Allen vs Norfolk Preview, Allen and ECHL Stat Leaders, Points Earned Last 10 Games, Road Win Record at Risk and More

In Coach Steve Martinson's words, "The game on Friday is a huge game for us. We have a couple of AHL guys coming in over the weekend to look at players. We need to get back up on the horse and start winning again." 

 

- After winning six straight games from January 4 to 16 and 12 of 15 games from December 12 to January 16, the Allen Americans have fallen on tough times. They have lost five of their last seven games and fallen behind first-place Kansas City by 20 points and second-place Idaho by 13 points. The Americans have gone from having second place in their sights to a battle for the final two playoff spots. A seven-game homestand was supposed to be a time to gain ground in the standings, but Allen has a 2-2 record so far, with two games against Norfolk (tonight and Saturday) and a game against Wichita on Wednesday remaining. The Americans need to win the final three games of the homestand to get back on track.

 

- Last Sunday, Allen outshot Rapid City 43-34, but lost the game 6-3. On Wednesday, Allen outshot Norfolk 29-23 but lost 2-1. That is a total of 72 shots and four goals, a shooting percentage of 5.6%. That will have to improve this weekend if Allen expects to win. The Americans' shooting percentage this season is 10.6%. 

 

- A good start will be imperative tonight. Norfolk has not won a game all season when trailing after the first period (0-12-0-0) or second period (0-16-0-0). Allen needs to make the Admirals play from behind and not allow Norfolk to get out to an early lead.

 

- Allen has a better power play than Norfolk (20.1% vs 16.4%) and a better penalty kill (84.4% vs 77.1%). No reason the Americans shouldn't win the special teams battle. If they do that, the odds are in their favor to win the game. 

 

- I will post the lineup later today. I assume after allowing only two goals on Wednesday, Jackson Parsons will be back in goal tonight. Also, expect Martinson to go back to 12 forwards and six defensemen tonight after playing seven defensemen on Wednesday. 

UPDATE: Here is tonight's lineup if there are no last-minute changes:  

Forwards

67 Crone - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley

26 Asuchak - 29 Watts - 18 Blaisdell 

9 Katic - 91 Gildon - 11 Chiasson

14 Gursoy - Maxwell - 6 Simmons-Fischer

 

Defense

86 Anania - 40 Touré

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley

2 Warmuth - 22 Costantini 

 

Goalies

31 Parsons 

33 Costantini (backup) 

 

 

- The game tonight will be a two-referee game. Rocco Stachowiak (#28), who was one of two referees on Wednesday, will be joined by John Lidner (#6). The linesmen will be Trent Williams (#48) and returning after an injury at the end of last season will be Daniel Barnes (#76).   

 

- Here is the game preview posted by the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/02/game-day-preview-americans-host-norfolk-at-710-pm

 

- I asked Allen color analyst Maurice Fitzgerald for his keys to the game, and he didn't disappoint:

• Play Allen Americans uptempo hockey, with quick breakouts and short, smart passes to blast through the tight coverage and keep speed through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. Allen allowed Norfolk to dictate the Americans' flow on Wednesday after they took the lead, and it kept Allen on the outside most of the night. The Americans need solid passing and speed to get through the trap and keep up offensive pressure.
• Allen needs to play as disciplined as Norfolk does, which means being positionally sound. That is a shortcoming we have been seeing recently on defense, in particular. Forwards have to ensure they are working hard to get into the backcheck, and if they see a man uncovered in front of the net, pick him up.
• Allen needs to establish a strong net front presence to disrupt the goaltender's view and jump on rebounds. Katic scored from the front porch on Wednesday, and the Americans didn't do much until late in the game. Have to do that all night long in both games this weekend.

   

OTHER COMMENTS

- Where do the Allen Americans' statistical leaders rank on the ECHL leaderboard?

• #1: PP Assists - Sam Sedley (19)  
• #4: Assists - Sam Sedley (30)
• #4: PP Goals - Danny Katic (7) 
• #5: Goals - Danny Katic (20)
• #7: Points - Brayden Watts (42)
• #11: PIM - Braidan Simmons-Fischer (81)
• #13: Shots - Colton Hargrove (131) 
• #18: Plus/Minus - Sam Sedley (+15) 

 

- It is a big night in the ECHL tonight with 28 of 30 teams in action. All eight Mountain Division teams are playing:

• Tulsa at Kansas City
• Rapid City at Wichita
• Norfolk at Allen
• Greenville at Idaho
• Utah at Tahoe

Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/02/echl-today-feb-6 

 

- This stat shows just how hard it is to catch teams when you fall behind in points. These are the points earned in the last 10 games for the Mountain Division teams. Total points for each team are in parentheses. 

These may be "eating crow" words, but I will say that no team is catching the top two. Now the competition is for the final two playoff spots, currently occupied by Tahoe and Allen.

• 18 points - Kansas City (68)
• 18 points - Idaho (61)
• 11 points - Allen (48)
• 10 points - Wichita (41) 
• 9 points - Tahoe (50)
• 7 points - Utah (36)
• 5 points - Rapid City (39)
• 5 points - Tulsa (27). 

 

- The Mountain Division is home to the #1 and #3 ranked teams in the ECHL. Kansas City has won four straight games after a 14-game win streak was snapped by Iowa. The Mavericks points percentage of .791 is just behind the .792  points percentage Kansas City had in 2023-24, which was #5 all-time. FYI, the all-time single-season points percentage record is .826, set by Idaho in 2022-23. Idaho is ranked #3 in the league right now, with a points percentage of .709.

 

- Kansas City is also threatening the all-time ECHL record for road wins, which the Mavericks set in 2023-24 (29 wins). Kansas City's road record is 15-2-1-1 with 17 road games remaining. FYI, #2 all-time is 26 road wins, shared by five teams. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Current 2025-26 ECHL Leaders:

 

27: Goals - Brendan Hoffmann, Idaho

44: Assists - Marcus Crawford, Kansas City

54: Points - Brandon Hawkins, Toledo

135: PIM - Jacob Graves, Adirondack

+44: Plus/Minus - Marcus Crawford, Kansas City

179: Shots - Danny Dzhaniyev, Utah

9: PP Goals - Ryan Kirwan, Cincinnati

8: Game Winning Goals - Jackson Jutting, Kansas City

4: Shorthanded Goals - John Jaworski, Cincinnati

 

Allen Loses 2-1, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Martinson Comments, Standings Reality, Goalie Stats, Plus/Minus Leaders, 20 Goal Scorers, Players Used

 

The Norfolk Admirals scored two goals on their first five shots last night, and that is all it took to defeat the Allen Americans 2-1 before a small crowd of 2864 at the CUTX Event Center. Allen has one of the most potent offenses in the ECHL, averaging 3.6 goals per game, but managed to score just one third-period goal on 29 shots last night. The Americans have scored seven goals over the previous three games, a 2.33 goals per game average. That is a far cry from the 5.16 goals per game Allen averaged over its six-game win streak in January. 

