Allen vs Alaska Game Preview, Garrett Clarke Wins Championship, Schaafsma's Hot Streak & More

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they take on the Alaska Aces for the fourth and final time this season. The first three times these teams met was in Alaska where Allen lost twice. Here are the results of those games:

February 10 -  Allen 1   Alaska 5
February 11 -  Allen 6   Alaska 2
February 12 -  Allen 4   Alaska 5

- Cumulatively, Alaska has outscored Allen 12-11 and out shot them 93-64. The one advantage for the Americans is the power play. Allen was 4-10 (40%)  and Alaska was 1-13 (7.7%).

Here is how Allen and Alaska match up:

                                  ALLEN                                ALASKA

Team Record              36-21-3-2 (77 points)            23-33-4-3 (53 points)
Division Ranking         2nd - Central                        5th -West
Conference Ranking   4th - Western                       13th - Western
League Ranking         8th                                         26th
Home Record             19-7-2-1                                14-14-1-1
Road Record             17-14-1-1                               9-19-3-2
Last Ten Games         7-2-0-1                                  3-5-2-0
Last Game                 6-3 L (Missouri)                     5-1 L (Wichita)
Goals For                  193                                         168
Goals Against            178                                        210
Power Play                21.5% (51/237)                      16.5% (34/206)
Penalty Kill                 86.9% (32/245)                      82.4% (44/222)
Most PIM's                 Stevenson (93)                       Hunt (234)
Leading Scorer          Costello (22-65-89)                 Sivak (18-38-56)



-  Here is how Allen and Alaska rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:

Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 5th (16.47) - Alaska 6th (15.83)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 7th (23.11) - Alaska 22nd (2.67)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 13th (2.87) - Alaska 24th (3.33)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 26th (28.06) - Alaska 2nd (33.89)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 15th (29.85) - Alaska 2nd (33.08)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 2nd (21.5%) - Alaska 15th (16.5%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 2nd (86.9%) - Alaska 25th (80.4%)

- If you look at the stats above Alaska is #2 in shots "for" per game while Allen is #26 but if you look at goals scored Alaska is #22 and Allen is #7. The reason for this disparity is the fact Allen has one of the best shooting percentages in the league (11.0%) while Alaska has one of the worst (7.9%).

- Whether you look at head to head, overall or home versus road statistics, Allen has a sizable advantage on special teams. As always, this could be a key to the game tonight.

- Chad Costello has an assist in nine straight games and has 15 assists in those nine games. The nine game streak is the longest in the ECHL this season.

- Allen plays Alaska tonight with a depleted roster with Rumpel, Hanson and Pinkston in the AHL, Asuchak serving a suspension and Gens, Crane and Courtnall all out with injuries. "Next man up" is certainly the motto of the day.

- When Allen played the three games in Alaska there were 16 roughing penalties and six fighting major penalties called. One incident that wasn't called a penalty was when the Aces tough guy Garet Hunt, who leads the ECHL in penalty minutes (234) and major penalties (16), crossed the red line during warm ups and took a cheap shot at Dyson Stevenson. Don't think the Americans have forgotten that incident. You might want to keep an eye on Hunt (#24) and Reid Halabi (#19) in warm ups and the game. It just might be a good show.


- The referee scheduled tonight is Tyler Puddifant (#28) and the linesmen are Erik Contino (#92) and Brian Bull (#49).


OTHER COMMENTS

- A couple of games to keep an eye on tonight in the race for the fourth seed in the Western Conference are Wheeling at Cincinnati and Utah at Colorado. Currently the battle for the fourth seed has Allen #4, Cincinnati #5, Utah #6 and Colorado #7.

- Congrats to Garrett Clarke as his team (DVTK Jegesmedvek) won the MOL Liga championship. MOL Liga is a nine team league with teams from Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Garrett arrived in Europe in time to play six regular season games (1 goal 3 assists) and all eight playoff playoff games.

Another championship for Garrett Clarke - top row third from right

- Jamie Schaafsma had a goal last night as his division leading Fort Wayne Komets beat Evansville 4-0. Jamie has a goal in five straight games, eight of the last nine, and 13 of the last 17 games. Jamie always gets hot at the end of the season but he has been on fire lately. Coach Martinson had some nice things to say about Jamie on his radio show on Wednesday. "Schaafsma has really been heating up for Fort Wayne. He has been like he always has in the second half of the season. He is probably leading the Komets in scoring in the second half. I still stay in touch with him. He is one of the favorite players I have had over the 20 years I have coached. One of the things we missed the first half of this season was Jamie Schaafsma, not only on the ice but in the locker room. One of the things I took for granted is we had a lot of guys here over the past and I think Jamie was the most vocal guy in what it takes to play here and what we were looking for. I could have done a better job of dealing with the younger players in the absence of Schaafsma this year. Jamie did a really good job as captain here. Even though he wasn't the captain the first couple of years he was a veteran guy and he was never afraid to speak his mind to me and his opinion was one I trusted and listened to because I respected the way that he played." 


