Four Goals on Six Shots Leads to Victory, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Martinson Comments, WOW Stats and More

 

The Allen Americans beat the Utah Grizzlies 4-2 last night, making it back to .500 (6-6-3-0), and moved into fourth place (tied) in the division by points percentage. Allen won by an identical score (4-2) to the win in game one on Wednesday, but the game last night was very different. 

 

- Offensive explosion would be the apt description of the game last night. Allen's shooting percentage was below 8% coming into the series with Utah. In game one on Wednesday, it was 13% and last night it was 27%. The Americans scored on their 2nd shot, 3rd shot, 4th shot, and 6th shot of the game, even though the sixth shot didn't come until there were less than five minutes remaining in the second period. 

 

- Allen chased former Americans goalie Dylan Wells from the game midway through the first period after scoring on three consecutive shots and taking a 3-0 lead. The game was essentially over at that point, at least by the stats. Allen's record this season when scoring 3 or more goals is 6-0-1-0. 

 

- Utah scored late in the first period and early in the second period to cut the score to 3-2, but that is as close as they got. Allen scored at the 15:05 mark to get their two-goal lead back and took a 4-2 lead into the second intermission. At that point, the odds were heavily in Allen's favor since the Americans hadn't lost when leading after the second period and Utah hadn't won when trailing after the second period.

 

- There was no scoring in the third period. Utah pulled the goalie with three minutes remaining and outshot Allen 7-0, but David Tendeck, who replaced Marco Costantini at the start of the third period, stood strong.

- Goal scorers for Allen were Harrison Blaisdell (4 & 5), Colton Hargrove (2), and Colby McAuley (2). Simmons-Fischer had two assists, and Hank Crone had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (2G, 4A). Here are the video highlights with all the goals, some great saves by both goalies, a fight, and the post-game scrum that could carry over tonight. https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-utah-grizzlies-nov-28-2025

 

- Utah had a big advantage in shots (34-15), but Allen's physical play seemed to take its toll in the third period. The Americans controlled the play despite Utah's 13-9 edge in shots. 10 of Utah's shots came with a man advantage. After the game, there was some pushing and shoving, which was started by Utah. At least they got the only penalty for roughing at the 20:00 mark.

 

- Here are the game recaps issued by both teams:

Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/11/game-recap-two-in-a-row-in-utah 

Utah Grizzlies: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2025/11/connor-kelley-scores-first-pro-goal-in-utahs-4-2-friday-loss 

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

"It was good to see our scoring continue with another four-goal game. We have been getting scoring up and down the lineup."

"The 5-on-3 power play goal was textbook, and when you get the puck on Hargrove's stick in that position, he can bury it."

"When I get the shots from our Insat software, the shots will be closer than what was reported in the boxscore. Two things will help us get more shots in game three. First, we can improve our puck possession in the offensive zone. We only had a few shifts where we hemmed them in. Second, we need to get more pucks to the net on our power plays. We don't shoot the puck enough on the power play, because we try to make the perfect play."

"Adding Katic to the lineup tonight will be a boost. He leads the team in points per game (1.40). David Tendeck will get the start in goal. Marco Costantini will be the backup."

"I really liked our physical play and would expect the same in game three. With six straight games against Utah, this is like a playoff series. All these hits will add up, and there will be more of the same over the next four games (12 periods)."   

 

TONIGHT'S PREVIEW

- It is unreasonable to expect a repeat of the start from last night, but a good start will be important if Allen is going to sweep this series. Playing with the lead is a big key. Here are some others:

• Speed through the neutral zone.
• Win the special teams battle.
• Keep the physicality at a high level.
• Pucks and bodies to the net.
• Balanced scoring. 

 

- Allen has proven so far this season that the first team to three goals wins. When the Americans have scored three or more goals, their record is 6-0-1-0. When they score fewer than three goals, the record is 0-6-2-0.

 

-  The referee tonight will be Chazz Knoche (#33). He was the referee for the first two games and called six penalties in the first game and 11 in the second. The way the game ended last night makes me think there will be more than 11 penalties tonight.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Mountain Division is so close that a team can jump a couple of positions in the standings in one night. Here is the latest by points percentage, which is a better stat than points because games played vary from 14 (Tulsa) to 19 (Idaho). I have included the games tonight, showing the home teams:

• .688 - Kansas City
• .639 - Tahoe, at home against Tulsa
• .579 - Idaho
• .500 - Allen
• .500 - Tulsa
• .471 - Utah, at home against Allen
• .471 - Rapid City, at home against Idaho
• .441 - Wichita, at home against Kansas City

 

- Here is the ECHL Today with the previews of 13 games on the schedule tonight: https://echl.com/news/2025/11/echl-today-nov-29 

 

- Defensemen Andre Anania and Sam Sedley lead the team in assists with eight each. Of the Allen players who have played more than 10 games, they rank #3 and #4 in points per game:

• .87 - Brayden Watts
• .67 - Hank Crone
• .60 - Andre Anania
• .53 - Sam Sedley
• .53 - Michael Gildon

 

- Kansas City is off to another great start on the road. The Mavericks are the only remaining team undefeated on the road (6-0-0-0). This has been a pattern for Kansas City, which set the all-time ECHL best road record in 2023-24. The Mavericks are #1 in road points percentage for the third straight season:

• 1.000 - 2025-26 (6-0-0-0)
• .750 - 2024-25 (26-8-2-0)
• .847 - 2023-24 (29-4-2-1)

When you add the three seasons together, the Mavericks' road record is a hard-to-believe 61-12-4-1 with a points percentage of .814. FYI, the Mavericks' home record is not as good as their road record. It is 5-5-0-0 this season and 53-23-4-4 (.683) over the last three seasons. So much for home ice advantage.

 

 DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about some stats that make you say Wow! I would give the Allen Americans' WOW stat to Harrison Blaisdell. After his two-goal, #1 Star performance last night, he now has five goals, tied for #3 on the team, one goal behind Brayden Watts and Michael Gildon. Last season, Blaisdell scored four goals in 50 games for the Americans. 

 Some ECHL WOW stats early in the 2025-26 season:

- Toledo has scored 8 shorthanded goals in 15 games (53%).

- Cincinnati has #1 PP (28.3%), #30 PK (69.0%).

- Wheeling is 10-0-0-0 when scoring 1st.

- Kansas City is the only undefeated road team (6-0-0-0).

- Atlanta’s point percentage at record pace .143 (2-12-0-0).

- 54% of penalty shots have been successful (7 of 13), which hasn’t been higher than 28% in the last five seasons.