Practice Update, Why a Series Tied 1-1 is Normal for Allen, Playoff Update and a Look Back

As the Allen Americans prepare for game three of their opening round series with Utah it will be interesting to observe practice today. If you witness enough practices you can tell a lot by the demeanor of the players and coaches on the ice. Would expect today's practice to be more nose to the grindstone, high speed, high octane and serious than most. Will also be looking to see if Zach Hall is participating in any way. Coach Martinson has mentioned there is a chance Hall could play on Wednesday.


- Coach Martinson said several times in his post game meeting with fans after the 4-1 loss on Friday that he was looking at the positive out of the game and that was the third period. If you recall the Americans outshot Utah 17-5, scored their only goal of the game and had numerous other quality scoring chances. It was fascinating to hear fans expressing concerns and Martinson expressing confidence saying at one point it is only one game folks.


- Monitoring social media and message boards over the weekend I noticed the concern about the play of the Americans far outweighed the coach Martinson point of view. So I decided to take a look back at the 14 previous series since Steve Martinson took over in Allen in 2012-13. It is obvious he is 14-0 in those 14 series and has won four straight championships. When Martinson says he is not worried about a 1-1 tie in a seven game series and his team just needs to play up to their capabilities he knows what he is talking about.  Counting the current series with Utah the Americans have taken a 2-0 lead three times in 15 series, the other 12 series were tied 1-1 after two games. Here is the year by year breakdown of each series after two games, the team involved, whether it was 1-1 or 2-0 after two games and the series result.

2017
Utah                     1-1   ???

2016
Idaho                   1-1   4-3
Missouri               1-1   4-2
Fort Wayne          2-0   4-1
Wheeling             1-1   4-2

2015
Tulsa                   2-0   4-1
Rapid City           1-1   4-2
Ontario                1-1   4-3
South Carolina    1-1   4-3

2014
Brampton            2-0   4-1
Quad City           1-1   4-3
Denver               1-1   4-1

2013
Denver              1-1   4-1
Missouri            1-1   4-3
Wichita              1-1   4-3

- If you look at the playoff history above you can see why coach Martinson's approach is to not overreact to 1-1 series as that has been the norm for five years now. One conclusion you can draw from the stats above is when Allen takes a 2-0 series lead it will be a short series for sure. Another interesting stat is of the 15 series above only twice have the first two games been on the road, Missouri in 2016 and Denver in 2014.


- For history to repeat itself Allen is going to have to play well in Utah on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. In a seven games series the better team almost always wins and most unbiased observers would stipulate Allen is the more talented team.


- Who would have guessed after the first two playoff games the top line of Hanson, Asuchak and Costello would not have a goal, just two assists and are a combined -4. The team points leaders after two games with one goal and one assist are Tyler Barnes, Josh Brittain, Joel Chouinard and Wade MacLeod.


- Only three players are on the positive side of the plus/minus stat led by Joel Chouinard at +4. The other two are Josh Brittain (+3) and Wade MacLeod (+1). Including the regular season and playoffs Chouinard is now a hard to believe +51. The next closest on the team is Dyson Stevenson with +26.


- The team totals after two games show Utah has the lead in goals (7-5) but Allen has the lead in shots (62-54). Allen is 1-7 (14.3%) on the power play while Utah is 1-9 (11.1%). Allen has taken 12 penalties for 27 minutes and Utah has taken 10 penalties for 23 minutes.



OTHER COMMENTS

- There is only one ECHL playoff game tonight as Greenville visits South Carolina for game three of their series. The Swamp Rabbits lead the series 2-0.


- The San Jose Sharks lost to the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 at home last night and now trail in that series 2-1. It was the second game in a row the Oilers blanked the Sharks. Here is a recap: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/16/sputtering-offense-late-mistake-costs-sharks-in-game-3-loss-to-oilers/


- The San Jose Barracuda don't open their first round playoff series until Friday against Stockton. In the AHL the first round of the playoffs is a best of five series. The series is a 2-2-1 format and the Barracuda have home ice advantage. Their home games will be Friday, April 21, Sunday April 23 and if necessary Tuesday May 2. The games in Stockton will be Friday April 28 and Sunday April 30. Seems like the pace is a little more leisurely in the AHL which allows for more rest and more weekend dates.


DID YOU KNOW: I am always reminded at this time of year how fortunate I have been as well as all Allen fans since Steve Martinson became coach of the team which coincides with the start of the blog. Many fans won't see four championships in a lifetime let alone four in a row. Even more amazing is all four of the championships were won at home. Here is something I included in the blog back in 2015 as the Americans were on the way to their first Kelly Cup. You may recognize the players in the picture from left to right as Justin Baker, Jamie Schaafsma, Tyler Ludwig and Chris Crane. The only player you can't see in the picture is the goal scorer, Gary Steffes. And for those few of you who wonder about what game this was after reading the info below it was game one of the Western Conference final and Steffes scored 88 seconds into the game. Here is what I has to say back in 2015.  

