NHL/AHL contracted players assigned. FYI, Rapid City has 10.
• Because of salary cap issues related to no CBA, Allen will play two skaters short in the game tonight and going forward.
• Coach Martinson has shaken up the lines for tonight to help get the offense going after scoring a total of three goals in two games against Kansas City.
• There will also be changes to the power play units, which went 0-6 against Kansas City.   

 

- Allen has a long history with the Rapid City Rush that started in the first year of the Americans' franchise (2009-10) when the teams met in the Central Hockey League President's Cup Final, which Rapid City won. Allen went on to win four straight championships (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). Since joining the ECHL in 2014-15, when the CHL folded, Allen has won two championships and missed the playoffs twice. Rapid City has missed the playoffs every season except 2015 and 2022, when they lost in the division finals. In 2015, Allen beat Rapid City in the division final on the way to its first Kelly Cup. In 2022, Rapid City beat Allen 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs.

 

- From my records, Allen's regular-season record against Rapid City is:

• 47-22-6-1 since joining the ECHL.
• 15-11-0-1 in the last five seasons.
• 5-2-0-1 last season.

 

- Rapid City arrives in Allen with a 2-2 record, having split series with Kansas City and Wichita. The Rush played Kansas City on the road, losing 3-2 and winning 5-2. By comparison, Allen just lost to Kansas City twice at home, by scores of 4-2 and 4-1, which included one empty net goal in the first game and two in the second game.   

 

- It is very early to compare stats with Allen only playing three games thus far, and Rapid City playing four, but here are the stats thus far:

• Goals scored average: 2.00 Allen - 3.00 Rapid City
• Goals allowed average: 3.33 Allen - 2.50 Rapid City
• Shots for average: 27.33 Allen - 27.75 Rapid City
• Shots against average: 38.33 Allen - 38.50 Rapid City
• Power play percentage: 15.4% Allen - 0.0% Rapid City
• Penalty kill percentage: 87.5% Allen - 71.4% Rapid City

 

- It is a small sample size, but the stats above show a clear advantage for the Americans on special teams. Rapid City is 0-10 on the power play compared to Allen's 2-13. Allen has given up two power-play goals on 16 opportunities. Rapid City has given up four goals on 14 opportunities. If the Americans can win the special teams battle in this series, it will go a long way in achieving wins. Allen spent way too much time killing 13 penalties against Kansas City. The Americans only surrendered one power play goal, plus one goal that was scored just as a penalty expired, but it is hard to generate offense when killing penalties. 

 

- Allen has three players with a career points per game average in the ECHL of a point per game or higher. Hank Crone (1.43), Colton Hargrove (1.27), and Brad Morrison (1.00). By the past averages, these three players would have a total of 10 points after three games. Their current total is one point. Look for them to break out in this series with Rapid City, along with the overall Allen offense. 

 

- There is no question that the lack of help from Ottawa/Belleville puts the Americans at a disadvantage compared to all other ECHL teams, but that is not an excuse with the talent on this team. Needless to say, Allen is at the bottom of the list of NHL/AHL players assigned to ECHL teams. Here is my ECHL Stats post from this morning with the stats:

Here is the updated list of NHL/AHL contracted players assigned to each ECHL team. Having a lot of assigned players doesn’t necessarily translate to success. It is very early in the season, but the best teams by point percentage have from 2-11 assigned players. Teams with a .700+ point percentage are marked with an asterisk:

 

11: *SC*

10: RC, *SAV*

9: CIN, FW, TR

8: ADK, FLA, WHL

7: IDH, ORL, WIC, UTA

6: MNE, *REA*, TUL

5: *ATL*, BLM, GVL, IND, *IA*, TAH, WOR

4: GSO, *JAX*, KAL

3: NOR, TOL

2: *KC*

0: ALN

  

- Another key to this series for Allen is getting off to better starts. The Americans have given up the first goal in all three of their games and also trailed after the first period in all three games. Allen's combined record when trailing after the first period, going back to Martinson's last season (when they were 3-13-3-0), is 18-79-6-1 (.207). 

 

- The game tonight will use two referees, Tyler Spott (#32) and David Lilly (#25). The linesmen will be Aaron Schaat (#51) and Joey Kramer (#90). Spott is also an AHL referee. He played Division I hockey at Northeastern University. Lilly has been an ECHL referee since 2022. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Kansas City is the only Mountain Division team in the top 10 in the ECHL standings by point percentage. The Mavericks beat Tulsa yesterday morning, 5-1, to improve their record to 4-1-0-0. They are ranked #3 in points percentage (.800) behind #1 Atlanta, which is a perfect 4-0-0-0, and #2 Reading with a .875 point percentage (3-0-1-0). 

 

- It is early in the season, but a player to keep an eye on is Jaxon Nelson, who plays for the Iowa Heartlanders. Nelson was the captain at the University of Minnesota in 2023-24, after which he immediately signed an entry-level NHL contract with Boston and played in the AHL (Providence) last season. Boston didn't qualify him, so he became an unrestricted free agent and signed with Iowa in August. He is listed at 6'4' and 230 pounds on Iowa's website and is known as a grinder. He currently leads the ECHL in scoring with 10 points (5G, 5A) in five games. Hard to believe he won't get scooped up by some AHL team if he continues his torrid scoring pace. 

 

- There are six games on the ECHL schedule tonight, with six of the eight Mountain Division teams in action. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/10/echl-today-oct-29   

 

DID YOU KNOW: Who are the most prolific scorers in Allen Americans franchise history? There are only six players who have averaged more than a point per game and played more than 100 games in Allen. Colton Hargrove will join this list when he hits 100 games played later this season. He is currently at 79. 

• 1.50 - Chad Costello*
• 1.42 - Hank Crone
• 1.31 - Jack Combs
• 1.28 - Bruce Graham*
• 1.15 - Greger Hanson*
• 1.07 - Colton Yellow Horn 

*Won championships in Allen