 

- Allen's loan goal was scored with an extra man on a delayed penalty at 8:36 of the third period. Danny Katic took a pass from Hank Crone right at the goal mouth and stuffed it home for his 20th goal of the season. Katic is one of six ECHL players with 20+ goals, and remember, he missed 10 games when he was called up to Belleville. 

 

- Allen had a streak of scoring power-play goals in 14 of 15 games from December 13 to January 17. Since that time, the Americans have been blanked on the power play in four of six games, including the last two games. The Americans lost all four games when they didn't score a power-play goal. Over the last six games, Allen's power play percentage is 11.8% (2-17).  

 

- Losing 2-1 last night is the first time all season Allen has allowed two or fewer goals and lost a game in regulation. The Americans did lose 2-1 in overtime earlier in the season.

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams and the video highlights:

• Allen Americans - "Americans Lose Tight Battle" - https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/02/americans-lose-tight-battle 
• Norfolk Admirals - "Norfolk Back in the Win Column with Road Victory over Allen" - https://norfolkadmirals.com/news/2026/02/norfolk-back-in-the-win-column-with-road-victory-over-allen  
• Video Highlights: https://echl.com/videos/norfolk-admirals-vs-allen-americans-feb-4-2026 

 

- Allen gave up the first goal last night for the 23rd time in 42 games (55%). The Americans' record when giving up the first goal has fallen to 8-14-1-0 (.370). The Allen record when scoring first is 14-2-3-0 (.816). 

 

- When this seven-game homestand began last week against Rapid City, I said the goal was to win five of the seven games, if the Americans want to call the homestand a success. Four games in, their record is 2-2-0-0. That means to meet the goal, the Americans must win both games this weekend against Norfolk and then beat Wichita next Wednesday. Certainly doable. 

 

COACH MARTINSON'S POST-GAME COMMENTS

"I thought Norfolk skated hard and played hard. On their first goal, we give up an odd-man rush. What is frustrating from my standpoint is that we have been working on that play in practice. We have been scored on by that play in the first period in the three games recently."

"I don't know if you heard it tonight, but one of the things we are trying to do more of is communicate on the ice. The back checkers and centers need to call it out, and the defensemen need to call out who has who."

"The one power play we had all kinds of chances and were just missing. Then our defenseman got tripped behind the net, and Norfolk came down the ice against two forwards playing defense. They throw the puck at the net with a guy in front who tips it in. That is why you throw pucks at the net."

"Sometimes we are trying to be too fancy, rather than throwing pucks at the net. We have gone from scoring a lot of goals to not enough goals."

"Norfolk competed hard, and once they got the lead, they trapped a lot and didn't give us much time or space, and stayed disciplined." 

"It is hockey 101; if a team is not letting you make plays, you have to get pucks to the net with two guys in front. We weren't doing that. We finally did it and got the goal by Katic."

"The game on Friday is a huge game for us. We have a couple of AHL guys coming in over the weekend to look at players. We need to get back up on the horse and start winning again."  

  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Kansas City and Idaho won last night and are distancing themselves from the rest of the Mountain Division. Tahoe got beaten at home 9-6 by Utah. If the Americans don't get going soon, the odds of home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs will be down to zero. Here are the standings by points and points percentage:

• 66 points - Kansas City (.786)
• 61 points - Idaho (.709)
• 50 points - Tahoe (.568)
• 48 points - Allen (.571)
• 41 points - Wichita (.513)
• 39 points - Rapid City (.464)
• 36 points - Utah (.419)
• 26 points - Tulsa (.325)

How difficult will it be for Allen to overtake Idaho for second place? If Idaho plays .500 hockey the rest of the season, the Americans will need a record of 21-8-1-0 (.717) over their last 30 games to pass the Steelheads.

 

- Inconsistency has been an issue for Allen over much of the season, especially defensively. While all of the goalies have had some bad games, goaltending has been a strength for Allen. Here are the stats for the three goalies:

• Save Percentage
• .920 - Parsons 
• .915 - Costantini
• .912 - Tendeck

 

• GAA
• 2.61 - Parsons
• 2.99 - Costantini
• 3.40 - Tendeck

 

• Games Played
• 23 - Costantini
• 16 - Tendeck
• 7 - Parsons

 

• Record
• 13-6-3-0 - Costantini 
• 7-6-0-0 - Tendeck
• 2-4-1-0 - Parsons 

 

• Shutouts
• 2 - Tendeck
• 1 - Parsons
• 1 - Costantini    

  

- Jake Chiasson has played in four games since being assigned by Belleville and has a point in all four (1G, 3A). Six players have a points per game average of 0.83 and above this season:

• 1.06 - Danny Katic
• 1.00 - Brayden Watts
• 1.00 - Jake Chiasson
• 0.93 - Hank Crone
• 0.86 - Sam Sedley
• 0.83 - Colton Hargrove  

 

- Six Allen players have plus/minus stats greater than +3. 

• +15: Sam Sedley 
• +10: Colton Hargrove
• +10: Andre Anania
• +9: Ty Prefontaine
• +7: Danny Katic
• +7: Michael Gildon 

 

- Six ECHL players have reached the 20-goal mark thus far. Here is the list sorted by average goals per game. If you read the blog yesterday, you know it is no surprise that all six 20+ ECHL goal scorers are from the Western Conference, and five of the six are from the Mountain Division:

• .658 - Brendan Hoffmann, Idaho
• .625 - Danny Katic, Allen
• .575 - Brandon Hawkins, Toledo 
• .535 - Reed Lebster, Utah
• .500 - Kyle Crnkovic. Wichita
• .477 - Devon Paliani. Tahoe 

FYI, to give you an idea of how impressive the numbers above are, a goals per game average of .556 over a full 72-game season would be 40 goals.

