Tommy Daniels Radio Show Highlights - Steve Martinson Talks About Himself and the Allen Americans

Allen Americans Coach Steve Martinson

 

Want to start out this morning by thanking everyone for coming out to Heritage Ranch last night for the first Tommy Daniels radio show of the season. It was an enjoyable evening getting to talk to coach Steve Martinson about playing hockey as a youngster, his life as a tough guy in professional hockey and also get his take on the Allen Americans team from the improved play recently to roster changes to injury updates.


If you ever spend time with Steve Martinson a few things become obvious very quickly. He is very comfortable in his own skin, hockey has been a big part of his life since childhood, and his family is very important to him. He loves to talk hockey, he has developed a system and style of play that is successful and he knows what works and doesn't work. He is not about to change and you can't argue with his success as he has won eight championships in his eighteen year coaching career. He has missed the playoffs only one time (2011-2012) and he has never lost a game seven in a playoff series.

Steve grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota which is a suburb of Minneapolis and was a rink rat from when he was a little kid. His earliest hockey memories are walking six blocks from his house to the outdoor rink and playing hockey. He also played hockey on local ponds and more than once went through the ice early in the year. Unlike today, back then there were no cell phones, no parents, no supervision and no car to take you home. According to Steve the toughest part of getting soaked was having to walk home as you would be frozen from head to toe by the time you got there. He never had the best equipment growing up as it was always $5 used skates and didn't own hockey gloves when he started playing organized hockey. He has a team picture where he is the only one in the picture wearing mittens instead of hockey gloves. He bought his first pair of new hockey skates for $100 when he was in 10th grade with money he made as a caddy.

Steve attended college and played hockey at St. Cloud State which at the time was a Division II school about 90 miles north of Minneapolis. He never thought he would be a professional hockey player as he was a late bloomer. His plan was to use his business degree after he graduated which he did after his playing days were over becoming a financial planner for Smith Barney. Martinson  turned hard work and determination into a fourteen year pro career in which he played for fourteen different teams including 49 NHL games (Montreal-38, Detroit-10 & Minnesota-1). He met his wife, Michelle, while playing for the Hershey Bears (AHL) from 1985-1987. Steve and Michelle have two children, Logan who is fourteen and Lily who is eleven. Michelle's grandfather (Frank Mathers) was the President and General Manager of the Hershey Bears. Frank Mathers is a legend in AHL hockey history and Steve learned a lot about hockey and life from him.

STEVE MARTINSON TALKS ALLEN AMERICANS HOCKEY:

- The team is playing much better defensively and that has been the key to our success recently. The guys had a players only meeting to talk about how they wanted to play and there has been steady improvement since that meeting. We are scoring fewer goals but are still ranked #4 in the league and are goals against has really improved as we only allowed four goals in three games this past weekend.

- Riley Gill has been great in goal. The word I use to describe him is comfortable. He is relaxed and comfortable when he plays. He has been an MVP in the past, he is consistent, his wife is from Texas and he is a good fit for the team. His excellent play this past week with three wins, a GAA of 1.33 and a save percentage of .956 has earned Riley the honor of CCM ECHL Goaltender of the Week.

- I traded John Ryder to Stockton today for a forward named Jessey Astles. Astles is a gritty forward who will provide toughness and is also a rookie so that helps us with the salary cap. He will be in town on Wednesday.

- I also traded for the rights to a player by the name of Ben Shutron. He is a talented defenseman who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL draft. He attended college after his junior career so he is 26 years old but still a rookie. He won championships in juniors (Memorial Cup) and in college (University Cup). He started this year with Orlando and was traded to Wheeling. The Wheeling coach is a former teammate of mine so we worked out a trade for Shutron. He has already returned home (Ontario) and is uncertain if he wants to continue to play hockey this year. This is a wait and see situation.

- Spencer Asuchak and Ian Schultz might play this weekend against Brampton. Schultz should be ready to go as he has been symptom free in practice. We will be very cautious with Asuchak to make sure he is 100% before he plays.

- I am not a big fan of playing on Thanksgiving day as we will have a game with Tulsa that day. We plan on staying in Tulsa overnight so if families want to come to Tulsa to be together they will have that opportunity.



OTHER COMMENTS:

- Allen's stay in first place was short lived as Tulsa beat Wichita last night 4-3 in a shootout and now is one point ahead of Allen in the standings.

- Practice for the team yesterday consisted of no coaches, no drills, just a bunch of guys playing hockey for fun.  Since this year's roster is evenly divided between guys from the US and outside of the US the guys split into Team USA and Team World (Canada +Sweden) and it was a hard fought victory for Team USA. The guys seem to really enjoy the "fun" game of hockey though the competitive spirit was clearly in evidence. What was at stake? Team World has to buy lunch for Team USA.

