Allen vs Rapid City Series Preview, Colton Hargrove Update, NHL/AHL Contracted Players and More

 

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they open a three game series against the Rapid City Rush. This series and the next month will determine if the Americans can repeat the turnaround they accomplished last season. It was this time last season Allen hit the low point of the season and started the climb up the standings from last place to second place in the division. It is a tall task the Americans have ahead of them but they have an opportunity and some positives working in their favor:

• 11 of the next 14 games are at home.
  
• Allen has the strongest roster it has had all season including five NHL/AHL contracted players.
• Injured reserve players are returning to the lineup. Ryan Gagnon will return tonight with Ty Farmer and Grant Hebert returning soon.
• After giving up an average of 45 shots per game the first 17 games of the season the average the last seven games is 34.6.
   

- It was a year ago at this time coach Costello set the goal of winning two of every three games and Allen achieved that goal. That should be the measuring stick going forward starting with this series against Rapid City.

 

- To acquire all of the players the Americans have added recently there is a cost of future considerations. Some of those are already coming due. Defenseman Stanislav Demin was traded to Florida yesterday to satisfy a futures trade and that likely isn't the last one that is coming due before the Christmas trade/waivers freeze goes into effect on the 23rd.(5:00 pm EST).

- Here are some stats comparisons between Allen and Rapid City:

• Both teams play better on the road. Allen is 7-9-1-0 on the road and 1-6-0-0 at home. Rapid City is 7-5-1-0 on the road and 3-7-1-0 at home
• Allen is 6th in the division standings (.354), Rapid City is 4th (.458). 
• Allen's goal differential is -31 (GF 76, GA 107), Rapid City's is -13 (GF 74, GA 87).
• Over the last five seasons Allen's home record vs Rapid City is 12-7-0-0.
• Both teams have identical records of 4-5-1-0 over the last 10 games. 

- Special teams will play a key role in this series and Allen has a clear advantage. The Americans have the #6 ranked power play in the ECHL (23.9%) while Rapid City is ranked #24 (15.3%). Allen is #12 on the penalty kill (79.6%) and Rapid City is ranked #24 (74.4%).   

- Rapid City's leading scorers are familiar names to Allen fans and both scored four goals against the Americans last season. #42 Alex Aleardi and #28 Logan Nelson are players to watch. Hank Crone led Allen with seven goals in eight games against the Rush last season. Crone is currently on a five game point streak and has nine points in the five games. Hank is averaging 1.43 points per game since re-joining Allen 14 games ago. 

- Nine of Allen's 36 home games will utilizes two referees. Tonight is one of those games. Chad Ingalls (#15) and Tyler Hascall (#8) are scheduled to work the game.

OTHER COMMENTS

- How close are the Mountain Division standings? Allen is in last place and has a point percentage of .348. Rapid City is in the final playoff spot with a .458 point percentage. If Allen sweeps Rapid City in regulation time this week the teams would have identical .426 point percentages.

 

- It is a light schedule in the ECHL tonight with six games including two in the Mountain Division. In addition to Rapid City at Allen, Tulsa is at Kansas City. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://echl.com/news/2023/12/echl-today-dec-20

- Allen captain Colton Hargrove is taking advantage of the injury that ended his season to finally start his real estate career. Colton retired after the 2020-21 season and was about to start his career in real estate when he had the opportunity to play 3ICE hockey and met Chad Costello who had just become the head coach in Allen and was recruiting for the 2022-23 season. Hargrove, who is from Rockwall. and Costello traveled together to the 3ICE tournaments each weekend and became friends. Hargrove had never played in the ECHL as his entire pro career was in the AHL (259 games) and overseas (92 games). Costello convinced Hargrove to play for Allen and the rest is history. In his first ECHL season Hargrove had 85 points (39G, 46A) and 100 PIMS in 64 games and was named captain midway through the season. More than one opposing coach called him the best all around player in the league with his skill, strength and grit. Playing for Allen put his real estate career on hold, but he has now revived it. 

Here is what Hargrove had to say in his own words, "Unfortunately my knee injury has sidelined me for the rest of the season in Allen, but I am beyond excited to finally start my real estate career with Coldwell Banker Realty in Rockwall! This has been a dream of mine for years now and to start my career back in my hometown after a decade and a half of junior, college and professional hockey in different parts of the country and even a couple years in Europe is a blessing." 

Allen fans have always supported former players who retired in the area and started their post hockey careers. Here is Colton's website with his contact information. Give him a call if you have real estate interest or need information. https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/tx/rockwall/agent/colton-hargrove/aid_274871/

DID YOU KNOW: Here is the ECHL stats post for today which is an updated list of NHL/AHL contracted players on each ECHL team. It is strange to see Allen not at or near the bottom of this list. Notice Rapid City now holds down last place on the list with just one contracted player:

Update: NHL/AHL contracted players assigned to each ECHL team. Excludes players on IR. Notice that three of the four division leaders are toward the bottom of this list. You don’t have to have a roster full of NHL/AHL contracted players to be successful.