    

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the number of players used thus far by each ECHL team. Teams with a points percentage above .700 are marked with an asterisk. It is no coincidence they are all at the low end of this list:

 

46: UTA

45: REA

44: WOR

43: TUL

42: ADK, IA, KAL, NOR

41: RC, SC

39: ORL

38: BLM, FW, MNE

37: GSO

35: SAV, WHL

36: JAX

35: FLA

34: GVL

33: ALN, CIN, *IDH, IND, TAH

31: *TOL, TR

39: WIC

29: *ATL, *KC

 

Allen vs Norfolk Series Preview, Tonight's Lineup, Mountain Division Has ECHL Best Offense & Worst Defense, Alex Breton Update, Overseas Deadline & More

 

Allen Americans fans are in for a rare treat this week as a team outside the Mountain Division visits the CUTX Event Center. This typically happens a couple of times per season and is an opportunity see Eastern Conference style hockey. The opponent this week (tonight, Friday, Saturday) will be the Norfolk Admirals. Norfolk visited Allen during the 2019-20 season for two games and were swept by the Americans (3-2 in overtime and 5-0).

 

- If you look at the North Division standings, Norfolk is in 7th place, 15 points out of a playoff spot, but don't let that fool you. No team in the North Division has more wins over the last 10 games than Norfolk. The Admirals are 7-3-0-0 over the last 10 games. They had a seven-game win streak in January when they were in last place in the division, and six of the wins were against the top three teams in the North Division:  #1 (Wheeling), #2 Reading, and #3 (Adirondack). 

 

- Both teams have faltered a bit recently and are looking to get back on track tonight:

• Allen has lost four of its last six games, and after playing one of its best games of the season against Rapid City on Saturday (3-0 win), played one of its worst games on Sunday in a 6-3 loss to the Rush). 
• Norfolk has lost three of its last four games, beat Trois Riviéres 5-2 on Friday, and lost to the Lions 6-3 on Saturday. 

 

Here are some comparison stats between Allen and Norfolk:

• Allen's record is 22-15-4-0 (.585), Norfolk's is 15-22-2-0 (.410). .
• Allen is 12-5-1-0 at home, Norfolk is 5-11-1-0 on the road.
• Allen's goal differential is +12 (149-137), Norfolk's is -23 (116-139).
• Allen's team plus/minus is +17, Rapid Norfolk's is -113.
• Allen's team save percentage is .908, Norfolk's is .897.

 

- Here are more statistical comparisons between the two teams.

• Goals scored average: Allen (3.6) - Norfolk (3.0)
• Goals allowed average: Allen (3.3) - Norfolk (3.6)
• Shots for average: Allen (33.4) - Norfolk (27.9)
• Shots against average: Allen (36.4) - Norfolk (30.1)
• Power play percentage: Allen (20.5%) - Norfolk (16.8%)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen (84.1%) - Norfolk (76.6%)

 

- If you look at the stats above, Allen dominates in almost every category. However, it has been the tale of two seasons for Norfolk. The Admirals' record through the end of December was 7-19-2-0 (.286). Since January 1st, Norfolk's record is 8-3-0-0 (.727). Since January 1st, Allen's record is 8-5-1-0 (.607).

 

- Allen gave up two power play goals on Sunday, but still has one of the best home penalty kill percentages in the league, ranked #5 (87.5%). Norfolk is ranked #29 in road penalty kill percentage (69.5%). Allen's home power play percentage is ranked #22 (15.9%), and Norfolk's road power play percentage is ranked #25 (15.2%), 

 

- Norfolk has the worst record in the ECHL when trailing. The Admirals haven't won a single game all season when trailing after the first period (0-12-0-0) or second period (0-16-0-0). Good starts and playing with the lead will be big keys in this series.

 

- Goaltending will be another key in this series, and you can expect to see a lot of each team's NHL-contracted goalie. 

• Isaac Poulter, Winnipeg contracted, has played in 11 of the last 12 games for Norfolk and has won 8 of them. His save percentage over the 21 games he has played this season is .909. 
• Jaxson Parsons, Ottawa contracted, recently returned to Allen and had a 34-save shutout on Saturday. He has a .920 save percentage in his six games played for Allen. I would expect Parsons to start in goal tonight and get the majority of the minutes against Norfolk.
• David Tendeck left the game on Sunday with an injury and won't be available this week. Marco Costantini will serve as the backup tonight. Marco's save percentage is .915 over 23 games he has played this season.   

 

-  The player to watch in this series for Norfolk is #94 Brady Fleurent. He is leading the Admirals in points with 34 (15G, 19A) this season, and also led Norfolk in points last season when he averaged over a point per game (1.07). Another player to keep an eye on is former Allen American Grant Hebert, #93. Grant has 14 points (5G, 9A) in the last 10 games.

 

- Allen has had balanced scoring from all three lines, but the points leader has been Colton Hargrove. He has points in 10 of the last 12 games and multiple points in nine of the 12 games. His total over the last 12 games is 20 points (6G, 14A) for a points per game average of 1.67. 

 

- Here is the lineup for tonight. Coach Martinson is going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, Parsons starts in goal. The Americans have released defenseman Michael Greco. He is heading back to the Athens Rock Lobsters (FPHL).

Forwards

67 Crone - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley

26 Asuchak - 29 Watts - 18 Blaisdell 

9 Katic- 91 Gildon - 11 Chiasson

14 Gursoy                 6 Simmons-Fischer

 

Defense

86 Anania - 40 Touré

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley

2 Warmuth - 22 Costantini - 21 Decker

 

 

Goalies

31 Parsons 

33 Costantini (backup) 

 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 

- When you look at the stats, the Mountain Division has been proven to be a good offense, bad defense type of division, especially compared to the divisions in the Eastern Conference. Here are the stats: 

 

• The Mountain Division has the #1, #2, #3, #4, #6, and #7 teams in the ECHL in   average shots taken per game.
• The Mountain Division has the #30, #29, #28, #27, #26, and #25 ranked teams in average number of shots allowed per game.
• The Mountain Division has the top four ECHL teams in average goals scored per game. 
• The Mountain Division has just one team (Kansas City) in the top 17 in average goals allowed. Kansas City is #3, allowing 2.34 goals per game.
• The Mountain Divisions' other seven teams all allow more than 3.00 goals per game. 12 ECHL teams allow more than 3.00 goals per game, and seven of them are from the Mountain Division.

