Allen vs Tulsa Preview, Roster Update, Twins Facing Each Other Tonight, ECHL Contracted Players, Rookies and Veteran Stats

 

 Allen has lost eight of its last nine games (1-6-1-1) and is in sixth place in the Mountain Division, but find themselves just two points from a playoff spot. Tonight the Americans start a stretch of 12 games over the next five weeks with 10 of the 12 games at home. Home cooking and the Tulsa Oilers will be a big part of the Allen diet. Seven of the 12 upcoming games are against Tulsa and six of the seven will be at the CUTX Event Center. 

 

- Here is a roster update:

• Rookie goalie Marco Costantini has started five straight games for Allen and will make his sixth straight start tonight. Mark Sinclair is close to being ready and has looked great in practice but is still not ready. He could be ready for the weekend games.
• Justin Allen, who has been out since December 9, and Solag Bakich, who has been out since December 30 have been full participants in practice this week and should be in the lineup tonight.
• Andrew Jarvis was suspended for the last game in Idaho on Saturday. The press release om his suspension stated "any further discipline will be announced next week." After the league completed its review no additional discipline was assessed. Jarvis is available for the game tonight. The Americans now have eight healthy defensemen, so there will be a healthy scratch for the game tonight.
• Writer Bruce Garrioch has covered the Ottawa Senators a long time for the Ottawa Sun. Here is a link to a story he published yesterday about Ottawa getting healthy coming back from the NHL All-Star break. There are a lot of moving parts but the trickle down of players from Ottawa to Belleville discussed in this story would likely mean Allen will get players assigned from Belleville. https://ottawasun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/ottawa-senators/sens-hope-help-is-on-the-way-when-they-return 
    

 

- Allen's fate over the next month will largely be determined by how the Americans play against the Tulsa Oilers. It starts with three home games this week, tonight, Friday and Saturday. Next week there will be two more games against Tulsa. Allen and Tulsa have played six times this season and here are the stats:

• Allen's record against Tulsa is 3-2-1-0.
  
• Three of the six games went to overtime. Allen won two of the three.
• The winning team in all six games scored five or six goals.
• Allen was outshot 261-184.
• Allen scored power play goals in four of the six games. PP percentage was 33.3% (6-18).
• Tulsa scored power play goals in four of the six games. PP  percentage was 28.6% (6-21).
• Tulsa scored first in four of the six games.
• Allen has averaged 4.2 goals per game.
• Tulsa has averaged 4.5 goals per game.
   

 

- While Allen has struggled over the last 10 games (2-6-1-1) Tulsa has been playing well over the last 10 games (6-3-1-0). Allen has had the tougher schedule having just finished six road games against Kansas City and Idaho. 

 

- Tulsa has been a much better home team (14-9-2-0) than road team (7-9-1-0) while Allen is just the opposite. The Americans are 11-12-2-1 on the road and 7-11-0-0 at home. The Americans started the season 0-5-0-0 at home. At the end of December Allen started a home streak of 6-1-0-0. Just before the most recent road trips to Kansas City and Idaho the Americans lost three straight home games. Allen needs to get back on the winning ways at home starting tonight.

 

- The biggest key to this series will be team defense. If Allen can't hold Tulsa to fewer than four goals it will be a tough week. The Americans have lost eight of their last nine games and in those eight loses allowed 4, 6, 4, 5, 5, 5, 3, 4, 5 goals. In the lone win Allen allowed just two goals. The question remains can the Americans hold Tulsa to three or fewer goals? 

 

- Special teams will also play a big part in the many games against Tulsa this month. The team that won the special teams battle has won all six previous games between these teams. If you look at the six head to head games both teams have been good on the power play with six power play goals. If you compare overall power play percentage the advantage goes to Allen. The Americans are ranked #9 in the ECHL with a power play percentage of 22.1%. Tulsa is ranked #28 with a power play percentage of 15.2%.

 

- If you are looking for players to watch tonight the top of the list is Colby McAuley for Allen who has nine points (5G, 4A) in six games against Tulsa. Tulsa's Eddie Matsushima (#15) has torched the Americans for 10 points (5G, 5A) in five games against Allen. Former Allen forward Tyler Poulsen (#11) has 23 points all season, but 30% of them (4G, 3A) have come against the Americans.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- It will be a family affair in the game tonight. Allen rookie goalie Marco Costantini has an twin brother, Anthony, who is a defenseman (#10) for the Oilers. Anthony has an AHL deal with San Diego and is  assigned to Tulsa. Here is a video interview with Marco that gives you some background on Marco and his brother:

 

 

- The ECHL Stats post (below) covers players on ECHL rosters that are NHL/AHL contracted, are rookies and are veterans. Here is the detailed information for Allen:

