A Deep Dive on the 2015-2016 Allen Home Schedule, Knuckles vs Numbers Video, Playoff Update

- The Allen Americans are in practice mode while they await the opening of the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs which will take place on Friday, May 1st at the Allen Event Center. Their opponent is still to be determined as the Rapid City vs Quad City series had another close game last night with Rapid City winning 2-1 in overtime. Rapid City now has a 2-1 lead in the series. All three games in the series have been one goal games and neither team has scored more than three goals in a game. Games four and five will be Friday and Saturday in Quad City with games six and seven back in Rapid City if necessary.

- The Allen Americans released their 2015-2016 home schedule yesterday as the ECHL headquarters gave all of the teams permission to release the schedule any time after 2:00 pm ET. The ECHL will be releasing the entire schedule early next week. Plaudits to the ECHL for getting the schedule out early but have to say the sequencing seems a little strange. Not sure of the rationale for letting each team release their home schedule at their own pace and then the league releasing the away schedules all at once. I am sure many ECHL fans were trying to piece together they away schedules by looking at the other teams in the league home schedules. Have to admit to checking the Alaska Aces web site several times to see if they had released their home schedule yet in the hopes the Americans make a trip to Alaska next year. Unfortunately Alaska is one of a number of teams that have not released their home schedule.


2015-2016 HOME SCHEDULE

- There is a lot to like about the home schedule next year from playing fewer games against the teams in the Central Division, to having more weekend dates to seeing new teams come to the Allen Event Center. Here is what I call a deep dive into the home schedule.

- The ECHL set a goal to have no more than six home games against any team in the division and they came very close in achieving that goal. Allen will play Missouri and Tulsa six times and Wichita seven times. This compares with 2014-2015 when the numbers were Tulsa (9), Wichita (8) and Missouri (5).

- Allen fans will see eleven different teams including six new teams at AEC next year. Here is a list of the 36 home games by team:
7 games - Wichita
6 games - Missouri
6 games - Tulsa
4 games - Colorado
3 games - Cincinnati
3 games - Evansville
2 games - Utah
2 games - Idaho
1 game - Alaska
1 game - Rapid City
1 game - Quad City

- The 2015-2016 home schedule is more favorable than this year with fewer weekday games and more weekend games but there are three fewer prime time Friday night games. Here is the home schedule for next season by day of week with the change from this year in parentheses.
Monday - 2 games (same as last year)
Tuesday - 1 game (same as last year)
Wednesday - 4 games (one less than last year)
Thursday - 0 games (two less than last year)
Friday - 7 games (three less than last year)
Saturday - 12 games (three more than last year)
Sunday - 10 games (three more than last year)

- If you look at the home schedule on a monthly basis it is also favorable as there are a few more home games later in the season after the first of the year when more fans are focused on hockey. There are a few less home games in the prime football playoff season. Here is a breakdown of the home schedule by month with the change from last year in parentheses.
October - 3 games (+2)
November - 4 games (-1)
December - 6 games (-2)
January - 8 games (-1)
February - 4 games (-1)
March - 8 games (+3)
April - 3 games (same)

- Finally, thought it would be interesting to look at the quality of the opponents on 2015-2016 home schedule based their 2014-2015 record. Things can change drastically from year to year in the ECHL so it doesn't mean the teams with poor records this year will have poor records next year so with that caveat here is what I found:

- Five of the eleven teams coming to the AEC next year didn't make the playoffs this year. Allen will play these five teams 20 of the 36 home games.

- Allen will play only two teams at home with a winning percentage above .600. Idaho had a winning percentage this year of .708 and plays at the AEC twice. Colorado had a winning percentage of .625 and plays four times in Allen. Here is a complete list in winning percentage order with the number of games played in Allen in parentheses:
.708 - Colorado (4)
.625 - Idaho (2)
.569 - Utah (2)
.562 - Rapid City (1)
.562 - Quad City (1)
.556 - Tulsa (6)
.535 - Alaska (1)
.507 - Cincinnati (3)
.507 - Wichita (7)
.451 - Missouri (6)
.271 - Evansville (3)

- The second year in the ECHL will see drastic changes for many of the old CHL teams. Allen will still see a lot of Missouri, Tulsa and Wichita in the new Central Division alignment and those rivalries will be ongoing. The rivalry that will be missed the most is with Rapid City who moves to the West Division. The history with the Rush dating back to 2009-2010 is one that will be missed. Luckily, Rapid City will still play in Allen once and the Americans have a couple games in Rapid City but it won't be like to old days.

- Many of the traditional promotion games are on the schedule next year such as Halloween (October 31) and MLK Day (January 18) but New Years Eve is not on the home schedule next year.


OTHER COMMENTS

- In other playoff action around the ECHL last night Wheeling beat #1 seed Toledo 5-4 and leads that series 2-1. Fort Wayne beat Kalamazoo 3-1 and lead the series 3-0. Colorado beat Ontario 4-3 to tie that series 2-2. There are two games tonight (Thursday) with Florida at Orlando and South Carolina at Reading.