 

- Here is a breakdown by division for how teams rank in goals scored and allowed. The number in parentheses is the total for the division:

 

• Goals Scored
• North - #12, #14, #17, #19, #20, #22, #26, 30   (160)
• South - #7, #8, #11, #18, #23, #24, #25   (116)
• Central - #5, #6, #9, #16, #21, #27, #28   (112)
• Mountain - #1, #2, #3, #4, #10, #13, #15, #29   (77)

 

• Goals Allowed
• North - #4, #7, #8, #13, #15, #16, #27   (90)
• South - #1, #2, #9, #11, #12, #17, #25, #26  (103)
• Central - #5, #6. #10, #14, #22, #24, #29  (110)
• Mountain - #3, #18, #19, #20, #21, #23, #28, #30  (162)

 

There are 15 teams in each conference. If you add all of the numbers together for each conference, the lowest number is the conference that does the best on average. My assumption before putting this together is that the Western Conference teams, on average, score more goals and the Eastern Conference teams allow fewer goals. Here are the results: 

 

• Goals Scored
• 276 - Eastern Conference
• 189 - Western Conference

 

• Goals Allowed
• 193 - Eastern Conference
• 272 - Western Conference 

All of these convoluted numbers show that the Western Conference does indeed score more on average than the Eastern Conference. More dramatically, the numbers show the Mountain Division has the best offense by far and the worst defense by far of the four divisions. 

 

 

 

- There are nine games on the ECHL schedule tonight, with seven of eight Mountain Division teams in action. Tulsa is idle. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/02/echl-today-feb-4  

 

 - I was asked if Alex Breton, who was the ECHL Defensemen of the Year when he played for Allen in 2020, is still playing. Yes indeed, he is still playing. Alex plays in the top league in Germany, which is one of the best leagues in Europe. Alex plays for ERC Ingolstadt. He is second on the team in points, averaging over a point per game. He has 45 points (14G, 31A) in 44 games. He leads all DEL defensemen in points. His team is in third place in the 14-team league. FYI, Alex was the DEL Defenseman of the Year in 2024-25.

  

DID YOU KNOW: For the 2025-26 season, the ECHL has changed the overseas player transfer deadline to March 2 (typically mid-February) and the end of the regular season to April 19 (from April 12) because of the brief strike that postponed 41 games that had to be rescheduled. 

 

From Clinic to Catastrophe, Two Games Compared, Season Ticket Renewals, Who Beats the Top 3 Teams, Defensemen Assist Leaders and More

 

You will rarely see the outcome of two games as diametrically opposite as Allen's 3-0 win on Saturday and 6-2 loss on Sunday. Everything was positive on Saturday and negative on Sunday. Here is a comparison:

• SATURDAY - Allen scored the first goal of the game and improved its record when scoring first to 14-2-3-0 (.816).
•  SUNDAY - Allen gave up the first goal and saw its record when giving up the first goal fall to 8-13-1-0 (.386). 

• SATURDAY: Allen shut down Rapid City's power play (0-4). Allen has killed 28 straight Rapid City power plays and hasn't allowed a power play goal in the last seven games against the Rush.
• SUNDAY: Rapid City scored on its first two plays, both in the first period. That is one more power-play goal than in the previous eight games against the Rush. 

• SATURDAY: Allen was 2-4 on the power play.
• SUNDAY: Allen was 0-4 on the power play 

• SATURDAY: Allen played great team defense, recording its fourth shutout of the season.
• SUNDAY: Allen played poor team defense. The Americans allowed six goals, including three on Rapid City's first eight shots.    

• SATURDAY: Allen led 2-0 after the second period and improved its record when leading after the 2nd period to 15-0-1-0.
• SUNDAY: Rapid City led 4-3 after the second period and improved its record when leading after the 2nd period to 11-1-3-0. Allen's record when trailing after the second period falls to 2-11-2-0.

• SATURDAY: Allen held Rapid City's top two scorers (Wagner & Bennett) to no points.
• SUNDAY:  Wagner and Bennett torched the Americans with three goals and three assists. One or both were involved in Rapid City's first five goals.

 

- It is hard to find any positive stats from the Sunday loss, but here are a few:

• Allen outshot Rapid City 43-34. Allen reached the 40-shot mark in all three games of the series and outshot the Rush 127-97.
• Colton Hargrove led the team with 11 shots and two points (1G, 1A). Colton has 20 points (5G 15A) in the last 12 games, averaging 1.67 points per game. 
• Harrison Blaisdell scored Allen's first goal to extend his point streak to nine games.
• Braidan Simmons-Fischer has penalty minutes in his last six games, fought twice and won them both.  

 

 - Allen's goal scorers were Blaisdell (13), Warmuth (5), and Hargrove (10). Hargrove is the eighth Allen player to reach 10 goals. Here are the number of 10-goal players for each Mountain Division team:

• 8 - Allen
• 8 - Tahoe 
• 5 - Idaho
• 5 - Kansas City
• 5 - Rapid City
• 4 - Utah -  
• 2 - Wichita 
• 2 - Tulsa 

 

- Here are the game recaps and video highlights:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/02/game-recap-americans-fall-in-series-finale 
• Rapid City Rush: https://rapidcityrush.com/news/2026/02/game-recap-rush-leave-texas-with-6-3-win 
• Video Highlights: https://echl.com/videos/rapid-city-rush-vs-allen-americans-feb-1-2026  

 

 

- Allen's homestand continues on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday when Norfolk comes to town. I will have a series preview on Wednesday. It won't be Norfolk's first visit to Allen. In 2019 the Admirals lost to Allen twice (3-2 in overtime and 5-0). The Allen goalie in the 5-0 shutout was Zach Sawchenko, who has gone on to a long AHL career, including seven games in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- I have seen some comments about season ticket renewals in the comments section of the blog. I thought I would recap a list of changes since Jonny Mydra met with season ticket holders (STM) at the end of last season. I was the one who helped arrange that meeting, so I have been keeping a list of the changes. I am not sure if this is a complete list. Here is what I have on my list:

• Myles Jack took over control of the team from Zawyer Sport.
• Myles brought Steve Martinson back to Allen. 
• Numerous gifts for STMs, including a Martinson bobblehead. Changed policy from one gift per account to one gift per seat.
• Multiple Marty lunches and Q&A sessions.
• Post-game chats with Coach Martinson.
• All-Star Game and FanFest
• Hired Michelle Martinson to manage the Team Store, with more merchandise and higher quality.
• More giveaways: Lightsabers, Hats, Glowsticks, Magnetic Schedules, All-Star Game Magazines, and Rally Towels.
• The biggest change is on the ice, where Allen has one of the best home records in the league (12-5-1-0) .694.
• The season ticket renewal email will be sent out tomorrow.
• There will be no price increase, which is a surprise to me. I would assume most teams will be raising prices, for no other reason than the new CBA will cost teams a lot of money. I have heard that the added cost will vary by team, but could cost a total of $150,000 - $200,000. Add that to other increasing operating expenses, and you have some reasonable entertainment value.  
• Maybe the best pay-in-full early gift of all time. Any season tickets paid in full by March 8 will get an all-expenses-paid trip to Tulsa for a Sunday game (date to be determined) next season. Bus transportation, lunch, and a game ticket will be provided by the Americans.   