QUESTION OF THE DAY: Thanks to Dave for today's question.

Q: When players are suspended by the ECHL or AHL and then called up to the AHL or assigned to the ECHL before they have served their suspension, does the other league honor the suspension?
A: Thanks to Joe Ernst, ECHL Vice President of Hockey Operations for the answer, "As far as honoring them, we both (AHL & ECHL) look at any incident if a players is called up or sent down and determine what the infraction is and we both make our own decision on honoring the suspension. If a player is suspended here (ECHL) and called up, he will sit the remaining games here when he comes back. We have honored guys being sent down as well and have them miss games if a suspension happens to be there. It is a case by case scenario." Bottom line is there is no rule.



DID YOU KNOW: Four of Allen's five top scorers when they played three games in Alaska last month will not be in the line up tonight (Chris Crane, Spencer Asuchak, Aaron Gens, Greger Hanson). These four players scored eight of the 11 goals scored by Allen in the three games and 17 of 30 points. The one top scorer that will be in the line up is Chad Costello who had one goal and five assists against Alaska.

Allen Loses to Missouri 6-3, Martinson's Post Game Comments, NHL Slew-footing Video & More

The Allen Americans played one of their worst games of the year against Missouri last night in a 6-3 defeat. It was exactly one week after the Americans played their best game of the year against Missouri in a 4-2 win. Here are the facts about the game lat night:

- The six goals allowed were the most allowed to Missouri all season (seven games)
- Missouri out shot Allen (35-32) for only the second time in seven games
- Allen allowed two power play goals to Missouri for the first time all season
- Missouri scored four goals in the second period, the most allowed by Allen all season
- Allen took a 2-0 lead and lost the game for the first time all season

- Allen is now 2-5 against the Mavericks with four games left to play. In the critical six games against Missouri at the end of the season they are 1-1 so still  time to show they can keep up with the best team in the league. Allen will play Missouri four straight games with two at home (March 26 & 27) and two on the road (April 1 & 2). It will be critical to get at least a split in these four games.

- The goal scorers for Allen were Matt Register with his first in Allen, Gary Steffes (18), and Eric Roy (12).

- Allen will practice today to get ready for Alaska at home on Friday, a road trip to Tulsa on Saturday and then Tulsa at home on Sunday.


STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME INTERVIEW

- I would probably call and ask for a refund on that game. I don't think we beat them at anything. We started out good by getting shots from the point but we didn't skate, we weren't finishing checks and we weren't skilled.

- It was a painful game to watch. I told the guys we play the Mavericks five times, they are the first place team, they come into our rink and we play them like that. It is embarrassing to sit behind the bench and watch it.

- It makes me wonder about some of our players who are doing nothing. Not generating anything, not forechecking, not hitting, not carrying the puck, not winning battles for puck and not making plays.

- The bottom line is they came into our rink and outworked us. That is why they are in first place.

- Jamie Murray was good in goal again in the third period. He has signed for next season with San Jose but will return to school next week. He has completed his collegiate eligibility.

- Tulsa should be desperate this weekend as they are fighting to make the playoffs. But we should have some players playing desperate to stay here and make the playoff roster.

- I signed a guy today that is 6' 3" and 250 pounds and can hit like a truck.  He is big and mean and he led his college team in scoring in their recently completed playoffs. He will be here Sunday but not sure yet if he will play.

- Chris Crane is having surgery and will be out three or four weeks.


PHOTOS OF THE GAME:

It is always great to see the photos from all of the Allen photographers. Here is a sample from the game last night:

 These are courtesy of Kimberly Sauer:

Thanks to Dianne Webster for the following photos:

The following photos are courtesy of Lauren Lyssy:

OTHER COMMENTS

- With their win over Allen the Mavericks have now clinched the Central Division title. Missouri needs 18 points in their remaining 12 games to break the ECHL all time record for most points in a season.

- Even with the loss to Missouri the Americans retain a six point lead in the battle for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Here are the current standings with games remaining.

77 points - Allen (10 games remaining)
71 points - Utah (10 games)
70 points - Cincinnati (12 games)
67 points - Colorado (11 games)
64 points - Quad City (12 games

- Came across this video about Josh Hepditch who played in Allen in 2011-12. Josh made a decision when he was still playing junior hockey that he wanted to be a coach. This video talks about that journey. Make sure to notice the coach standing next to Josh on the bench as that is his assistant coach and Allen Americans all time leading scorer, Bruce Graham. http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=830384


QUESTION OF THE DAY: Still lots of questions about the Spencer Asuchak six game suspension for slew-footing and exactly what that means. Here is a video produced by the NHL which helps explain the difference between tripping and slew-footing.

