The Allen Americans beat the Utah Grizzlies 3-2 yesterday morning in the second of three School Day games this season. Just like the first School Day game, the crowd of over 6000, mostly school kids, kept the energy high the entire game and were in for a real treat.
- At the first School day game, a 6-4 win over Wichita on November 5, 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. If you are not familiar with the 6-7 phenomenon and what it means, here is a brief history:
- The trend traces back to December 2024 and the song Doot Doot (6-7) by an artist named Skrilla, a rapper from Philadelphia. The song features the repetition of the lyric six-seven, which became the hook that people clipped and reused on social media.
- Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram accelerated the spread. The meme is heavily associated with children and young teens, especially elementary and middle school students, who help spread the random 6-7 through schools, playgrounds, and hallways. Some schools have banned the chant because it is disruptive. It has now gone well beyond this age group.
- Some argue that the meaninglessness of 6-7 is the whole point; it's less about what it means and more about belonging to the moment, a shared inside joke.
- You can only imagine what happened in the game yesterday when the kids heard player introductions, and Hank Crone 6-7 was in the starting lineup. The noise was off the charts. It only got louder when Hank scored a natural hat trick (3 straight goals). Each time PA Announcer, Lee Hastings, announced a Crone goal in a drawn-out 6-7, it got louder and louder. By the time Hank scored his third goal to give Allen a 3-1 lead, the 6-7 brought a level of noise as loud as I have ever heard in the arena, including the championship years.
- No doubt the win was a great win, but once again, the Americans didn't play their best game. Allen surrendered 47 shots, including being outshot in the third period 20-7. It is the second-most shots allowed in the third period in the ECHL this season. David Tendeck made some spectacular saves as Utah had a 6-on-4 power play and then an extra attacker for the final 3:35 of the game. Utah finally scored a goal with 37 seconds remaining in the game to make the final score 3-2. Tendeck stopped 45 of 47 shots for a .957 save percentage.
- Other stats from the game that will be areas for improvement this weekend:
- Allen won despite giving up the first goal. The Americans have allowed the first goal in 11 of 17 games.
- Allen was 0-3 on the power play. The power play is now ranked #24 at 14.8%.
- Giving up 47 shots has dropped Allen to last place (#30 ) in the ECHL in average shots allowed at 37.53. FYI, Kansas City leads the Mountain Division in shots allowed at 25.11.
- I don't have the specific puck possession time, but offensive zone puck possession time needs to improve.
- There were some good stats from the game as well:
- Allen scored three goals, which has been the magic number all season. Allen's record when scoring three or more goals is now 7-0-1-0.
- The Americans were 0-4 on the penalty kill, including two minutes of 6-on-4. The Allen penalty kill is now ranked #2 in the ECHL at 89.2%.
- Allen won despite being outshot. The Americans have a winning record when being outshot by the opponent (5-4-2-1).
- Hank Crone scored his fourth hat trick as an Allen American. He had three hat-tricks in 2022-23 when he led the league with 49 goals. His fourth hat-trick ties him with Chad Costello for the all-time record.
- Here are the game recaps and video highlights:
- Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/12/game-recap-crone-natural-hat-trick-leads-americans-over-utah-3-2
- Utah Grizzlies: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2025/12/ricketts-shea-each-score-goals-in-utahs-3-2-loss-at-allen
- Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/utah-grizzlies-vs-allen-americans-dec-3-2025
OTHER COMMENTS
- I heard from Coach Martinson that a player from Belleville could be assigned soon, but as always, it is dependent on the injury situation. Belleville played last night and lost 4-3 at home to Toronto. They play Laval at home on Friday and Saturday.
- Crone's three goals make nine points (5G, 4A) in his last seven games. He is now tied for the team lead in goals (6) with Watts and Gildon, and is #2 in points (13), one point behind the team leader, Watts.
- Allen's win gets them back to .500, and in the crazy Mountain Division, that is good enough for the final playoff spot by points percentage. I know Coach Martinson takes no solace in getting back to .500 and is looking for the Americans to string some wins together.
- Allen's record by month:
- 2-2-1-0: October (.500)
- 4-5-2-0: November (.455)
- Allen has one more School Day game on April 2 against Greensboro. They are fun to attend with all of the energy the kids bring, and seeing a new team will be a bonus. I thought it was a nice touch for team President, Jonny Mydra, to give any Patriots Club (season ticket holder) members who wanted to attend the game but didn't want to sit in the lower bowl with the sea of kids, suite tickets upstairs, and there were a lot of Patriots Club members who took advantage of the offer.
- This will be my last blog post as I leave for a week of pheasant hunting in the morning. I won't return until after the three games in Rapid City next week. I will post some info on Facebook and X/Twitter, but no blogs while I'm hunting. Late-season pheasant hunting in the snow and cold has been a tradition with my best friend Dave since we were in high school in the 1960's. As we approach our 80's, we spend more time in the truck than in the sloughs, but it will be a lot of fun, the landscapes will be beautiful, and the wildlife will be abundant. In addition to pheasants, we will see ducks, geese, partridge, grouse, deer, moose, antelope, plus plenty of small mammals. We only hunt the pheasants. The temps from Friday night to Monday morning will range from a low of -6 to a high of 11. Wish us luck.
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about the importance of playing with the lead. Allen's record with a first-period lead is 2-1-1-0. When trailing after the first period, the record is 1-6-1-0:
