Martinson Post Game Comments, Streaks Galore, Asuchak Plaudits, Lavoie Scores, More Best of the Best

It was the kind of game that doesn't happen very often as the Allen Americans got an early lead against the St. Charles Chill, kept the pedal to the metal and maintained control throughout the game. The outcome was never in doubt and Coach Martinson was able to rest some players including Bryan Pitton as the Americans coasted to a 7-2 win last night before a crowd of 4214 at the Allen Event Center (AEC). Goal scorers were Spencer Asuchak with a hat trick, Lessard, Hanson, Schaafsma & Ludwig. The teams play again tonight (Saturday) at the AEC with puck drop at 7:05.

STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- Spencer Asuchak had a great game with five points (3 goals 2 assists) and the kid really worked his butt off and that paid off for him. I am a little surprised Spencer hasn't got a look by an AHL team but you have to remember he is a late bloomer. In junior his best year was 18 goals but when I looked at the 18 goals, it was not a big number but he led his team in goals. I think he has a pretty big future. Next year when he goes to an AHL camp he will open up some eyes. I have talked to Oklahoma City about him but it is kind of late in the season now. I'm sure they will come down and look at Spencer during the playoffs. 

- We started out one for two on the power play and then we put some different guys out there on the power play. We were really trying to get Dallas Ehrhardt a goal. We put him on the point and that didn't work and then we put him up front and that didn't work. He came close to getting a piece of the puck on Tyler's goal and he will probably get one in the next few games. We will give him some more time tomorrow night.

- It is nice playing the last place team and having a big lead as you can kind of relax a little as you don't need to be pushing your team all of the time. We talked before the game that this was all business as the last time we played St. Charles we gave up four goals in two periods. I reminded the guys if you don't tie your skates up tight and get ready to play anything can happen.

- It was a good night for us and also for Alex Lavoie who got his first goal playing for the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) against the Texas Stars down in Austin. It looks like he was playing on their top line and he was a +2 so he is making the most of a good opportunity. (Oklahoma City ended up losing 4-3 in OT). While the plan going into the weekend was for Alex to play two games for the Barons and then join us for the game in Wichita on Sunday you never know what happens when you loan a player. I will touch base with Oklahoma City tomorrow (Saturday) to see if that plan changes but I would expect he will be with us on Sunday. I would not be surprised if Oklahoma City signed Lavoie for next year.

- On the injury front we are hoping Bootland can return on Sunday. Jon Zion will most likely not play until next weekend.

- I have an amateur forward identified and his agent has committed he will come to Allen if his current team gets beat out in the first round of their playoffs which is expected. I still need to identify an amateur defenseman.

- It was pretty much  a stress free night so I won't have to look at a lot of video. There were a few things I marked to take a look at but not many. Sometimes when you are winning by so many goals guys try to do a little too much and that is normal. Some guys have a tendency to do this more than others so I will look at a few things tomorrow.

- All and all it was a good night. We were able to get Levine some work and rest Pitton. It was tough giving up that second goal when Levine was in there but it was a tough shot with a deflection. I wanted to get him in the game tonight with a little less pressure and he will start in goal tomorrw night.

OTHER COMMENTS:

- What a great night for Spencer Asuchak who had a hat trick made up of a  power play goal, shorthanded goal and an even strength goal. His line score for this game alone, five points (3 goals 2 assists, +4 and eleven shots on goal, would be a good line score for a weeks worth of hockey. His shorthanded goal was his fifth of the season which is two more than anyone else in the league.  Asuchak continues to show those around the league why he should have been a finalist for rookie of the year. He has had two five point games in the last week.

- How is this for balanced scoring for the season, Asuchak & Ludwig 50 points, Kerbashian & Schaafsma 49 points, Hanson 48 points and Lessard 47 points. Allen now leads the CHL in goals scored (230 goals) by 15 goals.

- Things went so well for Allen last night that even the two St. Charles goals had an Allen connection. The goals were scored by former Allen players John Snowden and Charles Lachance.

- Congratulations to Jamie Schaafsma who scored his 200th professional goal last night. Jamie continued his scoring streak that now stands at six games. In those six games he has ten points (5 goals 5 assists).

- Bruce Graham's scoring streak now stands at seven games. In those seven games he has fifteen points (5 goals 10 assists). 

- Greger Hanson had a goal and an assist last night to continue his scoring streak which is at a team leading nine games. In the last nine games he has eighteen points (7 goals 11 assists).

- The Allen power play scored two goals in nine chances with some different guys getting an opportunity on the power play. The power play is still ranked #3 in the CHL.

- Last night was the fourth time the Americans have scored at least seven goal this season. The most goals they have scored in one game is eight and they lost that game to Tulsa 10-8.

- The top four teams (Missouri, Denver, Rapid City & Allen) all won last night so no changes in the standings. Allen remains one point behind third place Rapid City and six points behind second place Denver.

- If the playoffs started today the match ups would be Missouri vs Tulsa, Denver vs Arizona, Rapid City vs Brampton, and Allen vs Quad City. If Rapid City ends up playing Brampton in the playoffs and the series goes seven games it would mean these two teams will play each other 12 times in a row since their last five regular season games are against each other.