 I have a media credential and spend plenty of time in the press box as it is a great source of learning, education, dialogue and information from writers, photographers, broadcasters and off ice officials but when it is time to drop the puck I take my place in the seats I have had since 2009 and become a fan. Photographer Kimberly Sauer took the picture below of the guys celebrating the Gary Steffes goal in the 8-2 win on Sunday. If you look in the background you can see Barry the Blogger and friend (Jerry Tucker) as fans. That is me with the yellow headset listening to the voice of the Allen Americans, Tommy Daniels, and joining the "celly" with the red light.

Barry the Blogger and friends join in the "Celly"

  

ECHL Playoff Update, San Jose Barracuda & Sharks Playoff Update, Six ECHL, AHL, NHL Affiliates All in Playoffs

With the Allen Americans idle until Wednesday here is a look at how the ECHL playoffs are progressing thus far. Some interesting matchups and results.


NORTH DIVISION

#1 Adirondack Thunder vs #4 Manchester Monarchs - Because of building availability #4 seed Manchester had the first two games of this series at home. They beat Adirondack 3-1 and 4-2 to take a 2-0 series lead. The bad news for the Monarchs is the final five games of this series will be played in Adirondack. During the regular season Manchester won four of eight games when playing in Adirondack so this series will be interesting to watch. These teams will play Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week.

#2 Reading Royals vs #3 Brampton Beast - These teams played only three times during the regular season with Brampton winning two of the three. This series is the traditional 2-3-2 format and after the first two games in Reading the series is tied 1-1. This has been a tight series thus far with the Royals winning game one 2-1 and the Beast winning game two last night 2-1 in overtime. The loss last night was a tough one for Reading as they scored at the 2:32 mark of the first period and held on to the 1-0 lead until less than four minutes left in the game. It took 14:47 of overtime for Brampton to get the game winner. There will be three games in Brampton this week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.


SOUTH DIVISION

#1 Florida Everblades vs #4 Orlando Solar Bears - Orlando leads this series 2-0 in the biggest surprise thus far in the opening round of the playoffs. Florida was the top team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season with 97 points but did have a mediocre last 10 games of the season going 5-5. During the regular season the Everblades had a 10-4 record against the Solar Bears. Orlando beat Florida 4-2 in game one and 3-2 in game two. The series now moves back to Orlando for the next three games which will be on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

#2 Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs #3 South Carolina Stingrays - This series has progressed as expected with the higher seeded Greenville taking a 2-0 series lead by winning at home by scores of 4-1 and 6-3. These teams are very familiar with each other having played 14 times during the regular season with South Carolina having the better record (9-2-3-0). The series now moves to North Charleston for the next two games. Because these teams are only 200 miles apart this series is 2-2-1-1-1.


CENTRAL DIVISION

#1 Toledo Walleye vs #4 Kalamazoo Wings - During the regular season these teams met 10 times with Toledo coming out on top with a record of 6-3-0-1. Toledo is the overall #1 seed in the playoffs and has taken a 2-0 lead in this series winning the first two games 4-3 and 4-1. These teams play just 150 miles apart so this series will also be 2-2-1-1. They now head to Kalamazoo for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Toledo had a 4-1 lead in game one before the Wings closed the gap to 4-3 and in game two the Walleye had a 4-0 lead before giving up a shorthanded goal late in the game. Bottom line is Toledo seems firmly in control of this series.

#2 Fort Wayne Komets vs #3 Quad City Mallards - If there is a first round sweep this is the series it might happen. Fort Wayne dominated Quad City during the regular season (8-2-1-1) and continued that in the first two games of the playoffs to take a 2-0 series lead. The Komets won game one 4-3 while out shooting Quad City 37-14 and won game two 3-1 out shooting the Mallards 37-18. This series is a 2-3-2 format so the teams now head to Quad City for games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. During the regular season Fort Wayne played very well in Quad City (4-1-1-0) so this series could end in four or five games.


MOUNTAIN DIVISION

#2 Colorado Eagles vs #3 Idaho Steelheads - This series is an example of who is playing the best at the end of the season. Colorado led the division most of the season including a 17 game win streak but struggled down the stretch and gave up the division championship to Allen. The last 10 games of the season the Eagles were 5-5-0-0. Idaho on the other hand finished the season playing their best hockey and went 8-2-0-0 over their last 10 games. This series is tied 1-1 heading to Idaho for the next three games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Colorado is lucky to be tied in this series. They lost game one 4-2 and came close to losing game two last night before winning 2-1 in overtime. The Eagles scored the tying goal with less than five minute left in the game and won on a Matt Register goal just 65 seconds into the overtime.

#1 Allen Americans vs #3 Utah Grizzlies - This series is tied 1-1 and Allen could have easily been down 2-0. They came from behind 3-1 in game one to win 4-3. Utah won game two 4-1 as they outplayed Allen for the first 40 minutes before the Americans had a good third period. This series now switches to Utah for games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Inconsistent play has been an issue for Allen all season despite their great record. If the Americans plays like they did in the third period on Friday they will be fine. If they play like they did in the first two periods they will be in trouble. During the regular season Allen was 4-0 against Utah and were 3-0 in away games however, all four of these games were early in the season.




OTHER COMMENTS

- It is great to see Allen getting some well deserved publicity on local television. Saw interviews with Chad Costello, Tommy Daniels and Steve Martinson over the last couple of days.


