Practice Update, Standings Update, Marotte Clears Up Name Preference, Arena Name Changes and More

There were seven ECHL games on Wednesday, three on Thursday, nine last night and another 10 tonight but the Allen Americans are on the sidelines waiting for Sunday afternoon (2:05 pm) when they take on the Rapid City Rush. Wichita is also idle not playing until Sunday. Must have been facility conflicts that prevented these teams from playing on the two best nights of the week for attendance. The conflict for Allen is the Dallas Sidekicks who play at home tonight.

- The Americans had another spirited and rather lengthy practice yesterday and from my observation is in a much better place than when they last played at home in the middle of November. You never know if what you see in practice translates to the game tomorrow but there is little doubt this team will be ready to play.

- With an early start on Sunday the team will have a very short practice today, more like an expanded pregame skate. Rapid City played in Tulsa last night (lost 4-2) and will have today to rest up before playing the Americans tomorrow.

- The bottom three in the Mountain Division standings are very tight after last night. Allen was idle, Kansas City won in a shootout and Rapid City lost. The points percentage at the bottom of the division is now Allen (.433), Kansas City (.441) and Rapid City (.447). Kansas City plays Idaho at home tonight and is idle tomorrow. If Allen beats Rapid City on Sunday afternoon they could finish the weekend in fifth place. More importantly a win against Rapid City would be the first time the Americans have won back to back games all season. That's right, Allen's longest win streak so far this season is one game.

- Had a chance to talk to Francis "Frank" Marotte after practice yesterday and and clear up two questions I have been asked numerous times. First, while his given name is Francis, he prefers to be called Frank. If you have been using Francis now is the time to switch to Frank. The second question I had for Marotte was why he doesn't go to the bench during the 75 second timeouts. Instead, he moves out of the goal into the slot and takes a knee. Frank told me it is something he started doing in college. It is a way for him to focus and center himself after the intensity of game action. 

- Four of seven Mountain Division arenas have had a name change in the last year or two:

Allen - name changed to CUTX Event Center from Allen Event Center. CUTX stands for Credit Union of Texas.

Rapid City - name changed to The Monument from Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. This was a rebranding between the Civic Center and Monument Health, a community based health care system headquartered in Rapid City. 

Idaho - name changed to Idaho Central Arena from CenturyLink Arena. This is another credit union sponsor, Idaho Central Credit Union.  

Kansas City - name changed to Cable Dahmer Arena from Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. Cable Dahmer is an automotive group.

- The three hottest teams in the ECHL right now are Trois-Rivières (5-0-0-0), Wheeling (4-0-0-0) and Wichita (8-0-1-0). All three teams were below the playoff cut before these winning streaks. Now Trois-Rivières is in second place (North Division), Wheeling is in fourth place (Central Division) and Wichita is in first place (Mountain Division). 

- Average attendance in the ECHL after 222 games is 3692. While attendance is way up from last season (2275) it is way behind 2019-20 (4327) and 2018-19 (4445). 

 

-  I will have a complete game preview tomorrow but Rapid City arrives in Allen having lost four of its last five games. Allen has won three of its last six. The Americans won two of three in Rapid City two weeks ago.  

- Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of the 10 games on tap tonight: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/12/echl-today-dec-4

 

- Ryan Lohin was in the lineup for the first time for Charlotte last night and Antoine Bibeau was the backup goalie. The Checkers beat Lehigh Valley 5-3. The Charlotte game tonight against Wilkes-Barre has been postponed along with Rochester at Syracuse, Hershey at Lehigh Valley and Utica at Hartford. A serious COVID breakout with the northeast AHL teams. 

DID YOU KNOW: The standings in a nutshell for each ECHL Division, by points percentage:

 

North Division: the most lopsided Division, one team (NFL) is at .824, the other five teams are all below .564 with the bottom team (WOR) at .406. From top to bottom the spread is .418.

 

South Division: the tightest Division, the top team (ORL) is at .605, the bottom team (GRN) is at .500. From top to bottom the spread is .105.

 

Central Division: the haves and have-nots Division, three teams (TOL, FW, KAL) are above .600 and two teams are below .400 (IND, IA). The only teams in the .300’s in the league. From top to bottom the spread is .361

 

Mountain Division: the Division with a top bundle and bottom bundle, three teams are in the .600’s, (WIC, TUL, UTA) and three teams are in .400’s (RC, KC, ALN). From top to bottom the spread is .223.

A Day for Stats, Stats and More Stats

 

To play a game on Saturday and then have to wait over a week to play again on Sunday is very unusual in the 72 game ECHL schedule but that is what the Allen Americans are up against this week. At this point everyone from the coaches to the players to the fans are ready for a game. 

- Yesterday was an optional practice day for most of the team. Players that have missed games recently practiced but for the rest of the team it was optional. Skating coach Luke Chilcott was on the ice to work with players on skating mechanics.

