More Allen vs Idaho Series Preview, Belleville Playoff Schedule, EIHL Championship Today, ECHL Series Update and 20+ Home and Road Win Teams

 The playoff journey begins this morning when the Allen Americans fly to Idaho to take on the ECHL's #3 team during the regular season. By any measurement it will be an uphill battle for the Americans whose regular season record against the Steelheads was 3-7-1-0. The first two games of the series will be in Idaho (Monday and Wednesday) before returning to Allen for games on Friday (7:10 pm), Saturday (4:10 pm) and Sunday (4:10 pm).

- Here is a comparison of a handful of stats between Allen and Idaho. Of the 12 on the list Idaho is better in 11 of them. The lone exception is team save percentage.

Goals Scored (average per game)

• 4.21 - Idaho
• 3.24 - Allen

Goals Allowed (average per game)

• 3.36 - Idaho
• 3.83 - Allen
  

Shots For (average per game)

• 35.79 - Idaho
• 30.22 - Allen
  

Shots Against (average per game)

• 32.35 - Idaho
• 39.90 - Allen
  

Shooting Percentage (goals as a percent of total shots)

• 11.8% - Idaho
• 10.6% - Allen

Power Play Percentage

• 28.5% - Idaho
• 20.2% - Allen

Penalty Kill Percentage

• 79.2% - Idaho
• 78.2% - Allen
  

Power Play Goals Scored

• 71 - Idaho
• 49 - Allen

Plus/Minus

• +203: Idaho
• -174: Allen
  

Goals Against Average (GAA)

• 3.31 - Idaho
• 3.78 - Allen
  

 

Save Percentage

• .904 - Allen
• .897 - Idaho

 

Record Last 10 Games

• 7-3-0-0 - Idaho
• 6-3-1-0 - Allen

 

- The question that will be answered over the next week is whether Allen can outperform its regular season results in the playoffs. The answer to that question is yes, especially if you look at the Americans playoff roster. Allen enters the series with all 22 players healthy which was not the case during the regular season. In addition, Allen's lineup has more depth than it did during the regular season games against Idaho. Allen played Idaho 11 times during the regular season. Here is a list of the players on the playoff roster with how many of the 11 games they played against Idaho. Idaho will get Allen's best in this series:

• 0 games - Kameron Kielly
• 0 games - Chaz Smedsrud
• 0 games - James Hardie
• 0 games - Justin Allen 
• 2 games - Liam Finlay
• 3 games - Mikael Robidoux
• 6 games - Blake Murray
• 6 games - Bennett MacArthur
• 6 games - Grant Hebert
• 6 games - Colin Jacobs
• 6 games - Nolan Orzeck
• 6 games - Ty Farmer
  
• 7 games - Ryan Gagnon 
• 7 games - Andrew Jarvis
  
• 8 games - Colby McAuley
• 9 games - Hank Crone
• 9 games - Easton Brodzinski
• 9 games - Ty Fournier
• 11 games - Kris Myllari
• 11 games - Eric Williams 

- One of the stats that presents the biggest challenge for Allen is goal differential. During the regular season Allen scored an average of 3.24 goals per game and allowed an average of 3.83 goals per game for a goal differential of  -0.59. Idaho's numbers are 4.21 goals scored and 3.36 goals allowed for a goal differential of +0.85.

If you compare the 11 head to head games Allen averaged 3.18 goals per game and Idaho averaged 4.45. It was feast or famine for Allen. In the Americans three wins against the Steelheads they averaged 5.33 goals per game. In the eight losses Allen averaged 2.38 goals per game and in six of the eight losses scored two or fewer goals. 

It is not this simple but in a broad way Allen has two choices in how it plays this series. The Americans can play a style to reduce the goals allowed or increase its goals scored. The winning team in the 11 games played during the regular season had five or more goals in nine of the games. The other two games the winning team had four and three goals. While team defense will be critical in this series the Americans will not be successful if their goal is to win games 2-1 or 3-2. Allen's mentality has to be more like the first team to five goals will win the game.

 

- Allen does not want to play from behind in this series as Idaho is lethal with a lead. The Steelheads have the best record in the league when they score first. Allen's record is good when it scores the first goal at 22-8-1-1 (.719) but Idaho is almost unbeatable when it scores first with a record of 34-3-1-2 (.888). Odds are pretty good the team that scores first in this series wins the game.

Another stat that says beware of playing from behind against Idaho is goal differential by period. Allen has struggled in the second period most of the season. The Americans score more goals in the second period (85) than any other period but have allowed the most second period goals in the league (110). That is a second period goal differential of -25. Idaho on the other hand scored more second period goals (122) than any other team in the ECHL and allowed just 77 for a second period goal differential of +45. The second periods of this series will be critical. 

You combine Idaho's dominance in the second period with its record of 36-1-1-0 when leading after the second period and you can see why Allen can't play from behind in this series. If Allen can play with the lead the Americans are almost as dominant. The Americans record with a second period lead is 25-2-1-1.

 

- I will have more series preview tomorrow, but if you want to delve deep into the stats checkout this series preview that was issued by Idaho. It covers all of the regular season stats, previous playoffs between these teams, head to head stats and playoff experience of the Idaho players. If you are a stats geek you will love this preview: https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2024/04/idaho-vs-allen-mountain-division-semifinals-series-preview      

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Belleville Senators clinched fourth place in the AHL North Division and will play the fifth place  Toronto Marlies in a best of three series in opening round of the playoffs. The games are scheduled for Wednesday (24th), Friday (26th) and Sunday (28th). The soonest Belleville's season could be over is Friday night if Toronto sweeps the Senators. The hope for help from Belleville is still alive, barely!

 

- The EIHL championship game is today and pits the Sheffield Steelers against the Belfast Giants in a one game winner take all event. Sheffield has been the best team in the league all season and is going for the EIHL grand slam which is winning the regular season, a tournament during the season called the Challenge Cup and the playoffs. Allen is well represented on the Sheffield team. Colton Saucerman, Brett Neumann and Dominic Cormier play for the Stellers. Neumann was injured in the semi-final game yesterday and from what I understand will miss the championship game today.  

 

- Here is where the ECHL playoff series stand:

• North Division
• #1 Adirondack trails #4 Maine 1-0
• #2 Norfolk leads #3 Trois Riviéres 2-1

• South Division
• #1 Greenville vs #4 Orlando play first game today
• #2 Jacksonville leads #3 Florida 1-0

• Central Division
• #1 Toledo leads #4 Kalamazoo 2-0
• #2 Indy and #3 Wheeling are tied 1-1

• #1 Kansas City leads #4 Tulsa 3-0
• #2 Idaho vs #3 Allen play first game on Monday

  So far the higher seeds have a record of 9-3.

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about teams that won 20 or more home games and road games. Since joining the ECHL Allen has accomplished it twice. In 2016-17 Allen won 25 home games and 24 road games. In 2014-15 Allen won 24 home games, 24 road games and topped the season off with its first Kelly Cup.