- The San Jose Barracuda lost their final regular season game last night to Bakersfield 3-2 in overtime. They now move on to the playoffs where they will play Stockton in a best of five series which starts on Friday. Here are the details: http://www.sjbarracuda.com/news/detail/recap-41517


- Allen's NHL affiliate (San Jose Sharks) is in the midst of their first round playoff series against the  Edmonton Oilers with the series tied 1-1. Here is a series update and game three preview. http://www.fearthefin.com/2017/4/16/15315352/sharks-vs-oilers-game-three-preview-san-jose-looks-for-home-ice-advantage


DID YOU KNOW: Allen is one of six ECHL playoff teams that had both their AHL and NHL affiliates make the playoffs. The other five are Adirondack, Brampton, Orlando, South Carolina and Utah.  

Allen Loses 4-1, Series Tied 1-1, Martinson Comments, Costello Wins 3rd MVP, Gill Sets Another Record

To say it was a disappointing game last would be an understatement as the Allen Americans lost 4-1 to the Utah Grizzlies before a crowd of 5004 at the Allen Event Center (AEC). The Grizzlies tied the series 1-1 and head home for the next three games (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday).


- Utah out worked and out played Allen for two periods and took a 4-0 lead into the second intermission. If there is any consolation for the Americans they came to life in the third period and showed what they are capable of. Allen won the third period 1-0 and had many quality scoring opportunities while out shooting the Grizzlies 17-5. It was much too little and much too late. Allen's lone goal was scored by Josh Brittain on a great play and pass from Eric Roy.


- If you want to relive one of the worst games Allen has played in a while here is an almost 10 minute highlight or if you are an Allen fan lowlight video:

- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/americans-fall-to-grizzlies-in-game-2/


- Here is the Utah Grizzlies recap of the game: http://www.utahgrizzlies.com/team-news/headline-news/?article_id=3304


COACHES CORNER

- Coach Martinson talks about what the team needed to do to win in his pregame interview with Tom Manning:

Here are Steve Martinson's post game comments;

-  That wasn't the start we wanted and I didn't like the first two periods. We didn't win any battles for pucks, we didn't get to many pucks first and we handed them a couple of scoring chances and they buried them.

- The positive is if we play they way we played in the third period the rest of the series we will be okay. It has been a few games since we have had to play that hard to win. We will have to use the third period as an example. I am going to take the positive from the game that we competed much harder in the third period.

- I couldn't tell from watching on my laptop whether that one goal was in but the goal judge said it was in and the players on the ice said it was in. After talking to the goal judge the referees overruled him and made the call it was no goal.

- The way they were trapping we needed to get the puck to the outside and enter the zone with momentum. We weren't skating until the third period and that was the difference.

- Their goalie played good tonight. We had some chances in tight, we were hammering pucks in the end and it seemed like we had some open net to shoot at but we just didn't get the puck in the net.

- You have to keep in mind this is only one game. I am sure you have all seen things in life where you can tell someone something but they don't change until they experience it. Tonight we experienced getting outplayed the first two periods. We have to be ready to go on Wednesday and play the way we did in the third period.

- I played our bigger defensive defensemen tonight because I thought we would have plenty of offense but we didn't have much offense tonight.

- We will be flying to Utah rather than taking the bus which will be nice for a change. We will leave on Tuesday.

- Zach Hall was on the ice for the first time today. He thinks he will be ready to play on Wednesday but we will have to wait and see.

- We need to do better on faceoffs. We will get another pure center when Hall returns. The goal Utah got off the faceoff looked like a set play and our defenseman didn't pick up the guy who got the rebound. 



OTHER COMMENTS

- To the surprise of no one Chad Costello won the ECHL MVP award yesterday as his contributions to his team are unparalleled. Here is the ECHL press release announcing Chad's selection. One thing this release doesn't mention is being an MVP includes being their for your teammates consistently. Chad played in all 72 games for Allen this season and even more remarkable is he has played in every regular season and playoff games since signing with the Americans in 2014. That is a total of 267 straight games. http://www.echl.com/allens-costello-named-2016-17-ccm-echl-valuable-player


- There have been more than few upsets thus far in the ECHL playoffs. The top seed in the South Division (Florida) trails #4 seed Orlando 2-0 having lost two games at home. Mountain Division #2 seed Colorado lost at home to Idaho 4-1 last night in their opening game.  The top seed in the North Division (Adirondack) lost 3-1 to Manchester in the first game of their series. Throw in the Utah win over #1 seed Allen and the underdogs have acquitted themselves very well thus far. There are five games on tap tonight including game two of the Colorado vs Idaho series.



DID YOU KNOW: With his start last night Riley Gill is now the ECHL's all time leader in most playoff games appeared in by a goaltender. Last night was Riley's 81st game. Gill also owns the most career playoff wins with 48. Next up in the record book is career minutes played. Riley has 4560 and is 281 minutes shy of the all time record.  