-  I was reminded by a reader from Wichita Falls that I was remiss in not acknowledging all of the nineteen winners in the Best of the Best awards. Better late than never. I have had the chance to congratulate most everyone in person but let me say job well done to all those connected to these awards. Here they are with the place they finished in parenthesis:

Hardest Shooter - Tyler Ludwig (2nd)
Best Offensive Defenseman - Tyler Ludwig (1st)
Best Bodycheker - Trevor Hendrikx (3rd)
Best Rookie - Alex Lavoie (1st)
Best Training/Equipment Staff - Osama Kassab & Kacee Coberly (2nd)
Most Annoying Fans - Allen Americans (2nd)
Most Skilled Team - Allen Americans (2nd)
Best Ice Surface - Allen Americans (3rd)
Best Locker Rooms - Allen Event Center (3rd)
Best Team Logo - Allen Americans (2nd)
Best Team Uniforms - Allen Americans (1st)
Best Broadcaster - Tommy Daniels (1st)
Best Press Box - Allen Americans (3rd)
Best On-Ice Promotions - Allen Americans (3rd)
Best Cheerleaders/Dance Team - Allen Ice Angels (1st)
Best Arena Music - Allen Event Center (2nd)
Best Arena Concessions - Allen Event Center (3rd)
Best City - Allen (1st)
Best Host Hotel - Hampton Inn Allen (1st)

Some interesting facts about the Best of the Best awards include:
- The Americans have scored more points in the CHL than any other team over the last five years with two Governor's Cups and a Presidents' Cup but have never had a coach finish in the top three for Best Coach.
- Tommy Daniels has won Best Broadcaster two of the last three years. He finished second last year.
- The Americans have been either first (3 times) or second (2 times) for Best Team Logo ever since they joined the league.
- Allen has been selected the Best City four of the five years the Americans have been in the CHL.
- Allen has won Best Uniforms four out of the five years they have been in the league.
- After finishing second in 2009-2010 the Ice Angels have handily won the Best Cheerleaders/Dance Team the last four years.
- In 2011-2012 Bruce Graham finished in the top three in five different Best of the Best categories including Best Overall Player, Best Stickhandler, Most Valuable to His Team, Best Player on Faceoffs and Best Power Forward.

Courtesy CHL Memes

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: Greger Hanson won the Best of the Best award for Best Rookie last year when he was playing for the Wichita Thunder.

St Charles vs Allen Preview, Apology to Ice Angels, Roster Changes, Best of Best Snubs, Lavoie

- If there were ever two games the Americans should and must win it would the two games against St. Charles this weekend. After all, St. Charles has won only one game since February 1st and that was a home game. That's right, the Chill are 1-16 since February 1st. However, that one victory was against Allen on March 8th so St. Charles comes to Allen knowing they can win the game. Hopefully there were some lessons learned in that 5-2 loss the Americans suffered at the hands of the Chill. Allen has a record of 5-1 against St. Charles this year.

- Allen may very well be playing shorthanded for the game tonight. Alex Lavoie will be in Austin playing for the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL), and Jon Zion will not play this weekend. From what I have seen at practice Garrett Klotz will probably play while Darryl Bootland will be a game time decision but is doubtful. Would also put Lukin in the doubtful category. If Klotz plays but Bootland and Lukin do not the Americans will be two skaters short at 14. Let's hope I am wrong on this.

- There are always changes to the roster at the end of the season and you can expect this year will not be any different. A key date for roster changes is next Wednesday as players must play in three games to be eligible for the playoffs. If coach Martinson is going to make any changes (my guess the answer to this question is yes) they will happen in the next five days.

- The news release the Oklahoma City Barons put out about Alex Lavoie was short and sweet. "The Oklahoma City Barons have signed forward Alex Lavoie to a professional tryout contract, Barons General Manager Bill Scott announced today. Lavoie played in one game earlier this season with Oklahoma City while on a PTO. Lavoie has appeared in 60 games for the Allen Americans this season, collecting 25 goals and 51 assists for a total of 76 points. He skated in OKC’s training camp this fall. Prior to turning pro, Lavoie played five seasons in the Quebec Major Junior League with Chicoutimi, Cape Breton and Rimouski." Lavoie will be wearing #17 for the Barons.

- With Alex Lavoie missing the game tonight the Americans will be down to three players that have played in every Allen game this year, Asuchak, Berube and Tetrault.


- When you look at team comparisons (posted below) Allen leads in every category from special teams to goals scored to goals allowed.


- St. Charles has been outscored in every period if you look at season totals by period. They have been outscored by 26 goals in the first period (40-66), 20 goals in the second period (55-75) and in the third period a whopping 51 goals (45-96).

Team Comparisons:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Allen Americans            St. Charles Chill  
RESULT OF LAST GAME               WIN  6-3 vs WIC            LOSS  1-4 vs QDC   
GAMES PLAYED                      60                         60                 
RECORD                            35-20-5                    11-43-6            
POINTS                            75                         28                 
HOME RECORD                       17-8-3                     7-20-4             
AWAY RECORD                       18-12-2                    4-23-2             
SHO RECORD                        4-4                        3-5                
LAST 10 GAMES                     7-2-1                      1-8-1              
LAST 5 GAMES                      4-0-1                      1-4-0              
OCTOBER                           5-0-1                      1-3-1              
NOVEMBER                          7-6-0                      2-7-3              
DECEMBER                          5-4-1                      4-10-0             
JANUARY                           8-1-2                      3-8-1              
FEBRUARY                          5-7-0                      0-9-1              
MARCH                             5-2-1                      1-6-0                            
SCORING FIRST                     21-6-3                     5-11-1             
LEADING AFTER 1ST                 16-6-0                     2-6-1              
LEADING AFTER 2ND                 21-2-3                     5-6-3              
TIED AFTER 1ST                    10-4-3                     6-13-3             
TIED AFTER 2ND                    11-4-2                     4-7-0              
TRAILING AFTER 1ST                9-10-2                     3-24-2             
TRAILING AFTER 2ND                3-14-0                     2-30-3             
WHEN OUTSHOOTING OPPONENT         16-11-1                    2-12-3             
1 - GOAL GAMES                    13-3-5                     6-11-6             
GOALS FOR PER GAME                3.72                       2.40               
GOALS AGAINST PER GAME            3.30                       4.05               
SHOTS FOR PER GAME                33.15                      28.83              
SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME            32.70                      33.75              
POWER PLAY RECORD                 62 - 307   20.2%           43 - 287   15.0%   
PENALTY KILLING RECORD            54 - 315   82.9%           58 - 299   80.6%   
SH GOALS FOR                      9                          7                  
SH GOALS AGAINST                  9                          7                  
PIM AVERAGE                       22.43                      18.30              