- So my dilemma was what to write about today. I was doing some research for my ECHL Stats post  and had a thought to look at some of the teams stats in terms of range which is another way of saying best and worst. I found some of them fascinating in terms of great team performances and of course some not so great. For those of you that are stats geeks this will be fun, for the others not so much. 

- Points percentages range from .875 (Newfoundland) to .324 (Iowa). Newfoundland has a big lead over second place Toledo (.667). Iowa has to catch Indy (.375) to get out of last place. Last season the points percentage range was from .667 (Florida) to .375 (Wheeling). Allen was second in 2020-21 with a points percentage of .653.

 

- Road records range from 9-0-0-0 (Newfoundland) to 1-6-0-0 (Iowa). Home records range from 8-1-0-0 (Orlando) to 1-3-2-0 (Allen).

- Wheeling leads the ECHL in penalty minutes averaging 21.43 PIMS per game. The least penalized team is Reading averaging 9.81 PIMS per game. Minor penalties range from 105 (Kansas City) to 51 (Reading). Major penalties, which are mostly fighting majors, range from 15 (Allen) to two (Tulsa). Allen is averaging 17.67 PIMS per game, ranked #4.

- Florida is in second place in the South Division but has lost all five of its games that went extra time. Every team in the ECHL has been involved in at least one overtime game. Jacksonville and Reading have been involved in six. Allen has been involved in four extra time games and is 0-3 in overtimes and 1-0 in shootouts.

- Orlando has scored first in 10 of 19 games and won them all. Worcester has scored first in five of 15 games and lost four of the five. Newfoundland has scored first in 88% of its games (14 of 16). The Growlers have only lost two games this season and both happened when they scored first. Iowa has scored first in just 29% of its games (5 of 17) but won four of the five. Allen has scored first in 53% (8 of 15) of its games. The Americans record when scoring first is 3-3-2-0.

 

- Power play percentages range from 33.3% (Maine) to 11.1% (Tulsa). Last season the range was from 25.9% (Fort Wayne) to 14.2% (Wheeling). Allen's power play percentage is currently 19.0%.

 

- Penalty kill percentages range from 88.4% (Newfoundland) to 70.2% (Worcester). The Growler's road penalty kill percentage is 91.9%. Allen's penalty kill percentages are 78.7% (overall), 72.0% (home) and 83.3% (road). 

 

- Two teams (Newfoundland and Jacksonville) lead the league shorthand goals with six. Three teams (Reading, Cincinnati, Maine) have not scored a shorthanded goal. Allen as scored three shorthanded goals.

 

- Allen leads the league in shorthanded goals allowed with eight in 15 games. Orlando is the only other team that has allowed more than four shorthanded goals. The Solar Bears have allowed five shorthanded goals in 19 games. Three teams (Kalamazoo, Utah, Worcester) have not allowed a shorthanded goal. 

 

- The best third period teams with a +8 goal differential (22 goals scored, 14 allowed) are Newfoundland and Trois Rivières. The worst third period team with a -12 goal differential in Allen (13 goals scored, 25 allowed).

 

- Average goals scored per game ranges from 4.27 (Toledo) to 2.63 (Jacksonville). Average goals allowed per games ranges from 2.13 (Newfoundland) to 4.59 (Iowa). Allen is averaging 3.20 goals per games which is ranked #9. The Americans are allowing an average of 4.40 goals per game, ranked #26.

 

- Average shots per game ranges from 36.19 (Trois Rivières) to 25.76 (Iowa). Average shots allowed per game ranges from 24.79 (Jacksonville) to 35.87 (Allen). Allen is ranked #26 in average shots taken per game (26.13)

 

- Toledo has not lost a game all season when leading after the first period (7-0) or second period (8-0). On the flip side Toledo has not won a game when trailing after the first period (0-4) or second period (0-5). Allen is 3-1-1-0 when leading after the first period and 3-0-1-0 when leading after the second period. The Americans are 0-4-0-0 when trailing after the first period and 0-5-1-0 when trailing after the second period.     

- Team shooting percentages range from 12.7% (Toledo) to 7.9% (Atlanta). That may not sound like a big difference but based on average shots for a season the difference is about 100 goals. Allen's shooting percentage is 12.0%.

 

- Team save percentages range from a high of .929 (Wichita) to a low of .870 (Iowa, Wheeling). Wichita has the best team save percentage while relying primarily on one goalie who has played 99.6% of the minutes. Allen's team save percentage is .877.

DID YOU KNOW: A combined power play and penalty kill percentage of 105% is considered outstanding special teams play. Six ECHL teams meet the 105% standard. The power play and penalty kill percentage for each team is in parenthesis so you can see there are different ways to meet the 105% standard. Allen's total is 97.7% (19.0% & 78.7%).