Allen vs Utah Game Two Preview, Costello Heavy Favorite for ECHL MVP Award, Playoff Record Setters

It is game day as the Allen Americans take on the Utah Grizzlies tonight (7:05) at the Allen Event Center in game two of their best of seven series. Allen leads the series 1-0 and the odds are already in their favor. If you look at the history of the NHL there is some interesting data on series outcomes in seven game series. In the opening round with a 1-0 lead the home team wins game two 59.1% of the time and wins the series 72.3% of the time. If Allen wins tonight and takes a 2-0 lead, the NHL data shows the odds of winning the series goes up to 86.4%. Game twos have been kind to Allen over the years. Steve Martinson's record in game twos in Allen is 11-3.


- My reporting is Riley Gill is okay and may even be able to start the game tonight. If not, he will be ready for game three. With no structural damage it is just a matter of the swelling and stiffness to abate before he can play. It was announced yesterday Gill was selected as the Goaltender of the Year in the ECHL so hopefully that will help speed his recovery. The league does not reveal vote totals but I would guess this may have been the award that had the highest percentage of votes for the winner as Riley's stats were the best in the league most of the year. Since the middle of December Riley has not lost a game in regulation. He has won 14 and lost two games in overtime. Here is the ECHL press release on Gill's selection as Goaltender of the Year: http://www.echl.com/allens-gill-named-2016-17-warrior-hockey-echl-goaltender-year


- As to other lineup changes for the game tonight you might see different players sitting out as healthy scratches. Miles Liberati and Mike Brodzinski sat out game one. Zach Hall is listed as day to day.


- As for the game itself there will be adjustments made by both teams. The Americans need to adjust how they get the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. Coach Martinson also mentioned some defensive adjustments or as he put it get everyone on the same page. Allen was just 1-5 on the power play in game one so you might see a change to the approach or personnel on the power play units.



OTHER COMMENTS

- Looking at the other first round playoff matchups I noticed several will have a different format than the normal 2-3-2. The strangest is Adirondack vs Manchester which is a 2-5 series. As if the #4 seed Manchester doesn't have a big enough task defeating the #1 seed Adirondack, after two home games they finish with five on the road. Would assume the availability of their arena caused this to happen. Two series will have a 2-2-1-1-1 format. This typically happens when teams are close geographically. Greenville vs South Carolina play and are separated by 205 miles and Toledo vs Kalamazoo are separated by by just 150 miles.


- Reading beat Brampton last night 2-1 to take a 1-0 lead in their North Division semi-final. It is very early but Jack Gulati's dream of have his two teams in the Kelly Cup final is still alive.


- The final ECHL award will be announced today and that is the Most Valuable Player award. Chad Costello is the heavy favorite to win having won the scoring title by 34 points. It would be the second MVP award in a row for Chad and the third of his career. In addition to last season he was the ECHL MVP in 2012 when he played for the Colorado Eagles. Chad is the only player in ECHL history to win multiple MVP awards.  If Chad does win today it will complete quite a week of individual honors for Allen. Chad has already won the scoring title award, Joel Chouinard won the plus/minus award, David Makowski finished second in the voting for Defenseman of the Year, Riley Gill won Goaltender of the Year and Chad may finish the week off with another MVP award. When you consider there are 27 teams in the ECHL that is quite a haul! UPDATE: Chad is the 2017 ECHL MVP. Here is a link to the announcement: http://www.echl.com/allens-costello-named-2016-17-ccm-echl-valuable-player



DID YOU KNOW: Riley Gill is the winningest  playoff goalie in the history of the ECHL but he has lots of company in the playoff record book. Here is a list of current Allen players in the record book related to the playoffs.

Greger Hanson - Tied for third all time for most goals in one playoff year with 15 in 2016
Greger Hanson - Second all time for most power play goals in one playoff year with eight in 2016
Gary Steffes - Tied for second all time for most goals in a final series with six in 2016
Chad Costello - fifth all time for most playoff assists in a career with 52
Chad Costello - first all time for most assists in one playoff year with 29 in 2016
Chad Costello - first all time for most assists in final series with 10 in 2016
Chad Costello - second all time for most points in one playoff year with 36 in 2015
Chad Costello - third all time for points in a final series with 13 in 2016

Allen Wins Playoff Opener, Gill Injured, Martinson Comments, Gulati Decides No Name Change & More

The Allen Americans defeated the Utah Grizzlies 4-3 last night in the first game of their best of seven playoff series. An enthusiastic crowd of 4341 at the Allen Event Center (AEC) watched the Americans come from behind after trailing 3-1. A sign of a good team is finding a way to win when you don't play your best and that is what happened in this game. The Americans scored first just two minutes into the game when a Bryan Moore sharp angle shot bounced off the goalie's blocker, off his back and into the net. That was the only good thing that happened in the first period as Utah outshot Allen 11-6 and scored two goals. To make matters worse Riley Gill took a puck to the throat and had to leave the game. The report after the game was Riley is okay but will be tested this morning to make sure there is no internal injury.


- After trailing 3-1 early in the second period Allen came back to win the game. It was fitting the game winner came on a power play that struggled for most of the night. After going 0-4 the power play came through on a patented Chad Costello pass through the slot to Joel Chouinard who was charging the net from the point. The back door goal was as pretty as it gets and put Allen ahead 4-3.