• NHL/AHL contracted (4) - Hank Crone, Bennett MacArthur, Blake Murray, Mark Sinclair
• Rookies (5) - Justin Allen, Solag Bakich, Marco Costantini, Ty Farmer, Ty Fournier
• Veterans (2) - Colton Hargrove, Colin Jacobs

 

- With a win tonight Allen will tie idle Utah for fourth place in points (41). It is a light Wednesday night schedule around the ECHL with only five games being played. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/02/echl-today-feb-7    

 

 

- NHL/AHL contracted players need to play five games in the ECHL to be qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs. Two players that have been assigned to Allen by Belleville this season are one game shy of qualifying. Defenseman Donovan Sebrango and forward Tarun Fizer have played four games in Allen. Would be nice to get them qualified sooner rather than later. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the ECHL teams with the most and fewest NHL/AHL contracted players, rookies and veterans:

 

Most Contracted Players

12 - NFL, FW

10 - KC, SAV, WHL

 

Fewest Contracted Players

3 - IDH, RC

4 - ADK, ALN, CIN, GVL, KAL, NOR, WIC

 

Most Rookies

15 - IA

14 - NFL, WOR

13 - UTA

 

Fewest Rookies

5 - ALN

6 - FLA

7 - GVL, IND, JAX, KC

 

Most Veterans

5 - IND

4 - MNE

3 - FLA, IDH, JAX, KAL, ORL

 

Fewest Veterans

0 - WIC, WOR

1 - ADK, GVL, IA, KC, NOR, REA, SC, TOL, TUL, WHL

Allen Falls to 6th, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Looking Ahead and More

 

The Allen Americans finished their regular season with Idaho last night and it ended in another loss. The final score was 5-4 before another sellout crowd (5144) at the Idaho Central Arena. Idaho finished the 11 game head-to-head series this season against Allen with a record of 8-3 including 7-1 at home.

 

- The game last night was similar to the Friday night loss in many ways:

• Idaho scored first as they did in all three games in the series.
• Allen came back from first period deficits both nights (1-0 & 2-0) to tie the score at the end of the first period. 
• Idaho dominated the second period both nights outscoring Allen 3-0 to put the games out of hand. 
•  Friday night Idaho outshot Allen 14-6 in the second period. Last night was even worse as the Steelheads outshot the Americans 17-1 in the second period. The one shot is tied for the fewest shots in any period in the ECHL this season. 
• Allen played its best period both nights in the third. Friday night Allen outshot Idaho 18-9 in the third period and outscored the Steelheads 1-0, but the rally fell short. Last night Allen outshot Idaho 12-7 in the third period and outscored the Steelheads 2-0, but the rally fell short.

- The combined stats for Friday and Saturday show how the first periods were even, the second periods were dominated by Idaho and the third periods were dominated by Allen. Unfortunately the Allen comebacks fell short both nights:

• Shots
• 1st period: 28-17 Idaho
• 2nd period: 32-7 Idaho
• 3rd period: 30-16 Allen

• Goals
• 1st period 3-3 tied
• 2nd period 6-0 Idaho
• 3rd period 3-0 Allen

- Allen goal scorers were Nolan Orzeck (5), Easton Brodzinski (18), Bennett MacArthur (5) and Eric Williams (4). Hank Crone had two assists in the game and has moved into the #7 spot in the ECHL with 31 assists in 33 games. Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-idaho-steelheads-feb-3-2024 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/02/game-recap-americans-swept-in-three-game-series-in-idaho
• Idaho Steelheads: https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2024/02/steelheads-complete-sweep-over-americans-with-5-4-victory
   

 

- It seems like in each game in Idaho when the Americans were rallying something happened. Last night Allen scored two third period goals to cut the score to 5-4 with over 10 minutes remaining in the game. An ill advised offensive zone penalty when Allen was on the power play seemed to kill the momentum. The Americans did get one more power play opportunity late in the the game but could not capitalize. They came close after pulling the goalie but could not get the equalizer.  
 

 

- The sweep in Idaho proved costly for Allen in the standings. Allen has fallen to sixth place in the Mountain Division. Since January 12 the Americans record is 1-6-1-1. And if you thought things will get better after this tough six game road trip to Kansas City and Idaho you may have to rethink expectations. Allen is about to get a heavy dose of the Tulsa Oilers who have a better record over the last 10 games than Idaho. Tulsa has won six of its last eight games with a record of 6-1-1-0. In a 10 day period between February 7-17 Allen and Tulsa will play five times, but four of the five will be home games for the Americans.   