- Wanted to add my congratulations to Bob Hoffman who has been hired by the Quad City Mallards as Executive Vice President. Bob has many years of experience in minor pro hockey and most recently served as the Central Hockey League's Director of Operations and Communications from 2007 until last year when the CHL ceased operations. Bob spent many hours helping this fledgling blogger understand everything about the CHL from rules to rosters to policies. Whether it was email, on the phone or in person on one of his many visits to Allen he was always willing to take the time to explain and educate. He doesn't need it but best of luck to Bob Hoffman in Quad City.

- Wanted to post this video about the role of the enforcer in professional hockey. It is an interesting perspective of looking at enforcers from an analytical point of view. The video speaks for itself but my takeaway is not that fighting will be eliminated but guys that can only fight are being phased out of the game. If you haven't already seen the video it is worth a look.

DID YOU KNOW: During the regular season there was not a single team in the ECHL Central Division that won more games at home than they did on the road.

Allen Wins Game 3-2 & Advances to 2nd Round, Game Recap, Martinson Comments, Players Comments

The best tradition in hockey, former Oilers Costello & Steffes shake hands with Tulsa

The Allen Americans won the game 3-2 and won the series 4-1 last night over the Tulsa Oilers before another enthusiastic Tuesday night crowd of 3648 at the Allen Event Center (AEC). In a script seen many times this season the Americans used a big second period to secure the victory. After a scoreless first period Tulsa took a 1-0 lead early in the second period on a power play goal by Drew Fisher who ended up with five goals in the series. As they have done so often Allen struck quickly midway through the period with three goals in just 3:38. The goal scorers were Dyson Stevenson (1), Ian Schultz (1), and Chad Costello (2). Stevenson scored off a great pass by Patrik Valcak when he bounced the puck off the glove arm of Tulsa goalie Kevin Carr. Ian Schultz who just returned from the Iowa Wild (AHL) and was playing in his first game for Allen since February 16 deflected a shot from Justin Baker past the goalie to give the Americans a 2-1 lead. Chad Costello got the game winner on a power play goal to give Allen a 3-1 lead which they never relinquished. Tulsa cut the score to 3-2 with just over two minutes left in the game but could not get the equalizer.

Dyson Stevenson scores Allen's first goal - photo by scenebykimberly.com

Ian Schultz with a tip in, first game back in Allen - photo by scenebykimbery.com

Allen now awaits the winner of the Rapid City vs Quad City series which is currently tied 1-1. The Americans will be waiting for ten days. The first two games in the second round will be played at the AEC on May 1st and 2nd. Finally, Allen will get some prime weekend dates for the playoffs.


STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- It was a great win tonight to end the series. We certainly didn't want to travel back to Tulsa for another game. We knew we were going to get some scoring chances in the third period as they had to press for goals. I thought we should have pressured them a little bit more in their zone. Tulsa is a good team and has some good players and they certainly didn't give up when they got down by two goals. It was tough giving up that second goal at the end of the game. I will have to take a look at that to see what happened.

- It is good to have this first round behind us. We came out of the series with no serious injuries so that is always a plus.

- Stevenson made a great play on his goal and had another great opportunity when he took the puck away with a check on the side boards and went to the net and made a great move. It looked like he got tackled on that play. It is good to see some of the new guys contributing.

- It is nice to have Schultz back and he got one of his typical goals tonight where he went right to the front of the net and made a nice tip on the shot by Baker. I am sure he feels good about coming back and scoring right away. It will be good for Ian to be able to practice and get some ice time over the next ten days.

- Tanner Eberle is also back but has a little bit of an injury. I think he will be okay but we are having it checked out to make sure.

- Gary Steffes had a close call when a Tulsa player spun around during the celebration of a goal and  his skate blade hit Gary across the calf. It cut through his sock and took the skin off and scraped him but didn't cut any deeper. We got real lucky on that play as it could have been very serious.

A close call for Gary Steffes - photo by scenebykimberly.com

- We have some time off now before the start of the second round and we have a few things to work on during practice. We are not where we want to be yet but I liked the way we played defense the last two games. We still need some work on the power play. Tonight the only time we shot the puck from the point we scored and then we didn't do it again.

- It is a bit of a concern having ten days off between games. It is important to keep things competitive and not let guys get stale. The good part of the time off is it allows some guys like Eberle and Tyler Ludwig to heal and others to get over the minor injuries all players have this time of year. It will also allow us to have some lines practice together for the upcoming series. We are going to use the time off as a positive.

- I learned a long time ago to not worry about things out of my control and who we face in the next round is out of my control. There are pros and cons to both teams and it will be a tough series no matter who we meet. Having the time off will give me more time to watch the Rapid City vs Quad City series and that is certainly helpful.

- The recent changes in the coaching staff in San Jose should not impact our relationship with the organization. The general manager is the same. They have invited me to go to their NHL camp and their rookie camp next year and they like what we are doing in Allen. It is a great place to put some of their prospects like Joel Rumpel.

- It will be nice to finally have some good dates for our first two home games in the next round. Friday, May 1st & Saturday, May 2nd are as good as you can get. Let's hope we get some good crowds for those games.

- A two goal lead is the worst lead in hockey. You don't want to give the other team anything easy so we did talk after the second period that we don't want to get caught. It wasn't by design that we became so defensive in the third period.