DID YOU KNOW: The Missouri Mavericks have 99 points with 12 games remaining in the season with a good chance of entering the ECHL record for most points in the season. Here are the top five from the record book:

116 points - Louisiana IceGators (2001-02)

115 points - Cincinnati Cyclones (2007-08)

115 points - Texas Wildcaters (2007-08)

113 points - Alaska Aces (2005-06)

112 points - Las Vegas Wranglers (2005-06)

Allen vs Missouri Preview, Martinson's Comments on Asuchak Suspension, Roster Update & More

Attended practice yesterday and the big topic of conversation was the suspensions handed down to Spencer Asuchak and C.J. Ludwig for penalties that occurred last Wednesday in a game between Allen and Missouri. Asuchak received a six game suspension (he has already missed two games) and C.J. Ludwig received a four game suspension (he has already missed one game). The two teams play again tonight at the Allen Event Center.

I had the chance to ask coach Martinson about the suspensions handed out by the ECHL to Asuchak and Ludwig and as you might imagine he was not in agreement with the decision. A couple of things stood out about his comments to me. I asked coached Martinson if he thought this would have been an issue if Jesse Root had not been injured, given the fact that the referee called a two minute tripping penalty during the game. He emphatically said nothing would have happened had Root not been injured. The other point Martinson emphasized was the league has made their decision and it is time to move on. His focus is on winning the game tonight against Missouri and not on what happened last Wednesday.  With that said, here are Steve Martinson's comments to me:

- You have one guy (Asuchak) who has never been suspended. They called it a slew foot but to me it looks like he just pushed him over his skate. There is no follow through and the guy actually lands on his stomach. On most slew foots the player lands on his back. Asuchak is 6'6" so he has a lot of leverage when he pushes him over his leg. It was unfortunate Root got hurt but there was no intent to injure.
  
- I looked at Ludwig's hit and he knows what clipping is and was called for a clip earlier in the game and then he did it again. He went after Arseneau's knees and then intentionally hit Gens in the knees.

- When I asked about the criteria for suspensions Martinson said the only thing he can figure out is Root is out for the year and it is possible for Gens to return so that had something to do with the length of the suspensions.

- I joined Tommy Daniels when he interviewed Coach Martinson yesterday for a live radio show. Tommy will replay that interview as part of his pregame show tonight. There are many topics covered in the interview but it starts off with Tommy asking about the Asuschak and Ludwig suspensions. This interview is definitely worth a listen. It will be live streamed on 107.3 FM so bring a radio to the game and give it a listen. If you are not going to be at the game you can go the the Americans web site and click on the listen live button.



ALLEN VS MISSOURI GAME PREVIEW

Allen's record against Missouri now stands at 2-4 with five more games remaining. After tonight the teams play four straight games (2 home 2 away) between March 26 and April 2.

 

- Here is how Allen and Missouri match up:

                                    ALLEN                              MISSOURI

Team Record:             36-20-3-2 (77 points)          46-8-3-2 (97 points)
Division Ranking:        2nd Central                        1st Central
Conference Ranking:  4th Western                        1st Western
League Ranking:        8th                                       1st
Home Record             19-6-2-1                               27-3-0-1
Road Record              17-14-1-1                             19-5-3-1
Last Ten Games         5-3-1-1                                 7-1-1-1
Last Game:                 3-2 Win (Wichita)                 3-1 Win (Tulsa)
Goals For:                   190                                      200
Goals Against:            172                                      127
Power Play:                 21.2% (49/231)                   16.9% (42/248)
Penalty Kill:                 87.4% (30/238)                    86.5% (28/208)
Most PIM's                  Stevenson (91)                    C. J. Ludwig (71)
Leading Scorers:        Costello (22-64-86)              Root (26-33-59)


-  Here is how Allen and Missouri rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:

Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 4th (16.39) - Missouri 26th (11.31)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 5th (3.11) - Missouri 2nd (3.39)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 13th (2.82) - Missouri 1st (2.15)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 26th (28.00) - Missouri 23rd (28.69)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 15th (20.28) - Missouri 3rd (27.44)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 2nd (21.2%) - Missouri 12th (16.9%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 1st (87.4%) - Missouri 4th (86.5%)


- The stats above show why the Americans always have their work cut out for them when they play Missouri. Allen has trouble generating shots (ranked 26th) while Missouri doesn't allow many shots (ranked 3rd). When you play a team like Missouri that ranks #2 in goals scored and #1 in goals allowed it is a tall task. Another way to look at this is team plus/minus. Allen is a -17 while Missouri is +282.

- Despite the losing record against Missouri the Americans have out shot the Mavericks in five of their six head to head match ups. Allen has only one win in the last four times these teams have played but they out shot Missouri 138-116 in those four games.


- Special teams are always important but when you have two teams at the opposite ends of the spectrum, when it comes to penalties, it could be the deciding factor in the game. Allen has 1000 penalty minutes while Missouri has just 667. Allen has taken 50 major penalties (mostly for fighting) while Missouri has taken just 17. This disparity has not shown up in the six games these teams have played against each other. Allen has 82 penalty minutes while the Mavericks have 108 penalty minutes.

- Allen has the #2 ranked power play in the ECHL but has struggled against Missouri. The Americans are just 3-24 (12.5%) on the power play while Missouri is 4-25 (16.0%).  If either team can get an advantage on special teams it might make the difference in the game.