Consistent excellence. Five ECHL teams had 20+ home wins and 20+ road wins this season and all are in contention for the Kelly Cup. Two of the five also had 20+ home wins and 20+ road wins in 2022-23:

 

2023-24

Kansas City: 25H, **29A

*Idaho: 24H, 24A

Toledo: 23H, 25A

Greenville: 23H, 21A

*Jacksonville: 21H, 21A

 

*Only ECHL teams with 20+ wins, home and away, last two seasons.

 

**All time ECHL record for road wins in a single season.

 

  

 

 

Long Wait About Over for Allen, Playoffs Early Results, First Round Observations, Belleville Clinches Playoffs, Contracted Player Games, Allen's 15 Year Playoff Results

 

If it seems like it has taken forever for Allen's first round playoff series to start it is well founded. Of the eight first round series the Allen vs Idaho matchup will be the last to commence (Monday, April 22). However, once the series begins things will go very fast. In fact it will take only one day less to play the series than the wait the Americans had between the last game of the regular season and their first playoff game. If the series with Idaho goes seven games it will mean seven games in 10 days with two trips to Idaho.

 

- The Americans will have a final practice today before flying to Boise on Sunday. Having been at all of the practices this week it is clear to me the coaches and players have put in the time and effort to be ready for this series. Plus the team is as healthy as it has been for a long time. All 22 players on the playoff roster are ready to go. I will delve into the nuts and bolts of this series the next two days, but here is one stat that may help understand how the Americans will have to play to beat Idaho. Allen won three times against Idaho during the regular season and scored five, six and five goals in the wins. Allen scored two or fewer goals six times and lost all six games. Tight low scoring games tend to play into Idaho's strengths. Allen will have to play a more offensive style to be successful. More details tomorrow.   

- While Allen has been waiting, the Kansas City vs Tulsa series is in full swing. The Mavericks won again last night and already have a 3-0 lead in the series. Kansas City can close out the series and be waiting for its second round opponent before Allen vs Idaho completes its first game. Both series play Monday, but with the time difference the Kansas City vs Tulsa games will be completed earlier.

- Six of the eight playoff series are already underway. Here is where they stand:

• North Division
• #1 Adirondack trails #4 Maine 1-0
• #2 Norfolk is tied with #3 Trois Riviéres 1-1

• South Division
• #1 Greenville vs #4 Orlando play first game on Sunday
• #2 Jacksonville leads #3 Florida 1-0

• Central Division
• #1 Toledo leads #4 Kalamazoo 1-0
• #2 Indy leads #3 Wheeling 1-0

• #1 Kansas City leads #4 Tulsa 3-0
• #2 Idaho vs #3 Allen play first game on Monday

- A few observations on the first round playoff series:

• Tulsa made the playoffs with a win against Allen in the last game of the regular season. It was a meaningless game for Allen and if you watched the game the Americans did not give a good effort. That 4-1 win over Allen to get the Oilers into the playoffs is Tulsa's only win since March 22. Over the last nine games Tulsa's record in 1-7-2-0. 
• Toledo had the second best points percentage in the ECHL during the regular season (.739) and won the Central Division by 19 points. Conventional wisdom would say the Walleye would easily get to the Conference finals, However their first round opponent, #4 seed Kalamazoo gave Toledo fits during the regular season. Toledo was 4-7-2-0 against Kalamazoo. The Walleye won game one of the playoffs last night but it wasn't easy. Kalamazoo took a 2-0 lead in the game before Toledo came back to win in overtime. This is a #1 vs #4 series to keep an eye on.
  
• Florida got off to a poor start in its attempt to become the first team in ECHL history to three-peat. The Everblades are the #3 seed in the South Division and got shutout 4-0 by #2 seed Jacksonville in game one. 
• The higher seeds win the vast majority of first round series. It is very early in the first round but the higher seeds are 7-2 so far.
• I am not a big fan of FloHockey but once the ECHL playoffs start it is nice there is no extra charge for the playoffs for annual memberships and switching from series to series and between home and away broadcasts is easy. Switching between games also allows viewers to compare the difference in production from team to team. I was switching between the Kansas City at Tulsa game and Kalamazoo at Toledo game last night and the production contrast could not have been more stark. Tulsa uses one camera with a very long shot for the entire game. Toledo uses multiple cameras from various angles with closeups of the action and the benches. The Tulsa feed was almost unwatchable while the Toledo feed was very professional with use of graphics and long form interviews between period interviews. 

 

- The Belleville Senators beat the Laval Rocket 3-2 last night to clinch a Calder Cup playoff spot. It was one of those rare games that Laval had to win in regulation time to keep its playoff hope alive. Belleville tied the score 2-2 late in the third period (14:18) on a power play goal. That forced Laval to pull its goalie to try and win the game. Belleville scored and empty net goal with one second remaining to take the win 3-2. 

 

- Belleville has its final game today and will finish in either fourth or fifth place in the North Division. The fourth and fifth place teams will play a best of three series with the winner becoming the #4 seed in the North Division playoffs. Tomorrow (Sunday) is the final day of the AHL season. It is possible the best of three series Belleville will play could take place next week and be over before the weekend. Dates can't be set until the season ends because the standings are so close. Bottom line is don't give up on Belleville sending Meriläinen and/or Fizer to Allen before the conclusion of the Americans series with Idaho. It may be a slim chance but definitely a chance.

 

- Here is my ECHL Stats post from this morning:

Total regular season ECHL games played by NHL/AHL contracted players for the 16 ECHL teams in the Kelly Cup playoffs. The number in parenthesis is the number of games of the total played by NHL/AHL contracted goalies. A big variance (271 games) from top to bottom on this list:

 

462: Trois Riviéres (61)

461: Wheeling (47)

443: Indy (69)

440: Florida (72)

436: Orlando (77)

420: Kansas City (55)

402: Maine (40)

342: Norfolk (64)

336: Kalamazoo (41)

323: Adirondack (57)

293: Tulsa (66)

280: Jacksonville (23)

260: Toledo (73)

230: Idaho (50)

193: Allen (42)

191: Greenville (67)

 

Allen is at the bottom of this list, but when you look behind the numbers it tells the story of how little help the Americans have received from its affiliate. If you subtract the goalie games (42) from the total the number is 151. Next you need to subtract games played by NHL/AHL contracted players that Chad Costello recruited. 132 games were played by Hank Crone, 40 games (Chicago - AHL), Blake Murray 49 games (Carolina - NHL) and Bennett MacArthur 43 games (Tampa Bay - NHL). Subtracting these 132 games leaves just 19 games played by skaters provided by Ottawa/Belleville (defensemen - 4 games, forwards 15 games). I think this paltry number of skaters deserves a C'MON MAN!