PLAYER COMMENTS

Schaafsma, Schultz & Gens post game press conference - photo by scenebykimberly.com

- Aaron Gens, Jamie Schaafsma and Ian Schultz stopped by the post game press conference to share their thoughts on the game and answer a few questions:

"Thanks to everyone that came out tonight. We have had great fans support this series. It was amazing to see all of the fans that came to Tulsa to support us"....Jamie Schaafsma

"The Friday night loss in Tulsa wasn't our best game but we had plenty of scoring chances early that we missed and they seemed to score on all of their chances. But we believe in ourselves and in this group so we knew if we played our game we would be successful and that is what happened in Tulsa on Saturday."....Jamie Schaafsma

"We know what it takes to win and we know how we have to play to be successful and we got away from that a little bit in that first game in Tulsa but we refocused and got back to the way need to play in the last two games of the series. We will need to continue to improve as we go into the next round."....Jamie Schaafsma

"Playoff  hockey is tough so having this time off is a positive as far as I am concerned to let the body heal up. Jamie had a couple of nice blocked shots tonight and he is soft and bruises like a peach so he can use the time to heal. All players have bumps and bruises this time of year."....Ian Schultz

"Marty is a great coach and I am sure he will change some things up to keep us competitive and also give us some days off. But for the most part you need to stay dedicated to the rink and come ready to go when we practice."....Ian Schultz

"Players will for the most part not watch the Rapid City vs Quad City games. We know the systems they play and the coaches will but together video for us to watch to remind us how they are playing. For the most part in the next ten days we will concentrate more on what we are going do and taking care of business no matter who we face."....Aaron Gens

"You have seen over this season we have had success against every team in our division. The playoffs is more about what we bring to the table and not about what our opponent is going to do. It is in our hands and we will do whatever it takes to win."....Ian Schultz

"Drew Fisher had a great series for Tulsa and has been a good leader for them. I thought he was their best player this series."....Jamie Schaafsma

"I grew up playing with Fisher as he is from International Falls, MN  which is about an hour away from where I grew up in Baudette. He is a prime example of a guy stepping up this year when Jon Booras got hurt and Tom Mele got called up to the AHL. He was there for them the entire year and he works very hard and is a good puck possession guy. I played almost every shift against him and while we are friends off the ice when we go into the corner we will light each other up."....Aaron Gens

"Where I come from you shave whatever facial hair you have the day before playoffs start and you earn during the playoffs a little more each round. But some guys like Jamie have a little more trouble growing a beard (and chest hair) so they need a head start while some of us earn our beard during the playoffs.".... Aaron Gens

"I definitely cheat as I grow the beard all year long and I am growing out my shoulder hair as well. They like to call me hairy arms Rob Lowe in the locker room."....Jamie Schaafsma

"When we came back to win game two after being down 4-0 it gave our team a lot of confidence that the score doesn't really matter and we need to just keep playing hard and believe in ourselves. It has always been the character of Allen teams that they don't get down when they are behind and have this abilty to keep working and comeback."....Jamie Schaafsma

- I have never been on a team that is so dominate in the second period. Just like tonight, after the first period Chad Costello said in the locker room, "we are a second period team so watch this" and sure enough we went out and got three goals. It is a rare thing and we do catch some teams by surprise the way we score in the second period. It is a unique attribute to have."....Ian Schultz


OTHER COMMENTS:

- It was great to see all of the well wishes from both teams at the end of the night. This was a hard fought series but there was a lot of respect given to the players and fans on both sides. It was a nice way to see everyone react.

- Allen's record in closeout games at home under Steve Martinson is now 6-1.

- With the series tied 1-1 the next three games between Rapid City and Quad City will take place in Quad City tonight (Wednesday), Friday and Saturday.

- The stars of the game were #1 Ian Schultz. #2 Dyson Stevenson, and #3 Joel Rumpel.



DID YOU KNOW: Between the regular season and playoffs the Allen Americans have played 77 games. They have scored 76 goals in the first period, 131 in the second period and 96 in the third period. The 131 goals scored in the second period is 31 more goals than any other team in the ECHL.

Allen vs Tulsa Game Five Preview & Game Four Video Highlights

It is game day in Allen as the Americans take on Tulsa in an attempt to close out the first round series with the Oilers. If you are an Allen fan you have to like the Americans chances as they have won seven of their last eight games against Tulsa at the Allen Event Center (AEC) dating all the way back to early November.

 Allen and Tulsa are very familiar with each other having played seventeen times during the regular season and four in the playoffs.  Allen's record against Tulsa is 15-5-0-1. Don't know what the ECHL record is for most games played against one team in a season but the game tonight will be number 22 between these teams.