 - Leading scorers for Allen in the six previous games against St. Charles are Greger Hanson with eight points and Jamie Schaafsma with seven points.

- Nobody has pointed this out so it is time for self confession about the Best of the Best awards. I was wrong when mentioning the Ice Angels had won the dance team/cheerleader award for the last three years. They have dominated this category ever since finishing in second place their first year in 2009-2010. That's right, they have won for the last four years. Wow! I'll give all of them a hug and say I am sorry.

- At the other end of the spectrum are an individual and a group that have never finished in the top three in the Best of the Best awards over the last five years. Everyone sees the great job Lee Hastings does as the PA announcer every night during the game, between periods, and with the post game interview. The group is not as visible as Lee Hastings, but they do have a booth in the concourse at home games. This group does a lot of work behind the scenes supporting the team with their time and money. I am talking about the Allen Americans Fan Club. I have seen first hand the great work they do and they also have a super web site at allenamericansfanclub.com. It is difficult to believe Lee Hastings and the fan club have never been recognized in the Best of the Best voting. When you go by the fan club booth tonight or run into Lee Hastings let them know how much they are appreciated. And for those around the league that have not voted for Lee and the fan club all I can say is,  COME ON, MAN!

- If Allen is going to finish higher than fourth in the standings they will need some help from the teams playing Denver and Rapid City. Tonight that means cheering for Arizona who plays Denver and  Brampton who plays Rapid City.

Courtesy CHL Memes

Courtesy of CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: Alex Lavoie has had a dominating rookie year. He currently leads the rookie point race by by 21 points and has scored more points (76) than any rookie has scored since Allen entered the CHL five years ago. Here are the rookie point leaders by year.

2013-2014 -  76 points (Alex Lavoie)
2012-2013 -  61 points (Mike Hellyer)
2011-2012 -  66 points (Jared Brown)
2010-2011 -  52 points (Aaron Lewicki)
2009-2010 -  50 points (Ryan Garbutt)

Martinson Post Game Comments, Lavoie Recalled, Fox & Hanson Attaboys, New Web Site, Awards

Allen beat Wichita last night 6-3 in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates. The Americans had two empty net goals (Hanson & Lavoie) to send the 3422 fans at the Allen Event Center home in a good mood. Jamie Schaafsma had the first two goals of the game including one on the power play, Tyler Ludwig had got his eleventh power play goal of the season and Bruce Graham had the game winner on the prettiest play of the game as he stole the puck in the neutral zone and scored unassisted.

STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENT:

- Our power play has been excellent over the last couple of weeks and we were able to get a couple of power play goals tonight. 

- Bruce Graham continues to do well. I still don't think he is clicking on all cylinders yet but he is getting close. He had a great burst of speed when he stole the puck for that breakaway and he has helped our power play.

- Jamie Schaafsma is playing great hockey no matter where he is playing. We didn't use him at defense tonight but if we get Klotz and Bootland back in the lineup we will move Jamie back to defense since we have three games in three nights. Jamie has been really good on the point on the power play.

- I didn't see the last Wichita goal as I was looking down to set up the next line and when I looked up it was going in the net. I have to look at the video to see what happened but there were two faceoffs where we were not very good and that will hurt you.

- We had a very good first period and then we came out in the second period and thought it was going to be easy. We started turning pucks over and Wichita out shot us something like 9-0 in the first half of the second period. It shows you how if you don't get pucks deep, if you turn the puck over at the blue line trying to do too much it will cost you.

- Alex Lavoie scored an empty net goal there at the end of the game but he struggled during the game a bit. He is going to play for Oklahoma City (AHL) for a couple of games this weekend. They play the Texas Stars in Austin Friday and Saturday. With all of the things going through his mind about playing for Oklahoma City Friday night I think he was trying to do too much on the ice tonight. Alex hadn't had a goal in twelve games so I purposely put him out there when we had a two goal lead hoping Wichita would pull the goalie and Alex could get a goal and kickstart himself. He has a great opportunity with Oklahoma City this weekend and he deserves that opportunity.

- Lavoie will be in Austin with Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday and then we will look at getting him to Wichita for our game on Sunday. Oklahoma has some suspensions and injuries so I think this call up will only be for two games. This all just happened this afternoon so I am not certain how all of the logistic and timing will work out.  Alex's dad is in town so this will be a great opportunity for him to see Alex play.

- Jon Zion tried to play tonight and he probably should not have been playing. He is definitely out for the weekend.

- Darrly Bootland has another injury (lower body) unrelated to what kept him out of the line up before. The problem with having a lot of games in a short time as we have had recently along with playing with a short line up is you have to ask the guys that are playing to do a lot which leads to injuries.