- Goal scorers for Allen were Bryan Moore, Tyler Barnes, Wade MacLeod and Joel Chouinard. You can watch all of the goals and plenty more in the 10 minute highlight package the Americans posted to ECHL Rewind. A couple of things to note on the highlights. The play by Costello and Chouinard is worth watching numerous times to marvel how Chad can get that pass through everyone and then the Chouinard finish. The other goal worth watching in detail is the MacLeod goal and the hard work by Josh Brittain to create the opportunity, the perfect pass from Tyler Barnes to MacLeod in the slot and of course the finish by Wade. Here is the link the ECHL Rewind: http://www.echl.com/ 


- Here is a recap of the game by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/americans-comeback-leads-to-game-1-win/


- Here is how the Utah Grizzlies recapped game one: http://www.utahgrizzlies.com/team-news/headline-news/?article_id=3303


COACHES CORNER

- Here is Tom Manning's pregame interview with coach Martinson:

- Here are Steve Martinson's post game comments:

- That was a scary start. We weren't very good on the goals against. We didn't make Utah have to be that good to score. We made mistakes and they capitalized on them.

- Riley Gill took a puck to the throat. We  will get it checked out in the morning and then we will know if he is going to be okay or not. Riley thinks he will be okay but we need to make sure there is no damage internally.

- If Riley is not okay I will be looking for a goalie and that person has to be an amateur the way the rules are for the playoffs.

- I don't think we played our best tonight but it is good to win when you don't play your best. There are some things we can do better when bringing the puck into the offensive zone. We will get everyone on the same page and execute better on Friday. It is easier to get everyone on the same page when you win.

 - It is good to be up 1-0 and know you can play better. It is one thing to be up 1-0 and you have played your best game, we know we have room for improvement.

- The Brittain, MacLeod, Barnes line spent one entire shift in Utah's zone and then made a great play  on the tying goal. They got the puck in deep and then Brittain came in and threw a hit, Barnes got the puck and made a great pass and MacLeod has such a great shot. That is nine goals in 14 games for MacLeod since he joined us.

- One of the smart things we did was have the goalies split time in the last regular season game on Sunday. The way the schedule was because of the makeup game we only had one day to practice and prepare for the playoffs. Jamie Murray came in after Gill got hurt and did a great job. 


OTHER COMMENTS

- Congrats to former Allen American Matt Register who won the ECHL Defenseman of the Year award yesterday. Congrats also to David Makowski who finished second in the voting. That is quite an accomplishment for Makowski when you consider he didn't play his first game for Allen until December 7.


- Today the ECHL Goaltender of the Year will be announced and that honor should go to Riley Gill.


- I am sure by now you have heard that owner Jack Gulati announced yesterday that he has heard the fans and decided to keep the Allen Americans name. I had a chance to talk to Jack about this issue before and after he made the decision and here is my take on what happened. The Keep the Coach, Keep the Name campaign was heard loud and clear. Jack's primary goal was to re-sign Steve Martinson and he got that accomplished last week. After putting the name change to a fan vote and the overwhelming choice was to keep the Allen Americans name, Jack felt he should listen to the fans, stop the voting which was supposed to continue until June 30 and announce the name would remain the Allen Americans. Jack made that decision with the hope the support of the fans along with more resources devoted to sales and marketing will get things turned around. Jack intends to keep his part of the bargain and devote more staff and money to sales and marketing. He has hired the Marketing Department in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota to help put a marketing plan in place. He is also asking fans to help him put more butts in the seats. With everyone giving it their all over the next year it is hoped the financial picture will be much improved. If it is not, the name change issue will be revisited next year and you can be assured there will not be another fan vote. The Dallas Americans will be born, at least that is my opinion. If you are wondering what you can do to help, I will provide some ideas in a future blog post.


DID YOU KNOW: With his start last night Riley Gill tied the all time ECHL career record for playoff appearances with 80. Riley already holds the all time record for wins with 48 which is five more than any other goalie.

Allen vs Utah Series and Game Preview, Roster Update, Free Tickets & Playoff Trivia

A new season starts today for 16 ECHL playoff teams all with the optimism they have an equal chance to win the coveted prize, the Kelly Cup. For Allen fans that optimism is driven by the fact they have won the last two Kelly Cups and enter the 2017 playoffs with high expectations. When many fans consider anything less than a championship a disappointment you know the bar has been set very high in Allen.


- The Americans have had a short turnaround from regular season to playoffs. They are the only playoff team that had to play this past Sunday (a make up game) and will be one of four teams playing tonight as they take on the Utah Grizzlies. The other opening round game tonight is in the South Division as the Orlando Solar Bears are at the Florida Everblades.


- The short turnaround for Allen could impact the lineup tonight as players that did not play in Wichita on Sunday (Zach Hall & Harrison Ruopp) are listed as day to day. The one player that for sure will be on the sidelines is Tanner Eberle who will miss the entire first round recovering from his injury. There has already been one change to the 21 player playoff roster that was released yesterday. If you recall, two roster spots were saved for qualified San Jose players (Mike Brodzinski, Alex Schoenborn, Jonathan Martin) to be added later, if needed. One of those two slots was filled yesterday as Mike Brodzinski has been reassigned to Allen from San Jose.