 

116.6%: Maine (33.3% & 83.3%)*

109.3%: Newfoundland (20.9% & 88.4%)*

108.0%: Rapid City (24.2% & 83.8%)*

107.8%: Orlando (26.8% & 81.0%)

107.4%: Idaho (21.4% & 86.0%)*

105.0%: Wichita (18.6% & 86.4%)

 

*Teams in top 10 in both power play and penalty kill percentage.

 

 

Notes From Allen Americans Practice - The Coaches, The Lines, The Injuries, The Recalls, The Drills and More

Watched the entire Allen practice yesterday, talked to the coaches and came away with so many notes and thoughts I decided to dedicate the blog this morning to practice.

- My first impression as I walked into the rink was who are all the extra players? The ice was full of players and coaches. Coach Martinson told me later it was the first practice all season he had eight defensemen and four lines for drills. 

- As a recap all four players that were on COVID protocol are now cleared and were at practice. That means the return of Branden Troock and Eric Roy to the lineup after missing the last six games. 

- There were three goalies at practice with the return of Antoine Bibeau who has been sidelined since being injured in Rapid City on November 19. Bibeau joins rookies Frank Marotte and Hayden Lavigne to give Allen three healthy goalies. 

 

- The good news is Bibeau is back and looked good in practice. The bad news is Allen fans will have to wait some time to see Bibeau play in a home game. Antoine has played in three games for Allen between stints back and forth to Charlotte and all three games have been on the road. Coach Martinson told me after practice Bibeau is headed back to Charlotte because of an injury in Seattle.

- I have explained this before but it might be worthwhile doing it again since this will be the third time Bibeau has been assigned to Allen only to be recalled after a few days. Seattle has four goalies in the system, fewer than when its AHL team (Coachella Valley Firebirds) starts playing in Palm Desert, California next season. Here are the four goalies in the Seattle system with games played this season by league:

1. Phillip Grubauer - 18 games (NHL)

2. Chris Driedger - 5 games (NHL)

3. Joey Daccord - 2 games (NHL), 8 games (AHL)

4. Antoine Bibeau - 3 games (AHL), 3 games (ECHL)

The plan for the season is to have the top two goalies in Seattle, Joey Daccord in Charlotte (who has a double affiliation) and Antoine Bibeau assigned to Allen. The upside of this plan is Allen gets a goalie with outstanding credentials who has been a success at the AHL level. Under most affiliations an ECHL team would be assigned the 5th or 6th goalie on the depth chart. The downside with Bibeau is every time one of the other three goalies is injured, he will be recalled to Charlotte. What happened this weekend is Chris Driedger was injured so Seattle brought in Daccord from Charlotte and now Bibeau will head to Charlotte. 

The latest on the Driedger injury is he was placed on Seattle's injured reserve yesterday with a lower body injury and will miss the Kraken's next three games at a minimum with no specific time frame for his return. The dominoes mean Daccord takes over as the #2 netminder for the Kraken and Bibeau takes over as the #2 netminder for the Checkers.

 

- Jack Combs has also been cleared to play and was a full participant at practice so the only player still out injured is JD Dudek who will not be available for the game on Sunday.

 

- With the return of Combs and Troock and the recent addition of Gavin Gould and Zach Hall the Americans will have a different look on Sunday on the top two lines. Based on practice look for the line of Costello-Asuchak-Gould to stay intact. They accounted for 29 points (9G, 20A) in the just completed six game road trip. They are an offensive juggernaut and continue to shine in practice. A lot of the practice yesterday was focused on defense and that is an area this group was working hard on from what I observed. The line had 29 points in the six game road trip but ended with a plus/minus of -9. 

 

- The new line in practice was Combs-Hall-Troock which could also be a big offensive line on Sunday. It is clear Allen fans will see a team with more speed, more depth and three lines capable of scoring When the Americans meet Rapid City on Sunday.

 

- I mentioned in addition to all the players on the ice for practice there were three coaches. Because of his 26 years of coaching experience and 10 championships, Steve Martinson has always been able to find local coaches to help out. Not many ECHL teams can say they have a skating coach, a goalie coach and an assistant coach with five years experience as a head coach in the ECHL, who made the playoffs in all five seasons. Here are the unsung heroes who help out with the Americans.

Kevin Colley -  Kevin was an assistant coach in Allen in 2015-16 when the Americans won the Kelly Cup and is back helping Steve Martinson this season. Kevin played in 214 AHL games and 16 NHL games with the New York Islanders during his playing career. He won the Kelly Cup in 2003 playing for Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies and was selected as the playoff MVP scoring 20 points in 14 games (7G, 13A). Kevin was the head coach of the Utah Grizzlies for five seasons (2008-13) and never missed the playoffs. Kevin grew up with hockey. His dad (Tom) recently passed away and was known as "Mr Nighthawk" after playing seven of his eight pro seasons for the New Haven Nighthawks (AHL). Tom Colley holds the Nighthawks franchise records for games played (534), goals (204), assists (281) and points (485). His #9 was retired by the Nighthawks. I learned from Kevin after practice his mom was a a champion figure skater so you can see his family was at the rink a lot when he was a kid and he grew up as a rink rat.