-  Hopefully we will get some players back by Friday. It is difficult to bring in players this time of year as you are either giving up a spot that has been taken by someone that has been here all year or you ask a player to come and fill in for a short period of time. Neither situation is ideal.

- The amateur rules don't allow you to bring in an amateur before the end of the season and have them remain an amateur. Unless I get the right player we might not fill the amateur slots until after the first round of the playoffs.  It is difficult to get the top college guys to come to our league as they prefer to play in the ECHL. So the best approach is to wait until the ECHL sets their playoff roster and then see who is available.

- I wasn't aware that I had my 800th coaching victory until Tommy said something to me about it. I haven't done my resume for a while so I haven't been reminded what my record is.

-  I am still talking to some players returning from Europe  and some ECHL guys but nothing is certain. To sign a player this time of year they have to be a significant player because you have to drop a player that has been here all year. You have to have some irons in the fire at all times because in the CHL there are limited roster spots and injuries can leave you short handed when it comes time to set the playoff roster. Part of winning in the playoffs is having a team that can stay healthy.

- I want to finish second in the final standings and that is our goal. We are at home and Denver is on the road and we play them twice so we need to just take care of what we have in our control. We will play as hard as we can and then see where we end up and who we play in the first round of the playoffs. I used to look at all of the scenarios and who is playing who but all of that stuff doesn't matter. It really comes down to what we do.

- Friday night we can't take St. Charles for granted and hopefully we learned that when we played them in St. Charles. I am hoping that lesson in St. Charles when we lost 5-2 woke us up. We are trying to push with the players it is business this time of year and you have to lead by example whether you are a first year player or a ten year veteran.


OTHER COMMENTS:

- How great is it to see Jamie Schaafsma playing with so much confidence, having fun and and leading this team. Moving to defense, which he has never played in his career, seems to have energized him and had a positive effect no matter where he plays. Last night he had four points (2 goals 2 assists) and was named the games #1 star. If you remember, Jamie had only one goal in the first two months of the season. He is now only one point away from being the second leading scorer on the team. Since the middle of December Jamie has averaged over a point a game. And he leads the team in plus minus with a +21 which is a +9 more than anyone else on the team.

- Tyler Ludwig already holds all Allen single season and career scoring records for defensemen. With his goal last night he now has 18 on the season which is five more than David Strathman scored in 2010-2011. Tyler had three points last night and is now within two points of his own record of 51 points set last year.

- Special teams is always a key and Allen won that battle last night scoring two goals in five opportunities while only allowing Wichita one power play goal. The Allen power play, which has been excellent lately, has now climbed above 20%.

- Had a chance to talk to team owner Mark Miller at the game and he informed me a new and improved Allen Americans web site has been developed and tested and will be up and running in the next week. I know many fans have been looking forward to the new and improved site. I am going to miss those old pictures of Colton Yelow Horn, Dave Bonk and Kip Brennan as the face of the Americans when you enter the site. haha

- As the Americans compete with Denver and Rapid City for the #2, #3, and #4 spots in the final standings the schedule favors Allen. The points currently stand at Denver (81), Rapid City (76) and Allen (75). Allen has one game in hand over the other two. Denver plays all five of their remaining games on the road in Arizona this Friday and Saturday, Allen next Friday & Saturday and then finish in Tulsa  on Sunday. Rapid City plays all five of their remaining games against Brampton. They play in Rapid City tomorrow and Saturday and then travel to Brampton to finish the season with games on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Allen plays St. Charles at home Friday and Saturday and then travels to Wichita for their last away game on Sunday and finish up at home next week against Quad City on Wednesday and Denver Friday and Saturday. While the points favor Denver the schedule favors Allen. Should be fun to watch.

- The Best of the Best Awards were announced  yesterday and should not be confused with the year end awards that will be announced over a ten day period beginning on March 21. The Best of the Best poll consists of 50 categories that cover all aspects of the league including on-ice performance, in-game entertainment as well as top venues, concessions, websites, etc.  Each team submits a ballot providing three top choices for each category, with first place votes counting as five points, second place votes counting as three points and third place votes counting as one point. This means the most first place vote you can have in any category is ten. If you look at the results there are many categories where teams didn't vote. Best goaltender, Best fighter, Best rookie, Toughest building to win in, Best locker room and Best cheerleader/dance team were the only categories where all ten teams voted.  In the other 44 categories at least one team didn't vote. Only four teams voted for the most gentlemanly player and best penalty killer.

- The year ends awards which are yet to be annouced include CHL Most Valuable Player, Most Outstanding Goaltender (Scott Brower Award), Most Outstanding Defenseman and Rookie of the Year awards.  After a nomination period by CHL teams, the league front office determined the five finalists for each award.  Balloting took place among CHL Head Coaches, team Communications Departments and select media members in CHL markets. It is these year end awards for which I get a ballot as member of the media.

- Hope that clears up some confusion about the different awards. With that said the Best of the Best Awards announced yesterday may very well be a signal of what is to come with the year end awards. Tyler Ludwig and Alex Lavoie both finished first in the Best of the Best so I sure hope that carries over the the year end awards.

- It is well known how cooperative the Allen players are with spending time with fans, answering questions, taking pictures, making personal appearances and helping promote the team. Had some friends in a suite last night and Phil Fox was kind enough to stop by and talk to them about the Americans, his injury, and growing up in Minnesota. Last night was also a special Heritage Ranch Night as there were 125 residents of Heritage Ranch in attendance at the game. One of the residents had friends from Sweden visiting and they also attended. After the game I asked Greger Hanson if he could take some time to say hello to the folks from Sweden. Before he even had time to take a shower he came out and spent 10 minutes with these visitors talking about home and hockey. They left the rink impressed with the Americans and really impressed with Greger Hanson. Two example of players going out of their way and just want them to know it is both noticed and appreciated.