- Here is a statistical comparison looking just at the four playoff games:
Team Record: Allen (3-1-0-0) - Tulsa (1-2-1-0)
League Rank: Allen (1st) - Tulsa (14th)
Shots For: Allen (155) - Tulsa (106)
Average Shots Allowed: Allen (26.5) - Tulsa (38.75)
Goals For: Allen (15) - Tulsa (12)
Goals Against: Allen (12) - Tulsa (15)
Goal Differential: Allen (+3) - Tulsa (-3)
Team Plus/Minus: Allen (+18) - Tulsa (-21)
Team PIM's Per Game: Allen (17.50) - Tulsa (20.50)



-With four games played in this playoff series it is a small sample but a couple of things stick out when looking at special teams. Allen's power play has been much better at home (23.1%) than on the road where they went 0-7 in Tulsa. Tulsa's power play has been better on the road (22.2%) than at home (13.3%). Anyway you slice it special teams will be a big factor in the game tonight. Win the special teams battle and you will most likely win the game. Here is the special teams breakdown:
Power Play (overall):  Allen 15.9% - Tulsa 16.7%
Power Play (home): Allen 23.1% - Tulsa 13.3%
Power Play (away): Allen 0.0% - Tulsa 22.2%
Penalty Kill (overall): Allen 83.3% - Tulsa 85.0%
Penalty Kill (home): Allen 77.8% - Tulsa 100.0%
Penalty Kill (away): Allen 86.7% - Tulsa 76.9%


- Allen and Tulsa have at least one more playoff game than any other team in the league so you would expect they would have the lead in many statistical categories and that is certainly the case. Spencer Asuchak leads the ECHL in scoring with six points (3 goals 3 assists) while Gary Steffes and Konrad Abeltshauser are tied for second with five points.

- Just like during the regular season Gary Steffes has emerged as the leading goal scorer in the playoffs. Gary has a goal in each of the first four playoff games.

- Allen was the most penalized team in the ECHL during the regular season averaging 22.8 minutes per game. In the playoffs they are ranked #7 out of 16 teams with 17.5 minutes per game.

- Aaron Gens leads all  ECHL defensemen and is second among all players in the playoffs with a plus/minus of +5.

- Konrad Abeltshauser leads all ECHL defensemen with five playoff points (2 goals 3 assists). Konrad has now played ten games (6 regular season 4 in the playoffs) for Allen and has scored seven goals. In the last two years in Worcester he has nine goals in 107 games. It shows what he can do when getting top line minutes and power play time.

- The second period continues to be the best for Allen for the number of goals scored just like during the regular season but they have struggled in the first period. In the four playoff games Tulsa has outscored Allen 5-2 in the first period. Allen has out scored Tulsa 8-6 in the second period and 4-1 in the third period.

- Ian Schultz and Tanner Eberle were scheduled to arrive in Dallas last night but it remains to be seen if either will be in the lineup tonight.

- Here are the highlights from game four for those that have not seen them. The voice on the video is the voice of the Tulsa Oilers, Rob Loeber.

- Here is the up to date playoff bracket:

DID YOU KNOW: Under Steve Martinson the Allen Americans are 5-1 in home close out games. (Games where they can win the series).

Allen's last home close out opportunity went well! - photo by scenebykimberly.com

Thoughts, Follow-Ups, Musings, Opinions, Reminiscing, Stats, Pictures and Some Filler

- Wanted to mention a couple of wrap up items from the weekend series in Tulsa. The on ice picture with all of the Allen fans published yesterday was from Saturday night when a much bigger contingent of Allen fans was in Tulsa. However, there was also a picture taken on the ice Friday night and that picture is below. Also wanted to add to the discussion on how welcoming all of the Tulsa fans were to the Allen fans. They showed great hospitality to the Allen fans and were a class act. There were a couple of heated conversations that took place but that should not take away from the vast majority of fans on both sides who came away from the weekend with some new friends.

Friday night group picture in Tulsa - photo courtesy of Kevin Pyle

- I came to the conclusion over the fact that Chad Costello didn't win the ECHL MVP award that many coaches, broadcasters, media relations directors, and media members discount the efforts of players and teams in the Central Division. Given the poor showing this season by the Central Division against teams outside the division (won just 11 of 42 games) the only thing that will change this perception is better performance. Even division leading Allen went 2-2-1-0 in their five games outside the division but the two teams they beat were quality teams in Toledo and Ontario. And the overtime loss was to Kalamazoo in the biggest collapse of the season as Allen was up 3-0 before the Wings got a shorthanded goal and a goal with 26 seconds left in the game to tie the score and then won the game in overtime. For whatever reason the Central Division is treated like the "little brother" to the rest of the league and gets little respect. It is difficult for many fans around the Central Division to get over all of the rivalries created in the Central Hockey League but in many ways the entire group is seen as the "little brother" Central Division. For that reason everyone in the Central Division should be cheering for whoever wins the division title and moves on the the Western Conference finals. I sure hope it is Allen but if it ends up being Tulsa, Rapid City or Quad City I am all in for one of the "little brothers" to kick some "big brother" butt. You can only hope all of the Central Division fans feel the same way because until success happens on the ice everyone will be lumped together as not as good as the rest of the ECHL.


