School Game Day Loss, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Trade Deadline Today, KC Road Record is Historic, A Look Back Against KC and ECHL Vets

 

 A Wednesday morning crowd of 2905 made up mostly of children watched the Allen Americans battle but come up short in a 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Mavericks. To be honest the game was not as close as the score. Goalie Mark Sinclair was called on to make 37 saves, many of them high quality chances to keep Allen in the game. The Americans fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits but in the end the Mavericks prevailed scoring the game winner and only goal of the third period at the 15:33 mark. 

 

- The Americans got off to a good start in the game and had a shot advantage of 7-2 in the first five minutes but could not score. However in the last 55 minutes of the game Allen managed just 15 shots. Kansas City scored the first goal of the game at the 15:10 mark of the opening period. That was not a good sign given the Mavericks record when scoring first is the best in the league at 31-3-3-1 (.868). Less than three minutes later (18:07) Ty Farmer scored his fourth goal of the season and third in the last three games to tie the score 1-1 and give Allen the momentum going into the first intermission.

 

- Kansas City took a 2-1 lead early in the second period (4:25) but once again Allen responded on Ty Fournier's seventh goal of the season. Despite being out shot 17-8 in the period the Americans went into the second intermission tied 2-2.

 

- Even though the score was tied after the second period the stats favored the Mavericks. Allen's record this season when tied after the second period is 2-5-0-0 compared to Kansas City's record of 8-0-2-1. Sure enough the Mavericks scored with less than five minutes remaining in the game. You may have noticed the referee reviewed the goal before calling it a good goal. The review wasn't for goalie interference but for the puck going in the goal off the player's hand. Turns out it was off an Allen's player hand. Shortly after Kansas City took the 3-2 lead the Americans had a power play which resulted in no shots on goal. Allen pulled Sinclair a couple of times in the last 75 seconds of the game but got no shots on goal. The better team won but it was disappointing that Allen got so close to getting the game to overtime and earning at least one point. 

 

-  Here are the video highlights. Notice how most of the goals were tips and rebounds close to the net. https://echl.com/videos/kansas-city-mavericks-vs-allen-americans-march-20-2024

 

- How did the Americans do with the three keys to the game?

• Get off to a good start - Allen gave up the first goal for the seventh time in 13 games against Kansas City. The Americans record in those seven games is 0-7-0-0
• Reduce the shots on goal differential - Allen was out shot 40-22 including 38-15 in the last 55 minutes of the game. The Americans are last in the ECHL, ranked #28 allowing an average of 39.88 shots per game.
  
• Win the special teams battle - This was a tossup since both teams were 0-2 on the power play. Allen's power play was top three earlier in the season. It is still respectful, ranked #10 at the 20.8%. The penalty kill as also declined and is ranked #21 at 77.6%.
   

 

- With the loss yesterday Allen's home record against Kansas City falls to 0-6-0-0. The Americans have now lost six of the last seven games and in the six losses the offense as sputtered. Goals scored in the six losses was 2, 1, 2, 0, 4, 1.  In the six losses the Americans have had just 12 power play opportunities and scored two goals for a 16.7% power play percentage.

- You know the Americans are depleted with injuries to so many forwards when you see regular 5-on-5 shifts in a game, like yesterday, with four defensemen and one forward on the ice. The Americans will get some help on Friday night as recently acquired forward James Hardie will be in the lineup and likely Grant Hebert will return from injury. 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Today is the ECHL trade deadline (2:00 pm CDT). After talking to coach Costello yesterday I don't expect him to make any trades today but it is impossible to predict what might happen on trade deadline day.

- Kansas City's win yesterday was its 25th road win of the season. With a win on Friday the Mavericks will tie the all time record of 26. This record has been accomplished five times in the 36 year history of the league and the Mavericks will blow it away. Kansas City's road record is 25-2-2-1 and the Mavericks still have six more road games left (2 at Allen, 3 at Utah and 1 at Iowa). 

 

- Have you had thoughts of 2015-16 when Kansas City (then called Missouri) was the best team in the ECHL and lost to the Americans in the second round of the playoffs on the way to the Kelly Cup. I have had those thought as well. I decided to take look this morning because if the Americans do make the playoffs it is highly like their first round opponent will be Kansas City. I found some big differences between 2015-26 and 2023-24:

• In 2015-16 Kansas City was #1 with a .757 points percentage (109 points), but Allen was #5 with a .618 points parentage (89 points).
• In 2023-24 Kansas City is #1 with a .787 points percentage (96 points), Allen is ranked #23 with a .458 points percentage (55 points).
• In 2015-16 Allen's regular season record against Kansas City was 5-6-0-0.
• In 2023-24 Allen's record against Kansas City is 3-9-0-1 (two more games to play).

In the 2016 playoffs Allen beat Idaho 4-3 in the first round after trailing 3-2 and winning two games at home. Game seven was an overtime thriller with Tristan King scoring the series winner at 3:28 of overtime. Kansas City beat Quad City 4-0 in the first round. Everyone expected Kansas City to roll over Allen but the Americans won the series 4-2. It wasn't even close as Allen won game six 5-1 with a who's who of players scoring the goals, Chad Costello, Greger Hanson (2), Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Dyson Stevenson. Riley Gill stopped 32 of 33 shots for a .970 save percentage. After beating Kansas City the Americans blew through the field beating Fort Wayne 4-1 in the Conference Finals and Wheeling 4-2 in the Kelly Cup Finals for back to back Kelly Cups and four straight championships.

As inviting as to think of a repeat of 2015-16 when Allen beat the #1 team in the playoffs in Kansas City on the way to the Kelly Cup. The only similarity this season is Allen could likely playing Kansas City if the Americans make the playoffs. The bottom line is Kansas City is a better team than 2015-16 and Allen is a much worse team than in 2015-16. This may be another crow eating prediction but if Allen does make the playoffs and plays Kansas City, the Americans will be eliminated in the first round. I'd love to make another batch of crow chili but I am afraid it will be yummy pheasant chili this year.