Courtesy CHL Memes

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: The Missouri Mavericks finished first, second or third in 33 of the 50 Best of the Best Awards categories this year, the most by any team since Allen entered the league. Here is a year by year comparison between Allen and Missouri.
                      Missouri     Allen
2013-2014:         33             19
2012-2013:         24             22
2011-2012:         14             21
2010-2011:         15             17
2009-2010:         10             11

Allen vs Thunder Preview, Zion & Kerbashian Return, CHL Memes

- It is hard to believe the Allen Americans are in the homestretch of the regular season. It seems like yesterday all of the new and old faces were at training camp. Tonight starts the final seven games of the season and they will be played in a grueling eleven days, luckily six of the games will be at home. The opponent tonight is the Wichita Thunder and at first blush it might appear Allen has a big advantage as Wichita is mired in ninth place in the standings and are five points out of the final playoff spot. But if you look closer Wichita has a lot on the line as the team they are chasing is Arizona and they close the season with three games against the Sundogs so they are still very much in the race for the last playoff spot. Wichita has been playing well going 2-0-3 in their last five games while Allen is 3-1-1 in their last five games. The Thunder have split six games with the Americans this year and have won two of three games at the Allen Event Center. And after the dramatic way the championship series ended last year as Wichita had the Presidents' Cup in their grasp and saw it slip away in overtime there is always plenty of motivation when the Thunder come to the AEC.

- Stopped by practice yesterday and as expected Kale Kerbashain, Jon Zion, & Jarret Lukin were practicing but Garrett Klotz was not. According to coach Martinson both Zion, who hasn't played since March 7th and Kerbashain, who has not played since February 23rd, will return to the line up tonight. 

- Look for a high scoring game tonight as the winning team in all six of the previous meetings between Allen and Wichita has scored four or five goals.

- Leading scorers in the six games against Wichita this year are Kale Kerbashain with 11 points (3 goals 8 assists) and Jonathan Lessard with six points (4 goals 2 assists). Keep an eye on #18 for Wichita who is RG Flath. Flath always plays well against Allen and has five goals in the six games played this year.

- The special teams key for the game is the Allen power play which has been very good recently and is now ranked #3 in the league against the Thunder penalty kill which is ranked #9 in the league. If Allen can win the special teams battle with a successful power play they should win the game. 

- Here is the comparison between Allen and Wichita:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Allen Americans            Wichita Thunder   
RESULT OF LAST GAME               OTL  3-4 vs DEN            OTL  3-4 vs TUL   
GAMES PLAYED                      59                         59                
RECORD                            34-20-5                    25-27-7           
POINTS                            73                         57                
HOME RECORD                       16-8-3                     12-16-3           
AWAY RECORD                       18-12-2                    13-11-4           
SHO RECORD                        4-4                        6-4               
LAST 10 GAMES                     7-2-1                      3-4-3             
LAST 5 GAMES                      3-1-1                      2-0-3             
OCTOBER                           5-0-1                      1-2-2             
NOVEMBER                          7-6-0                      3-9-2             
DECEMBER                          5-4-1                      7-4-0             
JANUARY                           8-1-2                      7-4-0             
FEBRUARY                          5-7-0                      5-6-0             
MARCH                             4-2-1                      2-2-3                         
SCORING FIRST                     20-6-3                     12-8-3            
LEADING AFTER 1ST                 15-6-0                     11-6-2            
LEADING AFTER 2ND                 20-2-3                     13-4-2            
TIED AFTER 1ST                    10-4-3                     9-13-2            
TIED AFTER 2ND                    11-4-2                     7-9-3             
TRAILING AFTER 1ST                9-10-2                     5-8-3             
TRAILING AFTER 2ND                3-14-0                     5-14-2            
WHEN OUTSHOOTING OPPONENT         16-11-1                    12-17-3           
1 - GOAL GAMES                    13-3-5                     14-7-7            
GOALS FOR PER GAME                3.68                       2.98              
GOALS AGAINST PER GAME            3.31                       3.22              
SHOTS FOR PER GAME                33.15                      30.86             
SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME            32.68                      29.63             
POWER PLAY RECORD                 60 - 302   19.9%           49 - 264   18.6%  
PENALTY KILLING RECORD            53 - 311   83.0%           47 - 235   80.0%  
SH GOALS FOR                      9                          5                 
SH GOALS AGAINST                  9                          12                
PIM AVERAGE                       22.68                      14.22

Courtesy of CHL Memes

Courtesy of CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: If you look at goals scored this season the Americans have outscored their opponents by one goal in the first period and twenty two goals in the second period, The have actually been outscored in the third period by one goal. Here are the goals scored by period:

SCORING BY PERIODS    1ST  2ND  3RD  OT  TOTAL  
Allen                 61   80   71   5   217    
Opponents             60   58   72   5   195 

Shots From The Point, Kerbashian Returns, Penalty Stats, CHL Memes & More

- It will be an interesting day at practice today as the Americans prepare to take on the Wichita Thunder Wednesday night. With the possibility that several injured players may be ready to play, decisions will have to be made. The status of Lukin, Klotz, Kerbashian, and Zion will determine what roster moves take place. Final decisions will most likely not be made until Wednesday morning. Kale Kerbashian, who was going to meet the team in Denver on Sunday but had his flight cancelled will definitely play against Wichita.