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: You often hear the culture when you play for the Allen Americans is different. Many franchises consider it a successful season if the team makes the playoffs. When you have a franchise like Allen, that made it to the championship finals in its first season in existence and won an unprecedented four straight championships, making the playoffs is not considered a successful season. Here is the playoff history over the 15 years of the Allen Americans franchise. The coach is in parenthesis:

 

2009-10: Lost in finals (Dwight Mullins)

2010-11: Lost in third round (Dwight Mullins)

2011-12: Lost in first round (Dwight Mullins)

2012-13: Won championship (Steve Martinson)

2013-14: Won championship (Steve Martinson)

2014-15: Won championship (Steve Martinson)

2015-16: Won championship (Steve Martinson)

2016-17: Lost in second round (Steve Martinson)

2017-18: Lost in first round (Steve Martinson)

2018-19: Missed playoffs (Steve Martinson)

2019-20: No playoffs (Steve Martinson)

2020-21: Lost in second round (Steve Martinson)

2021-22: Lost in first round (Steve Martinson)

2022-23: Lost in second round (Chad Costello)

2023-24: ???????????

 

 

Playoff Preparation, NHL/AHL Contracted Games Played Comparison, Regular Season Schedules Compared, Playoff Opening Round Historical Results and More

 

While some ECHL teams had two days to prepare for the Kelly Cup playoffs the Allen Americans have seven days, the longest playoff prep time ever. After two days of full speed practices the team will take a day off the ice today and devote time to video review. The coaching staff has spent an inordinate amount of time going through every aspect of a hockey game looking at video from Allen's recent games, Idaho's recent games and the head-to-head games this season. The result of all of that work will be shared with the team in a video review session today followed by a team dinner tonight. Then there will be two more full speed practices before the team leaves for Idaho on Sunday.

 

- Watching practice the last two days you could see the intensity ramp up from day one to day two. Lack of preparation will not be an issue in this series. The week off always raises concerns about rust but there are certainly advantages for the Americans. A lot of players were dinged up to the point of missing games. A week without contact means the entire roster will be ready to go for ths series.

 

- Another advantage of the week off relates to help from Belleville. The Senators won last night 2-1 in a shootout. The win gives Belleville a four point lead for the final playoff spot with two games remaining. Five of seven teams in the North Division make the playoffs. Belleville is in fifth place with 78 points and Laval is in sixth place with 74 points. As fate would have it the last two games of the season for these teams is a home and home against each other on Friday and Saturday. Belleville needs one point from the two games to clinch a playoff spot. If Laval gets all four points the teams will be tied, but Laval owns the tiebreaker so will make the playoffs. If Belleville misses the playoffs you could see Leevi Meriläinen and Tarun Fizer assigned to Allen before the start of the series with Idaho. It is a long shot, but certainly possible.

 

- I will have an in-depth Allen vs Idaho series preview later in the week but today want to share some miscellaneous stats and information I dug up this week. 

 

- Of the 23 players on Allen's opening day roster just 10 are on the playoff roster. Here are the players used during the regular season by the four Mountain Division playoff teams. The number of NHL/AHL contracted players each team used is in parenthesis:

• 50 - Tulsa  (9)
  
• 48 - Allen (9)
  
• 47 - Idaho (6)
  
• 36 - Kansas City (11)  

- If you notice the number of NHL/AHL contracted players used by each playoff team was relatively close so I decided to look deeper at how many ECHL games did the NHL/AHL contracted players play for each team. 

• 420 games - Kansas City
• 293 games - Tulsa
• 230 games - Idaho
• 193 games - Allen  
  

 

- Of  the 193 games played by NHL/AHL contracted players in Allen this season just 61 games were players from the Americans' affiliate Ottawa/ Belleville. 132 games were played by Hank Crone, 40 games (Chicago - AHL), Blake Murray 49 games (Carolina - NHL) and Bennett MacArthur 43 games (Tampa Bay - NHL). If Chad Costello hadn't recruited Murray and MacArthur from other NHL organizations, I doubt the Americans would be in the playoffs.

 

- Another stat I researched yesterday was how frequently there were upsets in the first round of the playoffs. Data across all four division for the last four playoffs is in the DID YOU KNOW section below. If you look at the Mountain Division, since Allen joined the ECHL in 2014-15 there has never been a first round upset. Over seven season (2020 no playoffs, 2021 short playoffs) here are the series records:

• #1 seeds vs #4 seeds: #1 seeds were 7-0 (3 of the 7 series did go 7 games)
• #2 seeds vs #3 seeds: #2 seeds were 7-0 (3 of the 7 series did go 7 games)
  

 

- The Mountain Division playoffs got underway last night with #1 seed Kansas City defeating #4 seed Tulsa 4-2. Tulsa took a 1-0 lead 40 seconds after the opening puck drop, led 2-0 at the midpoint of the game and took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. The Mavericks were the most prolific goal scoring team in the third period, by far, during the regular season with a goal differential of  +60. It was not a surprise that Kansas City outscored Tulsa 3-0 in the third period to win the game 4-2  

- Two teams in the Mountain Division playoffs had a losing record during the regular season (Allen & Tulsa) and that is very rare. Just one other playoff team (Atlanta, 2017-18) has entered the playoffs with a losing record since Allen joined the ECHL in 2014-15. When you consider the Mountain Division has the #1 team (.792) Kansas City and #3 team (.694) Idaho in the ECHL it makes sense the other teams in the division will have lower points percentages. The Mountain Division schedule is heavily inter-divisional, but even within the division some teams played Kansas City and Idaho more than others. Kansas City and Idaho had a combined record of of 87-25-6-2 (.765) against the other five teams in the division. Here is how many times the five division teams played Kansas City and Idaho combined:

• 26 times - Allen (11 home, 15 away)
  
• 23 times - Rapid City (12 home, 11 away)
  
• 23 times - Utah (10 home, 13 away)
  
• 18 times - Wichita (7 home, 11 away)
  
• 17 times - Tulsa (13 home, 4 away)

 

- It is pretty clear Allen had the toughest schedule with the most games against Kansas City and Idaho (26) and the most road games (15). Add to the division games Allen's schedule outside the division and it is even more telling.

 

Atlanta - When the Americans played Atlanta early in the season the Gladiators were the best team in the league in the midst of what would become the second longest winning streak from the start of the season (8 games) in the history of the ECHL.

 

Adirondack - Adirondack arrived in Allen late in the season as the #1 team in the North Division and maintained that position and is the #1 seed in the division playoffs. 

 

Kalamazoo - Allen's third opponent outside the division is also a playoff team. Kalamazoo is the #4 seed in the Central Division and had a .556 points percentage in the regular season. 

Bottom line is Allen had the toughest schedule in the division and needed a seven game point streak with six wins to make the playoffs. For the second season Allen played its best hockey at the end of the season and finished #2 (2022-23) and #3 in the division. FYI, only three division teams (Allen, Idaho, Kansas City) have made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. 