 

Luke Chilcott -Luke is the son of two skating coaches and has been the Allen Americans skating coach since 2015. Luke as well as his parents were figure skating champions in Great Britain. Luke represented Great Britian in the world figure skating championships in 2011-12. After an injury in 2012 he created Chilcott Skating Mechanics (CSM) and has worked with the NHL (San Jose Sharks) and AHL (San Jose Barracuda, Texas Stars) teams. Watching Luke skate and work with the Americans at practice is a fun experience for sure.

 

Chris Johansen -  Chris has been the goalie coach for the Americans since 2017. He is Director of Goalie Development for the McKinney North Stars Hockey Club which has nine travel hockey teams in all age groups. Chris does individualized training and has worked with goalies from the AHL, ECHL, NCAA and youth goalies. 

 

- A big thanks to these coaches who help out Steve Martinson and the Allen Americans players. It is a great tool for general manager Steve Martinson to have in his tool box when recruiting and developing players.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 - Even though the Americans have been idle they have climbed out of the cellar in the Mountain Division thanks to a Kansas City loss on Tuesday. The Mavericks have a .406 points percentage compared to Allen at .433. Rapid City is just ahead of Allen in points percentage (.500) and play in Tulsa tonight and Friday before playing the Americans on Sunday. It is possible with a regulation win against the Rush on Sunday the Americans could move into fifth place in the standings after this weekend.

 

- Allen fans who attend the game on Sunday will see a team that is smaller and quicker than the last home game on November 14. Playing their first home game will be Gavin Gould who is 5'8" and weighs 155, Tyler Poulsen who is 5'7' to 5'9" and 161 to 175 depending on which data base you use  and Zach Hall who is 5'11" 185 pounds. They all bring a lot of energy to the ice. 

 

- Spencer Asuchak has the second longest (tied) goals streak in the ECHL this season at four games and the second longest (tied) points streak at seven games. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Newfoundland will visit Allen for three games at the end of January and could be one of the better ECHL teams in recent history based on the following:

 

After a dispute that kept them out of their home arena, the Newfoundland Growlers played their first true home game of the season last night at Mary Brown’s Centre (formerly Mile One Centre) and beat Reading 4-2. Not having a home rink hasn’t hurt the Growlers as they are on a pace to beat the all time ECHL record for points percentage. 

 

Newfoundland’s current points percentage is .875 based on its record of 14-2-0-0. The all time record for points percentage is .806 set by the Louisiana IceGators in 2001-02, the only ECHL team to ever finish a season with a points percentage above .800.

        

     

An Update on the 16 Allen Americans Players From Last Season Now Playing in Europe

 

There are 16 players that played at some point in Allen last season that are now playing in Europe. Thought today would be a good time to see how they are doing. I always caution when doing these updates that the quality of the leagues in Europe vary widely from the top tier leagues in the world to entry level pro leagues in some countries. The stats I am referencing are regular season only as many leagues have other competitions in addition to the regular season. I have included team head shots for some of the players in their new jersey. Here goes:

 

C.J. Motte - Motte plays in the EIHL for the Coventry Blaze. C.J. has played in all 10 of Coventry's games and has a 2.38 GAA and .926 save percentage. He is second in the EIHL in GAA and third in save percentage. Coventry is in sixth place in the 10 team league.

C.J. Motte

 

 

Jake Paterson - Jake plays in the top league in Norway (Fjordkraft-ligaen) for Sparta Sarpsborg. He has played in 19 games with a GAA of 2.31 and a .915 save percentage. His save percentage is third best in the league. Sparta Sarpsborg is in second place in the 10 team league. 

Jake Paterson

 

 

Les Lancaster - Les plays in the top league in Finland (Liiga) which is one of the best leagues in Europe. As a defensemen he leads his team (Ilves) in points with 15 (3G, 12A) in 22 games. His team is tied for second place in the 15 team league.

Les Lancaster

 

Tyler Sheehy - Tyler plays in the top league in Germany (DEL) which is also one of the top leagues in Europe. He leads his team (Nürnberg) in goals and is fourth in points with 16 (12G, 4A) in 20 games. His 12 goals are tied for third in the league. Nürnberg is in ninth place in the 15 team league.

Tyler Sheehy

 

Corey Mackin - Corey plays in the second tier league (HockeyAllsvenskan) in Sweden. He is second on the team (Vita Hästen) in points with 13 (6G, 7A) in 19 games. His team is tied for 11th place in a 14 team league.