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the number of veterans on each ECHL team (includes players on active roster, reserve and injured reserve). Teams with players on IR are marked with an asterisk. Teams are limited to four veteran players, but players on IR don’t count:

 

5: *IND

4: FLA, MNE

3: IDH, JAX, *KAL, ORL, RC

2: *ALN, *CIN, *NFL, REA, SAV, *TOL, TR, *UTA

1: ADK, FW, *GVL, IA, NOR, SC, TUL, WHL

0: ATL, KC, WIC, WOR

 

*Eight teams have veterans on IR, Kalamazoo and Cincinnati have two.

 

Allen vs Kansas City Preview, Roster Update, Allen Adds Amateur Filip Forsmark, Costello's #13 Jersey Retirement and Stats

 

It has been a while since the Allen Americans have had an early morning hockey game at home. School Day is back with a 10:00 am puck drop as the Americans take on the Kansas City Mavericks in the first of three games this week. After this morning the teams will play again on Friday and Saturday. Saturday night will include the 15th year anniversary alumni game and the retirement of Chad Costello's #13 jersey. 

 

- Especially today, but also this entire series represents a big challenge for the Americans. It starts with the opponent. Here are the facts as I stated yesterday. The Mavericks are the best team in the ECHL (.783 points percentage), the best road team in the ECHL (24-2-2-1), the hottest team in the ECHL with an 11 game points streak (8-0-2-1) and they have owned the Americans in Allen (0-5-0-0). The Americans must put the stats aside and find a way to earn points this week. As if the Mavericks needed any incentive to play well, as they always seem to play their best when they play the Americans, a three game sweep in this series would be record setting. The all time ECHL record for road wins in a single season is 26 which has been accomplished five times. Kansas City needs two wins to tie the record and three to stand alone at the top of the heap.

 

- The other side of the equation in this series is quite the opposite of how the Mavericks are playing. Allen has lost five of its last six games and has once again been decimated with injuries. Here is the list with all but Crone suffering injuries in the last four games.

• Hank Crone
  
• Grant Hebert  
• Easton Brodzinski
• Johnny Walker
• Bennett MacArthur     

Crone, Brodzinski and Walker will not play in this series while Hebert and MacArthur are listed as day to day and will be a game time decision. 

 

- Forward James Hardie, who was just acquired from Rapid City, is driving to Texas and will not play in the game this morning. He will see his first action for Allen on Friday.

- You will see a new player on the ice this morning as coach Costello has signed an amateur player who arrived in Allen yesterday. His name is Filip Forsmark. He is a 25 year old left shot forward who just finished his collegiate career at Merrimack College. Forsmark is listed as 5' 11" and 176 pounds. He is a native of Sweden who played junior hockey in the USHL prior to his college career. Here are his stats:

• USHL - 120 games played, 74 points (24G, 50A)
• NCAA - 123 games played, 74 points (26G, 48A)

Filip is pursuing a master's degree in communication and media with a minor in sports management. 

Filip Forsmark

- Allen is 3-8-0-1 against Kansas City this season with all of the wins coming in Kansas City. The 0-5-0-0 home record includes two recent losses (March 8, 9) when Allen lost 3-1 and 8-4. 

- Allen's roster (excluding injured reserve) has three NHL/AHL contracted players (one from the affiliate), six rookies and one veteran. By comparison Kansas City has nine contracted players from its affiliate, seven rookies and no veterans. 

- As you might imagine most stats heavily favor Kansas City. The Mavericks on average score a goal per game more then Allen and allow 1.1 less goals per game than the Americans. Here are the head to head stats in the 12 games these teams have played this season. 

• Allen has been outscored 48-34.
• Allen has been outshot 447-313.
• Allen is 8-40 on the power play (20.0%)
• Kansas City is 12-64 on the power play (18.8%).

Note Kansas City has a lower power play percentage but four more power play goals because Allen takes so many penalties. The Mavericks have had 24 more power play opportunities than the Americans. Key number one for Allen this morning is staying out of the penalty box. It won't be easy when you consider Allen is #2 in the ECHL in penalty minutes (1083) while Kansas City is #27 with half the penalty minutes (561) of the Americans.

- Key number two is do not play from behind against Kansas City. When the Mavericks score first they are almost unbeatable. They have scored the first goal in more games than any other team in the league (62% of the games) and have a record when scoring first of 30-3-3-1 (.865). The Mavericks road record when leading after the first period is 11-1-0-0 and when leading after the second period the road record is 15-1-0-0. 

- The third key today is managing the breakouts from the defensive zone and avoiding neutral zone turnovers. If Allen can do well in these two areas they will get more shots and reduce the shots allowed to Kansas City. To be successful Allen needs a simple boring game rather than a run and gun wide open affair. Allen rarely wins when it allows more than three goals in a game. The score in the three games the Americans have beaten the Mavericks this season have been 4-3, 4-1 and 4-2. 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There are seven games on the ECHL schedule tonight. The only other Mountain Division game is Tulsa at Idaho. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-20  

- Here is the press release the Allen Americans issued on the acquisition of James Hardie from Rapid City: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/03/americans-add-depth-up-front

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Chad Costello's #13 jersey will be retired on Saturday and one of the most enjoyable parts of these ceremonies is watching a player and his family as a video is played showing everyone congratulating him. These are usually emotional videos and I hear this one will be nine minutes long. Chad will join Riley Gill (#30) and Gary Steffes (#12) as the only Allen players to have their jerseys retired.

You could write a book about Chad's accomplishments in Allen, but for me the stat that sets him apart from any player that has ever played in the ECHL is this one.