DID YOU KNOW: How frequently are there upsets in the opening round of the Kelly Cup playoffs? The answer is very rare for the #1 seeds and rare for the #2 seeds. Here are the series records in the first round of the last four ECHL seven game playoffs (2023, 2022, 2019, 2018). There were no playoffs in 2020 and the playoffs were best of five series in 2021.

 

 #1 vs #4 seeds: #1 seeds were 15-1. The only #4 seed to win a first round series was in the South Division. In 2023, #4 Florida beat #1 South Carolina 4-2 on the way to its second straight Kelly Cup.

 

 #2 vs #3 seeds: #2 seeds were 12-4. The #3 seeds to win first round series were:

 

2022

#3 Jacksonville beat #2 Atlanta 4-0

#3 Wheeling beat #2 Fort Wayne 4-3

 

2019

#3 Manchester beat #2 Adirondack 4-1

 

2018

#3 Orlando defeated #2 South Carolina 4-0

 

 

- In the Mountain Division the #1 and #2 seeds were a perfect 8-0 in the first round in 2023, 2022, 2019, 2018.

 

 

-The 2024 Kelly Cup playoffs got underway last night with two games, the higher seeds won both.

#1 seed Kansas City beat #4 seed Tulsa 4-2 in the Mountain Division.

#2 seed Norfolk beat #3 seed Trois Rivières 4-2 in the North Division.

Playoff Roster, Comparing Mountain Division Playoff Teams, Allen Home Record by Day and Jersey, 2024-25 Jersey Plans, Ironman Club and More

 

The Kelly Cup playoffs kick off tomorrow night with two of the eight first round series getting underway. The Allen vs Idaho series will be the last one to start (April 22) so the Americans have a full week to prepare. The Kansas City vs Tulsa series starts tomorrow (April 17) and if the Mavericks sweep the series it will be over the same day Allen is playing game one.

 

- The big news yesterday was the release of the Allen Americans playoff roster. The ECHL will issue a press release with all of the playoff rosters today, but individual teams can put out their list if they desire and that is what Allen did yesterday afternoon. Here is the playoff roster:  

  

 - Who is not on the list? There was some hope Colton Hargrove might be ready at some point if Allen made the playoffs but it was not to be. Coach Costello saved two roster spots for Tarun Fizer and Leevi Meriläinen who will be assigned to Allen when Belleville finishes its season. That date could be as soon Belleville's final game (April 20) if they don't make the playoffs. The Senators are currently in the fifth and last playoff spot in the division. If Belleville makes the playoffs (first round is best three) it is hard to tell when its season will end. 

- To fit within the playoff roster limit of 24 players, three players had to be released. Those three players were Solag Bakich, Gavin Gould and Dalton Skelly. It is never easy to see players released at this time of year, but you never know, you could see them back in Allen next season.

 

- Many years ago I started what I called the Barry the Blogger Matrix to compare division playoff teams and come up with a numerical score to predict playoff success. Below is how the four teams in the Mountain Division playoffs stand in 12 statistical categories. Fairly easy to see the strengths and weaknesses (if any) of each team. Because Kansas City and Idaho were so much better than the rest of the division during the regular season, the outcome of this matrix was predictable. 


Goals Scored (average per game)

• 4.24 - Kansas City
• 4.21 - Idaho
• 3.24 - Allen
• 3.98 - Tulsa
  

Goals Allowed (average per game)

• 2.81 - Kansas City
• 3.24 - Tulsa
• 3.36 - Idaho
• 3.83 - Allen
  

Shots For (average per game)

• 36.94 - Tulsa
• 35.79 - Idaho
• 33.03 - Kansas City
• 30.22 - Allen
  

Shots Against (average per game)

• 29.58 - Kansas City
• 30.61 - Tulsa
• 32.35 - Idaho
• 39.90 - Allen
  

Shooting Percentage (goals as a percent of total shots)

• 12.8% - Kansas City
• 11.8% - Idaho
• 10.6% - Allen
• 8.3% - Tulsa
  

Power Play Percentage

• 28.5% - Idaho
• 21.3% - Kansas City
• 20.2% - Allen
• 18.8% - Tulsa
  

Penalty Kill Percentage

• 79.3% - Kansas City
• 79.2% - Idaho
• 78.2% - Allen
• 76.8% - Tulsa
  

Power Play Goals Scored

• 71 - Idaho
• 57 - Kansas City
• 49 - Allen
• 42 - Tulsa
  

Plus/Minus

• +409: Kansas City
• +203: Idaho
• -7: Tulsa
• -174: Allen
  

Goals Against Average (GAA)

• 2.75 - Kansas City
• 3.19 - Tulsa
• 3.31 - Idaho
• 3.78 - Allen
  

 

Save Percentage

• .906 - Kansas City
• .904 - Allen
• .897 - Idaho
• .895 - Tulsa
  

 

Record Last 10 Games

• 9-1-0-0 - Kansas City
• 7-3-0-0 - Idaho
• 6-3-1-0 - Allen
• 3-5-2-0 - Tulsa
  

- Finally, I tallied up the rank for each team in every category to get an overall score. The lower the score the better. If you finished first in every category you would get a final score of 12. Kansas City was first in nine of the 12 categories. Here are the results:

• 16 - Kansas City
• 26 - Idaho
• 38 - Tulsa
• 40 - Allen
  

 - Based on the stats it is no surprise Kansas City comes out as a big favorite over Tulsa and Idaho is a big favorite over Allen. If Kansas City and Idaho make it to the division finals this matrix gives Kansas City a good sized edge. 

 

- Another metric to consider is how these teams did against each other during the regulars season:

• Kansas City was 6-1-1-0 against Tulsa
• Idaho was 8-3-0-0 against Allen
• Kansas City was 4-1-1-0 against Idaho
• Kansas City was 11-4-0-0 against Allen
• Idaho was 5-4-0-0 against Tulsa  

 

- I will have more series preview information later in the week as the Idaho series gets closer. In the meantime here are a couple of other topics of interest:

 

- Here is a breakdown of Allen's home record in two ways. First by the day of the week and second by which jersey the team was wearing. Those of you that are superstitious can adjust accordingly. The percentage is win rate not points percentage:

• 8-3: Friday (72.7%)
• 4-2: Wednesday (66.7%)
• 2-4: Sunday (33.3%)
• 3-9: Saturday (25.0%)
• 0-1: Monday (0.0%)

• 7-3: Texas Jersey (72.7%)
• 6-3: Red Jersey (66.7%)
• 2-6: White Jersey (25.0%)
• 2-7: Specialty Jersey (22.2%)

 

- For those of you that are interested in jerseys here is the tentative plan for next season. The team will have four different jerseys. The blue/Texas jersey will return. It has been the most popular jersey in team history. There will not be a white jersey next season. In addition to the traditional red jersey the team will have a light grey jersey and a black jersey.  