- This week's results have solidified what has been the case for a while. The top two teams in the division (Kansas City & Idaho) will not be caught and the bottom team (Wichita) is destined for last place. That leaves four teams vying for two playoff spots and Tulsa's recent success is turning it into three teams (Rapid City, Allen, Utah) vying for one playoff spot. Here are the Mountain Division standings by points with points percentage in parenthesis:

• 66 points - Kansas City (.786)
• 60 points - Idaho (.682)
• 46 points - Tulsa (.548)
• 40 points - Rapid City (.465)
• 39 points - Utah (.453
  
• 39 points - Allen (.443)
• 30 points - Wichita (.357)

 

- There will be more changes to the standings today even though Allen is idle as five division teams will be in action this afternoon. Rapid City is at Maine, Utah at Tulsa and Kansas City visits Wichita. It is a heavy 10 game ECHL Sunday schedule today. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews. https://echl.com/news/2024/02/echl-today-feb-4   

DID YOU KNOW: After the games today less than 40% of the ECHL regular season remains, 399 of 1008 games. Here are the point leads for the top team in each division along with their record over the last 10 games. Will the current top teams become the division champion?

 

North Division

Adirondack has a 15 point lead over Norfolk and is 8-0-1-1 in the last 10 games.

 

South Division

Greenville has a 8 point lead over Jacksonville and is 7-3-0-0 in the last 10 games.

 

Central Division

Toledo has a 8 point lead over Wheeling and Fort Wayne and is 2-5-1-2 in the last 10 games.

Mountain Division

Kansas City has a 6 point lead over Idaho and is 8-1-1-0 in the last 10 games.

Allen's 4-2 Loss Included 123 Combined PIMS, Game Recap, Video Highlights, My Take on the PIMS, Attendance Stats and Goals Per Game Leaders

 

The box score shows Allen lost to the Idaho Steelheads last night by a score of 4-2 before a sellout crowd of 5213 at the Idaho Central Arena. It was the 20th straight sellout for the Steelheads. The headline doesn't come close to describing the game. An evenly matched and tame first period ended in a 1-1 tie. Idaho scored the first goal of the game and Allen responded on a Johnny Walker goal. Idaho had the edge in shots (13-10) and there was one minor penalty (against Idaho) and Allen failed to convert.

 

- Idaho dominated the second period outshooting the Americans 14-6 and outscoring Allen 3-0 to essentially put the game away. There were two minor penalties called in the second period, both against Allen, and Idaho converted on one of the two. Idaho took a commanding 4-1 lead into the second intermission. 

 

- Early in the third period (3:54) Idaho took a 5 minute major penalty/game misconduct for slashing and Allen scored (Colby McAuley) 26 seconds into the power play to cut the score to 4-2. It gave the Americans hope with over four minutes remaining in the power play. Allen came close but could not reduce the deficit despite outshooting the Steelheads 18-9 in the period. 

 

- Things went downhill in the third period. After just three minor penalties being called in the first two periods the third period was wild. When the dust settled the third period totaled 17 penalties for 117 minutes. Add the six penalty minutes from the first two periods and the game total of 123 combined penalty minutes by both teams is the second highest total in the ECHL this season. It is hard to imagine there won't be some suspensions. There was a melee after the game was over and all of the players were on the ice. Six players (three from each team) were given 10 minute penalties ranging from inciting to continuing an altercation.  Both teams might have caught a break in the way the referees handed out the penalties in the third period. Based on the rules cited, none of the penalties come with an automatic suspension, but the all encompassing "at the discretion of the Commissioner" is lurking for several of the incidences in the third period. I am sure there is a lot of blame you can attribute to both teams but to my eyes the activity after the game was over was started after an Idaho player skated over to challenge Robidoux. If you watch the replay both teams were going their own way until he skated over to a group of Allen players. I have to admit listening to the home broadcast of the activities after the final horn seemed way over the top in assessing blame and criticizing Allen. It was way beyond a normal homer call, which you would expect from a home broadcaster. 

 

- The conventional wisdom is in the game tonight players will have some scores to settle. That certainly could happen especially when you consider this is the last regular season game between these teams this season. It is clear the Allen players were not happy with the actions of one of the Idaho players that was not called a penalty. Tune in early tonight to see what happens. 

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams. The Allen press release says there was a combined 57 PIMS in the third period and the Idaho press release say a combined 42 PIMS. I think the teams had to write press releases right after the game before all of the post game penalties were entered into the official boxscore. As of this morning the third period combined PIMS is indeed 117 minutes:  

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/02/game-recap-americans-fall-4-2
• Idaho Steelheads game recap: https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2024/02/nicholas-canade-scores-twice-in-feisty-win-over-americans-4-2   
  

 

- Here is a link to the video highlights. Unfortunately it doesn't show any of the activity that led to all of the penalties in the third period.  https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-idaho-steelheads-feb-2-2024

- The common refrain you keep hearing after Allen loses in Idaho is the Americans can hang with the Steelheads. It was a bad call, a bad turnover or special teams miscue that led to the loss. However, the stats paint a different picture. Over the last two seasons Allen is 1-10-0-0 in Idaho and in the lone win the Americans were out shot 44-19. Add in the playoffs and the record in Idaho is 2-13-0-0. You hope Allen can find a way to get a win in the final game tonight, but the stats say Idaho will be a big favorite to sweep the series. 