Corey Mackin

 

 

Dyson Stevenson - Dyson plays in the top league in Great Britain (EIHL) for the Glasgow Clan. His team had a late start because of issues with the arena and the UN Climate Change Conference that took over the city. Dyson is the captain of the team and is third on the team in points with six (3G, 3A) in six games. Another Allen alum, Colton Yellow Horn, is a teammate. Glasgow is fourth place in the 10 team league based on points earned per game. 

 

Alex Lavoie - Alex plays in the HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden. He is eighth on the team (Västeras IK) in scoring with nine points (5G, 4A) in 19 games. His team is in seventh place in the 14 team league. 

Matt Register - Matt plays in the EIHL for the Cardiff  Devils. He is the highest scoring defenseman on the team with six points (0G, 6A) in 12 games. His team is in second place in the 10 team league.

Josh Lammon - Josh also plays for Cardiff and has three points (2G, 1A) in 12 games.

 

Scott Conway - Another of the EIHL contingent, Scott plays for the Belfast Giants. He is second on the team with 12 points (6G, 6A) in 11 games. His six goals tie him for sixth in the league. Belfast is in seventh place in the 10 team league.

 

Sam Ruopp - Sam also plays for Belfast and has two points (0G, 2A) in 11 games. He leads the team in penalty minutes with 22. 

 

Jared VanWormer - Jared also plays in the EIHL for the Manchester Storm. He is fifth on the team in scoring with seven points (4G, 3A) in 14 games. Allen alums Wade MacLeod, Ben Wilson and Dallas Ehrhardt play for Manchester. The team is in eighth place in the 10 team league.

Steve Owre - Steve plays in the top league in France (Ligue Magnus). He is second on the team (Cergy-Pontoise) in points but leads the team in assists. He has 23 points (9G, 14A) in 19 games. Steve is fifth in the league in scoring. Cergy-Pontoise is in seventh place in the 12 team league.

 

Braylon Shmyr - Braylon is playing in the third tier league in Sweden (HockeyEttan). He is fifth on the team in scoring with 12 points (6G, 6A) in 15 games. His team (Östersunds IK) is in second place in a 10 league. 

 

Collin Shirley - Collin plays in the top league in Poland (Polska Hokej Liga). He is 12th on the team in scoring with five points (4G, 1A) in 21 games. His team (Cracovia Krakow)  is in fifth place in the nine team league. 

 

Kayle Doetzel - Kayle plays in a league (Erste Liga) which has teams from Hungary and Romania. His team (DVTK Jegermedvék) is in Hungary. Kayle is third on the team in scoring with eight points (1G, 7A) in 20 games. He is fourth on the team in PIMS with 32. His team is in 10th place in an 11 team league.

 

DID YOU KNOW: Chad Costello played in Europe for four seasons before returning to Allen this year.. My ECHL stats post today is about all time leaders in ECHL assists among active players. Notice how few ECHL games Chad has played and he is still #2 in assists among active players.

 

ECHL active players with most career assists (total ECHL games played in parenthesis):

 

*400 - Michael Pelech, Atlanta (781)

354 - Chad Costello, Allen (324)

306 - Derek Nesbitt, Atlanta (564)

294 - Shawn Szydlowski, Fort Wayne (451)

 

*Pelech is just the 3rd player in ECHL history to reach 400 assists.

Practice and Roster Update and Some This 'N That

 

It will be a slow week as the Allen Americans take the longest break between games (November 27 to December 5) all season with the exception of the Christmas break (December 18 to December 29). Not sure what will be covered in the blog but hopefully I will find something to hold your interest. I recently noticed the blog will reach a big milestone in the next six to eight weeks when the 2,000,000th unique page view happens. I don't say thanks enough for all of you that make comments on the blog post itself, on Facebook, Twitter, email, text or at the games. Any affirmation is always encouragement to keep the blog going during the tough times.

 

- With so many days between games I am always reminded of a quote from Steve Martinson years ago when he talked about so many practice days between games, "After three days of practice I get tired of yelling at the players and they get tired of me yelling at them." What Martinson does during these long practice weeks is have a fun scrimmage to start the week where the team is divided in various ways, I have seen the team divided by left shots vs right shots, young guys vs old guys, WHL vs the rest, college guy vs junior guys and Canada vs USA. Couldn't have Canada vs USA this season since the split in players favors Canada 17-7. The teams usually play for lunch or more importantly bragging rights.  

 

- Steve Martinson tells the story of how much bragging rights makes for competition in these fun games. When he was playing in Hershey in 1985-86 he led the team with 432 PIMS and the team total was 2849. In 1986-87 the Bears set the record for most team penalty minutes in a single season (2872), a record that still stands today. In one of these "fun" games for bragging rights, Martinson had a fight with future Hall of Fame goalie Ron Hextall, who played in Hershey before starting his NHL career with Philadelphia.  