- The ECHL Stats post below is about the ECHL Ironmen this season. Kris Myllari once again played every game this season. It is hard to overestimate the value of a player that never misses a game in a single season, let alone for three straight seasons. Here is a list of the Allen Americans exclusive Ironman's club:

 

• 2023-24 - Kris Myllari
• 2022-23 - Kris Myllari, Ryan Gagnon
  
• 2021-22 - Kris Myllari 
• 2020-21 - Les Lancaster
• 2019-20 - None
• 2018-19 - Spencer Asuchak  
• 2017-18 - Joel Chouinard, Casey Pierro-Zabotel
• 2016-17 - Chad Costello, Joel Chouinard
• 2015-16 - Chad Costello
• 2014-15 - Chad Costello, Aaron Gens, Jamie Schaafsma
• 2013-14 - Spencer Asuchak, Daniel Tetrault, Mike Berube
• 2012-13 - Jamie Schaafsma, Jason Deitsch
• 2011-12 - Jason Deitsch
• 2010-11 - Colton Yellow Horn, David Strathman
• 2009-10 - Bruce Graham, Christian Gaudet  
  

 

 

DID YOU KNOW:

 

THE IRONMEN

 

1062 players played in the ECHL this season. Just 30 of them (2.8%) played in every game for their team. Stick taps to all 30 Ironmen, but especially to these four multi year Ironmen:

 

Haven’t miss a game the last three seasons:

Kris Myllari, Allen

Tyler Penner, Utah

 

Haven’t missed a game the last two seasons:

Alex Aleardi, Rapid City

Patrick Polino, Cincinnati 

 

How do you play in more than 72 games in a season? One player, Jesse Jacques, played in 74 games this season. He played 22 games for Iowa, was traded, and played 52 games for Orlando.

 

 

 

Regular Season Ends, Playoffs Begin, Game Recap, Playoff Roster, ECHL Playoff Schedules, Overseas Playoffs and More

 

The Allen Americans finished the regular season yesterday with a 4-1 loss in Tulsa. Not going to spend much time recapping the game that was meaningless for the Americans and very important to Tulsa. With the win the Oilers claimed the final playoff spot in the Mountain Division and eliminated Utah.

 

- Allen managed to score the first goal of the game at the 8:12 mark of the opening period on a power play goal by Blake Murray, his 21st goal of the season. Liam Finlay and Hank Crone had the assists. Unfortunately that was the extent of Allen's offense for the game. 

 

-  If I told you Crone had two thirds of a Gordie Howe hat trick in the meaningless last game of the season and the third he was missing was a goal, most would be very surprised. In the third period Hank had his second professional fight, his first was in Reading last season. Not sure if it was part of the plan, but by fighting right off a faceoff, Crone not only earned a five minute major but a game misconduct based on the new fighting rule that prohibits fighting immediately before or right after a faceoff. 

- Here is the recap from the Allen Americans if you want more details about the game: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/04/americans-fall-in-the-regular-season-finale

 

- I am sure it took very little time after the game for Chad Costello to switch from coach Costello to general manager Costello. That is because by 2:00 pm this afternoon (Allen time) Costello has to submit his playoff roster which will require some tough decisions. There can be 24 players on the playoff roster which includes 20 on the active roster that must fit under the salary cap and four players on reserve. FYI, players can move back and fourth between the active roster and reserve at any time. Here are the details:

• By my count there are 25 players on Allen's current roster that could be placed on the playoff roster.
• If Costello wants to save roster spots for the two players in Belleville (Meriläinen & Fizer) who are qualified for the ECHL playoffs, he can only put 22 of the 25 players on the current roster on the playoff roster.   
• Because the roster Costello submits today is set for the entire playoffs one consideration is how many defensemen and forwards should be on the playoff roster. If you remember, last year in Idaho injuries caused Allen to play with four and sometimes three defensemen. That experience could mean you will see eight defensemen on the playoff roster.
• My opinion is you have to save two roster spots for the Belleville players. The AHL regular season is over on Saturday (20th) and Allen's first playoff game is the following Monday (22nd). Currently Belleville is in fifth place in the seven team AHL North Division, but five of the seven teams make the playoffs. Belleville has three games remaining, two against Laval, the team in sixth place in the standings. If Bellevile loses twice to Laval and its third game against Syracuse (#1 team in the division) the Senators would miss the playoffs and you could see Meriläinen and Fizer join Allen before the start of the playoffs. If Belleville does make the playoffs the first round is best of three.
• The bottom line is when the playoff roster is released there will be some players missing that have helped Allen get to the playoffs. Some tough decisions for Chad Costello today.  

 

- If you haven't seen the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoff schedule here is the complete list. All series in the playoffs will be best-of-seven series.

North Division Semifinals

#1 Adirondack Thunder (43-18-11) vs. #4 Maine Mariners (32-32-8)
Game 1 – Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. ET at Adirondack
Game 2 – Sunday, April 21 at 5 p.m. ET at Adirondack
Game 3 – Friday, April 26 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Maine
Game 4 – Saturday, April 27 at 6 p.m. ET at Maine
Game 5 – Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. ET at Maine (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Adirondack (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. ET at Adirondack (If Necessary)
 
#2 Norfolk Admirals (41-21-7) vs. #3 Trois-Rivières Lions (31-30-8)
Game 1 – Wednesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
Game 2 – Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
Game 3 – Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk
Game 5 – Saturday, April 27 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Sunday, April 28 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 1 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk (If Necessary)
 
South Division Semifinals
 
#1 Greenville Swamp Rabbits (44-23-5) vs. #4 Orlando Solar Bears (38-24-10)
Game 1 – Sunday, April 21 at 3:05 p.m. ET at Greenville
Game 2 – Monday, April 22 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville
Note: Dates for games 3-5 in Orlando will be announced on Monday, pending NBA Playoffs schedule
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 30 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 1 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville (If Necessary)
 
#2 Jacksonville Icemen (42-23-7) vs. #3 Florida Everblades (40-23-9)
Game 1 – Thursday, April 18 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville
Game 2 – Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m. ET at Jacksonville
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 4 – Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 5 – Saturday, April 27 at 7 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville (If Necessary)
Game 7 –Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville (If Necessary)
 
Central Division Semifinals

#1 Toledo Walleye (48-14-9) vs. #4 Kalamazoo Wings (38-30-4)
Game 1 – Friday, April 19 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo
Game 2 – Saturday, April 20 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 24 at 7 p.m. ET at Kalamazoo
Game 4 – Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m. ET at Kalamazoo
Game 5 – Saturday, April 27 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Kalamazoo (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 1 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)
 
#2 Indy Fuel (39-25-8) vs. #3 Wheeling Nailers (38-28-5)
Game 1 – Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. ET at Indy
Game 2 – Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m. ET at Indy
Game 3 – Monday, April 22 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling
Game 4 – Tuesday, April 23 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling
Game 5 – Saturday, April 27 at 7 p.m. ET at Wheeling (If Necessary) *
Game 6 – Monday, April 29 at 7 p.m. ET at Indy (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Indy (If Necessary)
 
* - Game 5 is at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa.
 