 

- Allen's offense has sputtered over the last eight games. The Americans have scored four goals twice and came away with a win and a shootout loss. In the other six games, dating back to January 12, Allen scored two goals four times, one goal once and three goals once. The average goals scored over the last eight games was 2.50. Over the same eight games Allen has allowed an average of 4.25 goals per game. Not the formula for consistent success.

 

- In the bigger picture it was a step backwards for the Americans last night as Tulsa, Rapid City and Utah all earned points courtesy of Tulsa's 3-2 overtime win over Utah. Allen is holding on to fourth place by a thread. Here are the Mountain Division standings by points with points percentage in parenthesis:

• 64 points - Kansas City (.780)
• 58 points - Idaho (.674)
• 45 points - Tulsa (.549)
• 39 points - Allen (.453)
• 38 points - Rapid City (.452)
• 37 points - Utah (.440)
• 30 points - Wichita (.366)

 

- The Mountain Division is home to the #1 team in the league in Kansas City, 31-8-2-0 (.780) and the #28 team in the league in Wichita, 12-23-6-0 (.366). The bottom four teams in the division are ranked #23 (Allen), #24 (Rapid City), #25 (Utah) and #28 (Wichita) in the league. If the playoffs started today, Allen would be in despite being the #23 ranked team in the league.

 

- Almost 75,000 fans attended 14 ECHL games last night, an average of 5336 per game. The attendance varied widely from 9036 to 1641. Here is the complete list: 

• 9036 - Wichita
• 8965 - Jacksonville
• 8169 - Fort Wayne
• 8168 - Toledo
• 6795 - Savannah
• 5294 - Tulsa
• 5042 - Adirondack
  
• 5213 - Idaho
• 4262 - Maine
• 3756 - Newfoundland
• 3440 - Greenville
• 2885 - Kalamazoo
• 2048 - Wheeling
• 1641 - Trois Riviéres

 

- There is another full slate of games in the ECHL tonight with all 28 teams in action. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/02/echl-today-feb-3

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: While no Allen players made the list blow, two are averaging exactly .50 goals per game. Colby McAuley has 20 goals in 40 games and Blake Murray has 11 goals in 22 games. Allen's all time record for average goals per game is held by Scott Howes. Scott scored 21 goals in 22 games to start the 2012-13 season, was loaned to the AHL and never returned. His .96 goals per game average has never been and will likely never be touched. Second place on the all time list is Hank Crone. Last season Hank had 49 goals in 69 games for an average of .71. Third place on the all time list is Gary Steffes who scored 44 goals in 63 games in 2014-15 for a goals per game average of .70.

 

ECHL players averaging more than .55 goals per game (minimum 20 games) this season:

.70 Mark Rassell, IDH

.67 Eddie Matsushima, WIC

.61 Alex Whelan, ATL

.60 Maxim Cajkovic, WHL

.59 Alex Kile, MNE

.56 Brandon Hawkins, TOL

.56 Keaton Mastrodonato, IDH

.56 Vincent Marleau, SAV

.56 Lucas Svejkovsky, WHL

   

Allen vs Idaho Game Preview, Comparing Remaining Schedules, Les Lancaster Update, ECHL Attendance and More

 

The Allen Americans have 30 games remaining in the regular season and are currently in fourth place in the Mountain Division standings with a losing record and a points percentage of .464. Utah and Rapid City are tied for fifth place at .439 and have a game in hand over the Americans. These three teams are likely vying for one playoff spot. Here is a look at the schedules for these three teams the rest of the season:

 

- The Americans are finished playing Utah and play Rapid City three times, all on the road. Not much ground to gain in head to head battles. Of Allen's 30 remaining games here is a breakdown by opponents points percentage:

• .775 - Kansas City, 5 games (2H, 3A)
• .744 - Adirondack, 3 games at home
• .667 - Idaho, 2 games on the road
• .538 - Tulsa, 10 games (8H, 2A)
• .538 - Kalamazoo, 3 games on the road
  
• .464 - Allen's point percentage
• .439 - Rapid City, 3 games on the road
• .375 - Wichita, 4 games (2H, 2A)    

 Conclusions

• 50% of the remaining games are at home. 
• 77% of the remaining games are against teams with a better record than Allen.
• 33% of the remaining games are against teams ranked #1, #2 and #5 in the ECHL.