 

10: FW

9: NFL, WHL, SAV

8: WOR, ORL

7: *ADK, ATL, FLA, SC, REA

6: IND, IA, KAL, MNE, NOR

5: ALN, CIN, KC, TR, TUL

4: *IDH, JAX, UTA, *TOL

3: WIC

2: *GVL

1: RC

 

*Division leaders (by point percentage)

 

 

Allen Loses Series Finale, Game Recap, Video Highlights, A Look Ahead, ECHL Attendance and More

 

Everything that went well for Allen in Friday night's win was reversed last night. The Americans lost a close game (3-2) to Kansas City and head home with two of a possible six points from the series. Here is how the night went for Allen compared to Friday. Safe to say it was just the opposite:

• Friday Night
• Allen scored the first goal of the game.
  
• Allen led 1-0 after the first period and improved its record with a first period lead to 6-0-1-0.
• Allen led 3-0 after the second period and improved its record with a second period lead to 6-1-0-0.
• Allen held Kansas City to 28 shots, the first time all season holding an opponent to less than 30 shots in a game.
• Allen was 1-2 on the power play, Kansas City was 0-3.   

• Saturday Night
• Allen gave up the first goal. Record when allowing the first goals is 2-11-0-0.
• Allen trailed 1-0 after the first period. Kansas City's record with a first period lead is 10-1-1-0.
• Allen trailed 3-2 after the second period. Kansas City is 11-1-0-0 with a second period lead.
• Allen was 0-4 on the power play, Kansas city was 1-3.
• Allen allowed 37 shots after holding Kansas City to 28 on Friday. 
• Allen was outshot in all three periods, 37-27 for the game. 

- Allen was battling the odds all night but was in the game until the very end. With the worst point percentage in the league it is no time to talking about moral victories but the Americans are definitely playing better hockey, have a stronger roster, will play 11 of the next 14 games at home and will start getting injured players back soon. Whether that translates into improved play remains to be seen, but it presents a great opportunity for the Americans.

 

- Here is a comparison of the Mountain Division standings last year at this time to this season. Clearly some similarities. ECHL rank is in parenthesis:

• December 2022
• .870 - Idaho (1st)
  
• .643 - Wichita (9th)
  
• .500 - Kansas City (16th)
  
• .483 - Rapid City (20th)
  
• .423 - Utah (23rd)
  
• .420 - Tulsa (24th)
  
• .340 - Allen (27th)

• December 2023
• .780 - Idaho (2nd)
  
• .712 - Kansas City (4th)
  
• .614 - Tulsa (8th)
  
• .458 - Rapid City (20th)
  
• .440 - Wichita (22nd)
  
• .364 - Utah (27th)
  
• .354 - Allen (28th)

Worthy of note is the top and bottom team are the same and Allen has a better record this season than at the same time last season. The Americans went on to finished in second place in the division with a .535 point percentage ranked #13 in the league. It will be a tall task to replicate last season, but if it is to happen, the next month will be critical.  

- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2023/12/americans-drop-series-finale-in-kc

 

- Allen goal scorers were Solag Bakich (3) and Blake Murray (4, 2nd in Allen). Murray has three points (2G, 1A) in three games since joining Allen and is +4. Hank Crone had an assist on Murray's goal to keep his assist streak alive. Crone has assists in five straight road games and now has 16 assists in 14 games played. Here are the video highlights from the game last night. https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-dec-16-2023  

 

 

 

- The Americans will now prepare for three games next week (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) against Rapid City before the Christmas break. When you consider there are at least 12 players on the roster that weren't here a month ago and several who have yet to play a game in Allen, a couple of practices this week will help.

OTHER COMMENTS

- Some of the high flying  ECHL teams have come down to earth recently. There are no teams left with a point percentage above .800 and and just four are above .667. Here are those four teams:

 

• .792 - Greenville
• .780 - Idaho
  
• .750 - Toledo
• .712 - Kansas City
   

- Mark Rassell (Idaho) leads the ECHL in goals (15), defenseman Jalen Smereck (Cincinnati) leads the ECHL in assists (25) and Ty Pelton-Byce (Idaho) leads in plus/minus (+21). These are all monster numbers at this point of the season.

 

 

- It is a light day around the ECHL with just six games on the schedule. Three Mountain Division teams will be in action. Utah is at Fort Wayne and Wichita visits Tulsa. The Allen Americans are idle but could escape last place (by point percentage) if Utah loses to Fort Wayne in regulation. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://echl.com/news/2023/12/echl-today-dec-17

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: My ECHL Stats post today compares attendance this season to last season. Hats off to the Allen sales and marketing staff as the Americans are near the top of the list in year over year attendance increase. The numbers are even more impressive given Allen's home record is 1-6-0-0. The staff will have their hands full with 11 home games in the next 26 days. 

Here is the change in average attendance from last season (2022-23) to so far this season. Average attendance typically increases as the season progresses and with 68% of the ECHL remaining, numbers will improve for most if not all teams. Here is the increase or decrease in attendance from last season for all teams. Leaguewide average attendance is down 127 per game.

 

+501 Orlando

+361 Maine

+340 Allen

+276 Jacksonville

+194 South Carolina

+32 Kansas City

0 Savannah

-2 Tulsa

-7 Idaho

-16 Iowa

-37 Toledo

-39 Florida

-47 Kalamazoo

-89 Fort Wayne

-105 Adirondack

-127 ECHL

-132 Wheeling

-206 Greenville

-215 Newfoundland

-249 Cincinnati

-256 Norfolk

-334 Trois Rivières

-336 Indy

-385 Rapid City

-506 Reading

-605 Utah

-680 Worcester

-814 Wichita

-1083 Atlanta 

 

These numbers don’t reflect actual attendance numbers. For example Idaho is sold out almost every game so no chance for an increase. Iowa is down just 16 per game but that is from a very low attendance, 1851 last season to 1835 this season. Toledo and Fort Wayne are down slightly but draw over 7500 per game.