 

- Later in the week there might be an optional skate or a short practice but don't be fooled, there will be some tough practices and to quote Martinson, "We have plenty to work on to improve team defense, cut down on turnovers and get better on special teams."

 

-  I was reading some comments about San Jose Barracuda coach Roy Sommer on Patrick William's Twitter feed. Patrick covers the AHL for NHLcom and TheAHLcom. The comments reminded me of the similarities between Sommer and Steve Martinson. They are the same age, worked hard to make it to the NHL (Martinson 48 games, Sommer 3 games) and played most of their pro careers in several different leagues in the minors. They were both tough guys and they both have had long successful coaching careers. Sommer has been coaching since 1987-88 and became a head coach in 1991-92. Most of his career has been in the AHL, he has been with the San Jose organization for 16 years. Sommer's only pro championship was in the ECHL with the Richmond Renegades in 1994-95. Martinson was never an assistant coach and won the first of his 10 championships in 1995-96 as a first year coach with the San Diego Gulls in the WCHL.

 

- I had a chance to meet Sommer when he visited Allen for a few games when the Americans were affiliated with San Jose. The similarities in their coaching styles were apparent in the brief time I spent listening to them talk hockey in Martinson's office after a game. They even reminisced about the fight they had back in the day.

 

- That is a long way of saying when I saw the remarks about Sommer from Patrick Williams it made me think they could apply to Martinson. Do you agree?

"Roy Sommer rules the roost with the Barracuda."

"He could care less who you are -- NHL Star or a PTO hanging on by a thread."

"He is also in that great stage of life where he doesn't have to take anything off anyone."

"What I am saying is that there isn't going to be much that he hasn't seen or that will faze him after almost 50 years in hockey. 

 

- The latest from coach Martinson on the roster is all of the players that have been out on COVID protocol have been cleared. The injured players (Bibeau, Combs, Dudek) have doctor appointments this week so their status will be determined after they see the doctor.

 

- Here is the Americans Weekly which revisits the road trip to Idaho and previews the week ahead:  https://allenamericans.com/media/news-americans-weekly/  

- It is still a ways off but a date to remember is February 15, 2022. That is the date players must return from overseas and still be eligible to play in the ECHL. 

-  Defenseman Kris Myllari leads the Americans in game winning goals with two. Spencer Asuchak and Gavin Gould have the other two game winning goals. Allen's fifth win was in a shootout and game winning goals aren't credited but Chad Costello scored the only goal in the shootout to win the game. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the ECHL’s highest scoring forward tandems this season:

 

49 points - TJ Hensick & M. Berry, Toledo

42 points - P. Watling & N. Hutchison, Wheeling

35 points - Z. O’Brien & M. Power, Newfoundland

34 points - B. Winiecki & J. McCarron, Florida

34 points - C. Costello & S. Asuchak, Allen

 

    

The Stats Say 80% of the 2022 ECHL Playoff Teams Are Already Decided - Who Are They?

 

 A change of pace today as I look ahead at the 2022 Kelly Cup playoffs.

- It has been a couple of years since I have posted about playoff teams being decided by Thanksgiving. Because the season ended early in 2019-20 with no playoffs and the season started late (December) in 2020-21 it wasn't possible but now it is back.  It is time for the "Thanksgiving Day Playoff Theory" blog which predicts the 16 ECHL playoff teams based on the standings as of today. Because the ECHL season started a week later than normal I included the games over the weekend in the calculations. No need to worry about the fate of your favorite team because it is already decided. A little overstated but not by much.



- I have talked about this subject in the past after reading numerous articles about its history in the NHL. Over a five year period (2013-2018) in the NHL, 62 of 80 teams in the playoffs (77.5%) at Thanksgiving wound up qualifying for a playoff spot. The last two seasons I did this for the ECHL the results were 77% (12-16) in 2017-18 and 81% (13-16) in 2018-19.

  

- It is strange to think with just over 20% of the ECHL season completed you can predict who will be in the playoffs with close to 80% accuracy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained so here are the 2022 ECHL playoff teams strictly by the numbers, plus where I think the "Thanksgiving Day Playoff Theory" might be wrong. The number in parenthesis is the team's current winning percentage.

 

NORTH DIVISION
1. Newfoundland (.867)
2. Reading (.567)
3. Maine (.500)
4. Trois-Rivières (.500)


The North Division didn't compete last season and is the only ECHL division with six teams, only two teams miss the playoffs. The entire ECHL is chasing Newfoundland with little luck. The Growlers look like a lock for the regular season championship and are on record points percentage pace. The two teams outside the fourth playoff spot are Adirondack (.433) and Worcester (.393). Adirondack is a perennial strong team that has struggled all season but could be a team to make the top four. It will be hard to catch Trois-Rivières who had a slow start but has won four of the last five games and has a lot of contracted players as well as access to players living in the Montreal area. Worcester looks destined for another last place finish in the North Division. 