- Thanks to Richard Matvichuk and Kale Kerbashian for spending time with the Heritage Ranch Allen Americans fan club last night teaching Hockey 101 and talking all things hockey. Fun, entertaining and informative. Over 250 Heritage Ranch residents will be in attendance at the games on Wednesday and Saturday.

- The game tomorrow will be the fourth time Allen and Wichita have played at the Allen Event Center this year. Wichita has won two of the three previous games.

- An indication of how balanced the scoring is for the Americans this year is the fact that after Alex Lavoie's team leading 74 points there are six players who have scored between 44 and 49 points.

- MavsFanJoe over on the CHLforums message board posted some interesting data on penalties with all kinds of details. I found it interesting that even though Allen is the most penalized team in the league they do not lead in any of the severe penalty categories. Arizona has the most major penalties, Brampton the most misconduct penalties, St. Charles the most game misconduct penalties, Missouri the most match penalties, Brampton the most abuse of official penalties, and Arizona & Missouri the most attempt to injure penalties. Missouri also has the most kneeing, diving and obscene language penalties.  The Americans do lead the CHL in cross checking, holding and interference penalties which are the type of penalties Coach Martinson talks about avoiding.



- The CHL puts out something they call "Shots from The Point" twice a week and the one published yesterday has some good information. Here it is:

1.)  Cutthroats Dramatic in Continuing Streak- The Denver Cutthroats (35-15-10) extended their win streak to nine games, one shy of the CHL-best 10-game streak Rapid City had earlier in the season, thanks to a remarkable 5-0 week.  Denver played five games in seven days starting in Brampton on Monday, continuing to Quad City for Wednesday and then finishing with a three-in-three at home over the weekend versus Quad City and Allen.  In Saturday’s win over the Mallards, the Fish tied the game with just four seconds remaining with a Steve Kaunisto goal and then won in a shootout.  On Sunday, the Cutthroats went to a shootout again, this time against Allen, and won again ending their home season with a 22-6-5 record.  Denver will finish the season with three games in Arizona this week and then two games in Allen and one game in Tulsa next weekend to finish the regular season.  Denver is just two points behind the conference leading Missouri Mavericks (40-17-2) in the chase for the Bud Poile Governors’ Cup.

2.)  Thunder Making Final Stand- The Wichita Thunder (25-27-7) will not go quietly as they went head-to-head with the Tulsa Oilers this past weekend earning five of a possible six points.  The Thunder are now five points behind Arizona for the final playoff spot and just six points behind Tulsa for the seventh spot.  Wichita has made it to each of the last two CHL final falling in 2012 to Fort Wayne and in 2013 to Allen and to get back to that stage, they will have to come close to winning out but at least taking care of business in their two head-to-head games remaining with the Oilers and the three games in Arizona to finish the season.  Wichita is 2-0-3 in their last five games with Tomas Klempa (2-4=6), Matt Summers (3-3=6) and RG Flath (1-5=6) all totaling six points in those five games.                             

3.)  Rush and Beast to Get Familiar- The Rapid City Rush (36-22-2) and the Brampton Beast (30-24-7) could be on a collision course for a post-season series and the two clubs could get a preview of that with a five-game series to close out the regular season.  After hosting the Quad City Mallards on Monday night, the Rush will host Brampton on Friday and Saturday and then the two teams will play three times in Ontario in the season’s final weekend.  The Beast trail the Rush by just seven points meaning a switch in positioning could be in the making with a big series by the expansion club.  The Rush are currently in third place with 74 points and the Beast are in fifth place with 67 points.                       

By the Numbers
9: The number of consecutive games that Denver goaltender John Griggs has won to start his pro career with the Cutthroats.  Griggs joined the team in late February after Kent Patterson was re-called to the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters and flashed a sign of things to come in his very first game, a 35-save shutout over Rapid City.  Griggs does not have enough minutes to qualify for the league leaders but if his numbers with Denver were in the mix, he’d lead the league with a 2.38 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

One-Timers
-Allen Head Coach Steve Martinson won his 800th game on Saturday in Rapid City.  Martinson is now 800-343-117 in his pro career with seven championship seasons, including last season with Allen.
-Denver’s Vincent Arseneau had his goal scoring streak come to an end on Sunday after striking in the previous eight games.  Arseneau is third among all rookies with 23 goals and his eight-game goal scoring streak is the longest in the CHL this season.
-The Arizona Sundogs (28-26-6) got off to a great start to their eight-game season-ending home stand winning both games against the St. Charles Chill.  The Sundogs got a hat trick from Shawn Limpright on Saturday and have received eight goals with two assists from the veteran in the nine games he has played with the Sundogs.
-Allen’s Bruce Graham has made an immediate impact scoring four goals with 10 assists in just eight games with the Americans.  He has made a huge difference on the power play for Allen scoring three PP goals while dishing out four PP helpers.  Allen is nine for their last 23 with the man advantage (39%) and are third overall in the CHL at 19.9%.
-Missouri saw their seven-game win streak come to an end in Brampton on Sunday after blowing a 3-2 third period lead to fall 4-3 to the Beast.  Eric Castonguay has scored goals in five straight games for the Mavs and has eight goals and five assists (13 points) over his last eight games.
-The Quad City Mallards (28-20-9) have gone 2-5-1 in their last eight games and despite sitting in sixth place have reason to be optimistic with four games in hand on the fifth place Brampton Beast.  The Flock do have a tough road ahead with four games versus Missouri and a contest versus Rapid City and Allen included in their remaining nine games.  Only three of their remaining nine games are on home ice.
-Tulsa forward Blair Macaulay is having a very good rookie campaign scoring 17 goals with 23 assists in just 53 games.  He has been unstoppable over his last two games scoring a hat trick in a loss on Saturday and then putting up two goals and an assist in Sunday’s win over Wichita.