- Came across some work done to compare how many points were scored by the defensemen on each ECHL team during the regular season. With the many talented offensive defensemen on the Americans roster it was always assumed Allen would be at or close to the top of this list. Turns out they are second on the list trailing only Florida. There is no one way to construct a team for success as there are several teams on this list that are below the average but are great teams. However, the top of the list is made up of most of the best teams in the league. Thanks to "Joda" who posted this info on echlforum.com. It is taken from the ECHL statistics page at the end of the regular season and represents points by defensemen from that site.
1. Florida - 220
2. Allen - 215
3. Reading - 192
4. Tulsa - 175
5. Idaho - 171
6. Toledo - 165
7. Colorado - 163
8. Ft. Wayne - 163
9. Indy - 163
10. Rapid city - 163
11. Ontario - 159
12. Wichita - 154
13. Kalamazoo - 153
14. Orlando - 153
15. Greenville - 151
16. South Carolina - 149
17. Alaska - 144
18. Stockton - 144
19. Cincinnati - 133
20. Elmira - 133
21. Bakersfield - 129
22. Quad City - 128
23. Utah - 126
24. Wheeling - 119
25. Gwinnett - 118
26. Evansville - 114
27. Brampton - 108
28. Missouri - 100

League Average - 150
Playoff Teams Average - 163
Non-Playoff Team Average -133


- The Americans have a stranglehold on this Tulsa series with a 3-1 lead and a game at home on Tuesday. It is a given there is a lot of work yet to be done to wrap up the series. However, if the Americans win tomorrow night and that is a big if, they could be sitting idle for as long as ten days before the start of the second round playoff series. The Rapid City vs Quad City series is tied 1-1 and has the look of a series that could last a while. Game seven of that series would not take place until April 29th. If that happens the soonest the second round would start for Allen is May 1st or 2nd.


- It is early in the ECHL playoff season as five of the playoff teams have still not had a home game but the playoff attendance is actually up from previous years. Over the first 20 playoff games the average seems quite low at 3551 with six teams averaging below 3000. However, it is the highest average since 2009. You would expect the average attendance should increase as the later playoff rounds take place so 2015 is shaping up to be the best attended playoffs in many years.


- In the only action last night in the ECHL, Ontario beat Colorado 5-1 in Colorado to take a 2-1 lead in that series. There are no games scheduled today (Monday) and just two on Tuesday. In addition to the Allen vs Tulsa game Florida will be playing at Orlando.


- It is always informative to attend an away game and see how other teams operate. A few takeaways from the road trip this weekend.
1. Allowing groups to come to the game early and take a picture on the ice is a good marketing tool when doing group sales or bringing in fans from opposing teams.
2. Allen fans are fortunate they can be close to the players as they enter and leave the ice at the AEC. Not the case in some of the other arenas.
3. Tulsa allows a fan to sit in the penalty box for each period as part of a sponsorship activity. A nice opportunity for the Tulsa fans.
4. The Allen Ice Angels are the best in the business. They are as talented and professional as you will see anywhere in sports at the minor or major league level.
5. If you ever have a chance to go on a road trip stay where the team stays if possible. There is a lot of down time the day of the game especially if there is no game day skate and the players are great at interacting with and thanking those that support the team on the road.


DID YOU KNOW: Five years ago today, in their first year of operation, the Allen Americans advanced to the CHL Presidents' Cup finals by beating the #1 seeded Odessa Jackalopes in game seven, on the road, by a score of 4-2. Goal scorers for Allen were Tobias Whelan, Nino Musitelli, and Colton Yellow Horn who had two goals. One of the most memorable games in Allen history.

While looking for a picture from the 2010 playoffs with Odessa I started looking at some of the archives from photographer Chip Crail who passed away just about a year ago. The pictures reminded me how much we all miss Chip around the AEC and what a great photographer he was. Here are few of my favorite Odessa shots from Chip.

Kip Brennan & Darryl Bootland pregame chat - "wanna go bro"

The acrobat, Colton Yellow Horn, goes airborne

Fight Night

Bruce Graham scores in the 2010 playoffs at home

Aaron Gens' brother Matt with the big stick flex, played for Odessa

Allen Beats Tulsa & Takes 3-1 Series Lead, Game Recap, Martinson's Comments, Fan Pics & More

The Allen Americans scored one goal in every period last night period, each with its unique story, to defeat the the Tulsa Oilers 3-1 before a crowd of 3092 at the BOK Center which included a large group of Allen fans who made the trip to to Tulsa to cheer on the Americans. With the win Allen takes a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with game five scheduled in Allen on Tuesday (7:05 p.m.). The goal scorers for Allen were first period, Gary Steffes (4), second period, Jamie Schaafsma (1) and third period, Greger Hanson (1). Here is the story of each of the goals:

First Period - There were not a lot of quality scoring chances until Gary Steffes took a pass from Kevin Young and scored a typical Gary Steffes goal going top shelf over goalie Kevin Carr's glove. Still haven't seen a replay of the goal but the three of us on the radio at the time (two from Allen & one from Tulsa) all agreed the puck was in, just inside the cross bar, and then came out. The Tulsa faithful including goalie Carr and Oiler coach Bruce Ramsay felt the puck hit the crossbar and dropped straight down without going in the net. Despite heated protests from Carr and the Oilers the referee consulted with the goal judge and allowed the goal to stand.

Second Period - At the 1:56 mark of the second period while the Oilers were on the power play, Tulsa goalie Kevin Carr came out of his net to bat the puck away from Spencer Asuchak but it was intercepted by Jamie Schaafsma. Jamie took the puck to his backhand and scored past defenseman Nathan Lutz who was the only Tulsa player anywhere close to the goal. It was Schaafsma's first shorthanded goal of the year and gave the Americans a 2-0 lead. The second period could have been disastrous for the Americans as they took five consecutive penalties which resulted in multiple chunks of 5 on 3 opportunities. Allen did a great job of killing all of the penalties and limited the damage to just one power play goal which was scored 5 on 4. With all of the power play time Tulsa outshot Allen 15-8 in the second period but could only score the one goal so the period ended with the Americans leading 2-1.