 

- There have been several comments about the seat cushions being torn or worn out at the CUTX Event Center. It is a slow process, but they are working on redoing the torn cushions. The Event Center bought the fabric (I heard a rumor that the fabric alone was $100,000) and will do the repairs in-house. I see them working on the cushions most days when I attend practice. 

 

- I was talking to Rapid City Rush broadcaster Cory Berberian over the weekend, and he made me aware of the difference and impact of the Mountain Division schedule on the number of times each team plays the top three teams in the division. I decided to take a look at how many times Allen, Rapid City, and Wichita have played the top three teams (Kansas City, Idaho, and Tahoe) and the record. Here is what has happened thus far this season. Games remaining against each team in parentheses:

• Allen -11 games (8)
• 0-3-0-0 vs Kansas City (4)
• 0-3-2-0 vs Idaho (2)
• 1-2-0-0 vs Tahoe (2)
• 1-8-2-0: Total

 

•  Rapid City - 19 games (7)
• 1-3-0-0 vs Kansas City (0)
• 4-4-0-0 vs Idaho (0)
• 5-1-1-0 vs Tahoe (7)
• 10-8-1-0: Total

 

• Wichita - 15 games (11)
• 2-5-0-0 vs Kansas City (6)
• 1-1-0-1 vs Idaho (5)
• 2-2-0-1 vs Tahoe (0)
• 5-8-0-2 Total

There are a lot of ways to slice and dice this data, but it is clear that Allen has played fewer games against the top three teams and fared the worst. Allen has the most favorable schedule as the Americans will play 19 games against the top three teams compared to 26 for Rapid City and Wichita. Allen only has eight games remaining against the top three teams to show they can compete with them.  

 

DID YOU KNOW: Four of the top six ECHL players in assists this season are defensemen:

#1 - Marcus Crawford, Kansas City (43)

#3 - Sam Sedley, Allen (30)

#4 - Riley McCourt, Toledo (29)

#6 - Chad Nychuk, Atlanta (28)

 

Crawford is having an MVP type season:

- he is averaging 1.05 assists per game.

- he has the #1 plus/minus (+43), which is 15 more than #2.

- he is #2 in the ECHL in points (52).

 

FYI, a defenseman hasn’t won the ECHL MVP award since 2007.

 

Parsons' 34 Save Shutout, Game Recap, Video Highlights, ECHL 30+ Point Scorers, 10+ Goal Scorers and More

 

 The Allen Americans shut out the Rapid City Rush 3-0 last night before a crowd of 6144 at the CUTX Event Center. There are not many games where every key is met, but that was the case last night. Here is a list of the stats from the game:

• Allen has won 12 of its last 14 home games. The Americans' home record is 12-4-1-0 (.735). That is the 4th-best home points percentage in the league.
• Allen scored the first goal of the game and improved its record when scoring first to 14-2-3-0 (.816).
• Allen shut down Rapid City's power play (0-4). Allen has killed 28 straight Rapid City power plays and hasn't allowed a power play goal in the last seven games against the Rush.
• Allen's played great team defense, recording its fourth shutout of the season. All three Allen goalies have a shutout (Tendeck has 2).
• Allen led 2-0 after the second period and improved its record when leading after the 2nd period to 15-0-1-0.
• Allen outshot Rapid City 24-3 in the second period. The differential of 21 shots is the largest in memory. 
• Sam Sedley scored a goal and now has a point in 10 straight games. The longest ECHL point streak this season is 11.
• Colby McAuley scored Allen's second shorthanded goal of the season. The Americans' penalty kill unit allowed no goals (0-4) and scored one. 
• Braidan Simmons-Fischer acquitted himself quite well in a fight with Garrett Klotz.  

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Sam Sedley (6), Colby McAuley (15), and Spencer Asuchak (10). Here are the video highlights with all the goals, the fight, the scrums, and the saves: https://echl.com/videos/rapid-city-rush-vs-allen-americans-jan-31-2026  

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans - "Americans Blank Rush 3-0" -https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/01/americans-blank-rush-3-0
• Rapid City Rush - "Rush Blanked in Allen"- https://rapidcityrush.com/news/2026/01/game-recap-rush-blanked-in-allen 

 

- It is a quick turnaround for both teams with an early start (2:10 pm) today for the third game of the series. It was almost 11:00 pm when I left the rink last night, and the players were just getting off the ice after the skate with fans. Based on last night's shutout, you will see the same lineup today, except for the goalie. Tendeck will start in goal, and Costantini will be the backup.

Forwards

67 Crone - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley

26 Asuchak - 29 Watts - 18 Blaisdell 

9 Katic- 91 Gildon - 11 Chiasson

19 Maxwell - 14 Gursoy - 6 Simmons-Fischer

 

Defense

86 Anania - 40 Touré

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley

2 Warmuth - 3 Greco

 

Goalies

32 Tendeck 

33 Costantini (backup) 

 

 

- More of the same from last night is the key to victory today. Three games in about 46 hours will test the will as much as the skill. The good thing is that it is the same for both teams. A good start will be very important today. 

 

 

 

- Here is the game preview issued by the Allen Americans this morning: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/02/game-day-preview-americans-host-rush-at-210-pm 

 

 

 

-  The same referee as the first two games of the series, Emile Charron (#43), will call the game. The linesmen will be Michael Miggins (#47) and Trent Williams (#48). There were nine total penalties called in game one and 14 last night. You would think there would be even more penalties this afternoon, but oftentimes that isn't the case. I would bet the under on 14 penalties being called today.    