Courtesy CHL Memes - follow on Twitter @CHL_Memes

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: With seven games remaining in the season the Americans have already scored 217 goals compared with scoring 210 for the full season last year. They have already allowed 195 goals compared to only allowing 176 goals for the full season last year.

Martinson Post Game Comments, Successful Roadtrip, Shootout Analysis, CHL Memes

When this past weekend started most everyone would have said getting five of six points from Rapid City and Denver would be a great weekend. And with a minute left in the game last night in Denver most everyone would have been happy to come away from the game with one point. That is exactly what happened as Allen pulled the goalie and Greger Hanson scored an extra attacker goal with 46 seconds remaining in the game. The game ended up in a shoot out and after seven rounds Denver was victorious by a score of 4-3 in front of one of the bigger crowds of the year (2791) at the Denver Coliseum. By any standard the weekend was a huge success considering all of the travel, playing three games in three days and playing with only fourteen skaters. The team will arrive home this morning, have the rest of the day off and then tomorrow start preparing for a grueling rest of the season where they will play seven games in eleven days. The good news is six of the seven games are at home.

STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- The game tonight was a great character comeback by the guys. It was a long, tough weekend with a short bench and it said a lot that the guys hung in there and got that extra attacker goal to tie the game.

- We have had a lot of travel recently and now have the luxury of spending most of our time at home for the rest of the season with just the trip to Wichita for a game next Sunday. We now need to take advantage of home ice.

- Two of Denver's goals were scored with an extra attacker on what I thought were questionable penalties and on their third goal we had a bad change but our guys were tired and were trying to get off the ice and get a change.

- I thought our experienced players stepped up this weekend and led by example. That is so critical this time of year and just what we needed.

- Bryan Pitton was very strong in goal in a tough circumstance as he faced 49 shots.

OTHER COMMENTS:

- Bruce Graham had his scoring streak snapped last night but Greger Hanson extended his streak to seven games with two goals (plus a goal in the shootout) and an assist. Hanson has fourteen points (5 goals 9 assists) in the last seven games.

- Lavoie (73 points in 59 games), Hanson (44 points in 42 games) & Graham (14 points in 8 games) are the three players on the team scoring at a point per game pace.

- Allen once again won the special teams battle scoring two power play goals on five opportunities while allowing Denver no power play goals. For the weekend Allen was 7-17 (41.1%) on the power play and 1-13 (92.3%) on the penalty kill. Job well done by the special team guys.

- Kale Kerbashian who was supposed to meet the team in Denver, never made it because his flight was cancelled. The team could have used Kale in the game and also in the shootout as he has scored the most shootout goals this season having made three in six attempts.

- A great as it was to get a point against Denver with the late goal, Allen had an excellent chance to win the game in the shootout. Shootouts have been mediocre this year as the American's record now stands at 4-4. They have taken 42 attempts and scored 9 goals for a 21% success rate. Last night coach Martinson went with the percentages as the first two guys out were the best this year (other than Kerbashian) in shootouts however both Darryl Bootland (2-6) and Tyler Ludwig (2-4) missed. Greger Hanson (1-2) made his shot and the shootout score was tied going into the fourth round. Both fourth round players (Bruce Graham & former American Steve Kaunisto) missed. Denver went first in the fifth round and missed so if Allen scores in the fifth round they win the game. It was at this point it looked like the game was Allen's. Two of the most creative guys around the net, Alex Lavoie and Jamie Schaafsma had not yet taken a shot. Both of them have had tough luck as they were 0-6 on the year in shootouts but tonight would be the night to break out. With the win in his grasp Lavoie rattled one off the pipe in the fifth round and Jamie missed his shot to win the game in the sixth round. Finally, Denver scored in the seventh round which required Daniel Tetrault to make his shot to keep the shootout going and he too missed. It was great to get the one point with the last second goal in regulation but that second point was so close.

- It is always dangerous to predict the final standings with so many games left in the season but it is starting to look like Allen will finish in third or fourth place. Currently Rapid City is in third with 74 points and Allen is in fourth with 73 points. Allen is now seven points in back of second place Denver who is on a nine game win streak. Allen has a six point lead on fifth place Brampton and a seven point lead on sixth place Quad City. If you just look at the schedules and the number of games remaining the most likely outcome for third through six in the final standings is Allen (3rd), Rapid City (4th), Quad City (5th), Brampton (6th). This would mean Allen's first round opponent would be Brampton while Rapid City would play Quad City. I for one, hope it doesn't turn out this way. 

Courtesy of CHL Memes - follow on twitter at @CHL_Memes

Courtesy of CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: With the crazy CHL schedule Denver has no more home games, Arizona has no more away games and Rapid City and Brampton face each other the last five games of the season.