- Another key to the game is who scores first. In the previous six games the team that scored first won five times.


- Officials scheduled tonight are referee Mike Sheehan (#11) and linesmen Alex Black (#63) and Erik Contino (#92).


ROSTER CHANGES

- Chris Crane was a full participant in practice and should be in the line up .

- Justin Courtnall did not practice and though he is listed day to day coach Martinson does not expect him to be in the lineup the rest of the week.

- Spencer Asuchak will be serving the final four games of his suspension so will miss the game tonight, Friday against Alaska and home and home games against Tulsa on Saturday and Sunday.

- Jamie Murray will be in Allen through the weekend and will then return to school. Riley Gill will get the start tonight but Jamie will get another start this weekend. A goalie will be assigned from San Jose once Murray departs. No word on who that goalie will be but you would have to assume the most likely of the three goalies currently on the San Jose Barracuda roster (Aaron Dell, Troy Groesnick, Joel Rumpel) to be assigned to Allen would be Joel Rumpel.

- Greger Hanson is still in Utica (AHL) and is not expected to return to Allen this week.


OTHER COMMENTS

- In the strange stat category Steve Martinson coached his 1400 game on Sunday. I went to the Dallas Stars game last night and saw on social media Lindy Ruff was coaching in his 1400 game.

- There were just two games in the ECHL last night as Alaska beat Wichita 4-2 and Rapid City beat Colorado 5-2.

- With eight home games remaining Allen's average attendance is 4591 which is 500 more per game than last season.

- If you are not a regular reader of the blog you can see all of the videos I have recorded by going to my YouTube channel. You can find it by googling "Allen Americans Blog YouTube channel" or going to YouTube and entering "Allen Americans Blog" in the search box.



QUESTION OF THE DAY: Thanks to Chris for today's question.

Q: What is the story behind Chad Costello wearing his white jersey last season without an "i" in Americans.
A: Here is the story of the missing "i" directly from Chad Costello.

The famous Chad Costello  "Amercans" jersey from last season - photo by scenebykimberly.com

DID YOU KNOW:  Allen is the second place team in the Central Division with 77 points, trailing first place Missouri by 20 points. The 77 points are the second most points in the Western Conference. Allen has more points than Midwest Division leader Fort Wayne (75 points) and West Division leader Idaho (75 points). 

Roster Update, Rick Gosselin's Article About Chad Costello, New Arena For Gens' Hometown

It is back to practice for the Allen Americans today as they get ready for a busy four games in five days. Home games on Wednesday (Missouri) and Friday (Alaska) followed by a trip to Tulsa on Saturday and then back to Allen against Tulsa on Sunday.

- There is nothing new on the roster front. As of last night, the team had not heard from the ECHL concerning the suspension of Spencer Asuchak. In the press release dated March 10 when Spencer was suspended indefinitely, the league indicated he would miss games on March 12 and 13 and any further discipline would be announced on Monday (March 14). The delay is probably not good news. The announcement should be out sometime this morning. UPDATE: Spencer Asuchak was suspended for six games (he has already missed two) and C.J. Ludwig was suspended for four games (he has missed one).

 - Justin Courtnall  and Chris Crane are day to day and could be in the line up against Missouri. No decision has been made pending the results of medical tests.

- With Justin Courtnall and Aaron Gens recently missing games because of injuries, the only player who has played in all 61 Allen games is Chad Costello. Chad has set many records since joining the Americans that will probably never be broken. His single season points record (125) is 37 more than second place Colton Yellow Horn who had 88 points in 2010-11. His single season assists record (84) is 29 more than second place. In less than two years with the team, Chad is already the career leader in assists, second in points and fourth in goals. With all of the scoring records, maybe the most impressive record that Chad has set is he has never missed a game since joining the Allen Americans. He is the true ironman of the team.

- Rick Gosselin has a great article about Chad in today's Dallas Morning News about his amazing passing skills. Front page of the sports section. Here is the story: http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/other-sports/moresports/2016/03/14/gosselin-chad-costellos-elite-passing-skills-americans-coach-saying-shares-quality-hall-famer-adam-oates

- As the regular season winds down it is so important to have your team playing well going into the playoffs. A look at the standings show some teams rising, some falling and some maintaining excellent play. Here are some examples:

Manchester, Adirondack, Florida, Utah - Good teams playing poorly, just four wins in last 10 games.

Toledo, South Carolina - Good teams playing well, eight wins in last 10 games.

Reading, Wheeling, Cincinnati, Colorado - Teams on the rise, seven wins in last 10 games.

- Inter-divisional play has been a little bit of a misnomer for the Central Division this season. There have been plenty of games outside the division but they have been almost exclusively between teams in the Western Conference. Here is the record for the Central Division against the other divisions.

Midwest Division - 29-10-3-2
West Division - 28-26-5-0
South Division - 1-3-0-0
North Division - 0-0-0-0
East Division - 0-0-0-0

- Here is a story with a great ending about Aaron Gens and his hometown. The story is part of an article written by John Hamre that appeared recently at letsplayhockey.com. 