 


SOUTH DIVISION
1. Florida (.656)
2. Orlando (.594)
3. Atlanta (.571)
4. Norfolk (.567)


The South Division is the tightest division in the league with the points percentage ranging from the lowest first place (.656) to the highest last place (.433). Two teams in the final four for the Kelly Cup last season, Greenville and the Cup runner-up South Carolina are on the outside looking in for the playoffs. Norfolk is in a playoff position but never makes the playoffs. I could see two of the three teams currently not in a playoff position (.536 - South Carolina, .529 - Jacksonville, .462 - Greenville) cracking the top four.



CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Fort Wayne (.667)
2. Toledo (.667)
3. Kalamazoo (.615)
4. Cincinnati (.600)

Of all of the divisions the Central looks to be the one where the top four will remain the top four all season. The only issue is who takes the top spot. Indy (.333) and Iowa (.353) are already eight points out of a playoff spot and will not recover. Wheeling (.571) is the only team with a chance to gain a top four spot. The Nailers are on a three game win streak so have gained some ground recently. Kalamazoo is the team that might be at risk. The Wings have historically finished just in or just out of the playoffs. The question is whether they will be able to hang on to a playoff spot. 



MOUNTAIN DIVISION
1. Utah (.656)
2. Wichita (.633)
3. Idaho (.588)
4. Tulsa (.577)

The three teams on the outside looking in have winning percentages of .469 (Rapid City), .433 (Allen), and .433 (Kansas City) and will have a tough time making the playoffs. This is the division where the #4 team (Tulsa) might be overtaken. Tulsa has cooled off after leading the division early in the season. Tulsa has lost four straight and watched its point percentage fall from .750 to .542 in the last week. Based on performance over the last two seasons, Allen is the most likely to defy the odds and make the playoffs. Allen finished #2 and #3 the last two seasons in ECHL points percentage. Rapid City finished #12 and #14. Kansas City finished #11 and #24.    



- History says if you are more than five points out of the playoffs at Thanksgiving the chances of making it into a playoff spot are almost nonexistent. That is bad news for Worcester, Indy, and Iowa because if history is correct they can start making plans for next season now.

- Historically, teams more than five points clear of the final playoff spot at this point can start selling playoff tickets as they rarely miss the playoffs. There are only two teams in this category,  Newfoundland is 12 points clear of fourth place in the North Division and Utah is six points clear of fourth place in the Mountain Division.

    

- Remember this is all done in fun and I will definitely revisit these predictions at the end of the season. If your favorite team is currently out the playoffs, remember even with 80% accuracy, three teams not in a playoff spot will make it by the end of the season.

DID YOU KNOW:  - The bottom line is most playoffs teams are already decided but as important it is to make the playoffs it is a myth that once you make the ECHL playoffs any team can win the Kelly Cup. While 16 teams will make the playoffs, since the 2004-05 season the Kelly Cup champion has never finished worse than seventh in the regular season.

Here are the last 16 Kelly Cup champions with their regular season finish in parenthesis. Anyone who says once you get in the playoffs anything can happen hasn't looked at ECHL history. 

2021 - Fort Wayne (5th)
2019 - Newfoundland  (3rd)
2018 - Colorado (4th)
2017 - Colorado (3rd)
2016 - Allen (6th)
2015 - Allen (2nd)
2014 - Alaska (1st)
2013 - Reading (2nd)
2012 - Florida (7th)
2011 - Alaska (1st)
2010 - Cincinnati (5th)
2009 - South Carolina (4th)
2008 - Cincinnati (1st)
2007 - Idaho (6th)
2006 - Alaska (1st)
2005 - Trenton (4th)

Allen Wins, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Steve Martinson's Comments, Kelly Bent Leaves Team For Law Enforcement Job and More

The Allen Americans defeated the Idaho Steelheads 4-2 last night before another sellout crowd (5182) at the Idaho Central Arena. It was one of the Americans more complete games of the season. Allen scored first, never gave up the lead, won the special teams battle with two power play goals, played good team defense, held the Steelheads to 27 shots and played a physical game. The one disappointment was giving up another shorthanded goal, the eighth of the season which is double any other team in the ECHL.

- Chad Costello led the way for the Americans scoring the first goal and assisting on the other three. Chad and Spencer Asuchak are now tied for the team lead in points with the exact same stats. They both have 17 points (6G, 11A) in 15 games. 

- Gavin Gould had three assists in the game and now has a total of 10 assists which leads all ECHL rookies. Gavin is tied for third in points (17) among rookies. 