In the 36 year history of the ECHL the scoring champion has won the scoring title by more than 20 points only six times.Three of the six are owned by Chad Costello. Here are the six seasons where the ECHL scoring champion had at least twenty more points than the runner up.

45 points - 2014-2015 (Chad Costello)
43 points - 1992-1993 (Trevor Jobe)
35 points - 1989-1990 (Bill McDougall)
34 points - 2016-2017 (Chad Costello) 
24 points - 1995-1996 (Hugo Belanger)
23 points - 2015-2016 (Chad Costello)  

 

  

Roster Update, Robidoux Suspended, Allen Acquires Forward James Hardie, Affiliate Stats, Mandolese Interview, Best Specials Teams Stats and More

 

The Allen Americans are finally back in Texas and can put the trip to Kalamazoo in the rear view mirror. Things didn't end up well on the ice with the 6-1 loss on Sunday afternoon and getting back to Texas took longer to fly than had the team jumped on a bus after the game and driven to Allen. Even though the game ended at 5:34 pm Sunday afternoon the flight home was not until Monday evening. I haven't been told this but assume it was a cost factor because there are several morning flights from Kalamazoo. A night flight through Chicago to Dallas, what could go wrong? A delay in Chicago resulted in the team landing at DFW after midnight. Welcome to life in the ECHL!

 

- It is unfortunate it took so long to get back to Texas because the Americans must get ready for what has become a very important series against Kansas City. The Mavericks are the best team in the ECHL (.783 points percentage), the best road team in the ECHL (24-2-2-1), the hottest team in the ECHL with an 11 game points streak (8-0-2-1) and they have owned the Americans in Allen (0-5-0-0). It will be a must the Americans put the stats aside and find a way to earn points this week.

 

- The three games this week against Kansas City would be a challenge under the best of circumstances but that is not the case. Game one of the series is tomorrow (Wednesday) morning with a 10:00 am puck drop and the Americans don't know who will be available. There will be several doctor appointments today to assess recent injuries. Here is the list of injured players. All but Crone were injured in the last week. I hope to get an update after practice today (if there is a practice) so I am speculating, but MacArthur might be the only one on this list that could be available Wednesday morning. 

• Hank Crone
  
• Grant Hebert  
• Easton Brodzinski
• Johnny Walker
• Bennett MacArthur     

- Injuries aren't the only roster issues facing coach Costello:

• Forward Griffen Fox, who was signed after the injuries to Brodzinski and Walker on Friday, did not return to Allen with the team. It was known when Fox signed he would be released after the Kalamazoo series as he is headed back to his college (Lakehead University) to graduate.
• Mikael Robidoux will miss the first two games against Kansas City serving a two game suspension for a cross checking penalty late in the game on Sunday. Remember when a player is suspended he must remain on the active roster, another complication for the Americans.
  

 

- Given all of the injuries, Allen did make a trade yesterday with Rapid City. The Americans acquired left shot forward James Hardie for future considerations. Hardie is a rookie who started the season in Cincinnati. In 49 games this season he has 19 points (11G, 8A). He played his junior hockey in the OHL for the Mississauga Steelheads where he led the team in scoring in 2021-22 with 77 points (41G, 36A) in 68 games and in 2022-23 with 82 points (38G, 44A) in 66 games. He was the captain of the team in 2022-23. 

When you read scouting reports on Hardie, 5'11, 176 pounds, it is very clear he has outstanding offensive skills. Words like pure sniper, extremely accurate shot, quick hands, quick release, great offensive instincts are used to describe his offensive game. He is a shoot first type of player so playing him on the wing with a good setup center is ideal. All of the scouting reports from his junior days talk about the need for him to get stronger.

Here is an interview with James Hardie from just over a year ago during his last season in Mississauga:

   

- I always get questions whenever a player is traded or acquired for future considerations. It is a broad term that can mean anything from "I will do you a favor sometime" to cash to a specific player to be announced at a later to a choice of several players from a list. I would say since I have been covering the Americans most futures are for cash or from a list of players from which to choose. Again, the terms are negotiable and can vary widely. 

I don't have the details on the Hardie trade but you can be assured this was not a trade for cash given he is a rookie with a very good resume. At some point in time Allen will have to provide a list of players from which Rapid City can choose. What is negotiated in these types of trades would include:

• When is the list provided. It could be a date during the season or more likely after the end of the season. Deadline this season is June 20th to complete these trades.
• How many players are on the list provided. Typically three to five players but the number is negotiable.
• Types of players on the list. Veterans and NHL/AHL contracted players are usually excluded. Sometime position players (goalies, defensemen, forwards) are excluded. 
• The number of games played for the team may be included before a player can be on the list. Something like a minimum of 10 games played.

You can see there is a lot of flexibility when negotiating these lists. There is some skill involved to structure the deal to get the best player possible if you are on the receiving end and giving up the least impactful player if you are losing a player.  

 

- Time is running out on players from Ottawa/Belleville to qualify for the ECHL playoffs. Players need five ECHL games to qualify. Here are the games played by thus far.

• 19 - Mark Sinclair
• 13 - Leevi Meriläinen
• 10 - Tarun Fizer
• 5 - Philippe Daoust
  
• 4 - Donovan Sebrango
• 2 - Kevin Mandolese  

The total number of games played is 53 and 34 of them are goalies. That is a very low number of games played by affiliate assigned players. Without doing the math I am pretty sure it is the lowest number in the league. Most teams would have five or 10 times more games played by assigned players than Allen.

It is possible Allen could get the top three from the list above assigned to Allen if the Americans make the playoffs. Daoust is out for the season and Sebrango needs one more game in Allen to qualify. 

 

- Here is a video interview with goalie Kevin Mandolese who for the second straight season has the rare trifecta of spending time in the ECHL. AHL and NHL. Last season he had wins at all three levels. This season he has wins in the ECHL and AHL, but only served as a backup in the NHL. On this video Mandolese talks about his hockey journey from following in his brother's footsteps to winning in the NHL:

  

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about specials teams. Allen's percentages for comparison are 20.2% home power play, 21.7% road power play, 71.5% home penalty kill and 83.5% road penalty kill.