The incredible photo below by Tulsa photographer Kevin Pyle - www.photopyle.com captures the shorthanded, back hand goal scored by Jamie Schaafsma with the goalie nowhere in the picture.



Third Period - Allen showed what they can do defensively as they held Tulsa to just eight shots in the third period while killing off two penalties. With under a minute left in the game Allen had a 3-1 rush on an empty net. Greger Hanson almost lost control of the puck as he was coming down the left wing but regained control in time to put home an empty net goal. Chris Crane was camped at the goal mouth in case the puck went wide. It was a fitting end to a game well played by Allen.

- Allen won this game by winning the special teams battle and rededicating themselves to defense first. The Americans didn't score on the power play but had only two chances. The penalty kill group held Tulsa to 1-8 on the power play and also contributed that shorthanded goal in the second period.

The guys celebrate Jamie's shorthanded goal- photo by Lauren Lyssy

STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- It was a great win tonight as the team bounced back from the loss on Friday. It didn't surprise me that the team responded the way they did as I have seen it happen with this group many times. It is a credit to the team leadership as they made sure everyone was on board on how they needed to play to be successful.

- We were much more patient tonight and it was the best we have played defensively for our goalie in the series. Tonight is an example of how you need to play to be successful in the playoffs.

- We did not have as many offensive opportunities tonight as we did last night but that can be attributed to the defensemen not jumping into the play as much. We got back to a "be aggressive but don't gamble" mentality which was a key to success.

- Ian Schultz will be coming back from Iowa (AHL) and Tanner Ebele will be returning from Bridgeport(AHL) on Monday but I have not decided at this point how that will effect the roster except I will be using Kyle Follmer exclusively at defense from now on.

- We have a few guys dinged up but as far as I know we came out of the weekend without any injures so everyone should be ready to go on Tuesday night.

- It is nice to have a 3-1 series lead as we go home for game five. It will be important to carryover how we played tonight to that game.



OTHER COMMENTS


- The players went out of their way to thank all of the Allen fans for making the trip to Tulsa. Many of them skated over after the game to the section where the Allen fans were sitting and gave them a salute. My estimate is 125-150 fans made the trip. There were 60 that showed up two hours before game time just to take a group picture on the ice. Here it is if you haven't already seen it. I think that one guy in the back had to go to the bathroom (haha, just kidding).

Road trip to Tulsa - photo by Kevin Pyle

- The players also took to social media on the bus trip home to thank the fans for their support. Hear are a few examples:
"Amazing having so many Allen Americans fans at our game tonight! Almost felt like a home game.. Best fans in the league!"....Spencer Asuchak
"Great fan support tonight in Tulsa! Glad we could get the win!" ....Jamie Schaafsma
" Incredible fans in Allen! Thanks for coming to the game to cheer us on."....Gary Steffes


- With Schultz and Eberle returning to Allen from the AHL, coach Martinson is now down to one playoff roster slot remaining for an eligible returning AHL player. With Worcester making the AHL playoffs, players such as Aaron Dell and Rylan Schwartz will probably not be available until early May and that would be if Worcester loses in the first round. Whether coach Martinson uses the final roster spot remains to be seen.


- A special thanks to the Tulsa Oilers front office, especially Todd Streets and Emily Chambers for all of their help in putting together a great weekend for all of the Allen fans. From arranging for tickets, to the on ice photos, to the "high five tunnel" it was a job well done.


- In other action around the ECHL last night the winners were Orlando, Reading, Toledo, Fort Wayne, Idaho, and Rapid City. The only game today is Ontario at Colorado. Here is how all of the series stand.
North Division:
#1 Toledo Walleye vs #4 Wheeling Nailers: Series tied 1-1
#2 Fort Wayne Komets vs # Kalamazoo Wings: Fort Wayne leads 2-0

East Division:
#1 Florida Everblades vs #4 Orlando Solar Bears: Florida leads 2-0
#2 South Carolina Stingrays vs #3 Reading Royals: Series tied 1-1

Central Division:
#1 Allen Americans vs #4 Tulsa Oilers; Allen leads 3-1
#2 Rapid City Rush vs #3 Quad City Mallards: Series tied 1-1

Pacific Division:
#1 Idaho Steelheads vs #4 Utah Grizzlies: Idaho leads 2-1
#2 Ontario Reign vs #3 Colorado Eagles: Series tied 1-1


DID YOU KNOW: Allen Americans assistant coach Kevin Colley was the MVP of the 2002-2003 Kelly Cup finals playing for the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies who won the Kelly Cup that year.

Allen Loses 5-1 Game Recap, Martinson Comments, Schultz & Eberle Return, Radio Broadcast

There are some nights when nothing goes right and the Allen Americans proved that last night as they lost to the Tulsa Oilers by a score of 5-1 before a sparse crowd of 2607 at the BOK Center. Even after Tulsa took a 3-0 lead at the 6:21 mark of second period there was hope of a comeback similar to what happened in Allen on Wednesday. Gary Steffes scored his third goal of the playoffs assisted by Jamie Schaafsma and Trevor Ludwig just 31 seconds after Tulsa took the 3-0 lead and you could see the energy pick up by the Americans. That was short lived however as the Oilers took the momentum and the game back with a shorthanded goal at 8:32 of the second period to take a 4-1 lead. The Americans had a few quality chances to close the gap in the third period but they either missed the net or were stopped by Tulsa goalie Kevin Carr.