McAuley Hat Trick Leads Allen to Win, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Costello Comments, Rubber Match Preview, ECHL One Goal Losses and More

 Allen played arguably its best game of the season last night in beating the Kansas City Mavericks 4-1 before a crowd of 3814 at the Cable Dahmer Arena. The Americans were led by Colby McAuley who scored a goal in each period and recorded Allen's third hat trick of the season (Matt Marcinew & Easton Brodzinski the others). Since Allen lost top scorers Colton Hargrove to injury and Matt Marcinew to Europe, McAuley has stepped up to carry the goal scoring load. Over the last nine games here are Colby's stats:

• A point in eight of the nine games.
• 10 goals in nine games for a goal per game average of 1.11.
• 16 points in nine games for a points per game average of 1.78.  

- Allen checked all of the boxes of what they needed to do to win last night:

• Allen scored the first goal of the game.
  
• Allen led 1-0 after the first period and improved its record with a first period lead to 6-0-1-0.
• Allen led 3-0 after the second period and improved its record with a second period lead to 6-1-0-0.
• Allen held Kansas City to 28 shots, the first time all season holding an opponent to less than 30 shots in a game.
• Allen was 1-2 on the power play, Kansas City was 0-3.
• Allen held Kansas City's top line to zero points after the line had all six goals and all 10 assists on Wednesday.
   

- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2023/12/americans-hand-kc-4-1-loss

 

- Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/kansas-city-mavericks-vs-allen-americans-dec-15-2023

 

- The big question is can the Americans repeat the performance from last night in the rubber match tonight which has a early start (6:05 pm CST). Inconsistency has plagued Allen this season so stringing good performances together is the next step in getting things turned around. Injuries certainly haven't helped, as I wrote yesterday Allen has twice as many players on IR than any other ECHL team. The Americans have already used 38 players this season. In all of the 2022-23 season the total was 40 players.   

- A repeat of last night would be the singular key to the game tonight. Allen doesn't have to hit them all to win tonight. It should be noted over the last 10 games the Americans and Mavericks have the exact same record of 5-4-1-0. Coach Costello's post game comment after the decisive win last night sums it up, "We need more where that came from on Saturday."  

 

- The one area that could be better tonight is shots on goal by Allen. The Americans scored four goals on just 21 shots last night for a 19% shooting percentage. It is impossible to shoot that percentage consistently. Allen's shooting percentage for the season is 11.2% which is ranked #6 in the league.

- Allen held Kansas City to a season low 28 shots but were still outshot 28-21. Allen has been outshot in 20 of its 23 games. Ironically the Americans are 0-3-0-0 in the three games they outshot the opponent. The Americans are the only ECHL team winless when outshooting the opponent. 

 

TONIGHT'S LINEUP

• Forwards
• 21 Murray-29 McAuley-67 Crone
• 10 MacArthur- 26 Asuchak-19 Puricelli
• 9 Provost-23 Bakich-18 Brodzinski
• 11 Gould-14 Fournier
  

• Defense
• 4 Myllari-44 Orzeck
• 5 Demin-16 Gatenby
• 28 Jarvis-20 Williams

• Goalies
• 34 Meriläinen
• 31 Sinclair (backup)
  

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

"That was one of the first times this season we played 60 minutes of good hockey."

"We know we can do it, so finding consistency is critical if we want to get back in the fight.'

"Roster changes and commitment to playing a team game has us in a spot to succeed,"

"Colby McAuley has really been carrying the load for us. His line with Hank Crone and Blake Murray was really good tonight."

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The most goals Colby McAuley has scored in a single season since turning pro is 16. He already has 14 goals with 70% of the season remaining. In the last four games McAuley has 11 points (7G, 4A) and is +5. When Colton Hargrove was hurt and gave his "C" to Kris Myllari the new captain gave his "A" to McAuley. Colby's leadership on the ice has not just been his prolific scoring but his grit and sticking up for teammates is a big part of his game.

 

- Hank Crone is not scoring goals at the same pace as last season but his play making has been extraordinary. Hank has an assist in 10 of the 13 games since rejoining Allen. He is averaging over an assist per game (1.15). He is already second on the Americans in assists (15) despite playing 10 fewer games. Crone's assists per game average is the best in the ECHL (minimum 15 assists). 

- The point percentage range from top to bottom in each division varies widely. Here is the difference in point percentage from the first team to last team and the range for each division:

• .443 - Mountain (.813 to .370)
• .374 - South (.783 to .409)
• .262 - North (.643 to .381)
  
• .260 - Central (.738 to .478)  

 

- It will be another busy night in the ECHL with 12 games on the schedule. Here are the previews for all of the games: https://echl.com/news/2023/12/echl-today-dec-16

 

- Matt Marcinew played in his first game in Germany (DEL2) last night. He had a goal in his team's 3-1 win. Krefeld is in 10th place in the 14 team league. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: One goal losses for each ECHL team since the beginning of last season (2022-23):

 

25 - IA, WHL

24 - *FLA

23 - ATL, *KC, REA, SAV, WIC

22 - *ADK, *GVL

21 - *FW, TUL

20 - KAL, WOR

18 - IND

17 - *CIN, MNE, ORL, RC, *TOL

15 - NOR, *SC

14 - ALN, UTA

13 - *JAX

11 - TR

10 - *IDH

8 - *NFL

 

*Teams that made the playoffs last season and are currently in a playoff position this season (by point percentage).