 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 

- Here are the Mountain Division standings by points percentage, with games remaining in parentheses:

• .775 - Kansas City (32)
• .695 - Idaho (31)
• .600 - Allen (32)
• .571 - Tahoe (30)
• .513 - Wichita (34)
• .463 - Rapid City (32)
• .405 - Utah (30)
• .321 - Tulsa (33)

 

 

- I have been posting about the number of players who have reached the 20 and 30 points plateau. Allen leads all teams in both categories. Here is another one where Allen's depth shines. Allen also leads the ECHL with the most players with 10 or more goals. Here is the number for each Mountain Division team:

 

• 7 - Allen
• 6 - Tahoe 
• 5 - Idaho
• 5 - Kansas City
• 5 - Rapid City
• 4 - Utah
• 2 - Wichita 
• 2 - Tulsa 

 

 

- Here are the Allen players averaging a point per game over the last 10 games:

• 15 points (4G, 11A) - Hargrove  
• 14 points (4G, 10A) - Crone   
• 14 points (4G, 10A) - Watts      
• 14 points (4G, 10A) - Sedley     
• 12 points (1G, 11A) - Blaisdell
• 10 points (3G, 7A) - Asuchak  

 

 

 

- There are 11 games on the ECHL schedule today. Seven of the eight Mountain Division teams will be in action. Utah is idle. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews:https://echl.com/news/2026/02/echl-today-feb-1 

 

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Number of players with 30 or more points for each ECHL team:

 

6: ALN

5: *ATL*

4: FW, *KC*

3: ORL, SC, TAH, *TOL*, WIC

2: BLM, CIN, IDH, RC, UTA, *WHL*

1: ADK, FLA, JAX, KAL, MNE, NOR, SAV, WOR

0: GSO, GVL, IND, IA, REA. TR, TUL

 

*Division leaders (by points percentage)

  

 

Allen Wins 5-4, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Martinson Comments, Fastest Two Goals Ever, 20 Point and 30 Point Players, Plus an All Goalie Game Comes to CUTX

 

The Allen Americans beat the Rapid City Rush 5-4 last night, snapping a three-game losing streak and moving into third place in the Mountain Division standings (by points percentage). Allen improved its home record to 11-4-1-0 (.719). That is the second-best home points percentage in the division behind Kansas City (.727), and the fifth-best in the league. To put this home record turnaround in perspective, last season Allen won 7 home games all season and finished with a home record of 7-24-4-1 (.264), the worst in the league by a long shot (2nd-worst was .389). The Americans have won 11 of their last 13 home games.

 

- It wasn't a good start for the Americans. They had a couple of great chances early in the game, but for the 21st time in 39 games, they gave up the first goal.  Allen's record when giving up the first goal is 8-12-1-0 (.404). When the Americans score the first goal, their record is 13-2-3-0 (.806).

 

- Allen scored late in the first-period (18:00) to tie the score 1-1 on Harrison Blaisdell's 12th goal of the season. The Americans took a 2-1 lead at the 6:36 mark of the second period on a goal by Jake Chiasson, who was playing in his first game since being assigned by Belleville on Wednesday.

 

- It looked like Allen would take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission, and they are money when that happens (14-0-1-0), but a defensive breakdown led to a late goal (18:18) and a 2-2 tie score at the second intermission. After two periods, Allen had outshot Rapid City 33-19, had many more grade A chances, but the score was tied.

 

- Allen had a power play 23 seconds into the third period and converted on Danny Katic's 19th goal of the season and seventh power play goal. Katic's goals per game average (.655) would have him tied for the league lead in goals (25) if he had been in Allen all season. He missed 10 games when he was called up to Belleville. Despite missing 10 games, Danny is #6 in the ECHL in goals. 

 

- The Americans took a 4-2 lead at 10:49 of the third period on Hank Crone's 11th goal of the season. It was a goal scorer's goal, roofing the puck from in close. Crone's goal started a one-minute of madness; it was actually 50 seconds of madness. 39 seconds after Crone's goal, Rapid City cut the score to 4-3, and 11 seconds later, Allen had its two-goal lead back. Ty Prefontaine threw the puck in front of the goal, and it ended up in the net to give Allen a 5-3 lead. It looked like Spencer Asuchak deflected the puck into the net and was initially given credit for the goal, but it was changed to an unassisted goal by Prefontaine. Ty has five goals in 13 games since joining the Americans and is now tied with Sedley for the team lead among defensemen.

 

- The drama wasn't over as Rapid City pulled its goalie and scored with 71 seconds remaining in the game to cut the score to 5-4. The Rush scored right after the Americans missed a 2-on-1 empty-net goal. The final drama was an Allen penalty with 9.2 seconds remaining in the game. Allen was able to clear the puck off the faceoff to preserve the win.      

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams and the video highlights:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/01/news-americans-beat-the-rush-on-top-gun-night
• Rapid City Rush: https://rapidcityrush.com/news/2026/01/game-recap-rush-fall-one-short-in-back-and-forth-game-with-allen  
• Video Highlights: https://echl.com/videos/rapid-city-rush-vs-allen-americans-jan-30-2026  

 

-  Allen was able to take advantage of its superior special teams last night. Allen has the #4 power play and #5 penalty kill in the league. Rapid City is ranked #29 in power play and penalty kill percentage. Allen was 1-5 on the power play and killed all four of Rapid City's power play opportunities. The Americans haven't given up a power play goal to Rapid City since the first time they played on October 29, and that was an overtime power play goal. Allen has now gone six games without giving up a power-play goal to the Rush. The Americans have killed 24 of 25 chances for a penalty kill percentage of 96%. Allen was 1-5 on the power play last night and in the seven games against Rapid City are 5-28 (17.9%). 

 

- The keys to the game tonight don't change. Get off to a good start, don't play from behind, win the special teams battle, and play better defensively. 

 

- Here is the lineup tonight. Coach Martinson has added some toughness to the lineup. Simmons-Fischer replaces Spitserov on the fourth line. On the blueline, Warmuth and Greco are in; Decker and Costantini are healthy scratches. Parsons gets the start in goal.  

Forwards

67 Crone - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley

26 Asuchak - 29 Watts - 18 Blaisdell 

9 Katic- 91 Gildon - 11 Chiasson

19 Maxwell - 14 Gursoy - 6 Simmons-Fischer

 

Defense

86 Anania - 40 Touré

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley

2 Warmuth - 3 Greco

 

Goalies

31 Parsons

32 Tendeck (backup) 

 

 

- The game tonight will be a one-referee game again. The same referee as last night, Emile Charron (#43), will call the game. The linesmen will be Will Anderson (#92) and Trent Williams (#48). FYI, I regularly get asked about linesman Daniel Barnes (former Allen player), who was injured at the end of last season and needed surgery and is still recovering. I heard recently that he will be back in the near future.     