- Before I get into all of the facts and figures take a look at this series preview that was issued by the Utah Grizzlies. The preview omits the fact Allen's record this season against the Grizzlies was 4-0 (all played early in the season) and incorrectly states, "Utah won 27 of their last 37 games after their last meeting with Allen on December 31, while Allen won 29 of their 49 games after January 1." For the record the Americans record after January 1 was 29-4-3-1. While you can quibble with the omission and error the preview does an outstanding job of pointing out just how much better this Utah team has played as the season has progressed. The Grizzlies come into the playoffs with the fewest points of any team (79) but you can disregard that because they are playing their best hockey of the season. Here is the link to the Grizzlies series preview:  http://www.utahgrizzlies.com/team-news/headline-news/?article_id=3302


- Here is a series preview from local writer Mike Stern (insidehockey.com) who sat down with Gary Steffes to get his take on the playoffs. Mike includes a lot of facts and figures as well as many quotes from Steffes: http://www.insidehockey.com/allens-drive-for-five-kicks-into-overdrive/


ALLEN VS UTAH GAME PREVIEW

- Allen won all four times they played Utah during the regular season but all games were early in the season. The Americans played three times in Utah in November and to no surprise Riley Gill was the difference maker. The Americans were out shot in all three games, Utah had at least 40 shots in all three games and yet Allen won all three games. Riley Gill saved 116 of 121 shots over the three games for a phenomenal save percentage of .959. The lone time the teams played in Allen was on New Year's Eve and the Americans came out on top 8-4.


- Here is a comparison between Allen and Utah based on the regular season:

                                     ALLEN                              UTAH

Team Record              49-17-4-2 (104 points)          36-29-5-2 (79 points)
Division Ranking         1st - Mountain                      4th - Mountain
Conference Ranking   2nd - Western                       8th - Western
League Ranking         2nd                                        16th
Past 10 games            9-0-1-0                                  7-3-0-0
Current Streak            15-0-1-0                                1-0-0-0
Goals For                    294                                        225
Goals Against             203                                        240
Goal Differential         +91                                        -15
Plus/Minus                  +334                                     -91
Shooting %                 13.0%                                    9.6%
Goals Scored Ave.      4.08                                       3.13
Goals Allowed Ave.    2.82                                       3.33
Power Play                 24.4%                                    16.4%
Penalty Kill                  84.4% (52/234)                     83.7% (20/123)
Leading Scorer           Costello  (17-36-53)              Bradford (17-46-63)
                                    Hanson (35-41-76)               Pelech (20-33-53)


- When you look at the stats above it is pretty clear Allen is the better team. I think however, that misses a couple of very important points. First, Utah is playing much better than their season long stats reflect. Second, when it comes to playoffs "will" and "want" are more important than skill. Steve Martinson has put the Americans in position to win by assembling the deepest team he has had in Allen. Now it is up to them to go out and play to their potential. The difference in this series will be the commitment to defense by Allen. If they have the attitude it is more important to win games than score goals the Americans will score a ton of goals and win a lot of games. If they take unnecessary risks by jumping into the play at the wrong time or turning the puck over in the neutral zone then odd man rushes will cost Allen games they should win.


- Playoff experience is important and Allen has much more than Utah. These numbers may have changed slightly since the playoff rosters were released but total pro playoff games played by Allen is about 650 compared to Utah at around 140. Coach Martinson always stresses to young player to just play their game and not try to do anything more. Trying to be a hero because it is the playoffs is fools gold. If everyone plays to their potential Allen will win, players shouldn't be looking to do extra.


- I talked all season about the importance of good starts and not falling behind early as a key to success for any team but especially for Allen. The Americans rarely lose if they score first. Here are some records from the regular season that prove the point regarding Allen:

40-2-2-1 -  When scoring first
15-0-0-0 -  When tied after the first period
30-2-2-1 -  When leading after the first period
33-1-0-1 -  When leading after the second period
4-15-2-1 -  When trailing after the first period
6-16-2-0 -  When trailing after the second period


- A final key to the series is special teams and Allen has a big advantage on the power play. Last year the power play was a difference maker on the way to the Kelly Cup. With David Makowski and Eric Roy back in the lineup and on the top power play unit the Americans will have two great power play units capable of scoring on every power play. In the Utah playoff preview it was pointed out the Grizzlies killed 16 of 17 power play opportunities over their last seven games. The special teams battles will be interesting to watch. Don't forget Allen (13) and Utah (14) are two of the worst teams in the ECHL in giving up shorthanded goals so the "shorty" will probably be a factor before this series is over.


-  There will be two referees for all playoff games. Tonight the referees will be Chris Pontes (#12) and Andy Howard (#2). The linesmen will be Brian Bull (#95) and Chase Wilkinson (#68).


OTHER COMMENTS


- The three big year end awards will be announced over the next three days and Allen players will be a factor in all three. Today is Defenseman of the Year, tomorrow Goaltender of the Year and Friday Most Valuable Player. 