Located on the border with Canada, just southeast of Lake of the Woods, Baudette, Minn., is a community of approximately 1,200 people. Baudette, also referred to as the “Walleye Capital of the World,” lies on the Rainy River nestled in the north woods between Warroad and International Falls.

Baudette residents hold their hockey tradition proudly. The town hosted the first editions of Hockey Day Minnesota (2007 and 2008), both on Baudette Bay. Like so many towns in Minnesota, Baudette is proud of its citizens who go on to succeed at higher levels in their chosen sports or paths in life. Current Minnesota Wild defenseman Keith Ballard, former Golden Gopher Jon Waibel and  Divison I hockey-playing brothers Matt (St. Cloud State) and Aaron Gens (Alaska) all consider Baudette their hometown, as did former Gopher and 1972 Olympic silver medalist Wally Olds.

Today, the Baudette Ice Arena is in dire need of renovation. The arena is where these players grew up playing hockey and so many others continue to do so today through the Lake of the Woods Youth Hockey Association.

This story has a happy ending as Baudette is looking to build a brand new arena, thanks to an anonymous $5 million donation. While the arena will be primarily used for hockey, it would also be rented for other functions. 

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Thanks to Frank for today's question.

Q: Can you provide a breakdown of where all the Allen Americans players are from.
A: This year's team is one of the most geographically dispersed ever when you look at where they grew up. Based on the roster from the team's website, there are players from eight states, five provinces and one from Sweden. Here is the breakdown with the number of players in parenthesis. Michigan (4), Minnesota (3), Texas (2), Massachusetts (2), Iowa (1), Ohio (1), Colorado (1), Missouri (1), Saskatchewan (3), British Columbia (3), Alberta (2), Quebec (1), Ontario (1), Sweden (1).


DID YOU KNOW: In his entire ECHL career which spans 226 games, Chad Costello has averaged over one assist per game. He has 239 assists in 226 games. Of the ECHL's top 150 players all time in assists, only five have averaged over one assist per game.
 

Allen Wins 3-2, Finishes 13-0 Against Wichita, Martinson Comments, Tetrault Story & More

Jamie Murray earned a victory in his first professional game

The Allen Americans extended their home winning streak to 10 games yesterday by beating the Wichita Thunder 3-2. It was the final game of the season between Allen and Wichita and the Americans completed a perfect 13-0 record against the Thunder.

Allen jumped off the a 2-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game on goals by Tristan King (10) and Reid Halabi (1). Wichita spent the rest of the game trying to catch up. The Thunder out shot Allen in all three periods and ended up with a 42-23 shot advantage for the game. Jamie Murray, who was making his first professional start, frustrated the Thunder time and time again.

Tristan King opened the scoring 100 seconds into the game - photo by scenebykimberly.com

Former Allen player Kale Kerbashian got Wichita on the scoreboard in the second period and the Thunder tied the score 2-2 with just 103 seconds remaining in the game. It looked like the great effort by Murray would lead to overtime but just 31 seconds later David Makowski got the game winner on a great pass from Chad Costello. It was Makowski's 12 goal of the season.

Murray had to make a final save as time expired when Kerbashian got the puck off the draw and fired a wrist shot from close range.

Jamie Murray made 40 saves and was named the #2 star of the game - photo by scenebykimberly.com

The Americans have the day off today and will practice tomorrow (Tuesday) in preparation for a game against Missouri on Wednesday. In light of two serious injuries (Allen's Aaron Gens  & Missouri's Jesse Root) in the game against Missouri last Wednesday it will be interesting to see what transpires in this rematch. Spencer Asuchak and C.J. Ludwig who are currently under indefinite suspensions for the plays that ended with the injuries to Gens and Root will hear today how many games they will be suspended. Ludwig has already missed one game and Asuchak has missed two games. Don't expect either of them to be playing on Wednesday.



STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- The three things I liked about that game were the play of the Nick Miglio and Jamie Murray and the Makowski goal after Wichita tied the game at the end.

- Our power play is not good right now (0-3) as we are trying to pass the puck and be cute while passing up good scoring opportunities. So I said to the guys we have to shoot more so we shot some pucks that maybe we should have passed. We are going to have to use video to go over what we are doing.

- We didn't play very well today. The first period was pretty good with the two early goals and we missed several other scoring opportunities but their goalie made some great saves.

- We have to take the good as we got the win. We will take the day off tomorrow and then get ready for Missouri.

- I am working on some additional roster changes as we approach the playoffs. I had a guy that I was sure was coming but he has an agent who has slowed things down looking for an AHL deal. All I can say is I am talking to some people and working on some stuff.

- Utica traded for a couple of players and are expecting guys coming back from injury. If that happens I see Hanson returning.

- The doctor is seeing Chris Crane and Justin Courtnall tomorrow and we will find out if they will be available on Wednesday.