- Here is the percentage of remaining games against opponents with a better record, for the three teams battling for the final playoff spot: 

• 77% - Allen (23 of 30)
• 61% - Rapid City (19 of 31), plus the Rush play Utah 6 times, they have identical .439 percentages
  
• 81% - Utah (25 of 31), plus 6 games against Rapid City 

 

- Utah clearly has the toughest schedule down the stretch with 16 of its remaining 31 games against Kansas City (6 games) and Idaho (10 games). Utah and Rapid City play each other six times (home and home series).

 

ALLEN VS IDAHO PREVIEW

- Allen has had a couple of disappointing loses the last two outings but has still come away with points. As I mentioned yesterday, the Americans three game point streak (1-0-1-1) is the longest in the division right now. The goal tonight is finding a way to continue that streak. 

 

- The game on Wednesday was a pretty evenly matched with both teams having plenty of scoring opportunities, both goalies were outstanding and neither team was able to score on the few power play opportunities they had. Idaho scored the first goal of the game, but Allen had the lead after the second period.  

 

- Allen held the highest scoring team in the league to two goals less than its average and 15 shots fewer than shots given up in the previous games in Idaho. And the Americans held the best power play unit in the league scoreless. If the Americans can duplicate that effort again tonight they will have an excellent chance to keep their point streak alive. 

 

- Allen came out of the game on Wednesday fairly clean from an injury perspective. If you watched the game you may have seen Ty Fournier take a puck to the face. If he can't go you could see Dalton Skelly in the lineup tonight. There was some talk before the team left for Idaho that Mark Sinclair could join the team for the weekend, but that is not the case. He should be ready to go next week when Allen plays Tulsa three times at home. 

 

- The game tonight is one of the 25% of home games for each ECHL team where they use the two referee system. Rocco Stachowiak (#28) and Trevor Wholford (#38) will work the game. Wholford was the lone referee on Wednesday. He called nine penalties but for the most part let the players play. There were only five power play opportunities in the game (two for Allen, three for Idaho). Players will have to clean up some of the behind the play stick stuff with the second referee in place.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Spencer Asuchak didn't take long to get to Romania and settled in with his new team. He played last night wearing his familiar #26 jersey. His team (Csikszereda) won 2-1 in overtime. His team is in fourth place in the 10 team league but just one point out of second place. 

 

- Another former Allen star, Les Lancaster is also changing teams. In 2020-21 Lancaster set Allen's all time franchise record for defensemen in goals (26) and points (64). He had twice as many goals as any other defensemen in the league and led the Allen Americans in points. For his efforts he was selected as the ECHL Defenseman of the Year. Lancaster signed in the top league in Finland for 2021-22 and has been there ever since and has had great success. Last season he led all defensemen in the league in points. Earlier this week it was announced he and his team had mutually agreed to terminate his contract. I am sure he had already had a deal to play elsewhere. The elsewhere is the top league in Germany, the DEL. Lancaster will join ECH Munchen, the defending DEL champion. They are currently in fourth place in the 14 team league. It is possible he could be paired with another Allen alum. One of his teammates is Konrad Abeltshauser who was on the 2015 Allen  Americans Kelly Cup team. He returned home to Germany after the 2014-15 season and signed with EHC Munchen where he has played ever since. In addition to his Kelly Cup ring he as won four DEL championships with EHC Munchen (2016, 2017, 2018, 2023).  

 

- Three Mountain Division teams have double digit road wins and they all have better road records than home records. Here are the three:

• Kansas City: 16-2-0-0 on the road, 14-6-2-0 at home
• Idaho: 14-6-0-0 on the road, 13-7-12-1 at home
• Allen: 11-10-2-1 on the road, 7-11-0-0 at home 
  

 

- It is a rarity but there is a full slate of games in the ECHL both tonight and tomorrow night with all 28 teams in action. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews for the games tonight. Greenville vs South Carolina in the South Division is the marquee matchup tonight. https://echl.com/news/2024/02/echl-today-feb-2    

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about attendance. Allen's average attendance this season is 3781 which is +265 per game better than last season (3516). Allen still has half of its home dates (18) remaining and attendance usually increases the rest of the season so the Americans should end up with an even bigger year over year increase.

 

The ECHL season is 57% completed and average attendance is up 2.7%, 4757 vs 4629 last season. Attendance typically improves as the season progresses so this gap should continue to widen. Here is a comparison of average attendance:

 

2023-24

1 team above 8000 (Jacksonville)

4 teams above 7000

8 teams above 6000

0 teams below 2000

 

2022-23

0 teams above 8000

3 teams above 7000

7 teams above 6000

1 team below 2000 (Iowa)

 

Allen Loses in Overtime, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Division Leaders Have Wide Gap, ECHL Point Leaders and More

 

The Allen Americans lost to the Idaho Steelheads 3-2 in overtime last night before a sellout crowd of 5293 at the Idaho Central Arena. It was an impressive 21st sellout in 22 home games for Idaho this season. Despite the fact Allen has blown third period leads in back to back games that led to an overtime loss and shootout loss the Americans played a good game last night.