Mountain Division Semifinals
 
#1 Kansas City Mavericks (54-12-6) vs. #4 Tulsa Oilers (30-33-9)
Game 1 – Wednesday, April 17 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City
Game 2 – Thursday, April 18 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City
Game 3 – Friday, April 19 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Tulsa
Game 4 – Monday, April 22 at 7:10 p.m. CT at Tulsa
Game 5 – Thursday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Tulsa (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Friday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Sunday, April 28 at 4:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City (If Necessary)

#2 Idaho Steelheads (48-20-4) vs. #3 Allen Americans (33-35-4)
Game 1 – Monday, April 22 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho
Game 2 – Wednesday, April 24 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho
Game 3 – Friday, April 26 at 7:10 p.m. CT at Allen
Game 4 – Saturday, April 27 at 4:10 p.m. CT at Allen
Game 5 – Sunday, April 28 at 4:10 p.m. CT at Allen (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 30 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 1 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Idaho (If Necessary)

- A couple of things to note in the schedules above. Series are typically 2-3-2 but other factors cause changes:

• #2 Norfolk vs #3 Trois Riviéres (North Division) will be a 3-4 series with Norfolk starting on the road.
• #1 Toledo vs #4 Kalamazoo (Central Division) will be a 2-2-1-1-1 series because the teams are in close proximity to each other (150 miles).
  
• #2 Indy vs #3 Wheeling (Central Division) will be a 2-3-2 series but one of Wheeling's games will be played at the Pittsburgh Penguins practice facility in Cranberry, PA with attendance capacity of under 1000. 

- I have had several questions about Allen's home games in the playoffs. Specifically, the early start time on Saturday (4:10 pm vs 7:10 pm) and the later than normal start time on Sunday (4:10 pm vs 2:10 pm). Here are the answers from team president Jonny Mydra:

• Saturday: "We had much better attendance from families and kids when our Saturday games started at 4:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm this season. We are looking into all Saturday games starting at 4:00 pm next season, so wanted to get another data point on a 4:00 pm start."
• Sunday: "The Sunday game we felt since the teams won't travel back to Boise until Monday, we might as well give the players a little extra time Sunday morning since it will be the third game in as many days."
      

 

OTHER COMMENTS
 

- The ECHL averaged 4981 fans per game this season, an increase of 352 per game over last season. According to the ECHL the average attendance this season is the highest since the 1997-98 season.

 

- In Great Britain the first round of the EIHL playoffs took place over the weekend. Eight teams took part and the final four were determined by aggregate goals over two games. The aggregate scores ranged from 13-5 to 3-2. The final four teams advance to a single elimination tournament next weekend in a neutral site (Nottingham). On Saturday it will be the Sheffield Steelers vs the Guildford Flames and the Cardiff Devils vs the Belfast Giants. The two winners play for the championship on Sunday. The playoff champion will have played four games in a week on the way to the title. Much different than the slog in the ECHL that could take 28 games over a six week period. Here are the former Allen Americans in the final four:

• Sheffield:
• Colton Saucerman (2022-23)
  
• Brett Neumann (2020-21)
  
• Dominic Cormier (2020-21)

• Belfast:
• J.D. Dudek (2021-22)

 

 - Scores of Allen players have played in the EIHL over the years. The league is similar to the style of play in the ECHL and each team is allowed 15 imports (non-homegrown players) on the roster which is much higher than other European leagues. Bruce Graham, Matt Register and Josh Lammon are just three examples of former Allen players that won championships in the EIHL.

- Josh Winquist is another former Allen player (2021-22) with a chance to win a championship in Europe. Josh plays in Denmark and his team (Esbjerg) is in the finals with the best of seven series tied 1-1. Josh has 15 points (7G, 8A) in 16 playoff games. During the regular season he had 50 points (18G, 32A) in 42 games. 

- Here are the Allen Americans players that finished in the top five in ECHL stats during the regular season:

 

• Mikael Robidoux: 5th in PIM (176)
• Colby McAuley: 4th in power play goals (12)
• Kris Myllari: 5th in power play assists (22)
• Gavin Gould: 2nd in shorthanded goals (4)
• Hank Crone: 1st in points per game, 20+ games (1.38)
• Kris Myllari: 2nd in power play goals, defensemen (6)
• Kris Myllari: 4th in power play assists, defensemen (22)
• Kris Myllari: 2nd in power play points, defensemen (28)
   

 

DID YOU KNOW: Four teams from each ECHL division make the playoffs. That means the points percentage for the playoffs teams varies widely by division. Here are the spreads this season:

North: .674 - .500

South: .646 - .597

Central: .739 - .556

Mountain: .792 - .479

 

- The best team to miss the playoffs this season, with a .590 points percentage, is South Carolina who had the 11th best points percentage in the league. Tulsa had the lowest points percentage of any playoff team. The Oilers point percentage of .479 is ranked #19 in the league.

 

- Just four times since 2013-14 teams with losing records made the playoffs, two of the four are this season:

 

2023-24

.479 - Tulsa

.486 - Allen

 

2017-18

.479 - Atlanta

 

2013-14

.333 - Las Vegas*

 

*In 2013-14 in the five team Pacific Division, San Francisco folded mid-season, so the four remaining teams all made the playoffs. That meant the worst team in the league, Las Vegas, with a .333 points percentage and record of 22-44-4-4 made the playoffs. Las Vegas was swept 4-0 in the first round by Alaska, the eventual Kelly Cup champion.

Allen Earns 3rd Place, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Today's Preview With Lineup, Playoff Schedule and More

 

It took a seven game point streak, but the Allen Americans made the Kelly Cup playoffs in style last night, a 6-3 win over Tulsa before a crowd of 5394 at the CUTX Event Center. The Americans earned 13 of 14 points (6-0-1-0) over the last two weeks and not only made the playoffs but vaulted into third place in the Mountain Division.

 

- It wasn't a good start for Allen as Tulsa scored the first goal of the game and had a lead of 2-1 after the first period. The second period  has been trouble for Allen much of the season. The Americans have allowed more second period goals than any ECHL team (105) and Allen's second period goal differential (-23). Prior stats be damned as Allen took control in the second period outscoring Tulsa 3-1 to take a 4-3 lead into the second intermission. It was close to lights out at that point as the Americans are almost unbeatable with a lead after the second period (25-2-1-1).

- Nursing a 4-3 lead, Allen had two breakaway opportunities early in the third period with two of the most dangerous goal scorers on the team, Blake Murray and Hank Crone. When neither scored you had to wonder will this come back to haunt the Americans. No problem as Allen did two things that earned the win. Coach Costello's message to the team was be poised and patient in the defensive zone, take your time and don't just throw the puck out of the zone. With that discipline and Tulsa pushing forward to try and tie the score, Allen will get offensive opportunities. The Americans executed perfectly and added goals by Kameron Kielly and Hank Crone to put the game away and claim third place in the division. Allen's first round opponent will be the Idaho Steelheads.