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

- You have heard me say many times that Steve Martinson's post-game chat with STM's (season ticket members) can only be appreciated in person. Last night was a classic. Thirty minutes of game analysis, roster news, stories, and humor about the team, life, children, and more, much of which is not appropriate for the blog. Here is some of what Martinson had to say:

"Getting the five goals tonight was nice, but we should have beaten them 6-3. We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times at the end of the game."

"Hargrove's line was putting on a clinic, but not scoring. They would just miss, or their goalie was coming up with big saves, or they hit the pipe." 

"We are scoring a lot of goals, and that is a good thing, and we are getting scoring from three different lines, but we still need to get better defensively."

"It was great to see Chiasson score in his first game, and Touré was like a spider on the ice."

"We are back on a winning track, and we have a bunch of games at home we have to win." 

"There is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes right now, and it is all good stuff. I am trying to get players for down the stretch and the playoffs."

"I feel we have enough offense here to make it to the finals in the playoffs; we just have to have better team defense to make it to the finals."  

  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The two goals in 10 seconds in the game last night were not the fastest two goals by both teams in Allen history. The Americans are part of the all-time ECHL record for fastest two goals by both teams. On November 10, 2018, playing Kansas City at home, two goals were scored in three seconds. To be fair, these were end-of-game goals. After spotting Kansas City a 4-0 lead, the Americans came back in the third period. Spencer Asuchak scored an extra attacker goal to cut the score to 4-3 with 17 seconds remaining in the game. With the Allen goalie pulled, Kansas City's Mark Cooper scored on the faceoff three seconds later.   

 

- This keeps working, so here we go again. Players averaging a point per game over the last 11 games:

• 18 points (4G, 14A) - Hargrove  
• 16 points (4G, 12A) - Crone   
• 14 points (5G, 9A) - Watts      
• 14 points (3G, 11A) - Sedley     
• 12 points (2G, 10A) - Blaisdell  
• 11 points (9G, 2A) - Katic 

 

- Yesterday, I included the number of players with 20 or more points for each team in the Mountain Division. Allen led the pack with 10. Allen actually has more 20+ point players than any team in the league (see below). Allen has 10 players with 20+ points, but five of the 10 have 30+ points. Here are the numbers of players with 30 or more points for each Mountain Division team:

• 6: Allen
• 4: Kansas City 
• 3: Tahoe
• 3: Wichita 
• 2: Idaho 
• 2: Rapid City
• 2: Utah 
• 0: Tulsa 

 

- Sam Sedley had an assist last night to continue his streak, which has reached nine straight games with a point. Sam also has assists in seven straight home games. Danny Katic has points in eight straight home games.

 

- An all-goalie game will take place before the Allen Americans game on March 14. Like the police vs fire game and college games, Allen Americans ticket holders can come early and watch this unique game, which is part of a two-day event. Here are the details. Thanks to the Schwitzgebels for sharing this: https://www.localprofile.com/lifestyle/goalies-only-a-new-kind-of-hockey-hits-allen-11806136 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are the number of players with 20 or more points for each ECHL team. Teams currently in playoff positions (by points percentage) are marked with an asterisk:

 

10: ALN*

9: TAH*

8: KC*, WOR

7: ATL*, FW*, NOR, REA*

6: BLM*, FLA*, SC*, UTA

5: CIN, IDH*, JAX, KAL, MNE*, ORL, RC, TOL*, WIC

4: SAV*, WHL*

3: GVL, IA, TR

2: ADK*, GSO, IND*, TUL

Allen vs Rapid City Series Preview, Tonight's Lineup, Ottawa Assigns Touré and Chiasson, Homestand Point Goal, Division's 20 Point Scorers and .700 Teams

 

 It has been a tough week for the Allen Americans. After two disappointing losses to the Idaho Steelheads on Friday (6-4) and Saturday (6-5 in OT), getting back to Texas turned into a nightmare. There have been many stories over the years about winter storms causing problems getting to games in Idaho and Utah. This time it was the reverse. The weather was good out west, but a disaster in Texas. Sunday flight cancelled, Monday flight cancelled. Tuesday finally headed home, but rather than being nonstop, the routing was Boise-Chicago-Dallas, and the scheduled time had the team arriving at DFW at 11:30 pm. After leaving Chicago and dealing with all the bags upon arriving at DFW, the team didn't return to the CUTX Event Center until early Wednesday morning.

 

- The team was able to get in a practice in Boise on Monday, and after a full practice yesterday, should be ready to go for another three-in-three starting tonight. Allen is 4-1-1-0 against Rapid City this season. Here are some comparison stats between Allen and Rapid City:

• Allen's record is 20-14-4-0 (.579), Rapid City's is 17-18-3-0 (.487). 
• Allen is 6-3-1-0 over the last 10 games, Rapid City is 4-5-1-0.
• Allen is 10-4-1-0 at home, Rapid City is 8-8-2-0 on the road.
• Allen's goal differential is +11 (138-127), Rapid City is -13 (116-129).
• Allen's team plus/minus is +13, Rapid City's is -48.
• Allen's team save percentage is .909, Rapid City's is .909.

 

- Here are more statistical comparisons between the two teams.

• Goals scored average: Allen (3.6) - Rapid City (3.1)
• Goals allowed average: Allen (3.3) - Rapid City (3.4)
• Shots for average: Allen (32.7) - Rapid City (31.5)
• Shots against average: Allen (36.7) - Rapid City (39.0)
• Power play percentage: Allen (20.9%) - Rapid City (13.2%)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen (84.1%) - Rapid City (73.8%)

 

- Here are some other relevant stats to this series:

• Allen is the #4 ranked team in penalty minutes (550), Rapid City is ranked #22 with 428 minutes.
• Allen has scored first in 47% of games with a record of 13-2-3-0 (.806)
• Rapid City has also scored first in 47% of games with a record of 12-4-2-0 (.722).
• Allen has been involved in 6 overtime games with a record of 0-4 in OT and 2-0 in shootouts. 
• Rapid City has been involved in 8 overtime games with a record of 3-3 in OT and 2-0 in shootouts. 
• Allen is 14-0-1-0 when leading after the 2nd period, Rapid City is 10-1-3-0. 
• Allen is 3-11-1-0 when trailing after the 1st period, Rapid City is 2-13-1-0.
• Conclusions from these stats tell you Allen needs to stay out of the penalty box; the team that scores first has a big advantage, and Allen doesn't play well from behind, but is great with the lead. 

  

- Here are the head-to-head stats for the six games Allen has played against Rapid City this season.  

• Allen has outscored Rapid City 22-15.
• Allen has outshot Rapid City 226-222. 
• Allen is 4-23 (17.4%) on power play, Rapid City is 1-21 (4.8%).
• Allen took 30 penalties for 89 minutes, Rapid City took 30 penalties for 93 minutes.

 

- If you look at all the stats above, the one that stands out is Allen's advantage on special teams. Allen has the #4 ranked power play and #6 ranked penalty kill in the ECHL. Rapid City's power play and penalty kill are both ranked #29. Allen needs to capitalize on this advantage in this series. 

 

- The other key to this series is Allen getting back to playing better team defense. The Americans have lost three straight games, allowing a total of 17 goals (5,6,6) in the three losses. In the six games against Rapid City this season, Allen allowed 2,2,3,7,0,1 goals. No reason the Americans should allow more than three goals per game this weekend.

 

- Players to watch in this series:

• #29 Brayden Watts - 9 points (3G, 6A) in six games against Rapid City. 
• #18 Harrison Blaisdell - 5 goals in six games against Rapid City plus 6 game assist streak.
• #23 Sam Sedley - has at least one point in 8 straight games (12 points). 
• #13 Ryan Wagner - while no player on the Rush team has scored more than 2 goals in the six games against Allen, #13 Ryan Wagner is #4 in the league in points (40). 

 

 - The Allen lineup will have a different look. Brad Morrison has been traded to Bloomington for future considerations. Those futures will be for a specific player, and it won't be at the end of the season. In addition, two NHL contracted players (Djibril Touré & Jake Chiasson) have been assigned from Belleville to Allen by Ottawa. (See details below). Here is Allen's tentative lineup tonight.

 

Forwards

26 Asuchak - 29 Watts - 18 Blaisdell 

67 Crone - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley

9 Katic- 91 Gildon - 11 Chiasson

10 Spitserov - 19 Maxwell - 14 Gursoy

 

Defense

86 Anania - 40 Touré

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley

21 Decker - 22 Costantini

 

Goalies

32 Costantini

31 Parsons (backup)

 

 

- The game tonight will be a one-referee game. Emile Charron (#43) will call the game. The linesmen will be Will Anderson (#92) and Michael Miggans (#47).    

 

PLAYER PROFILES

- Djibril Touré

 

Djibril Touré

 

Ottawa reassigned defenseman Djbril Touré from Belleville to Allen yesterday. He is 6’7”, 210 pounds, a 22-year-old, right-shot defenseman from Dorval QC. Touré signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract in September 2023. He spent the 2023-24 season in the OHL with Sudbury and Windsor. Last season he split time between Belleville (36 games) and Orlando (24 games). Touré has played in 18 games in Belleville this season with two assists and 40 penalty minutes, which was #2 on the team in penalty minutes per game. Here are some comments from scouting reports:

"Skates incredibly well for someone who stands 6'7", showing the agility few other players have."

"Made a name for himself with a scrap that made him look like Zdeno Chara." 

"Touré is extremely difficult to play against. He is very aggressive physically. He will step up on you at the blueline. He will punish you below the goal line. He makes life difficult for forwards at the crease.

The one comment in many stories about Touré is that he is a big guy who didn't play in the OHL until he was older, he is a late bloomer with tons of potential. Quotes like his growth over the last two years has been remarkable, and he has shown consistent improvement in his game are commonplace.  

 

Here is a video to get to know Touré. The interview with Djibril starts at the 9:30 mark of this podcast:

 

  - Jake Chiasson 

Jake Chiasson

 

Ottawa reassigned forward Jake Chiasson from Belleville to Allen yesterday. He is a 6’2”, 187-pound, 22-year-old, right-shot forward from Abbotsford, B.C. Jake was the fourth round draft choice of the Edmonton Oilers (116 overall) in the 2021 NHL draft. He signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract commencing with the 2023-24 season. He spent his junior career in the WHL with Brandon Wheat Kings. In 174 WHL games, he totaled 111 points (40G, 71A). He spent the majority of his first pro season (2023-24) in the ECHL with Fort Wayne (68 games).

In July of 2024, Chiasson was traded to Ottawa in a multi-player deal. He spent last season (2024-25) splitting time between Belleville (19 games) and Orlando (20 games). He had no points in Belleville and seven (1G, 6A) in Orlando. 

This season, Jake has played in 20 games in Belleville before being assigned to Allen. He had one assist in the 20 games. 

Here is what the Belleville coach had to say about Chiasson when he was acquired: "He is a hockey player, he is a rink rat. He loves the game and knows the game. He is going to be a utility knife. He told me he can play all three forward positions. He knows what his identity is; he's a checker and energy guy. If he plays to his strength, he can be an asset."  

Here is Chiasson's exit interview from last season in Belleville:

 

   

OTHER COMMENTS

 - There are 13 games on the ECHL schedule tonight. Two Mountain Division teams are playing teams outside the division. Kansas City is in Iowa, trying to improve on its league-best winning streak (14 games) and league-best road record (13-1-1-1). Chad Costello and his Greenville Swamp Rabbits are in Utah to take on the Grizzlies. Here are the previews for all 13 games. https://echl.com/news/2026/01/echl-today-jan-30   

 

- Hopefully posting this list will be a good luck charm tonight with lots of scoring. Allen players with 10 or more points in the last 10 games:

• 16 points (4G, 12A) - Hargrove  
• 15 points (3G, 12A) - Crone   
• 14 points (5G, 9A) - Watts      
• 13 points (3G, 10A) - Sedley     
• 11 points (1G, 10A) - Blaisdell  
• 10 points (8G, 2A) - McAuley
• 10 points (8G, 2A) - Katic 

 

- The Allen Americans are in the midst of a seven-game home streak with, trying to erase a three-game losing streak. These seven home games are against teams with point percentages lower than Allen's (.579). The Americans should be favored in every game. Here are the opponents' points percentage: 

• .487 - Rapid City (3 games)
• .405 - Norfolk (3 games)
• .527 - Wichita (1 game)

If Allen is going to compete with the top three teams in the Mountain Division, 10 points should be the minimum goal on this home stand.

 

- Allen's strength in the last couple of months has been its balanced scoring and lots of it. The Americans now have 10 players with 20 or more points: How does that compare with the other Mountain Division teams? Here are the number of 20+ point scorers for each team:

• 10 - Allen
• 9 - Tahoe 
• 8 - Kansas City 
• 5 - Idaho
• 5 - Utah 
• 5 - Wichita 
• 4 - Rapid City 
• 2 - Tulsa