- Jamie Murray is just here for the week and then he is headed back to school (Babson College). I thought he played great. I said to the guys before the game let's not leave it to a guy playing his first professional game from a Division III school to win the game. It is a big jump from that level of college hockey to the ECHL. But that is what we did, we left it to Murray to win the game for us and he came through. Murray will get another game next weekend before he returns to school.

- We will be getting a goalie from San Jose once Murray heads back to school.

- It was good to get a goal from the third line. Nick Miglio was showing good speed and some nice moves and Reid Halabi got his first goal. I am not happy with Reid's penalty at the end. If he is not happy about something another player did to him, take it out on the other team, don't go and complain to the referee.

- When congratulated by a fan for his 1400th game as a head coach at his post game press conference, Martinson replied as you might imagine, "Thank you, I don't know what is significant about 1400. I don't remember anyone bringing up 1200 or 1300."

Steve Martinson coached his 1400 game in the win over Wichita - photo by Dianne Webster

OTHER COMMENTS

- Chad Costello had two assists yesterday to extend his streak to eight games where he has had at least one assist. He had 14 assists in those games. Chad now has a 22 points lead in the ECHL scoring race and has more assists (64) than anyone else in the league has points.

- Jamie Murray will only be in Allen for the next week before he heads back to school (Babson College) to finish his education but don't be surprised if you seem him back in Allen in the fall. He just signed with the San Jose Sharks organization so you could see him being assigned to Allen next season. In addition to his numerous hockey awards in college, Jamie was also academic all conference and a finalist for the hockey Humanitarian Award.  In case you were wondering, Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts established in 1919. Its central focus is on entrepreneurship education.

- In their last six games Allen is averaging 4.83 goals per game.  

- With their fourth straight win Allen has stretched their lead for the fourth seed in the Western Conference to six points over Utah. Here are the current point totals with games remaining for those battling for the fourth seed:

77 points: Allen (11 games remaining)
71 points: Utah (10 games)
70 points: Cincinnati (12 games)
67 points: Colorado (13 games)
64 points: Quad City (12 games)


- If the playoffs started today here is how it would look:

#1 Missouri vs #8 Quad City
#4 Allen vs #5 Utah
The winners of these seven game series would play in the second round.

#2 Fort Wayne vs #7 Colorado
#3 Idaho vs #6 Cincinnati
The winner of these seven game series would play in the second round.


- Congrats to Joel Rumpel who celebrates his 25th birthday today.


- Came across this story yesterday about Daniel Tetrault who won the only professional championship in his storied career in Allen in 2013-14. Daniel has always talked about becoming a coach when his playing days were over. While he is no longer playing professionally he is playing senior hockey back home in Manitoba. You might enjoy this update story about Daniel Tetrault: http://www.wheatkings.com/article/alumni-profile-dan-tetrault



QUESTION OF THE DAY: Thanks to Phil for today's question.

Q: How does Nolan Bowker handle the dual responsibilities of equipment manager and back up goalie when the team plays on the road and he has no help like he does at home games.
A: Here is Nolan with the answer.

 



DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans are tough to beat when they get a lead. Check out these records for this season:

27-2-1-1: When scoring first
19-1-1-0: When leading after the first period
26-1-0-1: When leading after the second period

Allen Wins 6-3, Game Recap, Martinson Comments, Jersey Auction Results, A Blogger's Trifecta

 #1 Star Dyson Stevenson - 3 goals, 1 assist and a +4

Led by Dyson Stevenson's hat trick the Allen Americans defeated the Wichita Thunder 6-3 last night before a crowd of 4729 at the Allen Event Center (AEC). The win extended Allen's home winning streak to nine games and kept intact the Americans perfect record against Wichita this season which now stands at 12-0. They will play for the 13th and final time this afternoon at the AEC with a 4:05 puck drop.


Goal scorers for Allen were Gary Steffes (17), Stevenson (6,7,8), Tristan King (9), and David Makowski (11). You can check out all of the video highlights at the Rewind Section of the ECHL website: http://www.echl.com/

- It is always a good sign when Allen scores first as they did last night when Steffes got his goal at the 7:54 mark of the first period. The Americans are the best in the ECHL when scoring first. They get 90% of the available points when they score first. That translates to a record 26-2-1-1 for the season.

- Wichita tied the score 1-1 on a power play goal at the 12:23 mark of the first period but then the Americans reeled off three straight goals in a span of two minutes which included two goals by Dyson Stevenson just ten seconds apart. Allen took a 4-2 lead into the first intermission and never led by less than two goals the rest of the game.

- It was a good win for Allen given the fact they were missing Spencer Asuchak (suspension), Chris Crane (injury) and Justin Courtnall (injury). All three will be out of the lineup this afternoon as well. 

- The one possible line up change this afternoon could be in goal. It will be interesting to see if rookie Jamie Murray, who just arrived in Allen having signed with the San Jose Sharks on Friday, will get his first professional start.



 STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- It was a good win tonight and we had the opportunity to give some guys more ice time with Asuchak, Crane and Courtnall out.

- On Wichita's power play goal they had a guy in front of Gill so he was screened. Riley played a good game tonight as he has since he has returned to the lineup.