ECHL best special teams broken down by home and road power play (PP) and penalty kill (PK) percentage. The only team on the lists more than once is Idaho who is on three of the four:

 

Home PP%

30.0%: FW

24.8%: IDH

24.2%: CIN

 

Road PP%

30.5%: IDH

27.8%: NFL

26.9%: WIC

 

Home PK%

88.6%: ADK

88.1%: ORL

85.7%: SC

 

Road PK%

90.0%: GVL

86.8%: KAL

86.7%: IDH

Allen Loses 6-1, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Week Ahead, Division Champions, Playoff Potential, 20 Win Teams and More

 

The Allen Americans opportunity to win the series in Kalamazoo and move into a playoff position in the Mountain Division was a failure Sunday afternoon. Fielding the exact same line up that beat Kalamazoo 5-2 on Saturday, the Americans lost to the Wings 6-1 Sunday afternoon. A hallmark of the 2023-24 Allen team has been inconsistency and it was on display in the Sunday loss after the Saturday win.

- Kalamazoo scored the first goal of the game just 68 seconds after the opening puck drop and was never threatened the rest of the game. A second Wings goal at the 5:34 mark of the first period gave Kalamazoo a 2-0 lead and they never looked back. Allen did manage a power play goal at the 7:12 mark of the first  period to cut the score to 2-1. Colby McAuley scored his 12th power play goal of the season and team leading 24th goal. It turned out to be Allen's only goal of the game.

 

- How poorly did the Americans play? The shot totals tell you all you need to know. Allen managed just seven shots in the first period, six in the second period and six in the third period. Kalamazoo outshot Allen in all three periods by a wide margin, 15-7 in the first period, 14-6 in the second period and 13-6 in the third period. Kalamazoo also outscored Allen in all three periods (2-1, 1-0, 3-0). Allen's 19 shots on goal was one of the lowest totals of the season.

 

- Allen has now lost five of the last six games and the offense has been anemic in most of the losses. Allen's goal production in the five losses was 1, 4, 0, 2, 1. That is an average goals per game of just 1.60. To be fair the injury bug has bitten the Americans again recently. Hank Crone has been out a while but Grant Hebert was injured in Allen's last home game, Johnny Walker and Easton Brodzinski were injured in the game in Kalamazoo on Friday night and Bennett MacArthur was injured in the first period on Sunday.

 

- Rather than gaining ground this weekend the Americans have lost ground in the standings and lost most the games in hand they had over the other teams. Allen's points (55) is closer to fifth place Wichita (54) than fourth place Utah (58). Utah plays Norfolk at home today and with a win could extend its lead for the final playoff spot to five points. The saving grace for the Americans could be Utah's schedule as the Grizzlies last eight games of the season are against Idaho (5 games, 3H, 2A) and Kansas City (3 home games).   

 

- Here is a game recap and video highlights:

• Kalamazoo Wings game recap: https://kwings.com/news/2024/03/k-wings-thump-americans-6-1
• Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kalamazoo-wings-march-17-2024 
   

 - After the 6-1 loss yesterday you can be sure the team is anxious to get out of Kalamazoo and back to Allen. Unfortunately that is not the case. The team will stay in Kalamazoo all day, as their flight home isn't until tonight. To make matters worse the weather forecast for Kalamazoo today calls for snow. Hope there are no delays to what is already a late arrival in DFW tonight. 

 

- Allen will have little time to prepare/rest before another tough week ahead. The Americans play Kansas City on Wednesday morning (10:00 am), Friday and Saturday (7:10 pm). It will be a tough series for Allen for a few reasons:

• Kansas City is the #1 team in the ECHL with 94 points and has a 10 point lead for the regular season championship (Brabham Cup).
• The Mavericks road record is 24-2-2-1 and they are within striking distance of the ECHL all time record for road wins in a single season which is 26. A Kansas City sweep of Allen will give the Mavericks the record.
• Allen has not beaten Kansas City at home this season. The Americans are 0-5-0-0 and all losses were by more than one goal (8-4, 3-1, 4-2, 3-1 and 5-3).
   

- Games remaining in the ECHL regular season varies from a low of 10 (Atlanta) to a high of 14 (Trois Riviéres and Florida). Only two (Kansas City and Idaho) of 16 playoff teams have been determined. None of the regular season division champions have been determined. but the current leaders are the heavy favorites. Here are the details for each division:

• North Division - Adirondack has a six point lead over Norfolk. They play each other three times this week in Adirondack. Adirondack will be in Allen on April 5, 6 and 7.
• South Division - Greenville has a five point lead over Jacksonville. They play each other twice this week in Jacksonville.
• Central Division - Toledo has a 12 point lead over Wheeling. Just a matter of time before Toledo clinches the division title. Toledo has 12 games remaining and Wheeling 11. Any combination of Toledo winning points or Wheeling losing points that totals 11 points will give the title to Toledo. 
• Mountain Division - Kansas City has a 10 point lead over Idaho and like Toledo it is just a matter of time before Kansas City clinches the division title. If Idaho wins all of its remaining 11 games, Kansas City could finish the season (12 remaining games) 6-5-1-0 and still win the division title.

 

- There are two rare Monday games on the ECHL schedule today, Florida is at Orlando and Norfolk is at Utah. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-18     

 

- Toledo's Brandon Hawkins has a seven point lead in the ECHL scoring race and a six goal lead in the goal scoring race. Hawkins has 80 points (36G, 44A). Based on his average points per game (1.33), if Hawkins plays in Toledo's final 12 games he is projected to finish with 96 points.