 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Chad Costello (6), Ben Carroll (1), Kris Mylarri (2) and Zach Hall (1). The game included 18 penalties for a total of 54 minutes (25 Allen - 29 Idaho) and six fighting majors.

 

 

- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/media/game-recap-americans-beat-idaho-4-2/

 

 

- Here is the game recap from the Idaho Steelhead: https://www.idahosteelheads.com/en/articles/steelheads-comeback-bid-falls-short-in-4-2-loss-to-allen  

 

 

- Here is a link to the video highlights: youtu.be/ekh2Xttq6kE

 

 

 

 

 

COACH'S CORNER

 

- I had a chance to catch up with coach Martinson at the Boise airport as the team was waiting to catch their 7:00 am flight home. Here is what he had to say: 

 

"The team played a much better game last night. Our passing was crisp and fluid."

 

"We scored two goals on the rush which is more of our style of play. You will see more of that going forward."

 

"It was a good team win, a good outing for Marotte and the team showed its toughness in the fights."

 

"We now have eight days before we play again so we will have some time off, some fun practices and also time to work on areas we need to improve.

 

"Zach Hall arrived in Allen after midnight on Monday, practiced with the team and flew to Idaho on Tuesday and then played three games in four days because we needed him. It was good to see him get a goal." 

 

"I wasn't happy with the officiating on Friday night, I thought it was much better last night." 

 

"Kelly Bent will be leaving the team to go back home to become a police officer. I have several friends from college that went into law enforcement and all were tough guys. When they did a background check on Kelly and called about him I had a feeling they would take him ASAP. He is exactly what you would want in a police officer. I am sure he will be the same person he is as a player, honest, hard working and tough. Kelly was hoping this job offer would come later in the season so he could play but they wanted him now." 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS 

- If you track the Mountain Division closely you have noticed Wichita is the hottest team in the division after a slow start. The Thunder lost five of their first seven games but have won six of the last seven and the one loss was in overtime. Wichita now has the second best points percentage in the division (.607). Utah leads the division with a points percentage of .667 and has won three straight games. Tulsa is the team that has cooled off after leading the division early in the season. Tulsa has lost four straight and watched its point percentage fall from .750 to .542 in the last week. 

 

 

- If you look at the last 10 games, five ECHL teams have won seven or more games with three of them from the Mountain Division (Utah, Idaho, Wichita). The one team with more than seven wins in the last 10 games is Newfoundland (8-2-0-0). The Growlers are threatening to run away with the regular season championship. They are on a record pace with a points percentage of .857. The next closest teams (Fort Wayne, Toledo, Utah) are at .667.

 

 

- Last season Les Lancaster scored 26 goals in 72 games, the most goals scored by an ECHL defenseman in over 20 years. It is still early in the season but another defenseman is on pace to surpass Lancaster's 26 goals. Utah defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous leads all ECHL defensemen with 18 points (10G, 8A) in 15 games. At his current pace D'Astous would score 48 goals over a 72 game season. Lancaster's situation was unique in that he played every game and was never loaned to the AHL. D'Astous in on a two (AHL/ECHL) contract with the Colorado Eagles so the likelihood he will go all season without being injured or recalled is remote. No doubt he is off to a great start. 

 

 

- After 196 games, ECHL attendance is averaging 3784 per game but the range is very wide. Two teams (Toledo and Fort Wayne) are averaging over 6800 per game while three teams (Iowa, Wheeling, Newfoundland) are averaging less than 2000 per game. Newfoundland is a special case since because it was not allowed to use its home arena for the first six home games and had to play in a neighboring town's facility. The Growlers had six sellouts but just 1168 per game. 

 

 

- There are 12 ECHL teams with average attendance between 2600 and 3650 including the Allen Americans with an average attendance of 3244 over six home games. That ranks Allen #17 in average attendance. 

 

 

- If anyone is interested in two glass seats ($25 each) for the Allen home games in December let me know. I am heading to North Dakota on a late season pheasant hunting trip so will miss the games. Email me (janssenfamily@msn.com) if interested or with questions. 

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: There has been some excellent goalie play in the ECHL this season. Here is the ECHL Stats post for the day with the details:

 

The last ECHL goalie to finish a season with a GAA below 2.00 was in 2017-18. Goalie of the Year, Parker Milner (South Carolina) finished with a 1.86 GAA. So far this season six qualified goalies (240 minutes played) have a GAA below 2.00:

 

1.60: Keith Petruzzelli, Newfoundland

1.70: Parker Gahagen, Florida

1.77: Daniel Mannella, Tulsa

1.77: Kaden Fulcher, Toledo

1.80: Samuel Harvey, Fort Wayne

1.96: Tyler Parks, Atlanta

 

The best single season GAA by an Allen goalie since the Americans joined the ECHL in 2014-15 was by Riley Gill. In 2016-17 Riley finished with a GAA of 2.22.