- Matt Register looked real good for his first game. He will be a great addition to the line up. He has excellent vision on the ice.

- Nick Miglio did well for himself. He is a Texas guy we brought in to take a look at and with all of the missing players he had a chance to play. He skates well and drew a couple of penalties.

- I am hoping to have another player signed tomorrow and he should be here next week if all goes well. A college player just finishing his collegiate career. A big, tough forward that has some skill.


OTHER COMMENTS

- It was good see Aaron Gens at the game so soon after breaking his ankle. Aaron mentioned he was still in some pain, especially when he doesn't keep the ankle elevated but he wanted to see the guys play and support the team.

- The hat trick for Dyson Stevenson was his first as a pro.

- Heard from Tommy Daniels on his radio broadcast that today will be game 1400 for coach Steve Martinson as a head coach. Congrats!

- Quad City beat Cincinnati last night and moved into the #8 playoff seed with Tulsa falling out of the playoffs. Tulsa was idle last night but has lost seven straight games.

- It was a great night for "Barry the Blogger" in addition to the Allen win. Rick Gosselin from the Dallas Morning News was at the game as he is a big supporter of the Allen Americans. Rick has been kind enough to share his many years of experience by answering my numerous questions on the do's and don'ts of writing a blog. His advice has been invaluable. During the first intermission I jumped on the radio with Wichita broadcaster Jason Mals and talked hockey with him. Jason has also been a mentor to me as he reached out when I first started writing the blog and didn't have a clue what I was doing, to provide advice and counsel. Finally, Tommy Daniels invited me to do color commentary during the third period while his sidekick, Maurice Fitzgerald did the play by play. Tommy was feeling a little under the weather. I wouldn't even have a blog if it wasn't for Tommy Daniels. It was his idea and prodding that got the whole thing started four years ago and without his support it just would not have happened. Bottom line is I hit the trifecta last night getting to spend time with Gosselin, Mals and Daniels who have all played a major part in whatever the blog has accomplished. Thanks to all three for their willingness to go above and beyond to share what they have learned as professionals with this amateur. 


JERSEY AUCTION

The Americans wore specialty jerseys last night for the JDRF Diabetes Foundation that were auctioned after the game. Here are the results:

$1500 - Chad Costello
$950 - Gary Steffes
$850 - Dyson Stevenson
$850 - Nick Miglio
$750 - Justin Courtnall
$750 - Vincent Arseneau
$750 - Joel Rumpel
$700 - Greger Hanson
$700 - Aaron Gens
$650 - Spencer Asuchak
$600 - Reggie Traccitto
$550 - Chris Crane
$550 - Matt Register
$550 - Mike Gunn
$550 - Tristan King
$500 - David Makowski
$500 - Rick Pinkston
$500 - Jacob Poe
$500 - Eric Roy
$500 - Danny Federico
$450 - Casey Pierro-Zabotel
$450 - Reid Halabi
$450 - Nolan Bowker
$350 - Daniel Doremus

Tommy Daniels interviews Camden Costello about his dad's $1500 jersey auction

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Thanks to Jeff for today's question.

Q: How are referees graded by the ECHL?
A: Supervisory officials attend numerous games during the season to observe first hand all referees as well as linesmen. They have a system of evaluation and use that info to provide feedback to the officials. The accumulation of supervisor evaluations also serves as a source of information for training and education purposes.



DID YOU KNOW: Wichita seems to always play their opponents close even if they lose. For the season they have gone to overtime/shootout 19 times which is more than any other team in the ECHL. Wichita is 3-6 in overtimes and 4-6 in shootouts. Seven of Wichita's 13 victories this season have come in extra time (overtime or shootout).

Allen vs Wichita Game Preview, Goalie Jamie Murray & Forward Nick Migilio Added to Roster & More

The Allen Americans enter their home game tonight against the Wichita Thunder with some pretty lofty streaks on the line. The Americans have not lost in regulation in their last 12 homes games, they have won eight in a row at home and are a perfect 11-0 against Wichita this season.

- Despite their poor record (14-33-6-6) the Thunder have been playing good hockey recently and arrive in Allen with a three game winning streak. Last weekend Wichita won three road games against Missouri, Quad City, and Evansville.

- Adding to the challenge for Allen is the fact they will be missing Spencer Asuchak (suspended), Aaron Gens (injury) and Justin Courtnall (injury) as well as three players (Greger Hanson, Rick Pinkston, Joel Rumpel) who are currently called up the the AHL.

- To provide help until he gets some forwards back, coach Martinson has signed forward Nick Miglio to an amateur tryout agreement. Nick is a Texas product (San Antonio) who just finished his collegiate career at Division III Utica College. Nick was the third leading scorer on his team this season with 16 points (7 goals 9 assists) in 27 games. He led the team in plus/minus with a +8.