 

- The only team in the ECHL with a current point steak longer than five games is Kansas City who has an 11 game point streak with a record of 8-0-2-1. The Mavericks current points percentage of .783 is close to cracking the ECHL all time top five for points percentage in a single season. Fifth place is .785. The top points percentage all time was set last season by Idaho who finished at .826. 

 

- If the Allen Americans make the playoffs it will be with a low number of points. The team has 55 points with 13 games remaining. If Allen wins all 13 remaining games its point total would be 81. If the Americans play .500 hockey the rest of the season the final point total would be 68. Here is a list of the regular season points for each Allen playoff team since joining the ECHL along with playoff results:

• 2014-15: 106 points (won Kelly Cup)
• 2015-16: 89 points (won Kelly Cup)
• 2016-17: 104 points (lost in 2nd round)
• 2017-18: 78 points (lost in 1st round)
• 2020-21: 94 points (lost in second round)
• 2021-22: 79 points (lost in 1st round)
• 2022-23: 77 points (lost in second round

 

DID YOU KNOW: Two ECHL teams have 20 home wins and three have 20+ road wins. Two teams are on both lists:

 

Home 20 Wins

20-8-2-1: Kansas City

20-11-1-0: Greenville 

 

Road 20+ Wins

24-2-2-1: Kansas City*

23-9-0-1: Idaho

20-7-2-0: Greenville 

 

*Kansas City is on pace to break the all time ECHL record of 26 road wins which has been achieved five times. Most recently in 2022-23 by Idaho and Toledo. Kansas City has seven road games remaining to get three wins to break the record.

 

    

Allen Wins Curse Reverse, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Costello Comments, Today's Preview, Critical Dates and More

 

The Allen Americans beat the Kalamazoo Wings last night by a score of 5-2. Maybe the Saturday night, big crowd (5217 sellout), specialty jersey (St. Patrick's Day) curse worked in the Americans favor. Playing on green ice the Americans scored the first goal of the game when Liam Finlay made a nifty move around a defender and scored from the slot. It was the only goal of the first period. It was a good sign for Allen fans considering the Americans road record when leading after the first period is 9-0-1-1.

 

- The second period has been Allen's worst period all season. When Kalamazoo tied the game 1-1 just two minutes into the second period it looked like Allen's -22 second period goal differential (71 goals for, 93 goals against) would be on the rise again.

 

- Allen quickly made a statement this game was going to be different by taking the lead back just 25 seconds after Kalamazoo tied the score 1-1. Colin Jacobs scored his third goal of the series. The Americans blew the game open with two more goals in 37 seconds at the 5:14 mark and 5:51 mark of the second period. Gavin Gould and Ty Farmer were the goal scorers. You add the three goals together and Allen went from a 1-1 tie to a 4-1 lead in just over three minutes. Allen won the period 3-1 and took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. FYI, Allen's road record when leading after the second period is 12-0-1-1.

 

- Kalamazoo managed to cut Allen's lead to 4-2 early in the third period but Ty Farmer scored his second goal of the game (third of his pro career) to quell any chance of a Wings comeback. Kalamazoo outshot Allen 15-5 in the third period as the Americans spent more time defending and forcing the Wings to the outside. Goalie Marco Constantini was outstanding stopping 14 of 15 third period shots and 39 of 41 in the game for a save percentage of .951. His performance earned him the #1 star of the game. 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Liam Finlay (6), Colin Jacobs (6), Gavin Gould (9) and Ty Farmer (2,3). Here are the video highlights with all of the goals: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kalamazoo-wings-march-16-2024

 

- Here are the game recaps issued by both teams:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/03/the-battle-on-green-ice-goes-to-allen 
• Kalamazoo Wings: https://kwings.com/news/2024/03/k-wings-welcome-5217-fall-to-americans-on-green-ice

 

- Allen injury woes continue with Easton Brodzinski and Jonny Walker missing the game last night. Allen did get Blake Murray back after his suspension and signed amateur free agent Griffen Fox yesterday. Fox had been released by Fort Wayne and was close by so it was fortunate he could be signed and get to Kalamazoo quickly. Fox looked good on the ice given the circumstances, he had two great scoring opportunities and finished the game +1.

 

- Allen has been battling injuries all season with 11 players on injured reserve at one point. Captain Colton Hargrove has been out since November 22, Hank Crone has been out since February 7 and Liam Finlay missed 46 games before his recent return. Based on last season stats these three players represent just shy of two goals per game. That is a lot of offense the Americans have missed due to injuries from these three players.

 

- Coach Costello's post game comments:

"The team played great tonight, mostly because our compete level was very high."

"We now have a chance to win this road series, but it will take another great effort tomorrow afternoon."

"When we have everyone contributing like we did tonight, we are a tough team to beat."

"We had another great game in goal. Marco stopped 39 of 41 shots tonight after Sinclair stopped 39 of 42 shots Friday night."

"Fox arrived late in the day and did a great job in the game. He is a smart player."

 

TODAY'S PREVIEW

- For the third straight week Allen will be playing three games in three days with game three a Sunday afternoon early start. Game time today is 2:00 pm CDT.

 

- Allen has no extra players so look for the lineup to be the same as last night. I assume the one exception will be in goal. With an early puck drop you have to expect Mark Sinclair will get the start.

 

- A lot went well for Allen last night. The Americans scored first, led 1-0 after the first period, led 4-1 after the second period, won the special teams battle, and had the better goalie play. The one area that needs improvement today is reducing the shots allowed. Kalamazoo outshot the Americans 41-24. 

 

- Allen and Utah are the only Mountain Division teams in action today. It is hard to overstate the importance of Allen getting points today, preferably with a win. Utah had a big comeback win last night at home against a good Norfolk team. Utah was trailing 4-1 late in the game and scored three goals in 68 seconds (17:03, 17:51, 18:11) to tie the game and then won it in overtime. Utah is one point ahead of Allen, but Allen has a game in hand. Best case today is Allen could vault Utah into fourth place. Worst case Allen falls three points behind the Grizzlies in a battle with Wichita for fifth and sixth place. 

