Allen vs Tulsa Preview, NHL/AHL Contracted Players by the Numbers and Games Played, Retired Dyson Stevenson Averaging 5.1 PPG and More

 

The Allen Americans hit the road today for two games against the Tulsa Oilers, tonight and Saturday night. After these two games, Allen will be at the halfway point of the season. It was a tough start to the season for the Americans. Before Thanksgiving, Allen's record was 4-6-3-0 (.423). Since Thanksgiving, the Americans' record is 15-6-0-0 (.714). 

 

- Allen's record against Tulsa is similar to its overall record. Before Thanksgiving, the Americans lost all three games against Tulsa. Since Thanksgiving, the Americans have won four straight. Even more impressive is that in the four wins against Tulsa in December, Allen outscored Tulsa 24-9, averaging six goals per game.   

 

- Here are some comparison stats between Allen and Tulsa:

• Allen's record is 19-12-3-0, Tulsa's is 11-22-0-0 
• Allen is 7-3-0-0 over the last 10 games, Tulsa is 2-8-0-0.
• Allen is 9-8-2-0 on the road, Tulsa is 7-11-0-0 at home.
• Allen's goal differential is +14 (123-109), Tulsa's is -46 (83-189).
• Allen's team plus/minus is +29, Tulsa's is -192.
• Allen's team save percentage is .913, Tulsa's is .891.

 

- Here is the more traditional statistical comparison between the two teams. The league rank is in parentheses: 

• Goals scored average: Allen 3.6 (#4) - Tulsa 2.5 (#28)
• Goals allowed average: Allen 3.2 (#20) - Tulsa 3.9 (#30)
• Shots for average: Allen 32.9 (#6) - Tulsa 32.7 (#7)
• Shots against average: Allen 36.9 (#28) - Tulsa 35.8 (#27))
• Power play percentage: Allen 20.0% (#9) - Tulsa 20.7% (#7)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen 85.3% (#5) - Tulsa 76.9% (#26) 

 

- Here are the cumulative stats from the four games against Tulsa, played from December 17-31:

• Allen outscored Tulsa 24-9
• Tulsa outshot Allen 150-131
• Allen was 41.7% on the power play (5-12)
• Tulsa was 33.3% on the power play (3-9)
• Allen scored 1st in 3 of the 4 games. 
• Allen took 18 penalties (27 minutes), Tulsa took 22 penalties (63 minutes)

 - The Americans have one of the best records in the ECHL when they score first, 12-1-2-0 (.867). When they trail after the first period on the road, Allen's record is 2-6-0-0. Allen has been unbeatable when leading after the second period (13-0-0-0). The bottom line is a good start, and not playing from behind will be key to this series.

 

- Special teams will also be key. Allen's penalty kill was not good against Tulsa in December, even though it is one of the best penalty kills in the league. Meanwhile, the power play has been outstanding, scoring at least one goal in 12 of the last 13 games. In the three games last weekend, the Americans scored five power-play goals. 

 

-  The Allen offense has been on fire lately. Here is the list of seven players who have averaged a point or more per game over the last 13 games. Can they all earn a point tonight? Allen's leaders in the seven games against Tulsa are Danny Katic (6G, 7A), Brayden Watts (6G, 3A), and Colby McAuley (3G, 4A).

• 17 points (9G, 8A) - McAuley (1.31)
• 17 points (6G, 11A) - Watts (1.31)  
• 16 points (5G, 11A) - Hargrove (1.23)
• 16 points (10G, 6A) - Katic (1.23)
• 16 points (2G, 14A) - Sedley (1.23)    
• 15 points (2G, 13A) - Crone (1.15)
• 13 points (5G, 7A) - Blaisdell (1.00) 

 

- Here are the Allen players who show up on the ECHL's list of current streaks:

• #1 - Sam Sedley has an assist in six straight home games. 
• #1 - Danny Katic has a point in seven straight home games.
• #1 - Colby McAuley has a point in seven straight home games  
• #2 - Colby McAuley has a goal in five straight games.
• #2 - Colton Hargrove has an assist in five straight games.
• #2 - Danny Katic has a goal in four straight road games.   

 

- I will post the lineup later today. I do know Troy Murray is going to Tulsa. Between spending time on loan to Springfield (AHL) and dealing with an injury, Troy hasn't played in an Allen game since December 13. LeDonne, Simmons-Fischer, and Maxwell are still out with injuries. 