Forward Nick Miglio

- Allen will also have another goalie available tonight. Jamie Murray inked a contract with the San Jose Sharks yesterday and was immediately sent to Allen. Murray just finished his collegiate career at Division III Babson College. Here are the opening couple of sentences from the press release issued by Babson College. "After cementing himself as one of the top goaltenders in Division III history while helping lead Babson College men's ice hockey program to a pair of Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East titles and two NCAA tournament berths, senior Jamie Murray (Scituate, Mass.) signed with the San Jose Sharks organization of the NHL on Friday. After inking the deal in San Jose on Friday, Murray headed to Allen, Texas, to join the Sharks' ECHL franchise, the Allen Americans. Here is the complete press release with Jamie's stats and comments from his coach: http://www.babsonathletics.com/sports/m-hockey/2015-16/releases/201603120drp1h

Goalie Jamie Murray

 

By almost any statistical comparison Allen should be the favorite to win the game tonight. In their 11 head to head games the Americans have out scored Wichita 44-25 and dominated on special teams. Allen is 13-53 (24.5%) on the power play while Wichita is 3-44 (6.8%).


-  Here is a comparison between Allen and Wichita:

                                     ALLEN                               WICHITA

Team Record              34-20-3-2 (73 points)             14-33-6-6 (40 points)
Division Ranking         2nd - Central                         4th - Central
Conference Ranking   4th - Western                        14th - Western
League Ranking         9th                                          28th
Home Record             17-6-2-1                                 7-14-3-4
Road Record             17-14-1-1                                7-19-3-2
Last Ten Games         5-3-1-1                                   4-2-2-2
Last Game                 4-2 L (Missouri)                      4-2 W (Evansville)
Goals For                  181                                         122
Goals Against            167                                         203
Power Play                21.4% (48/224)                       9.5% (22/232)
Penalty Kill                 87.4% (29/230)                      85.1% (41/275)
Most PIM's                 Stevenson (89)                       Milan (116)
Leading Scorer          Costello (22-59-81)                 Kerbashian (13-21-34)



-  Here is how Allen and Wichita rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:

Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 3rd (16.44) - Wichita 5th (15.81)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 11th (3.07) - Wichita 28th (2.07)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 13th (2.83) - Wichita 27th (3.44)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 25th (27.97) - Wichita 26th (27.80)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 13th (29.92) - Wichita 18th (31.05)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 1st (21.4%) - Wichita 28th (9.5%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 1st (87.4%) - Wichita 11th (85.1%)


- Allen has had at least one power play goal in eight of the 11 games they have played against Wichita  while holding the Thunder scoreless on the power play in eight of the 11 games. If the Americans can continue that domination they should win tonight.


- If you are looking for who might be the hero tonight for Allen based on head to head scoring you have a lot of choices.  As usual Chad Costello leads in assists (15) and points (20). Chris Crane leads in goals with eight. Costello, Crane, Makowski, Steffes and Arseneau are all averaging a point a game or higher when playing against Wichita

- For Wichita, watch out for Kale Kerbashian as he always plays well against Allen. Since joining Wichita, Kale has eight points (4 goal 4 assists)  in eight games against Allen. Kale had a hat trick against the Americans in Allen on February 27.

 
- Officials scheduled for tonight's game are Frederic Leblanc (#25) and linesmen Mitch Macpherson (#48) and Brian Bull (#49).



OTHER COMMENTS

- Came across this story about the history of the Alaska Aces which is a good read. Check it out: http://www.news-sentinel.com/sports/komets/Despite-challenges--remote-Alaska-is-ECHL-cornerstone?utm_source=Tao%20of%20Sports&utm_campaign=c0253e2fbe-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2_21_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_822aaf75ca-c0253e2fbe-80365201

- The race for fourth seed and home ice in the first round of the playoffs in the Western Conference continues to tighten. Cincinnati beat Quad City and Colorado beat Utah last night while Allen was idle. The same teams play again tonight while Allen is taking on Wichita. Here are the standings for fourth seed along with games remaining:
73 points: Allen (13 games remaining)
70 points: Cincinnati (14 games)
69 points: Utah (11 games)
67 points: Colorado (14 games

- Spencer Asuchak will miss both games this weekend against Wichita and should find out on Monday if he will be suspended for more than two games. Asuchak was suspended by the league for slew-footing Missouri's Jesse Root in the same game Missouri's C.J. Ludwig was suspended for clipping Aaron Gens. Both Gens and Root sustained injuries that will keep them out of the lineup for a long period of time, if not the rest of the season. Because of the seriousness of the injuries you can expect the suspensions will be longer than two games for both Asuchak and Ludwig when they are announced on Monday.



QUESTION OF THE DAY: Thanks to my lovely wife (Nancy) for today's question.

Q: I feel sorry for our goalie when the players don't skate down and give him a fist bump after Allen scores a goal. Why do they do it sometimes but not all of the time?
A: Thanks to J.P. LaFontaine for the explanation.

DID YOU KNOW: Since joining the ECHL, Allen has a record of 20-2-3-3 against the Wichita Thunder but their road record is better than their home record. In Wichita the Americans are 12-1-0-2 and in Allen they are 8-1-3-1.