 

- Allen surrendered the first goal of the game at the 16:18 mark of the first period but immediately responded when Easton Brodzinski scored the equalizer just 60 seconds later. The game was tied 1-1 at the end of the first period. 

 

- Allen was the better team in the second period outshooting Idaho 17-11. It looked like it would be a scoreless period until Hank Crone took a great pass from Eric Williams an blasted it home with 15 seconds left. Allen took its 2-1 lead into the second intermission and all looked good for the Americans. The Americans hadn't lost a road game all season (9-0-0-0) when leading after the second period prior to blowing the lead in Kansas City last Saturday. Certainly it wouldn't happen again, but it did.

 

- Idaho scored the only goal of the third period to tie the scored 2-2 and force overtime. It took 58 seconds into overtime for Idaho to score the game winner. The Americans never got the puck out of its defensive zone, lost a faceoff, turned the puck over and that was all Idaho needed to score the game winner. Allen's overtime/shootout record has fallen to 2-3 (.400). 

 

- Despite the back to back blown leads the last two games that led to an overtime loss and shootout loss there was a lot of encouraging stats from the game last night.

• Allen had allowed 5.2 goals per game in the previous five games in Idaho. Last night the Americans gave up just two goals in regulation.
• In the previous five games the average shots favored Idaho 48-28. Last night the shot total in regulation time was in favor of Idaho 36-33. It was the first game all season (home or away) Allen held Idaho to fewer than 41 shots.
  
• Allen held the league's best power play unit scoreless (0-3). 
• After going 0-8-0-0 against Idaho last season Allen proved last night it can play with the Steelheads on the road. Getting three of six points out of this series, just like last week against Kansas City, is a realistic goal.

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Easton Brodzinski (17) and Hank Crone (15). They along with Colby McAuley (19 goals) are the Americans leading goal scorers. Here are the video highlights with the goals and some great saves by both goalies: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-idaho-steelheads-jan-31-2024

- Here are the game recaps issued by both teams:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/01/game-recap-americans-earn-a-point-in-overtime-loss
  
• Idaho Steelheads: https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2024/01/ty-pelton-byce-scores-58-seconds-into-overtime-in-3-2-win

 

- The teams will have today off before the series resumes Friday night. One area that is key for Allen to winning this the weekend is an improved power play. Over the last 15 games dating back to the series at home against Idaho at the end of December the Allen power play percentage is 9.8% (5-51). During the current road trip to Kansas City and now Idaho the power play percentage is just 7.7% (1-13). When you are taking on the best power play team in the ECHL, Allen will have to win the special teams battle if it expects to win.

OTHER COMMENTS

- Allen has lost two straight games but also has the longest point streak (3 games) in the Mountain Division (1-0-1-1). The longest point streak in the ECHL is Adirondack who has points in 14 straight games on  record of 12-0-1-1. 

- There are four ECHL teams with a points percentage above .700 and they are the four division leaders. All four division leaders have a sizeable lead. Here are the points percentages for the top two teams in each division:

• North Division
• .744 Adirondack
• .548 Norfolk
  

•  South Division
• .726 Greenville
• .625 South Carolina
  

• Central Division
• .700 Toledo
• .575 Wheeling

• Mountain Division
• .775 Kansas City
• .667 Idaho

- Here are the Mountain Division Friday night games:

• Allen at Idaho
• Utah at Tulsa
• Kansas City at Wichita
• Rapid City at Maine

- After this series with Idaho the Allen Americans will play 13 of 18 games through March 23 at home. Of the 13 home games six will be against Tulsa and five against Kansas City. Of the five road games during this period there will be one game road trips to Tulsa and Wichita and a three game road trip to Kalamazoo. 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL point leaders as of January 31:

 

51: Brandon Hawkins, Toledo

49: Wade Murphy, Idaho

49: Patrick Curry, Kansas City

47: Alex Kile, Maine

47: Jalen Smereck, Cincinnati

46: Peter Bates, Wichita

46: Zack Andrusiak, Cincinnati

44: Erik Bradford, Kalamazoo

43: Hank Crone, Allen

43: Jack Dugan, Fort Wayne 

 

Based on points per game average and games remaining, only Brandon Hawkins is projected to reach 90 points this season. Last season Hank Crone led the ECHL in points with 105 and the only other player to exceed 90 points was Jack Combs (Allen) who had 95 points.