- Here is Jessey Astles information courtesy of hockeydb.com:

Jessey Astles

Left Wing -- shoots L
Born Jun 4 1993 -- Coquitlam, BC
[21 yrs. ago]
Height 6.02 -- Weight 205

			Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009-10	Kelowna Rockets	WHL	56	1	2	3	28	-3	11	0	1	1	0
2010-11	Kelowna Rockets	WHL	59	3	3	6	129	-3	10	3	0	3	6
2011-12	Kelowna Rockets	WHL	42	2	5	7	84	-5	4	0	0	0	2
2012-13	Saskatoon Blades	WHL	22	1	1	2	43	0	2	0	0	0	2
2013-14	Tri-City Americans	WHL	50	11	9	20	67		5	1	0	1	2
2014-15	Stockton Thunder	ECHL	7	0	0	0	2	-2

DID YOU KNOW:  Talk about a late bloomer Steve Martinson was 5'2" as a sophomore in high school and when he was a senior he was 5'7" and weighed 150 pounds. By the time he graduated from college he was six feet and weighed 200 pounds.

Stats! Stats! Stats - Team, Individual and Former Players, Plus An Invite For Tonight

Not much new this morning so thought it would be a good day to share some team and individual statistics and catch up with some players from the past and see how they are faring this year. For those that live in the Allen area want to invite you to attend a "Steve Martinson Show" which is TONIGHT (Tuesday) at Hertiage Ranch where I live. Tommy Daniels will be interviewing Steve Martinson about the team and the season but what will be different is having Martinson talk about some of his hockey experiences. One of the stories I am going to ask him to tell is about how he had the opportunity to become the enforcer for the Edmonton Oilers when Glen Sather was the coach. It should be both informative and entertaining. It is easy to get to Heritage Ranch as we are only four miles east of the Allen Event Center on Stacy Road. Just take Stacy Road until it comes to a "T" (FM 1378/ Country Club Rd) and turn left for one block and then turn right (Stacy Rd) and we are just down the road (less than a mile) on the left. The show will be from 6:00 - 7:00 in our clubhouse. Just ask the guard as you enter how to get to the clubhouse. The address for Heritage Ranch is 465 Scenic Ranch Rd. Fairview, TX. 75069. This event was set up last minute because space in our ballroom unexpectedly became available so if there is any way you can attend please join us. Otherwise it might be Steve, Tommy, and myself chatting for an hour in our big ballroom. HELP!


TEAM STATISTICS: Here are some key teams stats and how Allen ranks out of the 28 teams in the ECHL:

Attendance - 14th (4356 per game)
Points - 13th (1st in the Central Division but tied for 13th overall)
Penalty Minutes - 8th (19.56 penalty minutes per game)
Power Play - 11th (19.1%)
Penalty Kill - 11th (84.0%)
Goals For - 4th (3.78 goals per game)
Goals Against - 14th (3.11 goals per game)
Shots For - 7th (31.89 shots per game)
Shots Against - 18th (29.89 shots per game)

The October 24th home opener 9-6 loss to Tulsa has Allen on the top of several team highs for the season including most goals by both team (15), most goals scored by one team as Allen scored five goals in the 2nd period, and most shots by one team (Allen) in the second period (21).


ALLEN INDIVIDUAL TEAM LEADERS

Points - Jack Combs (15), Chad Costello (9), Greger Hanson (8)
Goals - Combs (6), Hanson & Gary Steffes (5)
Assists - Combs (9), Costello (7), Aaron Gens & Kevin Young (5)
Plus/Minus - Trevor Ludwig (+5), Combs, Schultz, Schaafsma, Young, Baker (+4)
Penalty Minutes - Gens (28), Brett Lyon (27)
Power Play Goals - Steffes (3), Combs & Schultz (2)
Shorthanded Goals - Asuchak & Hanson (1)
Points Per Game - Combs (1.67), Schultz (1.40), Austin Smith & Hanson (1.00)
Shots on Goal - Hanson (37), Combs (30), Schaafsma (26)


FORMER PLAYERS:  Stats from eliteprospects.com

Bruce Graham - (2009-2012 & 2014)
Playing in England Bruce has fourteen points (7 goals 7 assists) in twenty one games.

Colton Yellow Horn - (2009-2012)
Playing in Japan Colton has twenty four points (5 goals 19 assists) in twenty two games.

Darryl Bootland - (2012-2014)
Playing for Colorado (ECHL) Darryl has four points  (1 goal 3 assists) in eleven games to go along with 66 penalty minutes.

Jarret Lukin - (2009-2014)
Playing for Evansville (ECHL) Jarret has eight points (3 goals 5 assists) in ten games.

Alex Lavoie - (2013-2014)
Playing for Florida (ECHL) Alex has eight points (4 goals 4 assists) in eleven games.

Kale Kerbashian - (2012-2014)
Playing for Evansville (ECHL) Kale has ten points (4 goals 6 assists) in ten games.

Jonathan Lessard - (2013-2014)
Playing for Bakersfield (ECHL) Jonathan has seven points (4 goals 3 assists) in seven games.

Anthony Maiani - (2012-2014)
Playing in Denmark Anthony has thirteen points (4 goals 9 assists) in thirteen games.