Allen vs Kansas City Preview, Forward Bennett MacArthur Assigned to Allen, NHL Referee Story, ECHL Minor Penalty Leaders and More

 

Allen takes on Kansas City tonight (7:35 pm CST) in the second of the three games series against the Mavericks and the Americans really need a win. Allen has the worst point percentage in the ECHL (.341) but is still in the thick of the Mountain Division playoff race because four Mountain Division teams are below .500. Here is how far the Americans are behind the fourth and final playoff spot in each ECHL division (by point percentage) which shows Allen would be in deep trouble if it wasn't in the Mountain Division. The point percentage for the fourth place team in each division is in parenthesis compared to Allen's .341:

• .114 - Mountain Division (.455)
  
• .184 - Central Division (.525)
  
• .209 - South Division (.550)
  
• .222 - North Division (.563) 

- What does Allen have to do to win tonight. The simple answer is fewer defensive mistakes. Even though the Americans have improved in shots allowed over the last five games (34.6 per game average) it hasn't translated into fewer goals allowed (5.00 per game average). The result is a 1-4-0-0 record over the last five games. Not sure if you can attribute the poor defense to hockey IQ, lack of execution or caring more about scoring than winning, but allowing 4.68 goals per game (season average) will not get Allen into the playoffs. FYI, 23 of 28 ECHL teams allow a full goal less per game than Allen and the top teams allow less than three goals per game. FYI, in Allen's seven wins this season the average goals allowed was 2.43. In Allen's 15 losses, goals allowed average was 5.40. Allen will have to give up fewer than four goals tonight if they expect to win. Remember, the Mavericks are ranked #5 in the ECHL allowing an average of 2.83 goals per game. 

 

- Another key to victory tonight is finding a way to slow down Kansas City's top line who had all the goals (6) and points (16) on Wednesday and set several ECHL season highs and franchise records. It is tougher on the road when the home team gets last change, but Allen needs to find a way to slow down the top line.

 

- Neither team scored a power play goal on Wednesday and that will not happen again tonight. Allen has the better power play and penalty kill and needs to win the special teams battle to be successful tonight. 

 

- Kansas City has won four straight games against Allen and in three of the four losses the Americans gave up the first goal of the game. A reminder Kansas City is 12-2-1-0 (.833) when scoring first and Allen is 2-10-0-0 (.167) when giving up the first goal of the game. Odds heavily favor Kansas City if the Mavericks score the first goal.

 

- Allen will have another NHL/AHL contracted player available tonight. The Tampa Bay Lightning assigned forward Bennett MacArthur to Allen and he was meeting the team in Kansas City last night. He will be wearing #10. The Americans now have five NHL/AHL contracted players from four organizations. Coach Costello has been working the phones for a while trying to find NHL/AHL contracted players and his work has paid off.

• Leevi Meriläinen - Ottawa (NHL)
  
• Mark Sinclair - Belleville (AHL)
  
• Hank Crone - Chicago (AHL)
• Blake Murray - Carolina (NHL)
  
• Bennett MacArthur - Tampa Bay (NHL)

- Bennett MacArthur was signed to an entry level NHL contract (3 years) starting in 2022-23. He is a 6"1' and 200 pound, left shot forward who is 22 years old and hails from Summerside, Prince Edward Island. After turning professional last season he played in four AHL games (Syracuse) but spent the majority of time in Orlando where he played in 53 games and had 28 points (10G, 18A). In 12 games in Orlando this season he had three points (1G, 3A). His last season in junior hockey, playing for Acadie-Bathurst in the QMJHL, he totaled 77 points (42G, 35A) in 54 games. Here is what Tampa Bay's director of player development said about MacArthur when he was signed, "He is a 200-foot player. He is offensive minded and can really shoot the puck. He is a good skater, has above average skill and he's a real competitor."

Bennett MacArthur

- The referee tonight will be #10 Austin O'Rourke, the same as on Wednesday. He only called a total of six penalties in game one. I talked about Austin's dad, Dan O'Rourke, who has been an NHL referee since 1999 in the game preview on Wednesday. Here is a video interview with Dan O'Rourke where he talks about why he is riding his bike along route 66 to raise funds for the National Federation of the Blind, his NHL career and what it takes to be a NHL referee.

 

 

FYI, O'Rourke did finish the ride. Here is the story and the details of this very compelling ride: https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-referee-dan-o-rourke-completes-bike-ride-for-blind

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Here is the game preview issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2023/12/nhls-tampa-bay-lightning-assign-forward-to-allen

 

- There are 12 games on tap in the ECHL tonight. Five of the seven Mountain Divisions play tonight with Tulsa and Wichita idle. They will play their only game of the weekend tomorrow night in Tulsa. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2023/12/echl-today-dec-15   

- Kris Myllari continues to be all over the leader board for ECHL defensemen:

• #3 - Points (21)
• #4 - Goals (5)
• #4 - Assists (16)
• #1 - Power Play Points (13) 
• #1 - Power Play Assists (11)
• #2 - Power Play Goals (2)

- A defenseman, Jalen Smereck (Cincinnati), leads all ECHL players in assists (25) and is #3 in points (31). If he continues his current pace he is projected to have over 100 points. The most points scored by a defenseman in a single season in the last 10 years was 65 (Matt Register - 2017-18). 