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Kris Myllari (11), Colby McAuley (25), Bennett MacArthur (11), James Hardie (15), Kameron Kielly (11) and Hank Crone (17). Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/tulsa-oilers-vs-allen-americans-april-13-2024

 

Here are the game recaps from both teams with more details:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/04/round-1-home-playoff-dates-announced
• Tulsa Oilers: https://tulsaoilers.com/news/2024/04/oilers-need-point-in-season-finale-following-loss
  

 

- Some random stats from the game:

• Kameron Kielly had 4 points (3G, 1A) in the two games against Tulsa.
• James Hardie had 4 points (1G, 3A) in the two games against Tulsa.
• Hank Crone had a goal and assist last night and has a nine game point streak. Crone has played 39 games for Allen this season and has point streaks of seven games, 18 games and nine games. His point total of 54 (17G, 37A) equates to points per game average of 1.38. That is the highest in the league for players that have played more than 20 games. 
• Kris Myllari scored his 11th goal of the season and his 48th point of the season. He will play in his 216th straight regular season game for Allen today and become an Ironman for the third straight season, an amazing feat. He joins Chad Costello as the only two Allen players to go three seasons without missing a game.
• Allen won the special teams battle last night (1-3 vs 0-2). More importantly, opponents have not had more power play opportunities than the Americans in the last eight games. 
   

 

TODAY'S PREVIEW

- The game this afternoon (4:05 pm) means nothing to Allen, but everything to Tulsa. The Oilers need to earn one point to advance to the playoffs, otherwise Tulsa is out and Utah is in. 

- Colby McAuley and Eric Williams did not make the trip to Tulsa, but Allen will still have a full lineup with all healthy players making the trip. Allen wants to finish the season with a win, but at the same time you can assume playing time will be distributed differently in the game this afternoon.

 

- Allen's record against Tulsa this season is 9-5-1-0. The Americans enter the game today on a seven game point streak while Tulsa is on a six game losing streak. 

 

Allen’s lineup today vs Tulsa:

 

Forwards

MacArthur-Murray-Crone

Gould-Smedsrud-Finlay

Hardie-Kielly-Brodzinski

Fournier         Robidoux

 

Defense

Myllari-Farmer

Allen-Gagnon

Jarvis-Orzeck

 

Goalies

Sinclair

Costantini (backup)

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- A lot of teams qualified for the playoff last night. The Central and South Divisions first round playoffs are set. Three playoffs teams, one in the Mountain and two in the North will be decided today. Here is the ECHL Today with game previews and a detailed playoff update: https://echl.com/news/2024/04/echl-today-april-14

 

- Kansas City's rookie Max Andreev who leads the Mavericks in assists and was named to the ECHL All-Rookie team this week was just suspended for five games. In a meaningless game in Iowa last night, Andreev was suspended for leaving the player's bench to join an altercation. He will miss the first five games of Kansas City's playoffs.  

- I haven't seen the full schedule for the series with Idaho but as I mentioned yesterday there is a gymnastics championship scheduled in Idaho's rink from April 18 - 21. That means the series will not start until April 22. The Americans have already announced their three home games in this 2-3-2 series will be on April 26, 27 and 28 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Based on how playoff series are typically scheduled here is the most likely schedule:

• Game 1 - April 22 in Idaho (Monday)
  
• Game 2 - April 24 in Idaho (Wednesday)
• Game 3 - *April 26 in Allen (Friday)
• Game 4 - April 27 in Allen (Saturday)
• Game 5 if necessary - April 28 in Allen (Sunday) 
• Game 6 if necessary - April 30 in Idaho (Tuesday
  
• Game 7 if necessary - May 1 in Idaho (Wednesday)

*Allen's first home playoff game on the 26th will be a "red out" game so the team is encouraging everyone to wear red that night. 

- Allen finished the season with an average attendance of 4349 per game. That is a an increase of 833 per game over the 3516 average last season. The Americans finish #2 in the ECHL in year over year percentage growth and #3 in the league in overall growth. Congrats to Jonny Mydra and the entire Allen sales and marketing staff for a great season.

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: It is the final day of the ECHL season. Jacksonville and Greenville are in a dead heat for the top spot and #1 seed in South Division. Both are at home for their final game today and both host non playoff teams. (Atlanta at Jacksonville & Savannah at Greenville). If both win in regulation today, it will go to the third tiebreaker to decide the champion: Here are the numbers going into the final game today:

 

Points - 91 each

#1 Tiebreaker: Regulation Wins, 35 each

#2 Tiebreaker: Regulation + OT Wins, 41 each

#3 Tiebreaker: Goal differential, Jacksonville wins with a +46 compared to Greenville’s +8

 

Greenville could finish second in the division, even if it wins today, after leading the division almost the entire season.

 

Allen Point Streak Reaches Six, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Post Game Comments, Tonight's Preview, Playoff Update, 50 Game Winners and More

 

The Allen Americans continued their streak of playoff style hockey last night beating Tulsa 3-2 before a crowd of 4920 at the CUTX Event Center. The Americans last six games have all been decided by a single goal with five of the six going extra time. Allen's record over the last six games is 5-0-1-0 and its six game point streak is the fourth longest in the league. Over this six game point streak the Americans have allowed just 12 goals.

 

- Last night Allen had the trifecta of scoring the first goal, leading after the first period and leading after the second period. As a reminder here is the Americans record when these three things happen:

• 22-7-1-1 (.742): Allen's record when scoring first.
• 16-1-1-1 (.895): Allen's record when leading after the first period.
• 24-2-1-1 (.893): Allen's record when leading after the second period. 

 

-  A good start was an imperative and Allen accomplished that by scoring its first goal just 3:57 after the opening puck drop. Blake Murray took a pass from James Hardie and shot top shelf over the goalies glove to notch his 20th goal of the season. Later in the period (16:37) Easton Brodzinski took a shot from the high slot that was tipped in by Kameron Kielly. It was Kielly's 10th goal of the season but his first since joining the Americans. Allen took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

- Allen increased its lead to 3-0 early in the second period (3:48) when Kielly scored his second goal of the game, stuffing in a rebound right at the goal mouth. James Hardie had an assist on the play, his third assist of the game. Tulsa got on the scoreboard with a power play goal (9:13) to cut the score to 3-1 and that is how the second period ended. After the second period Allen led on the scoreboard (3-1) but also had an edge in shots (25-23), something the Americans rarely accomplish against Tulsa.

- Allen was in control in the third period with its 3-1 lead until a shot thrown at the goal from the point found its way into the back of the net. There was two and a half minutes remaining when Tulsa scored (17:30) and it was game on. The Oilers optimism was short lived when Tulsa took a holding penalty. The Oilers pulled their goalie and played 5-on-5 but could not score the equalizer. Allen had a couple of chances for an empty net goal but missed. The Americans have just three empty net goals all season,  the fewest in the league. There are five players in the ECHL with more empty nets goals than Allen's team total. Tulsa's Eddie Matsushima, who took the holding penalty late in the third period that gave Allen the opportunity to score an empty net goal, has five empty net goals by himself. Last season Allen had 11 empty net goals led by Jack Combs with four.

