School Day Brings 6-4 Win, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Division Standings, Martinson earns 400th Win in Allen and More

 

It is always a good sign when a team doesn't play its best, but still finds a way to win. The Allen Americans did just that this morning, beating the Wichita Thunder 6-4 before a crowd of 6250, of which 5000 were school kids who kept the energy up the entire game. The roaring started during player introductions and hit a crescendo when Hank Crone was introduced. My first thought was why do all these kids know about Hank Crone, then I was reminded that it was his number, 67, they were cheering for. 

It was a perfect School Day game. A lot of goals, a fight (Thomas Caron), and an Allen victory. 

 

- Allen was outshot by a large margin in all three periods. Here is the bad news and good news from the game.

• Wichita had the first eight shots of the game.
• Allen scored on its first shot of the game.
• Wichita outshot Allen 17-5 in the first period.
• Allen scored two goals on five shots.
• Score was tied 2-2 after the first period.
• Wichita outshot Allen 15-9 in the second period.
• Allen outscored Wichita 2-1 in the second period.
• After two periods, Allen was outshot 32-14, but led 4-3. 
• Allen was outshot 17-7 in the third period.
• Allen outscored Wichita 2-1 in the third period. 
• Allen took nine penalties, eight were power-play opportunities.
• Allen killed them all (0-8)

 

- You get the gist: Allen did not play well this morning, but still found a way to win. Here is how they did it: 

• Allen scored six goals on just 21 shots. That is an off-the-charts shooting percentage of 29%.
• Allen won the special teams battle, going 1-4 (25%) on the power play and 0-8 (100%) on the penalty kill.
• Marco Costantini made 45 saves. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Michael Gildon (3), Mark Duarte (1,2,3), and Danny Katic (1,2). Andre Anania assisted on four of the six goals. Here are the video highlights. Keep an eye on #86, Andre Anania, who played a big part in four of the goals: https://echl.com/videos/wichita-thunder-vs-allen-americans-nov-5-2025    

 

- I stopped by Coach Martinson's office after the game to congratulate him on his 400th win as the coach in Allen. Milestones aren't a big deal to Martinson, and he was much more interested in talking about the poor execution in the game, especially the poor start. While he had praise for some players like Duarte, Katic, Anania, and Costantini, he was not happy with the neutral zone turnovers and failure to pressure the puck in the offensive zone. He was already busy deciding the drills he is going to use in practice tomorrow (Thursday) to address the issues.

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams with the goal-by-goal details: 

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/11/americans-score-six-again-in-6-4-win-over-wichita  
• Wichita Thunder: https://wichitathunder.com/news/2025/11/wichita-opens-week-with-6-4-loss-at-allen 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- With Allen's win this morning, the Americans have moved into first place in the Mountain Division by point percentage. Tahoe could overtake the Americans if it wins in Rapid City tonight. Here are the standings:

• .643 - Allen
• .625 - Tahoe
• .625 - Kansas City
• .500 - Tulsa
• .444 - Idaho
• .438 - Utah
• .438 - Wichita
• .428 - Rapid City

The Mountain Division remains the tightest of the four ECHL divisions. It has the lowest point percentage (.643 of any #1 team and the highest point percentage (.429) of any last-place team.

 

- Allen must now get ready for two games in Tulsa on Friday and Sunday. Tulsa has eight NHL/AHL contracted players assigned, and five of them (including both goalies) are NHL contracted players.

 

- Atlanta lost to Greenville at home this morning, 3-1, to snap its six-game win streak from the start of the season. Five teams lead the league with point percentages of .750+

• .857 - Atlanta
• .833 - Fort Wayne
• .800 - Wheeling
• .786 - Reading
• .750 - Toledo

 

- Nancy and I are headed to Washington D.C. tomorrow for a long weekend to visit our one and only grandchild, who turns three later this month. I am taking my antique laptop along and will try to put out a short blog in the mornings, but no promises.  

   

DID YOU KNOW: Steve Martinson won his 400th game in Allen this morning. Here are his regular-season wins from all of the teams he has coached:

• 400 - Allen Americans (4 championships)
• 385 - San Diego Gulls (5 championships)
• 142 - Rockford IceHogs (1 championship)
• 117 - Elmira Jackals
• 43 - Athens Rock Lobsters
• 34 - Chicago Express