- Former Allen player, Zane Franklin, was traded by Idaho yesterday to Cincinnati to complete a future considerations trade from earlier in the season. Not sure of the specifics of this trade but I do know sometimes when a trade is completed with future considerations it is for a specific player at a specific time. The original trade of this trade was on October 16. I doubt Idaho thought Franklin would be leading the team in power play assists (9) and would be averaging almost a point per game (.96) when they made this futures trade. Not sure if this is what happened, but I do know Idaho lost a great player that is popular with the fans. 

 

- Greenville continues to be the most balanced team in the ECHL with the #5 ranked team for average goals scored (3.73) and #5 in goals allowed (2.73). Same on special teams as Greenville is #6 on the power play (26.0%) and #5 on the penalty kill (84.4%). The Swamp Rabbits accomplish this without being loaded with NHL/AHL contracted players like some top tier teams. Greenville has only three contract players on its active roster including former Allen goalie, Jeremy Brodeur. They also have two contract players on injured reserve. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL teams with the most and fewest minor penalties this season. Plenty of playoff teams on both lists (marked with asterisk).

 

Most

139 - Norfolk*

126 - Trois Rivières*

116 - Wheeling

115 - Wichita

114 - Allen

113 - Newfoundland*

110 - Idaho*

 

Fewest

67 - Kansas City*

70 - Utah

72 - Jacksonville*

78 - Adirondack*

79 - Greenville*

82 - Iowa

83 - South Carolina*

 

*Currently in playoff position (by points percentage).

    

Allen Has No Answer for KC's Top Line, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Mountain Division Standings, ECHL Goals Increasing and More

The Allen Americans lost to the Kansas City Mavericks 6-4 last night before a Wednesday night crowd of 2512 at the Cable Dahmer Arena. The Americans had no answer for the Mavericks top line who torched Allen with all six goals and all 10 assists in the game. Patrick Curry had four goals and six points in the game which is the most goals and points in the ECHL in a game this season. His linemate, Chad Bouchardt, had five assists which is the most in a game in the ECHL this season. The third member of the line, Nolan Walker also had five points (2G, 3A). You add it all together and this line had 16 points (6G, 10A) and was +12. The rest of the Kansas City team had no points and was -2. 

 

- Allen fought back after giving up the first two goals of the game and trailing 2-0 after the first period. The Americans scored three unanswered goals in second period to take the lead 3-2. Easton Brodzinski, Colby McAuley and Blake Murray (playing his 1st game in Allen) were the goal scorers. Kansas City (Patrick Curry) scored with 38 seconds remaining in the period and the teams headed into the second intermission with the score tied 3-3. 

 

- Patrick Curry continued to cause the damage. He followed up his goal with 38 seconds remaining in the second period by scoring his third goal of the game just 46 seconds into the third period to give Kansas City a 4-3 lead. Colby McAuley scored an unassisted goal, his second goal of the game at the 7:58 mark to tie the score 4-4. It was Curry to the rescue again as he scored his fourth goal of the game just 60 seconds after McAuley's goal to give the Mavericks the lead 5-4. Allen could not get the equalizer and Kansas City scored an empty net goal with 15 seconds remaining in the game to make the final score 6-4. 

 

- Other stats and information:

• Allen was oushot 16-2 in the third period and 37-20 for the game.
• Allen has been outshot 216-119 in its five game against KC this season.
• Allen has now lost four of its last five games after winning three of four.
• In Allen's seven wins this season the Americans average goals allowed was 2.43.
• In Allen's 15 losses this season the Americans average goals allowed was 5.40.
• Allen has taken 32 penalties, KC 18 in the five games this season.
• Allen's IR list is now up to a staggering 10 players with the recent addition of Justin Allen and Johnny Walker. Allen has twice as many players on IR than any other ECHL teams and three or four times more than most teams. 

 

-  Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2023/12/americans-fall-to-the-mavericks-6-4  

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Kansas City Mavericks including the franchise record set in the game last night: https://kcmavericks.com/news/2023/12/historic-offensive-night-sees-kc-come-out-on-top-with-a-6-4-victory     

 

- Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-dec-13-2023

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Patrick Curry's four goals last night was the first four goal game in the ECHL this season. Last season there were four goal games four times. One of them was against Allen. The last Allen player to score four goals in a game was Zach Pochiro. On January 11, 2019 in a 7-3 home win over Wichita, Zach scored the first goal of the game, a power play goal, a penalty shot goal and two even strength goals including the game winning goal.   

 

- Utah and Rapid City both lost last night (RC in overtime) so the scramble among the four Mountain Division teams with point percentages under .500 for the final playoff spot remains close. Here are the four teams likely competing for one playoff spot. Team wins is in parenthesis:

• .455 - Rapid City (9)
  
• .440 - Wichita (9)
  
• .400 - Utah (8)
  
• .341 - Allen (7)

- How do the Mountain Division teams rank among all ECHL teams with about 30% of the season in the books. Here is the rank by point percentage since games played varies from a low of 19 to a high of 25. You can see the Mountain Division is very divided with teams at the top or bottom with none in the middle.