Mike Berube - (2010-2014)
Playing in England Mike has six points (1 goal  5 assists) in twenty games along with nine penalty minutes.

Trevor Hendrikx - (2011-2014)
Playing in Wales Trevor has six points (1 goal 5 assists) in eighteen games to go along with 93 penalty minutes.

Daniel Tetrault - (2013-2014)
Playing for Rapid City (ECHL) Daniel has four points (1 goal 3 assists) in eleven games to go along with nine penalty minutes.

Garrett Klotz - (2013-2014)
Playing for Indy (ECHL) Garrett has three points (1 goal 2 assists) in eleven games to go with 32 penalty minutes.

Dallas Ehrhardt - (2013-2014)
Playing for Missouri (ECHL) Dallas has one point (0 goals 1 assist) in eight games along with seven penalty minutes.

Jim McKenzie (2011- 2013)
Playing for Bakersfield (ECHL) Jim has four points (1 goal 3 assists) in ten games to go along with fifteen penalty minutes.

Mark Guggenberger - (2013-2014)
Playing for Gwinnett (ECHL) goalie Guggenberger has a GAA of 3.30 and save percentage of .895 in eight games.

Bryan Pitton - (2013-2014)
Playing in Poland goalie Bryan Pitton has a GAA of 1.63 and a save percentage of .948 in thirteen games.

Jordie Benn - (2009-2010)
Playing for the Dallas Stars (NHL) Jordie has four points (0 goals 4 assists) in eighteen games to go along with twelve penalty minutes.



DID YOU KNOW: In their first year (2009-2010) the Allen Americans had eight different goalies dress for at least one game including a front office employee (Hugh Boylan). The other goalies were Chris Whitley, David McKee, Alexandre Vincent, Charlie Effinger, Shane Houston, Francois Lemay and Kris Tebbs.

Allen Wins, Takes Over 1st Place, Post Game Comments From Martinson & Gill, Weekend Stats

Austin Smith with his first goal and an assist was named the games #1 star - photo by SceneByKimberly.com

In what was a gut check game the Allen Americans put on a gutsy performance in a 3-1 victory over the Rapid City Rush before a crowd of 4185 at the Allen Event Center last night. Goals by Trevor Ludwig, Brian McMillin and Austin Smith, along with another great performance by goalie Riley Gill, vaulted the Americans into first place in the Central Division of the ECHL. A well deserved day off today (Monday) and then the team will start preparing for home games this weekend (Friday & Saturday) against Brampton. Steve Martinson brought goalie Riley Gill with him to his post game press conference. Here are a few of their comments:


STEVE MARTINSON:

- That was a good weekend! Our winning percentage is climbing and we now lead the division in points as well as winning percentage.

- We have two home games coming up next weekend and we have to keep doing what we did tonight. We had that boneheaded play on the Rapid City shorthanded goal but other than that I thought we were much better defensively. I thought our defensive play improved a little in every game this weekend.

- Riley Gill makes it look easy in goal. He did a great job in all three games. He should have had even fewer goals allowed but we took stick penalties late in the game all three nights which cost us.

- Our penalty kill has been good, we were physical when we needed to be tonight and won battles for the puck.

- The last couple of games we have done an excellent job winning battles for the puck in front of the net and that has resulted in some goals.

- I am excited how the team is playing after the frustrating start to the season when we led the league in goals scored but also lead the league in goals allowed.

- After the second period I emphasized to the guys to keep it simple in the third period. Our team has good skill and we don't need to try and manufacture plays that are not there. The defensemen stayed out of the rush in the third period and we played good defensive hockey.

- We are getting better every game. We are much stronger defensively and are becoming better decision makers.

- The guys had a big meeting earlier in the week and they came out of that meeting with a direction that they set themselves about how they wanted to play. I think as a team we have done a much better job since they had their meeting.


RILEY GILL:

- The defense and I are always talking about letting me see the puck and getting the guys out of the front of the net. Before every face off and between periods we talk about it as it is a point of emphasis all of the time. The guys did a great job tonight and it really helped out.

- On the shorthanded goal Rapid City scored it was frustrating but it is part of hockey. You make mistakes and the guys know better not to do that but that is why you play the game. It was an unfortunate mistake on our part. I was upset so took a little lap to calm myself down. That really is the only way teams are going to beat us, when we shoot ourselves in the foot. That is what Martinson keeps pointing out to us which is keep it simple as we have enough skill to win the game without taking risks and shooting ourselves in the foot. It was nice to get the win tonight.

- It is pretty rare for a goalie the play three games in three days but I am a goalie that likes to play and when I play a lot I am at my best. It was nice to get in a little groove this weekend and hopefully I can keep it going.

- Coach Martinson is tough on us, he demands perfection and that is why he has been so successful in his coaching career. He is the right coach for a skilled team such as we have here in Allen.


OTHER COMMENTS:

- It was quite a task to play three games in three cities in three days and win all three games. The fact of the matter is the team played three games in less than forty eight hours. To be exact it was forty seven hours and fifteen minutes from the start of the game in Missouri Friday night to the end of the game in Allen on Sunday. That definitely deserves an "atta boy" for the entire team!

- One of the keys to the game was getting off to a good start and Allen certainly did that with two early first period goals. Trevor Ludwig got the first goal on a shot from the point on a great pass from Kevin Young. Just 38 seconds later Brian McMillin and Jack Combs went on a two on one rush with Combs making a nifty pass to McMillin who buried the puck. If you noticed after Brian scored he pointed to Aaron Gens and they were both smiling. What you may not have noticed is Gens gave McMillin a shove in the back with his stick out by the red line to propel him forward on the rush. So Gens gets an informal assist on McMillin's goal.

- Jack Combs extended his scoring streak to nine games with the assist on McMillin's goal. Combs is now tied for fifth in scoring in the ECHL with fifteen points. If you look at points per game Combs leads the ECHL at 1.67 points per game.

- Austin Smith had the third goal of the game for Allen and an assist on the Ludwig goal to earn the #1 star of the game. The ECHL official score sheet shows John Ryder as the #1 star. Have heard the new ECHL software the officials use to input information is much different than Pointstreak which was used in the CHL. It doesn't seem it would be that tough to enter the three stars, however, it was wrong in two of the three games this weekend.

- Riley Gill should be the ECHL goalie of the week winning three games in three days and was one of the three stars in all three games. And some pretty stout stats in the three wins. Gill gave up just four goals in the three games for a GAA of 1.33 and stopped 87 of 91 shots for a save percentage of .956. If you consider one of the goals was a six on four power play goal and another was a two on zero shorthanded goal his play could not have been better.

- For the season Riley Gill has given up 13 goals and made 175 saves for a save percentage of .931 which ranks him #2 in the ECHL. 

- Special teams usually are the difference in most hockey games and Rapid City had the better statistics for both the power play and penalty kill going into the game. Allen however won the special teams battle as they had a power play goal going 1-3 while Rapid City did not score on seven power play opportunities.

- Special teams were a key for all three wins this weekend as Allen scored a power play goal in all three games. They held their opponents to just one power play goal (the 6 on 4 in Wichita) and killed 18 of 19 opportunities for a kill percentage of 94.7%.

- It was great to win three games this weekend. With six points in three days Allen doubled their point total from six to twelve and now stand alone in first place in the division. However, the hold on first place is very tenuous as the Central Division standings could not be any closer. Allen is in first with 12 points, followed by three teams (Tulsa, Quad City, Rapid City) with 11 points and two teams (Wichita & Missouri) with 10 points. Brampton is in last place with seven points but the Beast have a three game winning streak. Bottom line is with the close standings in the Central Division if the Americans should lose twice this weekend they could go from first place to sixth place.

- Trevor Ludwig has two goals since coming off injured reserve but has only taken six shots for a 33.3% shooting percentage.

- Some interesting things are happening statistically as Allen has started playing better hockey recently. They have been slowly reducing their penalty minutes which is now under twenty minutes per game. They still need to reduce the number of stick penalties they take as they lead the ECHL in minor penalties with over 7.5 per game. The special teams stats are improving as the power play is ranked #11 at 19.1% and the penalty kill is ranked #10 at 84%. Better defensive play has resulted in fewer goals being scored by Allen but the goal differential has increased which is a good trade off. The Americans are still ranked #4 in the ECHL in average goals scored per game at 3.78. There has been a vast improvement in average goals allowed per game as Allen has moved from #26 in the league to #13 with the average goals per game allowed now at 3.11.

- Looking at the Central Division standings can be misleading because some teams have played as many as thirteen games while others have only played nine games. Here is how the teams rank by winning percentage:
.667 - Allen
.550 - Tulsa
.550 - Quad City
.500 - Missouri
.455 - Wichita
.423 - Rapid City
.389 - Brampton


DID YOU KNOW: It was good to have a chance to say hello to Daniel Tetrault on his return to Allen last night. Tetrault is the last remaining active player who played in the Western Professional Hockey League which joined the Central Hockey league in 2001. Daniel played for the Austin Ice Bats in 2000-2001. Tetrault will soon play in his 900th regular season professional game.

Allen Defeats Wichita 3-2, Post Game Comments, Rapid City Preview & More

Allen took on a rested Wichita Thunder team last night and the Americans looked like the rested team early. Goals by Gary Steffes and Chad Costello in the first period and Greger Hanson with 35 seconds remaining in the second period gave Allen a 3-0 lead. Two goals by Wichita in the last two minutes of the game made the score seem closer than it was. Some fatigue plus another untimely stick penalty in the last minute of play contributed to the two goals. Final score before a crowd of 4666 at Intrust Bank Arena was 3-2. The grind continues as Allen boarded the bus right after the game for the 361 mile trip back to Allen where they will take on the Rapid City Rush today (Sunday) at 4:05 pm. It will be another tough task taking on Rapid City who did not play last night and had a day to rest. Three games in three days with all of that travel, playing teams that have rested, seems unfair but that is life in the ECHL.

STEVE MARTISON'S POST GAME COMMENTS:

 - We had the game well in control so it was tough giving up those two goals at the end. Our goalie, Riley Gill, deserved better.

- The power play started out great but we got away from shooting the puck with traffic in front of the net.

- It is not smart to take stick penalties at the end of the game like happened tonight. That allowed them to pull the goalie and have a six on four power play which they converted.

- I thought both of the goalies played well tonight and made some big saves.

- The team had another good defensive game tonight which is encouraging. While I am not happy with the last few minutes of the game we were playing a well rested team at home. When you play three games in three days your opponent should also be playing three in three.

- The shots on goal (Wichita 32, Allen 17) were not correct.


COMMENTS FROM WICHITA:

Here are some quotes Jeffrey Lutz, who writes for the Wichita Eagle, obtained after the game:

"We get a power play and we get some real unbelievable looks, but everyone wants to make the big hard slapshot and we miss the net like four times -----  Coach Kevin McClelland

"I just need more guys going. It seems like it is the guys who have been here for a while, sometimes you have to cut the fat, bring in some new enthusiasm. You can't have guys not staying focused and taking three or four penalties a night. That is not bringing anything to the hockey club." ----- Kevin McClelland

"It just comes down to wins and losses. We've got to play a full sixty minutes, we can't have lapses at the start of the game and take some penalties there. They've (Allen) got a good offense, they are going to score on the power play, so we have to stay off of the kill. We just have to get better and win games"
----- Player Ian Lowe


OTHER COMMENTS:

- Allen won the special teams battle even though the official statistics show Allen was 1-7 on the power play and Wichita was 1-6. Allen's second goal was scored just after a penalty expired and RG Flath was returning to the ice and Wichita's power play goal was a six on four after they pulled their goalie.

- Stick penalties continue to plague the Americans. Allen's penalty minutes per game continues to drop and is now at an average of 20 minutes per game which places them #7 in the ECHL. However, if you look at just minor penalties (holding, hooking, tripping, high sticking, etc.)  Allen leads the league with an average of 7.5 minor penalties per game.

- Allen is now tied (with Quad City & Missouri) for third place in the Central Division standings with ten points. Tulsa and Rapid City are tied for first place with eleven points. Allen has played two fewer games than Tulsa and four fewer games than Rapid City. Allen has the highest winning percentage (.625) in the division.

- Jack Combs had an assist in the game to keep his streak of scoring in every game this year alive. His fourteen points (6 goals 8 assists) has him in the top ten in scoring in the ECHL even though he has played between two and six games fewer than all of the players ahead of him in scoring.

- Gary Steffes was selected as the #1 star of the game and Riley Gill was the #2 star.

- Devin Di Diomete made his presence known in his second game with Missouri. Last night it was his mouth that caused most of the problem. After a roughing call he didn't agree with he took a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (disputing decision), then a ten minute misconduct penalty, and finally a ten minute game misconduct penalty (abuse of officials). His total on the night was 26 minutes to go along with the 14 minutes in his first game on Friday. With the 20 penalty minutes he accrued in the four games he played for Allen and the 40 penalty minutes in  the two games in Missouri he has leaped to second place in the ECHL in penalty minutes with 60 minutes. He only trails Darryl Bootland who leads the league with 66 penalty minutes.

- Alex Lavoie had a goal, his fourth of the year as his Florida Everblades beat South Carolina 5-4 last night. Charles Lachance had a goal (his second of the year) as his Tulsa Oilers lost to Missouri 7-4. Tulsa's Adam Pleskach also scored and it was his tenth goal in ten games which leads the ECHL.

- ECHL cutdown day is today. Teams must reduce their active roster from the maximum of 21 to 20 players by 3:00 pm ET. With Jesse Messier on injured reserve the active roster for Allen is already at 20 players.



RAPID CITY PREVIEW:

- It has already been mentioned that Allen will be playing their third game in three days in three different cities. It is also the second game in a row where the opponent has rested while Allen was playing. Add the early start (4:05 pm) today and this will be a real gut check for the Americans. There should be plenty of motivation as a win today could find Allen in first place in the standings depending on the outcome of other games being played today.

- Rapid City is tied for first place in the division despite losing three of their last four games. They have lost their last two games having lost to Tulsa on Friday and Wichita (at home) on Wednesday.

- Allen needs to take advantage of home ice and come away with a victory this afternoon. Home ice hasn't been a great help thus far this season. Allen is 1-2 at home and 4-1 on the road.

- The first goal will be important especially with these two team. Their combined record when scoring first is 9-1. Rapid City has lost one game after scoring first.

- Rapid City has a distinct advantage over Allen in special teams. The Rush power play is ranked #5 in the league at 21.7% while the Americans are ranked #10 at 18.2%. On the penalty kill Rapid City is #2 at 90.5% and Allen is #18 at 81.4%.

- As is usually the case with Allen they score more goals on average than their opponent (Allen 3.88, Rapid City 3.00) but allow more goals than their opponent (Allen 3.38, Rapid City 2.75).

- The game is another homecoming for a player from Allen's championship team. Daniel Tetrault will be back at the AEC looking to defeat the Americans. An intense competitor, look for Tetrault to have a big game. Hope he does well but Allen gets the win. Always one of the nicest guys off the ice.

- Leading scorers for Rapid City are forwards Dylan Clarke and Jesse Schultz with thirteen points. They also have a talented group of defensemen that can score. Familiar names including former Allen players Daniel Tetrault and Steve Kaunisto, former Tulsa defenseman (and Brian McMillin's roommate when he played in England) Sean Erickson and newcomer Landon Oslanski who has four goals and four assists to be one of the leading scorers in the ECHL for defensemen.

- For Allen look for Jack Combs and Chad Costello to lead the way but scoring could come from anywhere. Would be a good game for Austin Smith to get his first goal.


DID YOU KNOW: According to Elite Prospects the actual name of Rapid City coach Joe Ferras is Joe Ferraccioli. A prolific scorer during the days he played in the ECHL. In 1989-1990 playing for the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds,  Ferras had 108 points (45 goals, 63 assists) in only 49 games.

Allen Wins 3-1, Martinson, Matvichuk, & Players Post Game Comments, & C'Mon Man For Combs

Whether you are in the camp that the game against Missouri last night was super important or just another game on the schedule the result was a big step forward. The Allen Americans beat the Missouri Mavericks in the lowest scoring game Allen has had this season by a score of 3-1. Jack Combs led Allen with two goals and unselfishly gave up his chance for a hat trick by passing to Gary Steffes for an empty net goal with 28 seconds remaining in the game to seal the victory and send a great crowd of 5313 home disappointed. Immediately after the game the Americans got on the bus for the relatively short trip by ECHL standards (207 miles) to Wichita where they will play the Thunder tonight (Saturday) at 7:05.

STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS:

- We played much better defensive hockey tonight and that is great to see. The success of this team will depend on our commitment to defense as we have a potent offensive team.

- We continue to struggle on the power play so will have to spend some time retooling that. When the power play is having trouble the best plan is to get guys in front of the net, get the puck to the points  and take some shots.

- The "no goal" by Chad Costello went right through the net. I saw it as clear as day from the bench.

- I specifically asked coach Martinson if the game was special to him and what it meant to beat Richard Matvichuk's team in the first meeting since he became coach of Missouri. His reply was, "The only special meaning the game had tonight is it gave us the opportunity to move up in the standings. A strong weekend can put us at 6-3 and boost our winning percentage. Matty (Matvichuk) did an excellent job with us for the past two years when we won back to back championships. We want him to do well, just not against us."


SOME POST GAME QUOTES FROM SOCIAL MEDIA:

"Classic unselfish play tonight by Jack Combs to a guy who deserved a goal (Gary Steffes) after a tilt (fight) and a big game" ---- Aaron Gens

- The following quotes are all courtesy of the official blogger of the Mavericks, Joe Rozycki, better known as SinBinMavs. You can follow him on twitter at @SinBinMavs:

 "The penalties hurt us all night. We can't be undiscplined and take that many penalties. When we play 5 on 5 we were right in the game if not dominating. We got selfish. Special teams are a big part of this game. Allen was exactly who we thought they were. We feel is doesn't matter what Allen did. If we play our game we are a hard team to beat. Tonight we didn't play our game. I thought Di Diomete was fantastic tonight. We have to put pucks on the net and get to the dirty areas. Tonight we didn't do that." -----Richard Matvichuk

"It is never easy to lose a game, especially when you play a former team and you are traded so recently, it stings a little more. It was obviously a big game for myself and for Matti (Matvichuk). I wanted to go out there and cause a rukus. I think the first period we came out a little flat. It was good that we could regroup and come back. We need to find a way to get pucks to the net and get to those dirty areas and get those dirty goals. The fights are going to come, I will never shy away from them. It is definitely going to be exciting to come out every home game and play in front of these great fans in Missouri." ----Devin Di Diomete


OTHER COMMENTS:

- It is always interesting to look back at the game preview (which was posted yesterday) to see how accurate my predictions were. Was a mixed bag for sure. Here is a comparison:
This will be a high scoring game. Wrong! The lowest scoring game of the year
There will be a lot of penalties. Right! Combined 17 infractions for 46 minutes
Special teams will be the key to victory. Wrong! Both teams were bad.
Kellan Tochkin is a player to watch. Right! Scored the only goal for Missouri
Allen scoring is weak in the first strong in the third. Wrong! Allen had one goal in each period
Shots on goal will favor Allen. Right! Allen out shot Missouri 36-29
Di Diomete will stir the pot. Right! He had four penalties and 14 of Missouri's 24 penalty minutes.

- Not sure who picks the three stars of the game for the Missouri Mavericks home games or if there was some kind of mix up but the #1 star of the game according to the ECHL box score was Missouri's Chris Crane whose line score was 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 plus/minus, 2 shots, and 0 penalty minutes. Meanwhile Allen's Jack Combs line score was 2 goals, 1 assist, +2 on plus/minus, 4 shots, 2 penalty minutes and he had the game winning goal. Combs had more points in the game (3) than the entire Mavericks team (2) and couldn't even crack the three star list. The only possible explanation is the ECHL off ice officials put down the wrong name as both Crane and Combs wear #21. COME ON MAN!!

- Jack Combs continued his scoring streak which now stands at seven games as he has scored in every game thus far. In seven games he has thirteen points (6 goals 7 assists).

- The Allen power play was officially 1-7 last night but the power play goal was at the end of the game and was an empty net power play goal. Even with that gift the power play is now 2-27 in the last five games (7.4%).

- The good news was the penalty kill as Missouri was 0-6 on the power play. It was the first time in the last five games Allen did not allow a power play goal.

- The once league leading Allen power play has fallen to #13 in the ECHL at 18.9% while the penalty kill is slowly improving and now ranks #16 at 81.1%.

- Allen is tied for fourth place (with Missouri and Wichita) in the Central Division standings as they all have eight points. However, if you look at win percentage Allen is at .571 and only trails Tulsa who is at .611.


WICHITA PREVIEW:

- Tonight will be the second meeting of the season between these two teams as Allen beat Wichita in Wichita 5-2 in their second game of the season. Highlights of the game were two goals by Gary Steffes, a power play that was 2-5 and a penalty kill that was 0-3.

- As is usually the case special teams will play an important role in the outcome of the game tonight. Allen is one of the most penalized teams in the ECHL ranking #5 at 20.86 minutes per game and Wichita is one of the least penalized teams in the ECHL ranking #23 at 13.22 minutes per game.

- Allen holds a slight edge in special teams play on the season but their power play has struggled recently. Allen is at 18.9% and Wichita is at 15.4% on the power play. Allen kills 81.1% of their penalties while Wichita is at 77.4%.

- Wichita will be well rested having last played on Wednesday in Rapid City (3-2 win) while Allen had to play last night and then bus to Wichita. Advantage Wichita.

- First goal is important with these teams as Allen is 3-0 when scoring first and Wichita is 3-1 when scoring first.

- Another telling stat between these two team is goals scored and allowed. Allen averages 4.00 goals scored per game (#4 in the ECHL) while Wichita is scoring on average 2.67 goals per game (#23 in the ECHL). They both rank toward the bottom of the ECHL in goals allowed with Allen #22 at 3.57 goals per game and Wichita #21 at 3.56 goals allowed per game.


DID YOU KNOW: Chad Costello and Jack Combs have played together on several teams over the years but in the 2010-2011 season they played for the Tulsa Oilers and each had over 80 points. Costello had eighty four points (34 goals, 50 assists) and Combs had eighty two points (40 goals 42 assists). 

Allen vs Missouri Preview With All The Subplots & Statistics

The date many fans in Allen and Missouri circled on the schedule when it first came out has finally arrived as the Steve Martinson coached Americans take on the Richard Matvichuk coached Mavericks for the first time tonight at the Independence Event Center. To some it is just another game on the schedule but to others it represents a battle between the two coaches that guided Allen to back to back championships.

- Both teams have gotten off to less than stellar starts (Missouri 4-3, Allen 3-3) and have been retooling their rosters on the fly. Missouri just traded Garett Bembridge, the CHL MVP and scoring leader from last year. Allen just traded the tough and talented Devin Di Diomete to of all places Missouri. It was just a few weeks ago Richard Matvichuk described Bembridge "as a cornerstone to the Mavs hockey program in Independence" and Steve Martinson said of Di Diomete, "Devin can do it all. He can skate, score, hit, fight and make plays. He will be a big fan favorite in Allen." What a difference a few weeks can make.

- Speaking of Di Diomete, he had this to say about the game tonight. "I know coach (Matvichuk) is fired up but he can't be any more fired up than I am. They (Allen) didn't want me and Mattie (Matvichuk) and the Mavericks do want me. Do you know what that means to a player? I am looking forward to stirring the pot Friday night, giving the fans their money's worth and do anything I can to help the Mavericks win the game." Would suggest the Allen players keep their heads up as Devin will be a motivated guy tonight and he definitely knows how to stir the pot.

- Not a surprise because of coach Richard Matvichuk's connection to Allen but Missouri has had six former Allen players on the Maverick's roster thus far. (Devin Di Diomete, Dallas Ehrhardt, Ryley Grantham, Justin Kirsch, Scott Langdon, Steven Tarasuk).  Kirsch is now gone, Grantham (on IR) and Langdon (Suspended) will not play in the game tonight and Tarasuk is on reserve so he may not play as well but the Allen flavor will make for an interesting dynamic.