 

- Allen has three home games against Kansas City next week and have not beat the Mavericks at home this season (0-5-0-0). Two points today against Kalamazoo would be huge going into the Kansas City series.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Here is the updated Mountain Division standings by points and points percentage. FYI, Kansas City and Idaho are the only ECHL teams that have already qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs:

• 94 points - Kansas City, .783
• 84 points - Idaho, .689
• 60 points - Tulsa, .492
• 56 points - Utah, .475
• 55 points - Allen, .474
• 54 points - Wichita, .450
• 49 points - Rapid City, .408

As I have said before the final two playoffs spots will not be decided until the final games of the season. In case you have forgotten Allen finishes the season with three games against Tulsa. April 12th and 13th in Allen and the final game of the season on the 13th in Tulsa.

 

- There are seven games on the ECHL schedule today. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-17
  

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: There are two ECHL critical dates this week:

 

*Wednesday (3/20) - Recall/Assignment Deadline (11:59 p.m. EDT). 

 

Thursday (3/21) - ECHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. EDT)

 

*The recall/assignment deadline applies to players under AHL or NHL contracts who are currently playing in the ECHL. For those players to be reassigned to another team in the ECHL, the reassignment must take place by 11:59 p.m. local time on Wednesday. If there is a NHL/AHL contracted player currently recalled to the NHL/AHL, this deadline does not apply to them. They can still be assigned to any team in the ECHL after the deadline passes.

 

   

Allen Losing Streak Continues, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Costello Comments, Tonight's Preview, Fight Stats, Register Milestone and More

 

Colin Jacobs scored the first goal of the game and the last goal of the game, but that was the entire offense for Allen last night as Kalamazoo beat the Americans 3-2 before a crowd of 3237 at the Wings Event Center. After reaching the .500 mark on March 3, Allen has lost four straight (second longest losing streak of the season) and is mired in sixth place in the Mountain Division with 53 points. Luckily the Americans didn't lose any ground in the standings as the teams they are competing against for a playoff spot either lost or were idle. 

 

- Allen got on the scoreboard first at the 8:43 mark of the opening period when Colin Jacobs took a pass from Liam Finlay after a neutral zone turnover and went in all alone to score his fourth goal of the season. Less than four minutes later (12:36) Kalamazoo got the equalizer when the puck bounced off a skate right to a Wings player on the side of the crease. Allen had four players in the area but nobody took the open player's body or stick. The first period ended with the score tied 1-1.

 

- Kalamazoo scored the only goal of the second period which has been Allen's Achilles heel most of the season. The Americans have allowed 93 goals in the second period compared to 55 goals in the first period and 77 goals in the third period. The Americans had several chances to clear the puck out of the defensive zone but lost several puck battles. Kalamazoo took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission which was not a good sign when you consider Allen's record when trailing after the second period is 3-23-1-0. Even worse for the Americans, Kalamazoo's record when leading after the second period is 26-2-0-0.

 

- Kalamazoo extended its lead to 3-1 early in the third period when defenseman Chaz Reddekopp, who played seven games for Allen in 2020-21 when he was under contract with the San Jose Barracuda, scored his third goal of the season. Both Allen defensemen sprawled on the ice to block a shot/pass and the Wings ended up with three players all alone at the goal mouth. 

 

- Allen did make the game exciting when Colin Jacobs scored his second goal of the game and fifth of the season five seconds after pulling goalie Mark Sinclair. The play was made by a clear faceoff win back to the point by Bennett MacArthur though he didn't get an assist on the goal. Eric Williams went "D-to-D" with Kris Myllari before firing the puck to the net. Jacobs tipped it into the net to make the score 3-2. There was still 82 seconds remaining in the game when Jacobs scored. The Americans had a couple of good chances in the final seconds but could not get the equalizer. 

 

- Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kalamazoo-wings-march-15-2024   

- Special teams were a non-factor in the game as referee, Rocco Stachowiak, called just two minor penalties in the game (one on each team) and none in the final 45 minutes. Tonight there will be two referees (Evan Reddick and Trevor Wohlford) so it is a guarantee you will see more than two penalties.

 

- I had a chance to check in with Coach Costello after the game and this is what he had to say:

"We played hard tonight but to be successful this weekend we need to match the effort with playing smarter and having better execution."

"It will help at both ends of the ice getting Blake Murray back in the lineup on Saturday after he had to sit out tonight serving the second of his two game suspension."

"Mark Sinclair was great in goal stopping 39 of 42 shots."

"Our top players have to be better than their top players. If that happens we will be in good shape."

 

TONIGHT'S PREVIEW

- A big key to a win tonight is for the Americans to find more offense. It has been feast or famine for Allen recently. Over the last nine games Allen has scored four or more goals four times. In the other five games the Americans scored 0, 1, 1, 1 and 2 goals. During this four game losing streak Allen has averaged scoring 1.75 goals per game while allowing 5.00 goals per game.
 

- Special teams were not a factor in the game last night but that will likely change tonight. Allen needs to win the special teams battle if it expects to win tonight. March has not been kind to the special teams. The Americans power play percentage in the six March games is 12.5% (2-16). The penalty kill percentage is 63.7% (8-22). 

 

- Allen was outshot 42-30 last night including 18-9 in the third period. For the season Allen averages 30.28 shots per game which is ranked #23 in the league. Kalamazoo is even worse ranked #27 in the league averaging only 28.35 shots per game. The Americans should be able to outshoot Kalamazoo.

 

- Allen lost last night despite scoring the first goal of the game. With that said, the team that scores the first goal tonight will be heavily favored to win the game. The combined record of Allen and Kalamazoo when scoring first is  38-12-2-1 (.745).