You know it is going to be a long night when you outshoot your opponent 15-5 in the second period but get out scored 3-1. What went wrong for Allen could appropriately be called everything but here are a few specifics:

- Allen allowed the first goal of the game less than six minutes into the first period

- Allen won only nine of twenty five face offs  (36%) in the first period

- All five Tulsa goals were generated by breakaways or odd man rushes

- Tulsa scored five goals on just 23 shots on goal

- After having 41 shots on goal in game one and 56 in game two the Americans managed just 29 in this game.

- When giving up so many odd man rushes and breakaways it is imperative the goalie is the best player on the ice and that was not the case last night as coach Martinson replaced Riley Gill after the fourth Tulsa goal which was a shorthanded breakaway goal. 

- Allen had the #2 ranked power play in the league during the regular season at 22.6% but went 0-5 last night and also gave up a shorthanded goal.

- The penalty kill unit allowed another goal which was the third in the last two games during which Tulsa is 3-12 or 25%. 

- The Americans took 12 minor penalties in the game last night. The game got chippy at the end which could carry over to tonight as these teams play for the fourth time in five days.

The bottom line is the offense, defense, special teams and goalie play were all subpar last night and the final score of 5-1 reflected that. The best thing about the loss is the Americans don't have to wait long to do something about it as game four comes at 7:35 tonight. You can expect a much better effort out of the Americans.

STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- You cannot win playoff games playing like that where you give up so many odd man rushes and breakaways. That is not playoff hockey and that is why we got embarrassed.

- It is hard to believe you would have that kind of effort from so many experienced guys. 

- We had a lot of good scoring chances in the first period that we did not convert and then we give up a lazy three on two goal where we don't play it well.

- We gave up way too many odd man rushes and the entire team (defensemen, forwards & goalie) did not play them well. We don't defend odd man rushes well and then we give up a lot of them and it is very frustrating.

- When we had good scoring chances including several odd man rushes we did not capitalize on them. We shot the puck wide or over the top of the net.

- We will not have a pregame skate tomorrow and I expect a much better effort out of this team tomorrow (Saturday) night.

- Ian Schultz and Tanner Eberle will be flying to Allen on Monday to rejoin the team.

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Rapid City Rush and Quad City Mallards kicked off the other Central Division series last night and the #3 seeded Mallards came away with a 3-2 win over the #2 seeded Rush. Quad City scored the only goal of the third period on a power play at the 6:23 mark and that proved to be the game winner. Just 2762 showed up for a Friday night playoff game in Rapid City.

- In other action around the ECHL last night South Carolina had to go two overtimes to beat Reading 2-1 and take the first game of that series, Florida beat Orlando to take a 1-0 lead in that series. Fort Wayne beat Kalamazoo 4-2 and leads that series 1-0. In the Pacific Division Utah beat Idaho 3-2 and Ontario beat Colorado 4-1 so both of those series are now tied at 1-1.

- Seven of the eight series resume action tonight (Saturday) with Colorado vs Ontario being idle.

- Congratulations to South Carolina goalie Jeff Jakaitis who was announced as the ECHL Most Valuable Player yesterday and also to Chad Costello who was the runner up. As an Allen fan it was certainly disappointing that Chad did not win the award because you could easily make the case for him given the fact that he played in all 72 games for his team and won the scoring title by the biggest margin (45 points) in league history. But Jeff Jakaitis had a record breaking year as well and the bottom line is the MVP award is voted on by coaches, broadcasters, media relations directors and media members from all 28 teams and many of them discounted Chad's accomplishments because he plays in the Central Division. Until the the seven prior CHL teams prove they can beat the older ECHL teams nothing will change the view that the Central Division is a weaker Division.

- I had the chance to speak briefly to Chad at the team hotel yesterday afternoon and he could not have been more gracious in congratulating Jeff Jakaitis on winning the MVP award. Chad was the ECHL MVP in 2012 when he played for the Colorado Eagles so he knows what it means to win the award. However, Chad came to Allen this year after an injury plagued season last year not to win the MVP award but to win the Kelly Cup and after talking to him it is obvious he is laser focused on that goal. 

- Tommy Daniels was kind enough to let me join him on his radio broadcast last night and and all I can say is how much respect I have for what he and Maurice Fitzgerald do when broadcasting a hockey game. When you listen to Tommy from the comfort of your home or at the Allen Event Center you just listen to him call the game. When you watch him in person it is something to marvel at as he does so much more than call the game. He had to do everything from working with the staff in the arena to improve the sound, to checking social media to make sure the broadcast is being received okay and to acknowledge those that are tuned in, to cueing up commercials, to editing the highlights as the game is in progress for use between periods, to preparing guests for live between period interviews to checking all the scores from around the league. It is nerve-racking just watching him but with his many years working in radio he does everything with complete calm. As for my role I mostly tried to stay out of Tommy's way and contribute a few stats and fun facts. And yes I made the rookie mistake of yelling "yes" real loud when Allen scored. It was all a lot of fun and looking forward to sitting next to Tommy again tonight with hopefully a better outcome for the Americans.