• #2 - Idaho (.804)
• #3 - Kansas City (.729)
• #8 - Tulsa (.614)
• #22 - Rapid City (.455)
• #23 - Wichita (.440)
• #26 - Utah (.400)
• #28 - Allen (.341)

 

- There are two ECHL teams with point percentages above .800 and they play very different styles. Idaho (.804) is a high octane offense with a league leading 113 goals but ranks #18 in goals allowed (75). Greenville (.818) is much more balanced, ranked #5 in goals scored (82) and #5 in goals allowed (60). Two different approaches that are both successful and clearly Kelly Cup contenders.

- The top four teams in the North Division have been going head the head this week. Last night #4 Newfoundland beat #1 Adirondack 4-3 in a shootout and #2 Norfolk beat #3 Trois Rivières 4-3. The teams play again tomorrow night.

- It is amazing how far Atlanta has fallen. The Gladiators started the season winning eight straight games including two against Allen. It is the longest winning streak in the league this season and the second longest winning streak to start the season in ECHL history. Atlanta is now in the midst of a seven game losing streak which is the longest losing streak in the ECHL this season. Atlanta has gone from the #1 team in the ECHL on November 12 (1.000) to #25 (.429) in one month.

DID YOU KNOW: The number of goals scored in the ECHL has been increasing recently. Is it a trend? Last night six ECHL games averaged 7.67 goals per game. Here is average goals per game (both teams) since 2020-21. Keep in mind an increase of .10 over the course of a full season is 100+ goals. 

 

6.64: 2023-24

6.54: 2022-23

6.37: 2021-22

5.95: 2020-21 (only 14 teams played)

 

Here are the individual team leaders in average goals per game over the same period. 

 

4.91 - Idaho, 2023-24

4.03 - Idaho, 2022-23

3.91 - Newfoundland, 2021-22

3.38 - Florida, 2020-21

Allen vs Kansas City Series Preview, Roster Update, Mountain Division IR Stats, ECHL 50 Games Winners and More

 

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they are in Kansas City to take on the Mavericks tonight, Friday and Saturday. Before delving into the series preview, here is a stats comparison between this season and last season for the Allen Americans. I found a couple of surprises, the most surprising is the Americans  scoring at a higher pace this season than last season. Here is a stats comparison on this date (December 13) between this season and last season:

• Record
• 7-13-1-0 (.357) - 2023-24
• 6-13-1-0 (.325) - 2022-23

• Goals For with Average
  
• 66 (3.14) - 2023-24
• 55 (2.75) - 2022-23 

• Goals Against with Average
• 97 (4.62) - 2023-24
• 77 (3.85) - 2022-23

• Goal Differential 
• -31 in 2023-24
• -22 in 2022-23

What struck me when looking at the stats above is with just over 25% of the season completed in both seasons the 2023-24 team is scoring at a higher pace than last season when Allen had a record setting four players with over 33 goals. On the flip side the team defense is much worse this season than in 2022-23. For the Americans to have a turnaround similar to last season the team will have to find replacements for the loss of their top two scorers, Colton Hargrove and Matt Marcinew. At the same time, the team defense will have to improve a lot, led by the addition of several recently added defensemen (Orzeck. Allen, Gatenby) and the return of Ryan Gagnon, Ty Farmer, Dalton Skelly and Dalton Gally from injured reserve.  

 

- The three game series in Kansas City will be a big test for Allen. Kansas City is the #3 team in the ECHL by points (33) and #4 by points percentage (.717). If you are looking for bright spots here are a couple. The Mavericks have been a much better road team (10-2-0-0) than home team (6-4-1-0) thus far this season. Over the last 10 games the records are similar, Kansas City is 5-4-1-0 and Allen is 4-5-1-0.

 

- The game tonight will be the fifth of 15 times Allen and Kansas City will play this season. In the first four games Allen was 1-3 and the odd stat is the road team won all four games. The Americans beat the Mavericks on a Tuesday morning (Kids Day Game) by a score of 4-3 but it took a 49 save effort by goalie Mark Sinclair. Kansas City outshot Allen 52-17 in the game. 

 

- Here are the cumulative stats in the four games between Allen and Kansas City this season:

• Kansas City leads in goals 15-10.
• Kansas City leads in shots 177-99.
• Allen had a power play goal in all four games for a total of 5-13 (38.5%).
• Kansas City had five power play goals, 5-22 (22.8%).
• Allen leads in PIMS 86-37.

 

- If you look at season long stats Kansas City has scored more goals per game than Allen (3.70 vs 3.14) and allowed fewer goals per game. The Mavericks are #4 in the ECHL allowing 2.78 goals per game. Allen is #28 allowing an average of 4.62 goals per game. The same is true in shots. Kansas City is #5 averaging 33.70 shots per game compared to Allen who is ranked #23 averaging 29.43 shots per game. The big discrepancy is in shots allowed per game, Kansas City is #3 (26.83) while Allen is #28 (43.10).

 

- Special teams are always key to any series and this series will be no different. Allen has a clear advantage on special teams. Kansas City is last in the ECHL on the penalty kill (72.2%) and Allen is #14 at 78.5%. Allen also has a slight advantage on the power play. The Americans are ranked #7 (25.0%) and Kansas City is ranked #8 (22.5%)

 

- How does Kansas City survive having the worst penalty kill percentage in the league. They do so by staying out of the penalty box. The Mavericks are the least penalized team in the ECHL averaging 7.39 minutes per game. Allen is ranked #4 averaging 16.67 penalty minutes per game. Even more telling is the number of minor penalties. Allen has taken 110 compared to Kansas City's league low of 65. Staying out of the penalty box will be key in this series for the Americans.