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- I was doing some research this morning for my ECHL stats page about fighting majors in the ECHL and found some interesting data.

• Allen has just 15 fighting majors this season. 
• Only six ECHL teams have fewer fighting majors than Allen.
• Mikael Robidoux has one fight this season.
• South Carolina has the most fights (35).
• Idaho has the fewest fights (6)
   

- How times have changed when it comes to fighting majors. In 2016-17 Allen had 76 fights, averaging 1.06 fights per game. One player (Derek Mathers) had 29 fights, more than the entire Allen team will have this season. Here are the fights for each team in the Mountain Division this season:

• 26 - Wichita
• 24 - Rapid City
• 19 - Tulsa
• 17 - Utah
• 15 - Allen
• 14 - Kansas City
• 6 - Idaho

It is noteworthy the two best teams in the division have the fewest fighting majors. Very different from when Allen and Colorado were winning championships and at the top of the list for fighting majors. 

 

- The EIHL in Great Britain has three different championships. Two are similar to the ECHL in there is a regular season champion and playoff champion. However, the playoffs are very short with the semi final games and finals being a single game elimination and take place over one weekend. The third championship is called the Challenge Cup and takes place throughout the season. The Sheffield Steelers just won the Challenge Cup and and are leading in the regular season championship with 10 games remaining. The Allen Americans are well represented on the Sheffield team. Colton Saucerman, Brett Neumann, Dominic Cormier, and Patrick Watling have all spent time in Allen. 

 

- Winning the EIHL "domestic treble" (Challenge Cup, regular season and playoff championships) is very rare. It has happened just three times in the history of the league. Bruce Graham is #15 all time in games played in Allen with 184 games. However. he is ranked #3 all time in points (235), #4 in goals (97), #3 in assists and he averaged 1.31 points per game over his Allen career. Graham left Allen for the EIHL in 2012-13 and his team, Nottingham Panthers, won all three championships that season. 

- Most of Allen's competition for a playoff spot will be in action tonight. In addition to Allen at Kalamazoo, Tulsa is at Indy and Utah is at home against Norfolk. Wichita is idle. Allen has to stop the bleeding and take advantage of the games in hand they have over their competition. Here is the ECHL Today with previews of 11 games on the schedule today: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-16

 

- Congrats to Matt Register who passed yet another milestone last night playing in his 600th ECHL game. The future Hall of Famer has a storied career including:

• Three consecutive Kelly Cups (Allen 2016, Colorado 2017 & 2018).
• Two Kelly Cup finals (Toledo 2019, Idaho 2023).
• Three time ECHL Defenseman of the Year (2014, 2017, 2018) plus numerous runnerups
• Since joining the ECHL in 2012 Register has 26 more goals than any other defenseman, 154 more assists than any other defenseman and 180 more points than any other defenseman.
• Register has averaged .80 points per game over his ECHL career. 

What many people don't know is Matt Register started his pro career in Allen back in 2012 in the Central Hockey League. At the time he signed with Allen he was playing for a men's senior league team in Sylvan Lake, Alberta. Bill McDonald was a long time head coach in pro hockey in the south who had won the CHL championship in 1997 with the Fort Worth Fire. At the end of his pro coaching career he was hired as an advisor/associate/assistant for the new Allen Americans franchise (2009-10). The captain of McDonald's championship Fort Worth Fire team, Dwight Mullins, had been named the first coach for the Americans. McDonald would watch practices from the upper level right next to the AV room and front office. I would sit next to Bill during practice and the stories he would tell were quite an education for me. This is the story Bill told me (as I recall) about recruiting Matt Register. Bill said he found this young defenseman playing men's hockey in Alberta that had a bunch of points (24 points, 6 goals 18 assists in 17 games to be exact). Bill said to me, "I am not sure what we have as this kid is so raw he is still used to getting dressed at home and driving to the rink." Allen signed Register and it was the start of an amazing pro career. Matt has now played in almost 800 professional games and at 34 years of age is second in points this season among ECHL defensemen with 51 (8G, 43A).   

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here is the ECHL Stats post for today. With its 15 total fights and no player with more than three the Allen Americans have no fear of making the 10 fight rule and getting suspended.

With some ECHL players starting to approach 10 fights this season a reminder:

 

When players reach 10 fighting majors they are suspended for one game. Each subsequent fighting major is a one game suspension. At 14 fights suspension becomes two games. If opposing player is assessed an instigator penalty, that fight doesn’t count.

  

      

Allen vs Kalamazoo Series Preview, Roster Update, ECHL Stats Posts and More

 How important is this weekend for the Allen Americans? The team arrived yesterday in Kalamazoo for what has become commonplace recently, three games in three days. The Americans play the Wings tonight and tomorrow night with an early game on Sunday (3:00 pm). Allen arrives in Kalamazoo in sixth place in the very tight Mountain Division by points and in fourth place by points percentage. Every weekend at this point in the season is critical, but even more so when you consider Allen plays Kansas City three times next week at home where the Americans are 0-5 against the Mavericks.

 

- Allen and Kalamazoo are similarly situated in its respective division. Both are currently outside a playoff position by points, but in fourth place and in the playoffs by points percentage. In the Mountain Division three of the teams fighting for playoff spots (Allen, Utah, Wichita) are separated by just one point. In the Central Division second place and fifth place is separated by just four points. 

 

- If you compare the strength of the two divisions in the Western Conference the Mountain Division has the two best teams in Kansas City and Idaho, but overall the Central Division is stronger. While the Mountain Division has the only two teams with a points percentage above .700 the Central Division has five teams above .550 compared to just two in the Mountain. 