UPDATE:

Allen’s lineup tonight vs Tulsa:

 

Forwards

92 McAuley - 7 Hargrove - 67 Crone

26 Asuchak - 29 Watts - 18 Blaisdell

77 Morrison - 91 Gildon - 9 Katic

10 Spitserov - 14 Gursoy - 28 Murray

 

Defense

86 Anania - 23 Sedley

8 Prefontaine - 22 Costantini

21 Decker - 3 Greco

 

Goalies

32 Tendeck

33 Costantini (backup)

 

 

- Tulsa made a goalie switch yesterday with its NHL affiliate, Anaheim. Vyacheslav Buteyets  (3.00 GAA & .913) was reassigned by Anaheim to Tulsa, and Tomas Suchanek (4.39 & .884) was reassigned by Anaheim from Tulsa to San Diego. Buteyets killed Allen early in the season (.971, .920, .939), but struggled against Allen recently (.853, .833, .892). He has been in goal for seven of Tulsa's 11 wins this season.   

 

-  The game tonight will be a two-referee game. Brendan Schreider (#12) and Tyler Hascall (#8) are scheduled to work the game. Allen has had both of these referees numerous times this season, but they haven't worked an Allen game as a duo.

OTHER COMMENTS

 - It is about the halfway point of the season, and the number of NHL/AHL contracted players that have played for each Mountain Division team (currently assigned, plus currently recalled) varies from two in Allen to 12 in Rapid City. Here is a breakdown for each Mountain Division team:

• Allen
• 2 players
• 26 games played

 

• Idaho
• 9 players
• 155 games played

 

• Kansas City
• 8 players
• 161 games

 

• Rapid City
• 12 players
• 275 games

 

• Tahoe
• 8 players
• 206 games

 

• Tulsa
• 11 players
• 153 games played

 

• Utah
• 11 players
• 182 games

 

• Wichita
• 8 players
• 178 games

 

- Here are the games played by NHL/AHL contracted players from high to low:

• 275 games - Rapid City
• 206 games - Tahoe
• 182 games - Utah
• 178 games - Wichita
• 161 games - Kansas City 
• 155 games - Idaho
• 153 games - Tulsa
• 26 games - Allen 

 

- It is another busy night around the ECHL with 14 games on tap. Two Mountain Division teams are playing outside the division. Here is the division lineup:

• Rapid City at Cincinnati
• Idaho at Orlando
• Allen at Tulsa
• Kansas City at Utah
• Tahoe at Wichita

Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/01/echl-today-jan-16 

 

 

- You want to hear some crazy stats. There is a senior-level recreational league in southwestern Saskatchewan called the WMHL, which stands for White Mud Hockey League. It is described as a popular senior league where players with various backgrounds (junior, college, pro) play competitive hockey for local pride. One of the teams in the league is the Shaunavon Badgers, home of Dyson Stevenson, who retired this season after playing pro hockey since 2012-13. To say Dyson is lighting up the WMHL would be a gross understatement. He has played 10 games for the Shaunavon Badgers and is averaging over five points per game. In 10 games, Dyson has 51 points (25G, 26A). He leads the league in points by 25 points. C'MON MAN!

       

- Nico Blachman, who played briefly for the Americans in 2022-23 (62 PIMs in 13 games), was just suspended for 12 games for a major boarding penalty in Fort Wayne's game against Toledo. It didn't take Fort Wayne long to react; they released Blachman the same day he was suspended. Blachman has played for nine different ECHL teams in the last six years. He has accumulated 788 penalty minutes in 165 games, an average of almost five minutes per game. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the total number of NHL/AHL contracted players, currently assigned, plus those recalled, for each ECHL team:

 

18: SC

16: WHL

15: SAV

13: ADK, CIN

12: FLA, IA, RC, TR

11: FW, REA, TUL, UTA

10: ORL, WOR

9: BLM, IDH, MNE

8: GVL, KAL, KC, NOR, TAH, WIC

7: GSO

6: IND

5: ATL, JAX, TOL

2: ALN

 

Looking at these total numbers shows a huge difference in games played by NHL/AHL contracted players:

 

- Allen is at the bottom of the list with two and has 26 games played by NHL/AHL contracted players:

 

- South Carolina is at the top of the list with 18 players and has 264 games played by NHL/AHL contracted players. The Stingrays already have 14 NHL/AHL contracted players who have played the minimum number of ECHL games (5) to qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs.