Thursday, March 28, 2024

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

 

Every once in a while I have a day that makes me think about a children's book we had in our house when our kids were young back in the 1980's. The name of the book was "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Nothing goes right for young Alexander from the time he wakes up in the morning with gum in his hair. At breakfast his brothers find prizes in their cereal while Alexander does not. He doesn't get to sit by the window in the carpool on the way to school. At school his teacher disapproves of his picture of an invisible castle (a blank sheet of paper), at recess his best friend replaces him with another friend and his mother neglects to put dessert in his lunch box. After school he goes to the dentist and of course has a cavity and afterwards he goes to the shoe store and he is made to buy plain white sneakers. Things don't get better in the evening with lima beans for dinner, a scene of kissing on television, bath time, his brother takes his pillow, his Mickey Mouse night light burns out, he bites his tongue and when he goes to sleep the family cat opts to sleep with his brother.

 

- I can't say my day  yesterday was as bad as Alexander's but it was close. I over slept so got a late start on the blog. When I did get the blog posted I had not one, not two, but three big errors which you, the readers, let me know about. I appreciate knowing about my errors so I can make corrections. For the record (to confess by guilt/mistakes) I had Andrew Jarvis not traveling with the team because he is on reserve. What a surprise to see him in a nice suit behind the bench helping the coaches last night, oops. 

 

- Later in the blog I wrote with confidence the only Mountain Division teams in action last night were Allen at Rapid City and Idaho at Utah, wrong! How about Iowa at Kansas City where the Mavericks not only won the game but reached the 100 point mark, oops #2.


- Proving bad mistakes come in threes, I posted the lineup for the game which read "Allen Americans lineup tonight against Kansas City." I hadn't forgotten Kansas City after all, just had them playing Allen. This was a case of make sure you change the team when you cut and paste from a previous lineup, oops #3. 


- I won't bore you all the details of my non hockey problems. I was dealing with numerous issues from having our roof replaced from hail damage. Then there was my neighbor putting a port-a-potty between his house and ours because of a six week out door remodeling project. He kindly told me I could use it if need be. Then painters and furniture delivery guys showed up at the exact same time and the driveway was blocked because the neighbor's project was pouring cement. At that point I was wishing I could talk to Alexander. 


- My dinner was fine except my lovely wife forgot to tell me she had adjusted the toaster dial which meant the bread I use for toast was burnt to a crisp. Luckily the smoke alarm only chirped once. Oh, there was that piece of lead shot I found in my pheasant/venison chili.


- Little did I know my terrible, horrible, no good very bad day was going to get worse after dinner. I should have known better when I heard Tommy Daniels say not once but twice that Rapid City is playing out the season and the players are playing for jobs for next season.

 

- To say the Allen Americans performance last night was disappointing is an understatement. With their playoff life on the line, playing the last place team in the division, the Americans lost 5-2 in a game that was not as close as the score. Here are the stats that tell the story:

  • Rapid City scored the first goal of the game. Allen is 7-26-1-0 (.221) when giving up the 1st goal.
  • Rapid City led 1-0 after the 1st period. Allen is 4-16-0-0 (.200) when trailing after the 1st period.
  • Rapid City led 4-0 after the 2nd period. Allen is 3-26-1-0 (.117) when trailing after the 2nd period.
  • Rapid City out shot Allen 30-13 over the first two periods .
  • Rapid City had seven power play opportunities to just three for Allen.
     

- Allen did mange two goals in the third period to cut the score to 4-2 but the game was never in doubt. Easton Brodzinski scored his 22 goal of the season and James Hardie scored his third goal and fifth point in three games since being acquired from Rapid City last week. The Rush regained their three goal lead late in the period to make the final score 5-2. 


- Allen has now lost eight of the last 10 games and in those eight losses has scored more than two goals just once. In the eight losses Allen averaged just 1.6 goals per game. Allen doesn't deserve to make the playoffs if it can't generate more offense. The only thing keeping the Americans in the playoff hunt is the mediocrity of the Mountain Division. Other than the top two teams who could be the top two teams in the league the rest of the division struggles.  Allen has 57 points with nine games remaining. If the Americans were in any other division they would already be out of the playoff race. Allen's 57 points would have them in last place in the North Division, last place in the Central Division and sixth place in the South Division. 

 

- There are 10 ECHL teams with a losing record (points percentage below .500). Of the 10 teams, five of them are in the Mountain Division. No other division has more than two.

 

- With all of the losing the Americans are still in the thick of the race for the fourth playoff spot. Allen trails Utah by just four points with two games in hand. Utah has just seven games remaining, but all are against Kansas City and Idaho. Utah is 2-8-0-0 against Idaho and 2-4-0-0 against Kansas City. Allen needs to get back on the winning track this weekend in Rapid City. 

 

- The final reality check of the night was looking at the standings and seeing the team that is playing out the season and for jobs next year (Rapid City) is now two points behind Allen with a chance to tie the Americans with a win tomorrow night. Allen is now closer to last place in the division (3 points) than to fourth place (4 points). I hope Allen can win the next two games in Rapid City and Tommy Daniels doesn't have to eat crow like I am so fond of doing. On the other hand if Rapid City sweeps Allen I know some good places to hunt crows to help Tommy out.  

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- To continue my Debbie Downer blog here is a story with the details about the possibility of Trois RiviĆ©res and Newfoundland ceasing operations. The two franchises are majority owned by the same ownership group. The group also owned the Iowa Heartlanders franchise but sold it prior to the 2023-24 season. https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/echl-newfoundland-trois-rivieres-may-not-finish-season.html 


- Here is Allen's record and points percentage by month. There are two more games left in March and even if the Americans win on Friday and Saturday in Rapid City they will finish the month with a losing record, something they haven't done since September.

  • October: 1-3-0-0 (.250)
  • November: 4-7-1-0 (.375)
  • December: 7-7-0-0 (.500)
  • January: 6-4-1-1 (.583)
  • February: 4-4-0-0 (.500)
  • March: 5-8-0-0 (.385) 


DID YOU KNOW: I swear my theme for the blog today (terrible, horrible, bad day) came to me after I had already decided what the ECHL post would be, however, it is fitting:

Season ending and late season injuries can have a big impact on team success. Here are the number of players currently on injured reserve for each ECHL team:
 
9: TUL
8: IND
7: RC, CIN
6: ALN, UTA, *ADK, WOR
5: MNE, REA, IA, *FLA
4: *GVL,TR, *JAX, ORL
3: FW, *IDH, KAL, NFL, SC, *TOL
2: ATL, *KC, *NOR
1: SAV, WHL
0: WIC
 
*Teams with points percentage above .600

 


Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Allen vs Rapid City Preview, Playoff Challenge Stats, Franchises in Trouble Rumors, NHL Contracted Players in ECHL and More

 

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they begin a three game series in Rapid City. Allen has 10 regular season games remaining against four different teams. After the three games in Rapid City the Americans play one game in Wichita. They then play three games against Adirondack and two against Tulsa at home before traveling to Tulsa for the last game of the season. 


- The Americans current points percentage is .460 after 62 games. Allen will have to play much better than that over the last 10 games. Six of the 10 remaining games are against teams with a better point percentage than Allen. Here are the opponents points percentages compared to Allen's:

  • .421 - Rapid City (3 games)
  • .429 - Wichita (1 game)
  • .460 - ALLEN
  • .492 - Tulsa (3 games)
  • .667 - Adirondack (3 games)


- This season the schedule called for just six games between Allen and Rapid City, the fewest in memory. In 2020-21 these teams played 16 times and the Americans took three trips to Rapid City. This season the first three games these teams played was in December in Allen. The Rush won the first game 10-5 and the Americans won game two (7-2) and game three (3-2). 


- It seems like all season Allen catches teams on the upswing. That is the case with Rapid City. The Rush went from January 13 to March 22 without winning a home game. They have now won two straight beating Utah twice over the weekend. Between early February and early March, Rapid City's overall record was 1-11-0-0. Since March 8 the Rush's record is 5-2-1-0 including wins at Utah and at Kansas City.

 

- Allen has had the opposite results. From early February to early March, Allen's record was 7-2-0-0. Since March 8 the Americans record is 2-7-0-0. 

 

- This series in Rapid City will pit one team (Allen) desperate for points in an effort to make the playoffs against a team (Rapid City) that has to pass three teams and gain eight points to make the playoffs. Rapid City has a mathematical chance but is basically playing out the season. That could make them even more dangerous in this series.

 

-  Roster update: 

  • Filip Forsmark was released from his amateur tryout contract (ATO). Because of his immigration status he was limited to five games or 10 days with Allen. He is headed back home to Sweden, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the rookie back in Allen in the fall.
  • Andrew Jarvis is on reserve, but is in Rapid City with the team. 
  • Johnny Walker is on injured reserve but will be eligible and should be ready to return to the lineup after the Rapid City trip.
  • Hank Crone is getting closer to returning to the lineup. Hopefully he will be ready for the Adirondack series (April 3) but definitely by the Tulsa series to end the regular season. 
     

 

- Here is a comparison of Allen and Rapid City:

  • Allen's road record is 14-14-2-1, Rapid City's home record is 15-16-2-0.
  • Allen is 3-7-0-0 in the last 10 games, Rapid City is 5-4-1-0.
  • Allen's league rank is #24 (57 points), Rapid City is #27 (53 points).
  • Allen has scored 205 goals and allowed 246 for a -41 goal differential
  • Rapid City has scored 198 goals and allowed 247 for a -49 goal differential.
  • Allen has a better power play percentage - 20.9% vs 16.3%.
  • Allen has a better penalty kill percentage - 78.0%  vs 77.1%.
     
 
- Allen has been outshot by opponents in 84% (52 of 62) of its games this season. It will be something to track in this series. Allen is ranked #27 in average shots allowed per game (39.76), but Rapid City is not much better ranked #25 (34.62). To be successful Allen will have to keep the shots close in this series.
 
 
- Playing with the lead is always a key to winning. Allen's points percentage when scoring first is .724, compared to Rapid City at.591. If either team is leading after the period it is a big advantage. Allen's record when leading after the first period on the road is 9-0-1-1 and after the second period is 12-0-1-1. At home Rapid City is 8-3-0-0 when leading after the first period and 7-2-1-0 when leading after the second period. 
 
 
 
- December was a long time ago and both teams have made numerous roster changes since they played their first three game series in Allen. It is worth noting both teams had great power plays in that series. Allen had two power play goals in all three games and a total of 6-13 which is a 46.2% power play percentage. Rapid City was 4-15 (26.7%).  
 
 
- Allen and Rapid City have historically been high penalty minute teams but not so much this season. Allen has taken 1111 penalty minutes and Rapid City just 738. The totals are misleading when you consider Allen has many more 10 minute misconduct penalties (27 vs 6) and game misconducts (11 vs 2) which do not result in power play opportunities. Allen has taken more minor penalties (313-264) but Rapid City has more five minute major penalties (26-21) which are mostly fighting majors.   
 
 
 
- With every team in the Mountain Division have a losing record (below .500) except Kansas City (.778) and Idaho (,688) it is hard to say any series is a must win. The points percentage spread from second to seventh place is just .071 (.492 to .421). With that said, if Allen wants to make the playoffs it needs a minimum of four points against Rapid City. Allen already needs help from the teams ahead of them in the standings. Here are some numbers that help explain the challenge:
 
  • Possible Points (if team wins all remaining games)
  • 79 - Tulsa
  • 77 - Utah
  • 77 - Allen
  • 72 - Wichita
  • 71 - Rapid City
     
  • Points/Average (points if team plays at current points percentage going forward)
  • 71 - Tulsa
  • 69 - Utah
  • 66 - Allen
  • 62 - Wichita
  • 61 - Rapid City
To make the playoffs Allen needs to play above its season long points percentage (.460) or hope Tulsa or Utah plays below its season long points percentage. 

 
 
- The game tonight (8:05 pm CDT) will be one of the 25% of games that has two referees. The referees scheduled tonight are #38 Trevor Wohlford and #34 Michael Zyla.   
 
 
 
OTHER COMMENTS
 
- The only other Mountain Division game tonight is Idaho at Utah. There are a total of six games on the schedule. Norfolk has a chance to clinch a playoff spot and join the other four teams that have already qualified. Toledo can become the first team to clinch a division title. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews and details: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-27 
 
- If you follow social media you might have seen some rumors about the future of the ECHL franchises in Newfoundland and Trois RiviƩres. Some of these rumors even suggest one or both of these team may not make it to the end of this season without financial help. I have also heard the draft schedules for next season include ones with or without these teams. In talking to some of my fellow bloggers in Canada it is premature to say what will happen. The league could step in to make sure the 2023-24 season isn't impacted, a new owner could be found for next season or some other accommodation could be made for the current owners.
 
 
- With Filip Forsmark released, coach Costello could sign another college/junior player to an ATO in the next week or 10 days. It is a way to add depth to the roster and also take a look at a player for next season. 
 
 
 
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about NHL contracted players in the ECHL. Allen has two, Blake Murray is under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes and Bennett MacArthur is under contract with the Tampa Bay Lighting.

There are 40 NHL contracted players currently playing in the ECHL. 43% of them (17 of 40) are goalies. Here is the number of NHL contracted employees with each ECHL team:
 
3: FLA, IA, NOR, ORL, WHL
2: *ADK, ALN, MNE, NFL, SC, *TOL, TUL, UTA
1: ATL, CIN, FW, *GVL, IDH, JAX, REA, WIC, WOR
0: IND, KAL, *KC, RC, SAV, TR
 
*Division Leaders
   

Monday, March 25, 2024

Mountain Division Playoff Race Details, Allen's Home Record by Jersey and Day, Allen's Attendance and Rick Gosselin's Story About Myles Jack

 

The Allen Americans will be back at practice this morning as they prepare for a three game series in Rapid City on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. With just 10 games remaining in the season and the Americans four points out of a playoff spot, this series could not be more critical. The goal should be a sweep against Rapid City and that is not an unrealistic goal. The Rush did beat Utah yesterday and Saturday at home, but prior to these wins the last home win for Rapid City was January 13. I will have more details in a series preview on Wednesday.

 

- Allen lost two of three games against Kansas City over the weekend but got some help from the other teams in the division battling for a playoff spot. Here is the latest:

  • Tulsa - The Oilers are in third place and have a six point lead over Allen. Tulsa's record over its last five games is 1-3-1-0. The Oilers have just eight games remaining, five straight against Wichita before their final three against Allen.
  • Utah - The Grizzlies lost their last two games over the weekend in Rapid City but remain in fourth place in the standings, four points ahead of Allen. Utah lost 4-3 Saturday despite outshooting Rapid City 58-30. The Grizzlies have eight games remaining all against Idaho (5 games - 3H, 2A) and Kansas City (3 games at home). 
  • Wichita - The Thunder have fallen three points behind Allen and seven points from a playoff spot so are unlikely to get back in the mix. Wichita can certainly play the spoiler role since they play Tulsa five times and Allen once in their remaining nine games.
     

- I get asked all of the time about Allen's home record based on which jerseys they are wearing or by day of the week. Thanks to team president Jonny Mydra for sharing this information. It is no surprise to Allen fans that the data shows what they have been saying for years. There is indeed a Saturday night, big crowd, specialty jersey curse in Allen. Here is the Allen Americans home record this season broken down by jerseys and day of the week with points percentage in parenthesis:

  •  JERSEY
  • Texas Jersey: 4-2 (.667)
  • Red Jersey: 6-3 (667
  • White Jersey: 2-6 (250)
  • Specialty Jersey: 1-7 (.125)
  • DAY
  • Friday: 6-3 (.667)
  • Wednesday: 4-2 (.667)
  • Sunday: 2-3 (.400)
  • Saturday: 1-9 (.100)
  • Monday: 0-1 (.000)

   

- Allen's attendance has been over 6000 six times this season. Five of them have been on Saturdays. The Americans average attendance this season is 4221 with five home games remaining. The average attendance is up a substantial 705 per game from last season. That is one of the largest, if not the biggest increase in the ECHL this season.  


- Here is Allen's average attendance for every season in the 15 year history of the franchise:

  • 4221: 2023-24 (5 games remaining)
  • 3516: 2022-23 
  • 3220: 2021-22
  • 1859: 2020-21 (COVID restricted)
  • 4001: 2019-20 (shortened season)
  • 4073: 2018-19
  • 4082: 2017-18
  • 4340: 2016-17
  • 4571: 2015-16*
  • 4096: 2014-15*
  • 4216: 2013-14*
  • 4157: 2012-13*
  • 4336: 2011-12
  • 3986: 2010-11
  • 3810: 2009-10

*won championship

 

- ECHL teams have between 7-10 games remaining in the regular season and just four of the 16 teams that will make the Kelly Cup playoffs have been determined (Adirondack, Toledo, Kansas City, Idaho). There are so many close races with playoff implications and anything can happen. Ironically, only one team has won more than six games in its last 10 games (Toledo is 8-2-0-0). 

 

- Here is another great story about the Allen Americans from NFL Hall of Fame writer Rick Gosselin. This one is about Allen Americans owner Myles Jack's transition from NFL linebacker to ECHL ownership: https://rickgosselin.com/myles-jack-leaves-football-behind-for-hockey/

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stat post today is about how many players each team has used this season. Allen is a little above average with 46 players used. The Americans have used five goalies, 15 defensemen and 26 forwards. 

Players used by ECHL teams this season ranges from 63 to 34.
 
63 - CIN
57 - REA
49 - FLA
48 - ADK*
47 - FW, IA
46 - ALN, NOR, TUL, UTA
45 - IDH, WOR
44 - IND, MNE, ORL, RC, WHL
43 - SAV, WIC
41 - ATL, NFL, TR
40 - JAX
39 - KAL
36 - GVL*
35 - TOL*
34 - SC, KC*
 
*Division Leaders

 

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Allen Americans Split Two Games, Recaps, Video Highlights, #13 to the Rafters and More

 

The Allen Americans earned a split last night. The Alumni Team, comprised of former players that go back as far as the team's first season (2009-10) and filled with 11 players that won championships in Allen (22 rings among them) defeated a group of DFW All-Stars. However, in the main event Allen lost to Kansas City 3-1. In between the two games Chad Costello had his #13 jersey retired.


-  I had a chance to talk to most of the alumni players after the game and everyone mentioned how much they enjoy getting together for these games. It is not just the game itself but the time off the ice, where they can tell stories, reminisce about their playing days, interact with their families, play some golf and visit with fans. 

 

- As for the actual game the Americans alumni were the victors over the DFW All-Stars. My unofficial scorecard had Jack Combs leading the Americans with four goals and a bunch of players with a single goal including Chad Costello (he played only one period), Jason Deitsch, David Makowski, Mathieu Aubin, Joel Chouinard, Brian McMillin and Daniel Tetrault.  


- I heard a lot of chirping in the locker room after the game and many agreed with one player pointing out the ice sheet has gotten a lot bigger since they retired. My impression in watching the game is yes the players have slowed down but the way they see the ice and the mental part of the game is still sharp. They can't always execute what they see, but there were lots of great passes to set up teammates.

 

- Some post game quotes. I asked some of the players what it is like coming back to the alumni games and to give me a kid update:

Tyler Ludwig: It was good to see the out of town guys like Milly, Tetsy and Booter again. We had a great time playing golf yesterday. When we all get together it is like we played with them yesterday. My daughter update: the oldest Sydney is 11 and playing softball and I help coach that. The middle one Hayden, is nine and plays soccer. I don't know anything about soccer but helping coach that too. The youngest is Bradley who is seven and stays active.

Trevor Ludwig: My daughter Lyn is going to be 10 in three weeks and my son, Beau is seven. Beau just finished his first season playing hockey. I like to say he is following in my footsteps but hopefully he is falling in his grandpa's footsteps. A number of us play together in a men's league (Aubin, Descoteaux, Deitsch, Chouinard) out of Farmers Branch.

Mathieu Aubin: It is fun to see everyone. I didn't know everyone so it was good to meet some of the guys from the past. I had a great time playing the game and at the golf tournament.

David Makowski: It was fun out there at least until I lost my breath. I told Costy I could help out on the power play but nothing else. We (wife Carrie) are still involved in dog rescue. Our two dogs are now 10 and five so we will probably get another one soon.

Brian McMillin: It is always fun to come back and get the old group back together. Our son (three and a half Eddie) is enjoying himself. Between the golf tournament and the game a lot of stories were shared. 

 Daniel Tetrault: Oh my goodness that was a good time. It was so much fun seeing my old teammates. We might not be in the best shape but there was a lot of hockey sense on the ice. Allen is extra special for me winning a championship here in my 14th season and you never forget those teammates.We have to do this more than every five years. 

Darryl Bootland:  It was a blast out there on the ice. I just don't have the energy anymore. The kids are now 18, 11 and 7. The 11 year old daughter is into volleyball. My seven year old daughter is doing karate and I think she is going to be MMA. She has a lot of me in her. All she wants to do everyday is fight. It is scary but fun if you know what I mean. 

Erik Adams: It is fun being back with the group and just to get out there and skate is great. My daughter Brooklyn was just 11 and because I am leap year baby I was 11 this year so we celebrated being 11 together. She is big into cheerleading competitions. Henrik is nine and plays hockey, football, baseball, basketball and does jujitsu so he stays busy. Both the kids also like to ski. 

Joel Chouinard: Tonight and the golf outing was a lot of ton. I still skate with some of these guys every week. Julien is five and a half and Luca is three. 

Jason Deitsch: I don't ever desire to play hockey anymore but when get out there it is fun and hanging out with the guys and passing the puck around. My daughter Charlie is 14 and her activities are volleyball, basketball, cheer and softball. My son Cohen is 12 and plays football, baseball, basketball and track. My youngest daughter, Cory, is into cheer and baseball. 

 

- I have to say it was also fun to chat a little bit with all the hockey wives many of which have now become hockey moms. Hannah Combs, Ashley Costello, Kelly Gens, Angie Gill, Holly Ludwig, Taylor Ludwig and Wendy McMillin.

 

- Just before the Allen vs Kansas City game there was a jersey retirement ceremony for Chad Costello and his #13 jersey. Chad's family, friends, and fans watched a video tribute and witnessed his #13 head to the rafters.  


- In the main event the Allen Americans finished their regular season against Kansas City with a 3-1 loss. The bad news is Allen's record against the Mavericks this season was 4-10-0-1 including 1-7-0-0 at the CUTX Event Center. The good news is Kansas City's home record is 20-8-2-1 with three of the eight regulation losses coming against Allen. 

 

- The game last night looked to be a high scoring affair when Kansas City scored on the first shot of the game just 17 seconds after the puck drop. Allen tied the score 1-1 on its third shot of the game at the 3:05 mark on James Hardie's second goal in his second game with the Americans. Hardie's goal turned out to be the only goal Allen scored in the game.

 

- The Allen offense sputtered again last night after exploding for six goals on Friday. Here are the stats from the game last night:

  • Allen gave up the first goal of the game which they did in all three games in this series.
  • Allen was out shot in every period by a total of 44-27. 
  • Allen's penalty kill was excellent killing six power play opportunities while going 0-2 on the power play. 
  • Kansas City had a 2-1 lead after the second period with a record when leading after the second period of 31-1-1-0.
     

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans. https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/03/mavericks-take-the-series-with-3-1-victory  

 

- Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-march-23-2024


 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Friday night Allen won but gained nothing on the teams ahead of them in the standings because they also won. Last night Allen lost but the teams ahead of the Americans also lost. Tulsa lost 10-1 to Idaho, Utah had 58 shots but lost to Rapid City 4-3 and Wichita lost to Iowa 3-2. Allen remains six points behind Tulsa, four points behind Utah and three points ahead of Wichita. Today Wichita plays at Iowa and Utah is at Rapid City.

 

- It was another Saturday night, big crowd (6030), specialty jersey loss for the Allen Americans.  The specialty jersey curse seems real as the Allen record when wearing specialty jerseys this season is now 1-7-0-0.

 

- The Americans now hit the road for the next four games. Next week Allen will be in Rapid City for games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Americans play in Wichita on April 3 before they play Adirondack three games at home starting April 5.     

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Happenings around the ECHL last night. Some records, some season highs, a playoff qualifier and a jersey retirement:
 
- Kansas City tied the all time ECHL record for road wins (26) and has four road games remaining to break the record.
 
- Utah tied the ECHL season high with 58 shots which included 28 shots in the 3rd period. The 28 shots is four more shots by any team in any period this season. All that and Utah lost to Rapid City 4-3. 
 
- Idaho scored 10 goals and won by a ECHL season high nine goals in a 10-1 win over Tulsa.
 
- Three time ECHL MVP Chad Costello had his #13 jersey retired in Allen. 
 
- Toledo became the third ECHL team to qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs with a 5-2 win over Indy, joining Kansas City and Idaho.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Big Win, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Tonight's Preview, Alumni Game, Costello's Jersey Retirement and More

 

A crowd of 5960 at the CUTX Event Center last night watched the Allen Americans get goals from six different players in a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Mavericks. It was just the third regulation road loss of the season for the Mavericks and prevented them from tying the ECHL all time record for road wins in a single season. 

 

- Kansas City scored the first goal of the game at the 6:49 mark of the opening period but Allen responded with the equalizer at 10:18 when Gavin Gould scored a shorthanded goal. Allen as a team has eight shorthanded goals this season and Gould has half of them. His four shorthanded goals is ranked #2 in the league. The teams swapped two more goals in the first period with Kansas City taking a 2-1 lead at the 13:33 mark before Colin Jacobs scored his fourth goal in the last five games to tie the score 2-2 at the 17:07 mark. The period ended with the score tied and  Allen having an 11-10 lead in shots.


- The Mavericks scored first in the second period to take a 3-2 lead but then the goal swapping ended. First, Blake Murray scored (10:42) to tie the game 3-3 and then James Hardie, playing his first game for Allen, scored a power play goal to give Allen it first lead of the game and the series. Allen took its 4-3 lead into the second intermission and that was a good sign. The Americans have been great this season when leading after the second period with a record of 22-2-1-1.


- Allen took a two goal lead (5-3) into the third period on a Ty Fournier rebound goal at 13:11. A two goal lead didn't seem safe against Kansas City when you consider the Mavericks have scored 17 more third period goals than any other team in the league. Kansas City has scored twice as many third period goals as they have allowed. 104 goals scored and 52 allowed for a goal differential of +52. 


- Kansas City scored a power play goal with less than five minutes remaining in the game (15:48) to cut the score to 5-4 and I am sure many fans thought  that the last minute Mavericks heroics were about to happen again. It was not to be as Liam Finlay took the puck away from a defender who had fallen down and put the puck in the net off a skate to give Allen its two goals lead back (6-4) with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Allen kept the pressure on, so the Mavericks had troubl get the goalie off the ice for an extra attacker. Allen tried one long shot for an empty net goal that went wide for an icing call. Kansas City managed just one shot on goal and the Americans came away with a 6-4 victory. The win snapped Allen's six game winless streak at home against Kansas City.  


- Goal scorers for Allen were Gavin Gould (10), Colin Jacobs (7), Blake Murray (18), James Hardie (12), Ty Fournier (8) and Liam Finlay (7). Here are the video highlights that show most but not all of the goals: https://echl.com/videos/kansas-city-mavericks-vs-allen-americans-march-22-2024

 

- The game was a huge win for the Americans against the best team in the league that had beaten Allen in all six games at the CUTX Event Center this season. Even more impressive is the Americans outplayed the Mavericks. Allen held Kansas City to just 28 shots, the fewest in the 14 head to head games this season. Allen won the special teams battle scoring one power play goal and a shorthanded goal. It was great to see the offense score six goals, especially considering in the Americans last six losses the total goals scored was nine. 

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/03/americans-hand-kc-rare-road-loss

 

ALLEN VS KANSAS CITY PREVIEW

- Allen will have its work cutout to get another win tonight. Kansas City has not lost back to back road games all season. The Mavericks are still looking for their 26th road win of the season which would tie the all time ECHL record. 

 

- Allen gave up four goals last night, but that is still under Kansas City's average for goals scored per game (4.29). Allen allowed Mavericks 28 shots, under their average of 33 shots per game. A far cry from Allen's first win of the season against the Mavericks in Kansas City. On November 7th the Americans beat Kansas City 4-3 in a 10:30 am game and were outshot 52-17. Mark Sinclair made 49 saves in the win. 

 

- Special teams will be a key again tonight. Allen has done a good job staying out of the penalty box against the second least penalized team in the league. In the first two games of this series Kansas City has had five power plays and Allen has had four. Kansas City's power play goal last night was really a 5-on-3 goal as it was scored one second after the 5-on-3 expired.

 

- Allen got away with giving up the first goal of the game last night and still won the game. The Mavericks record when scoring first is 31-4-3-1 (.846). Allen's record when surrendering the first goal of the game is 7-24-1-0 (.234). The odds of winning back to back against Kansas City when giving up the first goal of the game are less than slim.  

 

- Look for Easton Brodzinski to return to the lineup tonight after missing a couple a games with an injury. I haven't heard who will be in goal, but my guess would be Mark Sinclair. I will post the lineup when I receive it later today.     

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The win last night was even more important because the two teams Allen is chasing both won. Tulsa won 4-1 in Idaho and Utah won 5-3 in Rapid City. Here is the latest in the Mountain Division standings with points, points percentage and games remaining:

  • Kansas City - 96 points, .774 (10 games remaining)
  • Idaho - 86 points, .683 (9 games remaining)
  • Tulsa - 63 points, .500 (9 games remaining)
  • Utah - 61 points, .492 (10 games remaining)
  • Allen - 57 points, .467 (11 games remaining)
  • Wichita - 54 points, .443 (11 games remaining)
  • Rapid City - 49 points, .402 (11 games remaining)  


- Allen fans are in for a double treat today in addition to the game against Kansas City. The first event will be an alumni game celebrating the 15 year anniversary of the Allen Americans franchise. The alumni will play against a group of ex-pro players, ex-junior players and ex-college players that live in the area. The alumni game will start at 4:30 and from what I understand will be 15 minute running time periods. Here is the list of former Allen players scheduled to play:

  • Erik Adams (2009-2012)
  • Mathieu Aubin (2017-18)
  • *Darryl Bootland (2012-14)
  • Joel Chouinard (2016-19)
  • Jack Combs (2014-15 & 2021-23)
  • *Chad Costello (2014-17 & 2021-22)
  • *Jason Deitsch (2011-13)
  • *Nolan Descoteaux (2014-17)
  • *Aaron Gens (2014-17)
  • *Riley Gill (2014-18)
  • *Trevor Ludwig (2011-15)
  • *Tyler Ludwig (2011-15)
  • *David Makowski (2015-19)
  • David McKee (2009-10)
  • *Brian McMillin (2010-15)
  • *Daniel Tetrault (2013-14)

*Won championships with the Americans

L to R Allen alumni - McMillin, Gill, Descoteaux, Tetrault, Chouinard, Aubin


- After the alumni game and before the start of the regular game there will be a ceremony to retire Chad Costello's #13 jersey. Chad owns too many Allen and ECHL records to list but the future ECHL Hall of Famer will now see his number #13 in the rafters, joining Riley Gill (#30) and Gary Steffes (#12). I am sure the nine minute video put together for the occasion will be special. 


- Here is a stat you don't hear about often that the off ice officials track. If you thought the first period last night went fast you were correct. The off officials track the number of whistles by period. In the first period last night there were just 12 whistles. A normal period has over 20. Very few icings, off sides and just one penalty.  

 

- It will be another big night in the ECHL with all 28 teams in action. While many teams are fighting for playoff spots two teams can clinch their spots in the playoffs tonight. Division leaders Adirondack and Toledo could punch their tickets tonight. Here are the previews of all 14 games: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-23

 

- When I chat with players after practice or after pregame skate any number of subjects can come up. Yesterday after the pregame skate I told Gavin Gould good luck and mentioned how close he came to a shorthanded goal in the morning game on Wednesday. I rarely make predictions but for some reason I said to Gavin you are going to get a shortie tonight. When I ran into him in the locker room after the game he had a big smile and said, "You called it Barry." It was sweet.    

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The workhorses, only four ECHL goalies have played over 2000 minutes and made over 1000 saves this season: 
 
Tyler Gauthier, Wheeling - 2477 & 1196 (42 games played with .923 save percentage).
 
Cam Johnson, Florida - 2403 & 1118 (2.27 GAA)
 
Matt Radomsky, Rapid City - 2166 & 1257 (leads league in saves).
 
Nolan Maier, Reading - 2099 & 1110 (averages 32 saves per game).

 

Friday, March 22, 2024

Allen vs Kansas City Preview, Roster Update, Scoring Drought, ECHL Record Possible Tonight, Trade Deadline Deals and More

 It's game day for the Allen Americans as they take on the Kansas City Mavericks in the second game of a three game series. There are plenty of incentives for both teams to do well tonight. Allen is fighting for a playoff spot and is trying to get back on track after losing six of the last seven games. The Americans have fallen four points behind fourth place Utah and six points behind third place Tulsa in the standings. Allen has games in hand with 12 games remaining in the season compared to 11 for Utah and 10 for Tulsa.


- You might think Kansas City doesn't have much to play for given they have a 10 point lead over Idaho in the Mountain Division and could play .500 hockey over its final 11 games and still be the division champions. Kansas City and Idaho are #1 and #2 in the ECHL standings so Kansas City also has a 10 point lead overall and has all but locked up the Brabham Cup as the regular season champion. What will be motivating the Mavericks tonight is the chance to tie the ECHL all time record for road wins. The record is 26 and Kansas City won its 25th road game on Wednesday in the 3-2 win over Allen. 


- I won't bore you with long paragraphs on each key to the game tonight, but here are a few succinct stats that tell the story.

  • Kansas City is 7-0-0-0 when scoring first against Allen this season.
  • Kansas City has a combined record of 26-2-0-0 when leading after the 1st and 2nd period.
  • Kansas City has outshot Allen by 154 shots this season (487-333).
  • Kansas City has 565 penalty minutes, Allen has 1087.
  • Allen has lost all six home games against Kansas City this season.
     

- Allen has lost six of its last seven games and of those six losses the Americans have scored two or fewer goals in five of them. In the game against Kansas City on Wednesday the Americans played with eight defenseman and just nine forwards. That will change in the game tonight. Forward James Hardie will get his first game action since being acquired in a trade with Rapid City. Hardie will be wearing jersey #86. Grant Hebert is listed as day to day but it is expected he will also be in the lineup tonight. Mikael Robidoux will be not play tonight as he will be serving the second of his two game suspension.


- Allen's offense has been struggling recently for a couple of reasons. Two top goal scorers, Hank Crone and Easton Brodzinski are out of the lineup and others are struggling to put the puck in the net. Liam Finlay scored goals in his first three games back after missing 48 games, but has just one goal in the last seven games. Bennett MacArthur has one goal in eight games, Blake Murray hasn't scored in his last five games and Colby McAuley, Allen's leading goal scorer, has just two goals in his last 14 games. 


- Allen's leading goal scorers over the last five games with three goals each are Colin Jacobs and Ty Farmer. No other player has more than single goal. 


- Considering Kansas City has a 41 point lead over Allen in the standings it is remarkable how close the team save percentages are. Allen has a team save percentage of .901 compared the Kansas City's .905. Allen gives up a lot more goals (239 vs 173) but faces so many more shots (2393 vs 1805), therefore the Americans have a decent save percentage.

 

- Here is another stat that shows the difference between Allen and Kansas City. Performance in the third period is critical to success. Allen has scored 61 third period goals and allowed 82 for a goal differential of -21. Kansas City has scored 103 third period goals and allowed 50 for a goal differential of  +53.  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- What sets Kansas City apart from the other top teams in the ECHL is they are great at both ends of the ice. Three ECHL teams average more than 3.60 goals per game and they are all over 4.00 goals per game. Here is how the top three offensive teams rank defensively, by average goals scored and allowed per game.

  • #1 Kansas City (4.30) is #3 defensively (2.84)
  • #2 Idaho (4.18) is #17 defensively (3.44)
  • #3 Toledo (4.11) is #12 defensively (3.13) 


- Allen didn't make any moves at the trade deadline, but that doesn't mean there weren't discussions throughout the day. If you look at the ECHL standings almost every team with few exceptions still has hopes of making the playoffs. Lot's of buyers but not a lot of sellers on trade deadline day. 

 

- One big trade at the deadline found 31 goal scorer Zack Andrusiak traded from Cincinnati to Florida to Fort Wayne yesterday. There were a lot of moving parts in this deal that also included former Allen defenseman, Stanislav Demin going from Florida to Fort Wayne. It is a big move for the Komets to get Andrusiak as they battle for a playoff spot. Andrusiak will be a veteran next year so this could end up being a rent a player if he doesn't re-sign in Fort Wayne. The Komets sent the rights to forward Matthew Wedman to Florida. He has spent much of the season in the AHL. He is qualified for the ECHL playoffs and could soon be sent to Florida. He is not a vet so Florida will retain his ECHL rights next season.


- It is a big night in the ECHL with all 28 teams in action with many teams battling for playoff spots. Adirondack is the only team that can punch its ticket to the playoffs tonight and become the third of 16 teams that qualify for the playoffs, joining Kansas City and Idaho. Here are the previews from ECHL Today: https://echl.com/news/2024/03/echl-today-march-22  


DID YOU KNOW: How are the final four Kelly Cup teams from 2022-23 faring in 2023-24? Who will make the final four again? Here is their record, points percentage and place in the division standings with three weeks remaining in the regular season:
 
North
Newfoundland: 26-24-8-2 (.517), 3rd place 
 
South
Florida: 33-19-7-2 (.615), 3rd place 
 
Central
Toledo: 38-14-4-5 (.697), 1st place
 
Mountain
Idaho: 41-17-2-2 (694), 2nd place

 

 

 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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


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


OTHER COMMENTS

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


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

 

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

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

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

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

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the number of veterans on each ECHL team (includes players on active roster, reserve and injured reserve). Teams with players on IR are marked with an asterisk. Teams are limited to four veteran players, but players on IR don’t count:
 
5: *IND
4: FLA, MNE
3: IDH, JAX, *KAL, ORL, RC
2: *ALN, *CIN, *NFL, REA, SAV, *TOL, TR, *UTA
1: ADK, FW, *GVL, IA, NOR, SC, TUL, WHL
0: ATL, KC, WIC, WOR
 
*Eight teams have veterans on IR, Kalamazoo and Cincinnati have two.