 

 

Allen vs Idaho Series Preview, Former Allen Players Positioned for Championships, Roster Breakdown and More

 

The Allen Americans open the second half of the toughest six game road trip of the season tonight in Idaho. Last week the Americans earned three of a possible six points against Kansas City, the team with the best points percentage in the league. This week the Americans go up against the team with the fifth best points percentage in the league. If Allen can earn three or more points in the three games against Idaho it will be a successful road trip.

 

- Allen has already visited Idaho twice this season and has a record of 1-4-0-0 and remember the lone win was the game on opening night of the season when goalie Leevi Meriläinen stole the game. Allen was outshot 45-19 but managed to get the victory. 

 

- Here are the stats from the five previous games in Idaho:

• Allen has given up an average of 5.2 goals per game.
• Allen has scored an average of 3.0 goals per game.
• Allen has given up an average of 47.8 shots per game.
• Allen has taken an average of 28.4 shots per game.
• Allen's power play percentage was 21.7% (5-23)
• Allen's penalty kill percentage was 86.2% (4-29)

 

- You look at the stats above and it is abundantly clear what Allen has to do to be successful and it is all about team defense. You can't give up 47.8 shots and 5.2 goals and expect to get any points out of this series. To be fair the Americans have done a better job of holding teams to fewer shots recently and the team that is in Idaho this week is vastly different than the last time Allen visited the Steelheads in November. Ten players that played in the last game against Idaho are not with the team this week.

 

- As always special teams will be a key in this series and Allen had the advantage in the five previous games in Idaho. Allen's power play percentage was 21.7% compared to Idaho's 13.8%. However, if you look at the most recent series in Allen the Steelheads were 4-14 (28.6%) on the power play compared to the Americans 1-12 (8.3%). Allen's power play also struggled last week against Kansas City going 1-13 (7.7%).

 

- Allen's power play has been struggling for the last month. A month ago Allen had the #3 ranked power play in the ECHL at 26.7%. It is now ranked #9 at 21.7%. Idaho has been just the opposite and is now the #1 ranked power play in the ECHL at 27.9%. Coach Costello has emphasized with the team the importance of taking fewer penalties that lead to power plays opportunities. For the season Allen has had 152 power play opportunities but the opponents have had 177. 

 

- Allen and Idaho have a combined record of 31-8-2-1 when scoring first. Allen's points percentage when scoring first is .700 and Idaho's is .826. These stats tell you all you need to know about a good start. Scoring first ties into playing with the lead. The combined record for Allen and Idaho when leading after the first period is 21-3-2-1 (.833) and when leading after the second period the combined record is 34-3-1-1 (.897). The bottom line is a great start and playing with the lead will be a big key in this series.

 

-  Here are a couple of excellent previews of the Allen vs Idaho, one from each team. Plenty of stats and information on both teams. Well worth the read:

• From the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/01/game-day-preview-americans-at-idaho-810-pm-cst 
• From the Idaho Steelheads:  https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2024/01/idaho-steelheads-weekly-week-15-13024

 

- Players to watch for in this series are:

• Hank Crone has nine points (5G, 4A) in six games against Idaho.
• Blake Murray has five points (1G, 4A) in just three games against Idaho.  
• Kris Myllari has seven points (2G, 5A) in eight games against Idaho.
• #6 Wade Murphy has 10 points (4G, 6A) in eight games against Allen.
• #92 Mark Rassell has 10 points (3G, 7A) in eight games against Allen.
• #43 Matt Register is always good against Allen and has been averaging a point a game the last month. 

OTHER COMMENTS

- It is a light schedule in the ECHL tonight with three games on tap. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews. https://echl.com/news/2024/01/echl-today-jan-31

 

- Just two points separate fourth place Allen (38 points) from Utah and Rapid City who have 36 points. It looks more and more like only one of these three teams will make the playoffs. After this series with Idaho, Allen will play seven games through March 1st and six of them will be against Tulsa. Five of the six games will be home games. 

 

- Had a chance to catch up with Steve Martinson last night. He and Michelle are is still working on their solar business. Their daughter, Lily, is a junior at Providence College and still playing hockey. Steve let me know she is on the #1 power play and has a cannon of a shot from the point. Martinson clearly keeps up with the ECHL and was talking about teams and players like he was still coaching. Not sure if he would ever get back in the grind of coaching in the ECHL but if these new franchises wanted a coach that could put together a good team quickly all they would have to do is look at Martinson's resume. Not just the 10 championships but that fact that he won a championship in his first year coaching in San Diego and his first year coaching in Allen.