 

- Allen has done a good job of reducing shots allowed recently. In the last four games the Americans have given up fewer then 40 shots in all of them and the average has been 34 shots per game, well under the season average of 43 shots per game. However, the fewer shots has not translated to fewer goals which have averaged 4.75 over the last four games.

 

- For the Americans to be successful in the Kansas City series they have to allow fewer shots but that has to translate into fewer goals. 50% of the goals Allen has scored against the Mavericks this season have been scored on the power play. Allen needs to play better even strength.

 

- Scoring first and getting good starts will also be keys to this series. Kansas City is 11-2-1-0 (.821) when scoring first and Allen is 2-9-0-0 (.182) when it gives up the first goal. T ells you all you need to know about the first goal of the game. A first period lead is also very telling, Allen is 5-0-1-0 when leading after the first period, Kansas City 8-1-1-0. 

 

- The roster changes for the Kansas City series include the following:

• Goalie Leevi Meriläinen is back in Allen.
  
• Defenseman Donovan Sebrango has been recalled to Belleville.
• Forward Blake Murray has been assigned to Allen by the Carolina Hurricanes.
• Defenseman Justin Allen has been placed on injured reserve (effective 12/10). 

 

- In the four head to head games against Kansas City the scoring leaders for Allen were Matt Marcinew (2G, 5A). Colton Hargrove (2G, 4A) and Kris Myllari (1G, 5A). The players to watch from the Mavericks are #49 Cole Coskey (4G, 2A) and #44 Max Andreev (1G, 5A). 

 

- There is no doubt injuries have played a major role for Allen thus far this season. The Americans have more players on IR than any other team in the league. Here are the number of players currently on IR for the Mountain Division teams:

• 9 - Allen
• 4 - Tulsa
• 4 - Utah
• 3 - Kansas City
• 2 - Wichita
• 1 - Rapid City
• 0 - Idaho

 

- The referee scheduled for the game tonight is #12 Austin O'Rourke. O'Rourke played junior hockey in Texas in the NAHL (Lone Star Brahmas & Amarillo Bulls) and played college hockey at UMass- Lowell. His dad is long time NHL referee Dan O'Rourke who has worked close to 1400 regular season NHL games and 200 playoff games including numerous trips to the Stanley Cup finals.  

 

OTHER COMMENTS    

- Goal differential (goals for minus goals allowed) is a good proxy for how good a team has performed. The ECHL season is now 25% completed and here is the goal differential for each Mountain Division team:

• +37 Idaho
• +21 Kansas City
• +8 Tulsa
• -12 Rapid City
• -13 Utah
• -17 Wichita
• -31 Allen  

 

- With all of the Allen struggles the team is still in the thick of the playoff race because four of the seven Mountain Division teams have point percentages below .500. After this week the Americans will play 11 of its next 14 games over the next month at home with a great opportunity to move up in the standings. 

 

- Allen has played the Mountain Division teams with point percentages below .500 eight times and those above .600 11 times. Kansas City has played teams below .500 14 times and those above .600 six times. 

 

- There are six games on the ECHL schedule tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://echl.com/news/2023/12/echl-today-dec-13

 

- Here is the Allen Americans Weekly with a recap of last week and a look ahead to this week:  https://allenamericans.com/news/2023/12/americans-weekly

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the ECHL teams with 50 or more wins in a season since 2008-09. They all had great regular seasons but none went on to win the Kelly Cup. With 17 wins in 21 games, Greenville is on pace to finish with 58 wins in 2023-24 and Idaho is on pace for 55 wins.

 

2022-23

*58 - Idaho

 

2018-19

51 - Cincinnati

50 - Florida

 

2017-18

53 - Florida

50 - Toledo

 

2016-17

51 -Toledo

 

2015-16

52 - Missouri

 

2014-15

50 - Toledo

 

*All Time Record

Allen Assigned Forward Blake Murray, Roster Update, Recent Stats a Mixed Bag, Upcoming Schedule, New Helmet Rule, Glass Seats for Sale and More

 

  I am back from the hinterlands of North Dakota after another old timers late season pheasant hunting trip. Needless to say when you are pushing 80 any hunting trip is a great joy but my hunting buddy and I had a great trip and we are planning to do it again next year.

 

- A lot has happened since my last blog post so wanted to do a recap of where the Allen Americans stand from a roster standpoint and statistically.

• After the devastating blow of losing captain Colton Hargrove to injury, the Americans lost Matt Marcinew to Europe. Marcinew was Allen's leading scorer with 21 points (8G, 13A) in 18 games. He signed in the second level (DEL2) league in Germany. While he will make more money in Europe it is not like the salaries in the top league (DEL) in Germany. The regular season finishes on March 3 compared to April 14 in Allen. Marcinew signed with the Krefeld Pinguine, a team in 10th place in the 14 team league. Allen retains his ECHL rights, but remember players that want to return from Europe must do so by February 15 to be eligible to play in the ECHL. Doubt that will happen.
  