Martinson Post Game Comments, Why Allen Beat Rapid Twice, Milestones, Asuchak C'mon Man, CHL Memes

The Allen Americans used the same formula for the second consecutive night to beat the Rapid City Rush last night 7-5 before a sold out crowd at Rushmore Plaza Civic Arena. The winning formula the Americans used both nights against the Rush was score the first goal of the game, dominate on special teams and make Rapid City play catch up all game long. With the victory Allen (72 points) moves to within two point of the third place Rush (74 points). No rest for the weary as the team got on the bus immediately after the game last night for the six hour bus ride to Denver where they will take on the Cutthroats this afternoon (Sunday) at 4:00 pm local time (5:00 PM Dallas time).

You can't say enough about how the team performed in Rapid City coming away with four points against one of the best teams in the league. Playing with only 14 skaters many of which are banged up, it was a gutsy performance for sure. Had a chance to swap messages with Tommy Daniels, voice of the Americans, after the game and Tommy described the games as a playoff atmosphere with lots of intensity. About the game last night Tommy had this to say, "It was like a great chess match with the Americans answering every Rapid City move. Spencer Asuchak was the best player on the ice tonight and really worked hard at both ends. The Americans earned a hard two points in the toughest building in the CHL to win in."

STEVE MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- The power play was outstanding going 4-9 with goals by Tetrault, Asuchak, Graham & McMillin though the official score sheet shows 4-10. The McMillin game winning goal from Lavoie, after the Rush tied the score 5-5 with less than five minute remaining on a strange shorthanded goal, was clutch.

- The team really defended well especially in the first two periods as we only gave up 12 shots. The third period was difficult especially killing back to back penalties. Rapid City scored with one second remaining on the second penalty.

- It was a gutsy performance by a lot of banged up guys, especially Jamie Schaafsma whose versatility has really helped the team lately. I plan on giving Jamie more time at defense as it will be good insurance as we start the playoffs.

- I like where we are headed right now. We are 8-2 in our last ten games and have several players that will get stronger every game as we go forward. Bruce Graham is an offensive force already but will get better, Darryl Bootland has only skated a couple of times in the last month and Anthony Maiani is still getting into game shape.

- I put Phil Fox on the 14 day injured reserve as he tore up his shoulder pretty bad. According to the doctors the recovery time is 6-8 weeks so he is done for the year in all likelihood. Phil has done everything he can to stay in the lineup through some very tough injuries this year. A true professional who I had to literally take out of the lineup as he wanted to continue to play.

- Kale Kerbashian has been activated and is flying into Denver to meet the team. Kale will provide some much needed relief to our short bench.


OTHER COMMENTS:

- Some big milestones in the game last night as Steve Martinson got his 800th coaching victory and Darryl Bootland got his 400th career point. Talk about staying power. Congrats to Marty & Booter!

- A key going into the weekend against Rapid City was to take advantage of the Rush weakness on special teams where they they are the worst in the league. A job well done as Allen was an incredible 41.7% on the power play scoring five times in twelve opportunities. The penalty kill was also outstanding allowing only one goal in eleven opportunities for a kill percentage of 91.7%. It is baffling that a team as good as Rapid City can be so poor on special teams.

- With the win last night the Americans officially clinched a playoff spot but that was a forgone conclusion. A more interesting question is where will Allen finish in the standings and who will they play in the first round. Denver scored with four seconds remaining in the game last night against Quad City and then won in a shoot out to extend their winning streak to eight games. With Allen beating Rapid City twice and Missouri being idle the race for the top four spots has tightened up. Here is how it currently looks with games remaining:
82 points - Missouri (8)
78 points - Denver (7)
74 points - Rapid City (6)
72 points - Allen (8)
After Allen there is a six point gap back to Brampton & Quad City who are battling for fifth spot. I am sure the four teams at the top of the standings would all like to avoid playing Brampton in the first round because of the travel distance and high cost involved. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

- A couple of days ago I made the case why Spencer Asuchak should be one of the five finalists for CHL rookie of the year (ROY). Last night he once again made the case for himself with two goals and an assist officially (he actually had 2 goals 3 assists) and a great all around game including being selected as the games #1 star. As a reminder he is third in scoring among all CHL rookies and leads the CHL in shorthanded goals and he does so much more for his team than score.  Just because his teammate is going to win the ROY award is no reason to keep Spencer off the finalist list. As Jamie Schaafsma reminded me on twitter last night and what I should have said the other day I will say now. COME ON, MAN!

- When Bruce Graham arrived in Allen the end of February he told me he had been playing in a competitive senior league but he was not in the shape he would normally be in at this time of year. He may be getting stronger every game but his results have been great from the start. Bruce has played in seven games and has points in six of the seven games. He has multiple points in five of the seven games including the last four. He has scored goals in the last four games. Add it all up and here is what your have, seven games and fourteen points (4 goals 10 assists). He is indeed an offensive force to be reckoned with.

- Greger Hanson had an assist last night to extend his scoring streak to six games during which he has had eleven points (3 goals 8 assists).

- Daniel Tetrault picked a great time to have back to back goals for the first time all year. He not only scored a goal in both games against Rapid City he had two assists and was a +4.

- After the story I included yesterday about CHL Memes and the popularity of his work I made contact with him and he graciously agreed to allow me to post some of his work on Allen Americans Blog for those that are not on social media. I have no idea who CHL Memes is, as contact was made over social media. So in  addition to "DID YOU KNOW" there will also be a daily dose of "CHL MEMES."

Courtesy of CHL Memes - follow on twitter @CHL_Memes

DID YOU KNOW: With eight games remaining the Allen Americans are closing in on their single season record for penalty minutes. They may not beat the all time record they set last year but it will be close:
2009-2010: 1229
2010-2011: 1184
2011-2012: 1336
2012-2013: 1571
2013-2014: 1330 (8 games remaining)