- I will provide free tickets for the game on Friday to anyone you can identify that has never been to an Allen playoff game. Talk to your friends and neighbors and email me at janssenfamily@msn.com and I will leave the tickets at will call.



DID YOU KNOW: Time for playoff trivia. Allen has won four straight championships but did you know in first games of the 14 series they have played over the last four years the Americans record is only 6-8. Allen's record in second games is 11-3. And in the most important final game of the 14 series Allen has played since 2013 their record is a perfect 14-0.

Here is one for the record books. When Allen won the CHL championship in 2014 against Denver, the Americans did not score a single power play goal in the finals. They were 0-26 on the power play. 

Allen's Playoff Roster, Mountain Division Playoff Teams Compared, Allen vs Utah Playoff Preview - Part 1

 The Allen Americans commence their eighth playoff run on Wednesday having made the playoffs every year in franchise history. The playoff roster can consist of 23 players. Here is my opinion on what the playoff roster will look like. Coach Martinson will start with 21 players and save two roster spots for qualified San Jose players (Mike Brodzinski, Alex Schoenborn, Jonathan Martin) to be added later, if needed. The 21 players on playoff roster should be:

Goalies
Riley Gill
Jamie Murray

Forwards
Spencer Asuchak
Tyler Barnes
Josh Brittain
Chad Costello
Tanner Eberle
Zach Hall
Greger Hanson
Alex Krushelnyski
Wade MacLeod
Bryan Moore
Gary Steffes
Dyson Stevenson

Defensemen
Travis Brown
Joel Chouinard
Mike Gunn
Miles Liberati
David Makowski
Eric Roy
Harrison Ruopp


- You will notice that Derek Mathers is not on the list above. The ECHL rule states if you are a player under contract to an AHL team you must play at least five games with your AHL contracted team to be eligible for the ECHL playoffs. Each team can have two exceptions to this rule. In Allen's case there are three players (Eric Roy, Travis Brown, Derek Mathers) under contract to AHL teams that did not play five AHL games. Coach Martinson can only include two of the three on the playoff roster. Because of the shortage of defensemen I think Mathers will be the one left off the playoff roster.  It is difficult for everyone when a player has been with the team all season and then doesn't make the playoff roster.


- The official ECHL release of all of the playoff rosters will be out sometime today but teams have been given permission to release them so you might see releases from some teams being issued before the ECHL release.



- Before I look at the first round matchup between Allen and Utah I wanted to preview the four Mountain Division teams in the playoffs and compare them in a way that may help determine who is the strongest and weakest team based on regular season results. I tried this last season and it is a way to compare teams across a number of statistical categories and then come up with an overall score. Can't say the "Barry the Blogger Matrix" is a good predictor of Kelly Cup success as it had Fort Wayne vs South Carolina in the finals last season.


- Below is how the four teams in the Mountain Division playoffs stand in 11 statistical categories. Fairly easy to see the strengths and weaknesses of each team. 


Goals Scored (average per game)

4.08 - Allen
3.68 - Colorado
3.25 - Idaho
3.13 - Utah

Goals Allowed (average per game)
2.82 - Allen
2.86 - Idaho
2.86 - Colorado
3.33 - Utah

Shots For (average per game)
32.94 - Colorado
32.33 - Idaho
32.10 - Utah
31.44 - Allen

Shots Against (average per game)
29.75 - Colorado
30.44 - Utah
32.94 - Idaho
34.93 - Allen

Shooting Percentage (goals as a percent of total shots)
13.0% - Allen
11.1% - Colorado
9.8%  - Idaho
9.6%  - Utah

Power Play Percentage
24.8% - Colorado
24.4% - Allen
21.3% - Idaho
16.4% - Utah

Penalty Kill Percentage
85.8% - Idaho
84.4% - Allen
83.7% - Utah
83.4% - Colorado

Power Play Goals Scored
74 - Colorado
71 - Allen
57 - Idaho
50 - Utah

Plus/Minus
+334 - Allen
+148 - Colorado
+30   - Idaho
-91    - Utah 

Goals Against Average (GAA)
2.76 - Allen
2.80 - Colorado
2.80 - Idaho
3.27 - Utah

Record Last 10 Games
9-0-1-0 - Allen
8-2-0-0 - Idaho
7-3-0-0 - Utah
5-5-0-0 - Colorado


- Finally, I tallied up the rank for each team in every category to get an overall score. The lower the score the better. If you finished first in every category you would get a final score of 11. Here are the results:

20 - Allen
23 - Colorado
28 - Idaho
39 - Utah


 - Based on the stats you would pick Allen as a heavy favorite over Utah and Colorado a slight favorite over Idaho. While this is an interesting way to look at regular season performance it is not a very good way to pick outcomes.


ALLEN VS UTAH PREVIEW


- I will do the typical statistical game preview tomorrow but want to give a broad overview today to get everyone prepared for this best of seven series between the Allen Americans and the Utah Grizzlies.


- The Allen Americans franchise was established in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL). The CHL (seven teams) was absorbed by the ECHL in 2014. The Americans play at the Allen Event Center (AEC) which has a capacity of 6275 for hockey. The AEC opened in 2009 and was built at a cost of 52.5 million dollars. Allen is a northern suburb of Dallas with an estimated population of around 95,000. The Americans are affiliated with the San Jose Sharks (NHL) and San Jose Barracuda (AHL).