• Allen got some help from Belleville. Goalie Leevi Meriläinen played two games in Allen before returning to Belleville and defenseman Donovan Sebrango was assigned on December 4 and played the three games in Utah. Sebrango was assigned to Allen at the beginning of the season and scored the Americans first goal of 2023-24 on opening night in Idaho. He returned to Belleville after one game to be treated for an injury. 
• Allen signed free agent Gavin Gould last week to shore up the shortage of forwards after Marcinew departed. It is Gould's third stint in Allen. He was an all-star for the Americans in 2021-22 when he had 26 points (9G, 17A) in 23 games before suffering a season ending knee injury. Gould started last season with South Carolina and was acquired by Allen in a trade (for Jackson Leppard) when coach Costello was revamping the lineup in January after the Americans slow start. Gould played 13 games and had eight points (1G, 7A) before being traded to Wichita at the end of February for Stefan Fournier. 
• Today the Carolina Hurricanes assigned forward Blake Murray to the Allen Americans. Murray was a sixth round draft choice by Carolina in the 2019 NHL draft. The 22 year old, 6'2" and 187 pound left shot forward had been assigned to the Florida Everblades where he had five points (1G, 4A) in 10 games. Murray turned pro in 2020-21. He played his junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Sudbury Wolves where he totaled 166 points (86G, 80A) in 186 games over three seasons. Here is a video from 2019 when Blake was playing junior hockey in Sudbury that is a intro to the new Allen player.

 

- It has been a mixed bag from a stats point recently, but the most important stat is wins and losses. Allen lost two of three games in Utah and has lost three of the last four games. The Americans record over the last 10 games is 4-5-1-0. Here some other stats from the recent games:

• Allen has allowed fewer then 40 shots in the last four games (39, 33, 34, 30) which is vast improvement.
• The fewer shots allowed has not translated to fewer goals allowed (7, 3, 5, 4). Allen is ranked #28 in the ECHL in average goals allowed (4.62) which is 0.62 goals per game more than the #27 ranked team and 2.07 more goals per game than the #1 ranked team (Norfolk).
•  Special teams have been a bright spot. In the three games in Utah the Americans were 33.3% (3-9) on the power play and 91.7% (1-12) on the penalty kill. 
• Allen has reduced shots allowed to under 40 per game the last four games, but the Americans have outshot their opponent in just three of 21 games this season. Allen is the only team in the league that has not won a game when outshooting an opponent.
•  Allen has scored the first goal of the game 48% of the time (10 of 21) with a record of  5-4-1-0 and points percentage of .550 which is way below the ECHL average points percentage of .745. Allen's record when scoring first is much better than the 52% of the time (11-21) when the Americans give up the first goal of the game. That record is 2-9-0-0 which is a points percentage of a mere .182.  

- The Americans have couple of days in Allen before they head back out on the road for three games in Kansas City on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. After a blistering start to the season (12-2-0-0) the Mavericks has cooled off some with a record of 5-4-1-0 over the last 10 games. Kansas City just played three games against Idaho at home and went 1-1-1-0. The Mavericks will be looking to get back on track against Allen. I do not expect any of the players on injured reserve will make the trip to Kansas City. 

 

- After the trip to Kansas City the Americans will spend from December 17 to January 23 at home with the exception of a three game in three days trip to Wichita (January 5, 6, 7). Even though Allen has a worse home record (1-6-0-0) than road record (6-7-1-0) this extended time at home with 11 games at the CUTX Event Center will be a great opportunity for the Americans. 

 

- The Western Conference standings look very different by division. Every team in the Central Division has a .500+  points percentage while three teams in the Mountain Division are below .500. Games played in the Mountain Division ranges from 19 (Utah) to 25 (Wichita). Here are the standings (by points percentage):

• .795 - Idaho
• .717 - Kansas City
• .614 - Tulsa
• .452 - Rapid City
• .440 - Wichita
• .421 - Utah
• .357 - Allen
  

- Here is the points percentage in the four division for the team that is currently in fourth place and final playoff spot for the respective division:

• .543: Newfoundland, North Division
• .571: Jacksonville, South Division
• .525: Cincinnati, Indy, Fort Wayne tied, Central Division
• .452: Wichita, Mountain Division  

 

DID YOU KNOW: 2023-24 New Helmet Rule #9.6:

 

A subtle change to the helmet rule this season could see more players opt to pick up their helmet when it comes off during play instead of heading to the bench.

 

A player whose helmet comes off during play will be assessed a minor penalty unless he immediately (a) exits the playing surface or (b) puts the helmet back on (chin strap may be unfastened if helmet on player’s head). 

 

The old rule required the player to fastened his helmet before continuing play.

- Sitting on the glass at a hockey game is an unique experience especially if you have never done it. Here is your chance. I will be missing the home games in January so if you are interested in sitting on the glass, my two seats are available for the following games. The seats are in the end of the rink Allen is on offense twice. There is plenty of leg room and only two seats in the row so nobody will be going in or out. The seats are in Section 101, Row A, Seats 1 & 2. These tickets would normally sell for $60+ each, but I will sell for them $30 each. If interested email me at janssenfamily@msn.com. First come first serve. Games available are.

• January 3 vs Tulsa (Wednesday, 7:10)
• January 10 vs Utah (Wednesday, 7:10)
• January 12 vs Utah (Friday, 7:10)
• January 13 vs Utah (Saturday, 4:10)
• January 15 vs Tulsa  (Monday, 1:10)

Note the game times vary and remember all tickets are digital so I will send them to your email and you will have to claim them and load them to your phone. Email me with any questions.