 

- Since Allen joined the ECHL in 2014-15 the Americans have played Kalamazoo just four times, two at home and two away. Two of the four games went to overtime and the home team won all four games. I am sure Allen coaches Chad Costello and Aaron Gens will remember the first time the Americans played in Kalamazoo. It was January 25, 2015. Chad had a goal and two assists in the game and Gens had two assists to go along with 26 of Allen's 34 penalty minutes. All of his penalties came within 2:27 in the second period. Aaron was called for two separate cross checking penalties, an unsportsmanlike penalty for disputing decision, 10 minute misconduct penalty and game misconduct for abuse of officials.  Allen had a 3-0 lead late in the second period, gave up a shorthanded goal and two more in the third period including the game tying goal with 26 seconds remaining in the game. Kalamazoo won the game in overtime 4-3.

 

- Here is a comparison between Allen and Kalamazoo:

• Allen has 53 points, Kalamazoo has 63 points.
• Allen's road record is 13-12-2-1, Kalamazoo's home record id 17-11-2-0.
  
• Allen has lost three straight games and is 5-5-0-0 in last 10 games.
• Kalamazoo won their last game and is 6-4-0-0 in last 10 games.
• Allen scores more goals 3.4 vs 2.9.
• Allen allows more goals 4.0 vs 2.8.
• Allen takes more shots 30.3 vs 28.1.
• Allen allows more shots 39.8 vs 31.8.
• Allen has the better power play, 20.4% vs 18.1%.
• Kalamazoo has the better penalty kill, 83.5% vs 77.4% 

- As always a good start will be critical to Allen's success in this series. The Americans record when scoring first is 19-6-1-1 (.741) and when giving up the first goal Allen's record is 6-22-1-0 (.224). Kalamazoo's record when scoring first is 19-5-1-0 (.780). When leading after the first period Allen's record is 13-1-1-1 (.875) and Kalamazoo's record is 17-6-0-0 (.739).

 

- Special teams as always will be a key factor in this series. Allen's road power play percentage is 20.6% (21-102) and its road penalty kill persentage is 83..8% (18-111). Kalamazoo's home power play percentage is 20.2% (19-94) and its home penalty kill percentage is 80.0% (20-100). If you look at penalty minutes Allen averages 18.20 minutes per game and Kalamazoo averages 13.30 minutes per game. Here is a breakdown by type of penalties. Allen leads in every category which has led to Allen giving up 41 power play goals to just 31 by Kalamazoo. Bottom line is the Americans need more discipline it taking penalties to be successful this weekend. 

• Minor penalties: Allen - 287, Kalamazoo - 255
• Major 5 minute penalties: Allen - 21, Kalamazoo - 15
• Misconduct 10 minute penalties: Allen - 23, Kalamazoo - 11
• Game misconduct penalties: Allen - 11, Kalamazoo - 4
   

- The two big roster changes for the weekend include:

• Goalie Mark Sinclair has returned to the Americans after spending a couple of weeks in Belleville, I would assume Sinclair will get the start in goal tonight.
  
• Forward Grant Hebert is not with the team after suffering a lower body injury in the Tulsa game on Sunday.   

 

OTHER COMMENTS

-  Allen has a chance to gain some ground this weekend if the Americans play well. Here is the schedule for the four Mountain Division teams vying for two playoff spots:

• Allen - at Kalamazoo Friday, Saturday, Sunday 
• Tulsa - at Indy Friday, Saturday
• Utah - Norfolk at home Saturday, Sunday, Monday
• Wichita - does not play (next game is March 22)

 

- I posted this on my ECHL stats page earlier this week. It is the number of rookies on each ECHL team. In a way these numbers have a connection to how many NHL/AHL contracted players are assigned to ECHL teams because many of them are rookies:    

With teams starting to add college and junior players the number of rookies on ECHL rosters is increasing. Current rookie numbers, includes active roster, reserve and injured reserve:

 

16: WOR

15: TUL

14: UTA, IA

13: NFL, SC

12: CIN, FW, ATL

11: WHL, WIC, RC,

10: GVL, IDH, TR, KAL

9: IND, MNE, SAV

8: ADK, ORL, REA, TOL

7: KC, NOR

6: JAX, FLA

5: ALN

 

 

 

- Here is another ECHL stats post, this about how penalty minutes have changed over time. FYI in 2014-15 Allen led the ECHL in penalty minutes with 1644 on the way to the Americans first Kelly cup. 

 

Oh how penalty minutes (PIM) have changed in the ECHL:

 

- In 2023-24, two teams are averaging over 18 penalty minutes per game (Norfolk - 19.26 and Allen - 18.20).

 

- In the last 5 seasons combined just 6 teams have averaged 18+ PIM.

 

- In 2014-15, nine teams averaged 18+ PIM, 5 averaged over 20 penalty minutes per game.

 

- In 2006-07, 22 of 24 teams averaged 18+ PIM, 15 averaged over 20 and the leaguewide average was 21.45 penalty minutes per game.

 

 

 

-  There are 11 games in the ECHL tonight. Some very important games as the regular season winds down. Many teams will have 12 or fewer games remaining after tonight. Here are all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-15

 

 

 

- DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL post today is about some wow stats around the ECHL. It reminded me of a couple from the Allen Americans during this season. Kris Myllari averaged over a point per game the first 16 games on the season (5G, 12A). Easton Brodzinski scored 16 goals in 18 games between December 8th and January 13th.

 

A few ECHL individual stats that make you take notice:

 

- Jalen Smereck (Cincinnati) leads all defensemen in points (61), assists (49), PP points (27), PP assists (24), SH points (4), SH assists (4) and shots (173).

 

- Nolan Walker (Kansas City) has 30 goals on just 93 shots. His shooting percentage (32.3%) is more than double the league’s other two 30 goal scorers (15.3% & 12.7%)

.

- John Muse (Worcester) has saved 11 of 12 shootout attempts.

 

- Brandon Hawkins (Toledo) has an 11 point lead (79 points in 57 games) in the scoring race.