- The Utah Grizzlies joined the ECHL in 2005 but can trace their origins back to the Virginia Lancers, one of the founding members of the ECHL in 1988. The franchise moved many times over the years before landing in Utah. One of the stops was in Macon, Georgia in  2001-02 where the team had one of the most famous names in hockey history, the Macon Whoopee. The Grizzlies play at the Maverik Center which has a capacity of 10,100 for hockey and was opened in 1997 at a cost of 54.1 million dollars. Naming rights for the Maverik Center belong to Maverik Inc., owners of convenience stores throughout the area. The arena was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics and was the main venue for all hockey events. The Grizzlies play in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City which is the second largest city in Utah with a population of around 133,000. The Grizzlies are affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) and San Diego Gulls (AHL).


- The Allen Americans are coached by legendary coach Steve Martinson who is in his 21st year as a head coach and has won 10 championships. Martinson has been the coach and general manager in Allen since the 2012-13 season and has won a championship (two CHL & two ECHL) for four straight years. This season has been called the "Drive for Five" and another championship would be very special as described in this great story by Rick Gosselin on the front page of the Dallas Morning News sports section this morning. Here is a link to Gosselin's story, "Hockey History is at stake for Allen" http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-stars/stars/2017/04/10/allen-americans-aim-something-professional-hockey-seen-since-montreal-candiens-1950s


- The Utah Grizzlies are coached by Tim Branham who has been in Utah since the 2013-14 season. This is his first head coaching position. Tim was the assistant coach for three years in Reading prior to getting the job in Utah. He was in Reading along with Riley Gill when the Royals won the Kelly Cup in 2013. Branham has made the playoffs every season he has been in Utah but has not gotten past the second round.


- Both Allen and Utah played well down the stretch to accomplish their immediate goals. Allen was able to overtake Colorado for the #1 seed in the division by winning their last eight games. Utah was in a battle with Alaska and Missouri for the last playoff spot and prevailed by winning seven of their last eight games including five in a row on the road.


- Allen is seeking their third straight Kelly Cup which has never been done before. No team has even made it to three straight finals before. Utah is in the playoffs for the 10th straight season which is the second longest streak (tied) in ECHL history.


- It seems the case every year that Allen doesn't get good home dates in the first round of the playoffs and this year was no exception. If the series goes seven games Allen plays at home on a Wednesday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday. To make matters worse the lone weekend game is on Good Friday. Here is the  first round schedule:
  

Game 1 - April 12	Utah at Allen  7:05 PM CDT
Game 2 - April 14	Utah at Allen  7:05 PM CDT
Game 3 - April 19	Allen at Utah  7:05 PM MDT
Game 4 - April 21	Allen at Utah  7:05 PM MDT
Game 5 - April 22	Allen at Utah  7:05 PM MDT*
Game 6 - April 24	Utah at Allen  7:05 PM CDT*
Game 7 - April 25	Utah at Allen  7:05 PM CDT*

 * If necessary


- Allen's overall record this season was 49-17-4-2 while Utah's was 36-29-5-2. Both teams would be considered excellent road teams. Allen won 25 games at home and 24 roads games. Utah won the same number of games on the road (18) as they did at home. This series should be quite a battle with two well coached teams that are both playing great hockey coming onto the playoffs. Allen is clearly the favorite in the series but the Americans will have to be on the top of their game to beat Utah.


- Come back tomorrow for a deep dive into all of the statistical comparisons between Allen and Utah in a game day preview.



OTHER COMMENTS

- Joel Chouinard and Chad Costello both received honors yesterday by the ECHL. Joel was honored for his league leading plus/minus (+47). That is the sixth highest plus/minus total since they started handing out this award in 1992. Here are all of the details:  http://www.echl.com/allens-chouinard-ami-graphics-echl-plus-performer-year - Here is the link to the ECHL press release about Chad Costello winning the ECHL scoring title. Chad has won the scoring title for the last three years. In those three years he has scored 350 points (117 per year average) and he has won the scoring title by a total of 102 points (average of 34 per year). Now that is impressive! Here is the link: http://www.echl.com/allens-costello-wins-echl-scoring-title-third-straight-season


- Chouinard and Costello have something else in common besides receiving ECHL year end awards yesterday. They are the only two Allen players that that did not miss a game all season having played in 72 straight games. They are the 2016-17 Ironmen. 


- Steve Martinson is in his 21st year as a head coach and his playoff record is something to behold. Here are a few of his playoff accomplishments:
20 - the number of times Martinson has made the playoffs in 21 years as a head coach
10 - the number of championships Martinson has won as a head coach (he also has two as a player)
2 - the number of times a Martinson coached team has lost in the first round of the playoffs
1 - the number of times a Martinson coached team has lost a game seven in the playoffs


DID YOU KNOW: Current Allen players Alex Krushelnyski and Bryan Moore played for Utah last season. Former Allen Americans that also spent time in Utah include Aaron Dell, Ian Schultz, Jonathan Lessard, Drew Daniels and Adam Pineault.