 

-  Here is a list of former Allen Americans players that have a great chance to win a championship this season. Their team is currently in first place with the playoffs not that far away. Here are the players, the team, the league, the country and the years they played in Allen

• Les Lancaster - Ilves - Liiga - Finland (2019-21)
  
• Colton Saucerman - Sheffield - EIHL - England (2022-23) 
  
• Jordie Benn - Brynas - HockeyAllsvenskan - Sweden (2009-10)
• Brett Neumann - Sheffiled - EIHL - England (2020-21)
  
• Jake Hildebrand - Eisbaren Berlin - DEL - Germany (2015-16)
  
• Dominic Cormier - Sheffield - EIHL - England (2020-12)

DID YOU KNOW: Here is where the Allen roster stands in three key categories. Allen is at the low end compared to the rest of the league in the number of players in each category:

• 4 - NHL/AHL contracted players (Crone, Murray, MacArthur, Sinclair)
• 5 - Rookies (Allen, Bakich, Constantini, Farmer, Sinclair)
• 2 - Veterans (Hargrove, Jacob) 

As a comparison Fort Wayne and Newfoundland have 12 NHL/AHL contracted players, Indy has five veterans (one on IR) and Newfoundland has 14 rookies.

Tidbits From Allen Practice, Asuchak Signs in Romania, Roster Update, Deadlines for Going to and Returning from Europe and More

 

  It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they fly to Boise this morning where they will take on the Idaho Steelheads on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. All three games will start at 7:10 pm local time (8:10 pm Allen time). I attended practice yesterday and had the chance to talk to the coaches, players and staff. Here is the information I picked up:

- The team had a bus breakdown shortly after leaving Kansas City on Saturday night. A four hour delay caused the team to arrive back in Allen around 9:00 am Sunday morning.

- Colton Hargrove was at practice cheering on (chirping) his teammates. His surgery went well and he is already lifting some light weights as his rehab continues. You can expect to see him around the team on a consistent basis.

 

- Spencer Asuchak left yesterday for Europe where he has signed to play in Romania for Csikszereda in the Erste Liga. A pretty impressive list of former Allen players have played for Csikszereda:

• Jack Combs
• Colton Yellow Horn
• Judd Blackwater
• Garrett Clarke
• Aiden Brown (currently on the team)

 

-  Asuchak leaves Allen as the all-time leader in games played (511), goals (155) and penalty minutes (591). The 32 year old has played 11 season in Allen, five more than any other player. I caught up with Spencer last night at the airport as he and his family (wife and dogs) were about to head to Europe and this is what he had to say, "It was an extremely difficult decision but with where I am at in my career I felt this might be my last opportunity to be able to see the world while still playing. I am forever grateful to have gotten to spend 11 seasons with such an amazing organization with the most amazing fans. Allen will always be home and I am forever thankful for everything it has given me."

- Forward Bennett MacArthur has been assigned to Allen by Tampa Bay and was at practice yesterday. In his first stint with Allen MacArthur played in 12 games and had 10 points (3G, 7A) and was +6.

- Goalie Mark Sinclair, who has been out with an injury since January 6 could be available by the weekend. He won't play on Wednesday but could possibly be ready for the weekend.

 

- Two players who are on injured reserve were practicing yesterday. Defenseman Justin Allen was practicing wearing the "no contact" jersey which is now green. Solag Bakich was a full participant in practice.

 

- Liam Finlay hasn't played since the end of October and there was some question as to whether he would play again this season. I heard he is feeling better and it is possible he could be back in Allen in the near future. That would be a big lift for the Americans.

 

- With Spencer Asuchak headed to Europe the Americans will have an "A" to give out. There are several leaders in the locker room and on the ice deserving so I would expect coach Costello will take a little time before handing out the "A" again.

 

- I would describe the practice yesterday as spirited but you could tell the payers were loose and having fun. The drills put together by the coaches helped. I didn't sense any hangover from the disappointing shootout loss in Kansas City. If anything, I get the sense the Americans are confident if they end up playing Kansas City in the playoffs they can beat the Mavericks.

 

- You can't help but think how much better Allen could be in the playoffs if they get healthy and get some help from Belleville. Ottawa is definitely not making the playoffs and Belleville is tied for the last playoff spot in its division. It is just speculation at this point but these additions are possible:

• Liam Finlay
• Leevi Meriläinen
• Donovan Sebrango
• Tarun Fizer
          

 

- I will have a complete game preview tomorrow but it is worth noting Allen's record over the last 10 games is 5-4-0-1 and Idaho's record over the last 10 games is 4-5-1-0. After a regular season record against Idaho last season of 0-8-0-0 the Americans are 3-5-0-0 this season.

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL players going to and from Europe is about to end because of the following signing deadlines:

 

GOING TO EUROPE

Some deadlines have already passed, however, most countries/leagues have a January 31 deadline. A few (mostly in Scandinavia) have a February 15 deadline.

 

RETURNING FROM EUROPE

To play in the ECHL this season (2023-24) players must return by February 15.