- You can bet this game is important to both coaches but one would have to believe there is more pressure on Richard Matvichuk to come out of the shadow of Steve Martinson. After all, Steve Martinson is in his nineteenth year as a head coach and has won eight championships including the last two years while Matvichuk is in his first year as a head coach with expectations that anything less than a championship is a failure. Granted the expectation of anything less than a championship is a failure was made and articulated by Matvichuk himself when the Mavericks were in the much smaller  Central Hockey League. Not sure that is a fair expectation in the ECHL. These are both great coaches who will get their teams consistently winning and you can be sure they want to win this game, but in the grand scheme of things it is just another game early in the season.

- Allen and Missouri have only played each other 20 times in the last five years and seven of those were last year. Talk about a couple of evenly matched teams how is this for head to head regular season results since 2009-2010 of the 20 games played.
Overall: 10-10
In Allen: 4-4
In Missouri: 6-6

- As important as many see the game tonight it is interesting that earlier this week some Allen players did not even know Richard Matvichuk was a coach in Allen last year and just saw this game as the first of three games in three days. Pretty sure they know the background by now but it does help put the game in perspective.

- There is no doubt Missouri is the class of the Central Division when it comes to attendance. The game tonight will be another sellout as it will be only the Maverick's second home game of the season. Missouri ranks fourth in the ECHL in average attendance. Impressive.

- These two teams are very close in penalty minutes averaging just over twenty minutes per game which ranks them #5 (Allen) and #6 (Missouri) in the league.

- With two teams that take a lot of penalties, special teams will be a key to victory. It would appear that Allen's power play has an advantage as the Americans are at 20% while Missouri has one of the worst power play percentages in the ECHL at 10.3%. However, if you look at the last four games both teams are struggling. Allen has one goal in twenty power play opportunities while Missouri has one goal in fifteen power play opportunities. Power play goals will very likely be the difference in the game.

- On the penalty kill Missouri is #20 in the league at 79.1% and Allen is #21 at 77.4%. Again, the winner of this battle will probably be the winner of the game.

- Another interesting statistic about these two teams is when they score their goals. They both have struggled in the first period giving up more goals than they have scored. Missouri has been the strongest in the second period outscoring their opponents 7-3 but have been weak in the third period scoring eight times but allowing fourteen goals against. Allen's strongest period has been the third when they have outscored their opponents 10-6.

- Allen has averaged 4.17 goals per game (#2 in ECHL) while Missouri is averaging a full goal per game less at 3.14 (#15 in ECHL). As for goals allowed Allen is #26 in the league at 4.00 per game and Missouri is #23 at 3.71 per game. It all points to a high scoring game tonight.

- Another stat to keep an eye on tonight is shots on goal as the biggest difference between Allen and Missouri is in this stat. Allen is #3 in the league averaging 34.00 shots on goal per game. Missouri is last (#28) in the ECHL averaging only 23.29 shots on goal per game.

- In the last three games Missouri is 3-0 and Allen is 1-2. Advantage Missouri. However, Allen has always been a good road team and actually has a better road record than home record over the last five years. Advantage Allen. Anyway you slice it this should be a great game tonight.

- The scoring for Allen can come from any of the three lines so it is hard to predict where the scoring will come from but Jack Combs has scored in every game thus far and you may see Jamie Schaafsma on the line with Combs and  Chad Costello. If  Spencer Asuchak, Greger Hanson and  Austin Smith remain as line mates look for them to have a good scoring night as well. As coach Martinson keeps saying scoring goals should not be a problem, the key to victory will be the commitment to playing defensive hockey. UPDATE: Spencer Asuchak has been placed on reserve and is day to day. He will not play in the game against Missouri.

- Missouri's leading scorers are they guys you would expect. Sebastien Thinel has a seven game scoring streak and David Rutherford leads the team in goals. Keep an eye on Kellan Tochkin as he has had the hot hand lately scoring three goals in the last two games.

- With Aaron Dell being recalled to Worcester (AHL) Allen has resigned Raphael Girard as the back up goalie. Riley Gill will start in goal against Missouri.


DID YOU KNOW: During the 2010-2011 season the Allen Americans and Missouri Mavericks never played each other in the regular season or the playoffs.

Throw Back Thursday - A Trip Down Memory Lane

Never been a big fan of TBT but with little new to write about this morning I started to look at some of the many picture used in blog stories over the past three years and thought it would be a good day to share some of them again. Hope you enjoy:

Steve Martinson - Player circa 1989 & Coach circa 2008

Richard Matvichuk gets a smile from the defensemen

Allen Event Center - June 2009

The best from CHL memes

Bruce Graham

Greger & Andrea Hanson - July 2013

Aaron Dell in the famous McDonald's jersey

Wendy & Brian McMillin circa 2006

Jarret age 13

Jamie & Nicole Schaafsma - May 29, 2010

Tyler & Trevor Ludwig with dad - 1988

Darryl Bootland with Brahma fan at Nytex Centre

Bill McDonald visits Heritage Ranch fan club