 

- Mark Sinclair stopped 34 of 36 shots last night and was selected as the #1 star of the game. Sinclair's save percentage in his last three games was .944, .943 and .975.   

- With Allen's win and Utah losing last night to Idaho in overtime, the Americans can clinch a playoff spot tonight. If the Americans win tonight they will clinch a playoff spot and third place in the Mountain Division. If that happens Allen will play Idaho in the first round of the playoffs. The Americans will also clinch a playoff spot if they lose in an overtime/shootout and Utah loses or if Utah loses in regulation. 

- Tulsa can also clinch a playoff spot tonight if Tulsa wins and Utah loses or if Tulsa loses in overtime/shootout and Utah loses in regulation. 

 

- Here is the game recap from the Tulsa Oilers who have now lost five straight games (0-3-2-0): https://tulsaoilers.com/news/2024/04/late-surge-too-little-in-loss-to-americans

 

- Here are the video highlights. Notice the last two Allen goals were scored by players going to the net. There were two Allen players at the net on the second goal and on the third goal three Americans had the goalie surrounded, all in front of the Tulsa defense: https://echl.com/videos/tulsa-oilers-vs-allen-americans-april-12-2024   

 

POST GAME COMMENTS

- Assistant coach Aaron Gens and forward Kameron Kielly addressed the season ticket holders after the game. Here are their comments:

"We were proud of our effort tonight and our defensive play. The goal at the end to cut the score to 3-2 was kind of soft, but those type of goals happen every once in a while.".....Gens

"We had a strong effort from all of our guys both offensively and defensively. You can see by how they celebrate they are buying in and coming together. I really like where our team is at right now.".....Gens

"Kielly had a great game with two goals, but what isn't seen by everyone was his defensive play. His support of the puck in the defensive zone and helping out defensively.".....Gens

"It is always nice to contribute. My second round in Allen has been great. The team has been very welcoming and it feels great to be back.".....Kielly

"On my first goal I was in the right place at the right time. Brodzinski made a great shot and I had a little deflection. On the second goal Hardie won a battle at the blue line an took a shot. I just drove the net and the puck was there.".....Kielly

"Both goalies have been playing great and we will need both of them this weekend and into the playoffs. Grant Hebert is day to day with a mid-body injury so we will see how he feels in the morning.".....Gens

 

TONIGHT'S PREVIEW

- Allen did a lot right last night from scoring first, jumping out to a 3-0 lead, leading after the first period, leading after second period, matching Tulsa in shots (36-36) and allowing just two goals in the game. The Americans record when allowing three or fewer goals this season is 25-7-2-0 (.765). 

 

-The one area that could use improvement is special teams. Allen was 0-4 on the power play last night and has not scored a power play goal in the last six games against Tulsa (0-19). Tulsa was 1-2 last night, has a power play goal in the last two games against Allen and has a power play goal in nine of the 14 games these teams have played this season. Winning the special teams battle tonight would go a long way to getting a victory. On a positive note the Americans stayed out of the penalty box and continued its streak of having more power play opportunities than their opponents. The opponent has not had more power play opportunities than the Americans in the last seven games.  

- Allen’s lineup tonight vs Tulsa. Jarvis, Gould and Hebert are out. Costantini gets the start in goal. 

 

Forwards

MacArthur-Murray-Crone

McAuley-Smedsrud-Finlay

Hardie-Kielly-Brodzinski

Fournier         Robidoux

 

Defense

Myllari-Farmer

Allen-Williams

Orzeck-Gagnon

 

Goalies

Costantini 

Sinclair (backup)

 

- Two referees are scheduled for the game tonight. John Lindner (#6), who was the referee last night, will be joined by Yannick Jobin-Manseau (#30). 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Toledo at Wheeling game last night was postponed due to flooding of the Ohio River in the area. Wheeling is scheduled to play Cincinnati tonight and that game will be played at the Pittsburgh Penguins training facility in Cranberry, PA. Because of the small capacity only season ticket holders will be able to attend. It is unfortunate since Wheeling can clinch a playoff spot tonight.  Here is a press release from the Wheeling Nailers: https://wheelingnailers.com/news/2024/04/nailers-to-face-cincinnati-in-cranberry-on-saturday  

- It is undoubtedly the biggest night of the ECHL season with 13 games on the schedule and no fewer than eight teams with a chance to clinch a playoff spot (Worcester, Maine, Orlando, South Carolina, Wheeling, Kalamazoo, Allen, Tulsa). These teams look to join the nine teams that have already qualified (Adirondack, Norfolk, Greenville, Jacksonville, Florida, Toledo, Indy, Kansas City, Idaho). Greenville can clinch the South Division title tonight and join Adirondack, Toledo and Kansas City as the #1 seeds.

- Kansas City and Toledo will enter the playoffs as the hottest two teams in the ECHL. Kansas City has won nine straight games and Toledo has won 12 straight games. If both teams make it to the conference finals it will be a classic series.

- If Allen makes the playoffs and plays Idaho look for the series to be delayed because if you look its facility schedule there is a gymnastics championship scheduled from  April 18 - 21. That means the soonest the series can start will be April 22. The advantage for Allen is the AHL completes its schedule on April 20, so if Belleville doesn't make the playoffs you could see Leevi Meriläinen and Tarun Fizer assigned to Allen before the start of the first round against Idaho. Five of the seven teams in Belleville's division make the playoffs and the Senators are currently in fifth place. If Belleville does make the playoffs the first round will be the best of three but dates are not set. It doesn't look good for help from Belleville if the Senators make the playoffs.

 

- If Allen makes the playoffs and plays Kansas City in the first round the series will start in Kansas City as the Mavericks are already selling ticket s for the first two games (Wednesday and Thursday (April 17 & 18). My reporting has already discovered Allen's first round home games, regardless of the opponent, will be between the 24-28. That means if Allen plays Kansas City on April 17 and 18 in Kansas City the Americans will not play again until the 24th (at the earliest) at home. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about teams with 50+ wins in a season. The closest Allen ever came to 50 wins was 49 wins in 2016-17 and 48 wins in 2014-15:

Kansas City has 54 wins this season with one game remaining. If the Mavericks win tonight they will have the third highest number of wins in a single season in ECHL history. Here are the nine ECHL teams with 50+ regular season wins over the last 10 years. None went on to win the Kelly Cup. Will Kansas City break the streak?

 

2023-24

54: Kansas City

 

2022-23

*58: Idaho

 

2018-19

51: Cincinnati

50: Florida 

 

2017-18

52: Florida

50: Toledo

 

2016-17

51: Florida 

 

2015-16

52: Kansas City

 

2014-15

50: Toledo

 

*All time record for wins in a single season.