DID YOU KNOW: Thirty years ago Steve Martinson had 432 penalty minutes playing for the Hershey Bears (AHL) which included 44 fighting majors. As a comparison the all time Allen Americans record is 257 penalty minutes set by Garrett Klotz last season when  he had 20 fighting majors. Twenty years ago Steve Martinson played in his last professional hockey game.

Allen vs Tulsa Game 3 Preview, Video Highlights, MVP Announced Today, Playoff Update & More

- Before previewing the game tonight above are the highlights from Wednesday's dramatic come from behind overtime victory which was still being talked about yesterday. A demoralizing loss for Tulsa and a real character win for the Americans. The top video is the winning overtime goal only. The second video is all of the goals scored in the game.

- It is game day as the Allen Americans take on the Tulsa Oilers tonight at the BOK Center in Tulsa looking to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best of seven series. It is a must win for the Oilers if they want to get back in the series.

- For Tulsa to win tonight they will have to avoid going toe to toe with Allen in a wide open offensive game and do a better job in their defensive zone especially when the teams are playing at even strength. Allen has outshot Tulsa 97-51 in the first two games and has an 11-6 goal advantage. You can't be successful if you are being outshot by an average of 23 shots per game.

- Another key to success for the Oilers is to stay out of the penalty box. While both teams have done well on the power play with Allen going 3-13 (23.1%) and Tulsa 2-9 (22.2%) it is the Oilers that have taken more penalties. Tulsa has 45 penalty minutes in the two games while Allen, who was the most penalized team in the ECHL during the regular season, has only 28 penalty minutes in the first two games.


- Riley Gill is expected to start in goal for Allen. Kevin Carr has been the workhorse for the Oilers and has faced a lot of shots in the first two playoff games. With that kind of pressure it makes you wonder if he will be able to hold up playing four games in five days or will backup goalie Andy Iles get a start.


- Leading scorers for Allen in the first two games were Spencer Asuchak with six points (3 goals 3 assists), Konrad Abeltshauser with five points (2 goals 3 assists) and Chad Costello with four points (1 goal 3 assists). Drew Fisher has led the way for Tulsa with three points (3 goals 0 assists) all coming in the first period on Wednesday.

Spencer Asuchak leads the Americans and ECHL with six playoff points - photo by Lauren Lyssy

- The on ice officials scheduled tonight are referee Micheal McCreary (#7) and linesmen Mitch Macpherson (#48) and Tyler Landman (#80).


- For those going to the games in Tulsa there are two activities being organized for Allen fans on both nights. The first is a picture on the ice. Report to the box office entrance at the "vendor check-in table" no later than 5:45 and the staff will take everyone on the ice for pictures. The second activity is called the "High Five Tunnel" where you can watch warmups and high five the players as they leave the ice after warmups. This will be a good time for all Allen fans to wish the guys good luck and show them how many made the trip from Allen. Everyone needs to meet at the fan assistance center in the Grand Lobby 45 minutes before the game which starts at 7:35 p.m. and the Tulsa staff will take you to the tunnel. It is not too late to get reduced price tickets for tonight or Saturday. Just call (918-632-7825) or email (todd@tulsaoilers.com) Todd Streets and he will hook you up.
UPDATE: If anyone is interested in suite tickets Todd has them available for both games. Cost is $50 and if you already have a ticket you can credit that amount toward the suite tickets. Contact Todd if interested.



OTHER COMMENTS

- Two more playoff series got under way last night and in both cases the lower seeds won on the road. In the North Division the #1 seeded Toledo Walleye lost to the #4 seeded Wheeling Nailers 3-2 and in the Pacific Division #2 seed Ontario lost at home to #3 seed Colorado 4-2. Darryl "Booter" Bootland was the hero for the Eagles with two goals. The Colorado press release said it all, "Eagles, Bootland Fly Through Reign, 4-2."


- The last four playoff series get underway tonight with Quad City at Rapid City, Reading at South Carolina, Orlando at Florida and Kalamazoo at Reading. Playing their second game will be Idaho at Utah and Colorado at Ontario.


- The ECHL Goaltender of the Year was announced yesterday and the award went to Jeff Jakaitis  of the South Carolina Stingrays. Jakaitis also won the award in 2011-2012 playing for Gwinnett and last year with the Stingrays. Jeff set three ECHL records during the season as he posted four consecutive shutouts, went 321:46 without allowing a goal and won 16 consecutive games.


- The ECHL saves the best for last when it comes to the post season awards and that is the MVP award which will be announced today. The post season awards have been a real blessing for Chad Costello. In the last week he has won Player of the Month, been named to the All-ECHL first team, won the Sportsman Award, won the Leading Scorer award and finished third for the Plus Performer of the Year Award. It would be a fitting end to a phenomenal regular season for Chad to be named as the ECHL MVP. A humble guy who always gives credit to his teammates for any individual recognition he gets. As Ben Crenshaw would say, I have a good feeling about today and as an Allen fan Chad is deserving of the MVP award.


DID YOU KNOW: Allen has won the last six games played against Tulsa (four regular season and two playoff games). In those six games Allen has outscored Tulsa 30-12.