Mirwald with Back-to-Back Shutouts, Game Recaps, Video Highlights, Goal Scoring Records. Magic Numbers, Brabham Cup Curse Stats and More

 

There are so many storylines from the Allen Americans' 4-0 win over Greensboro last night, I don't know where to start. Here they go in no particular order:

• Rookie goalie Brett Mirwald had a 33-save shutout after a 25-save shutout on Friday, which was his first professional start. His only other game action was in South Carolina in the third period of a 7-1 Allen win, when he stopped all six shots he faced. You add it all up, and he has played 133 minutes as a pro and still hasn't given up a goal, saving all 64 shots he has faced. No doubt he will be the ECHL Goalie of the Week when that is announced on Monday.
• Allen won a three-game home series for the first time all season. The Americans did win four straight against Wichita in January, but it was two home and two away.
• Allen has won six straight games, matching the longest win streak of the season (January 4-16).
• Allen's defense hasn't given up a goal in 129 minutes and 17 seconds.  
• With the win last night, Allen has tripled the number of home wins from last season (21 vs 7), and four home games are remaining. Allen's home wins the last four seasons were 7, 17, 18, 20.
• Danny Katic scored an empty net goal, his 35th of the season. He has a three-goal lead in the race for most goals in the league this season. 

 

- Here is what happened in the 4-0 win last night. 

• Allen scored the first goal for the sixth straight game and won them all. The Americans' record when scoring first improved to 27-2-3-0 (.891).
• Allen outshot Greensboro in every period. They had 41 shots on goal, the most shots in 20 games.
• Allen scored in all three periods, leading 2-0 after the first and 3-0 after the second. Allen's record when leading after the second period is 27-0-2-0 (.966).
• Colby McAuley got the party started at 8:46 of the first period, scoring his 24th goal of the season. Colby passed to Crone in the slot and was in a perfect position to put in the rebound of Crone's shot.  
• Allen's second goal was a great give-and-go play between Maxim Barbashev and Kevin Gursoy. The first-period goal, Barbashev's eighth of the season (first in Allen) at the 11:52 mark, gave the Americans a 2-0 lead.
•  Allen extended the lead to 3-0 on the only goal of the second period at 14:54. Spencer Asuchak carried the puck into the zone and dropped a pass behind him to Ty Prefontaine in the slot, and he buried it. It was his eighth goal of the season, tied with Sam Sedley for the lead among defensemen.
• Allen finished the scoring with Katic's empty net goal with 49 seconds remaining in the game. Danny got his money's worth shooting the puck from behind the goal line the length of the ice.

 

- Check out all of the goals, great primary assists, super saves, and the Anania fight in this highlight package, plus the game recaps from both teams:

• Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/greensboro-gargoyles-vs-allen-americans-apr-4-2026 
• Allen Americans recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/04/game-recap-americans-blank-greensboro-again 
• Greensboro Gargoyles recap: https://gargoyleshockey.com/news/2026/04/americans-sweep-gargoyles-with-4-0-shutout-saturday 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Danny Katic is quickly marching up the list of Allen's all-time leaders in goals in a single season, with his 35th last night. He has six games left to continue the march. Here are the all-time leaders: 

• 49 goals - Hank Crone (2022-23)
• 44 goals - Gary Steffes (2024-15)
• 41 goals - Chad Costello (2014-15)
• 39 goals - Colton Hargrove (2022-23)
• 36 goals - Jack Combs (2022-23)
• 35 goals - Greger Hanson (2016-17) 

 

- If you are still holding out hope that the Americans can catch Idaho for second place in the Mountain Division, here are the numbers. Kansas City beat Idaho again last night (4-3) after beating them 5-4 on Friday. Here are the magic numbers:

• Idaho
• 87 - points
• 4 - games remaining (1 at Utah, 3 at Tulsa)
• 95 - maximum points possible

 

• Allen
• 81 - points
• 6 - games remaining
• Wichita (H)
• Tahoe (H)
• Tahoe (H)
• Wichita (A)
• Wichita (A)
• Kansas City (H)
• 93 - maximum points possible

The first tiebreaker is regular-season wins, and Allen owns that tiebreaker 32-27. That means Idaho has to finish one point ahead of Allen to claim third place. If the Americans win their remaining six games, it would force Idaho to earn seven points in its last four games.

 

- If you are thinking about the chances Tahoe can catch Allen for third place in the division, that ship has sailed. With the Americans winning last night and Tahoe losing to Cincinnati, the Knight Monsters are mathematically eliminated from third place.

 

- Here are the points earned by each Mountain Division team over the last 10 games. The number in parentheses is the team's rank in the division standings. This list shows two things. First, 10 games is about three weeks. You can see how hard it is to gain ground. Allen is on a six-game winning streak and has gained two points on Idaho in 10 games. Second, it shows how some teams, like Tulsa, are playing much better than their division rank.  

  

19 points - Kansas City (1st)

14 points - Allen (3rd)

14 points - Tulsa (8th)

12 points - Idaho (2nd) 

11 points - Utah (5th) 

9 points - Tahoe (4th)

9 points - Rapid City (7th)

5 points - Wichita (6th)

   

 

- Brett Mirwald's back-to-back shutouts were not the first for the Americans, but they were the first to take place at home. In franchise history, there have been four back-to-back shutouts, and ironically, two of them happened within a month in 2016. 

• Riley Gill had back-to-back shutouts on November 29, 2016, in Tulsa and on the 30th in Kansas City. Definitely the best back-to-back shutout performance ever. The first game in Tulsa was a 1-0 overtime win; Greger Hanson scored the OT goal. The next night, after traveling to Kansas City, Gill beat the Mavericks 1-0, with Joel Chouinard scoring the only goal at 10:08 of the third period. 
• A month after the Gill back-to-back shutouts, he combined with Jamie Murray to do it again. This time, both games were in Wichita. On December 28, 2016, Riley had a 42-save shutout in a 5-0 win. The next game (two nights later), Jamie Murray had a 27-save shutout in a 9-0 win.
• The last back-to-back shutouts took place on March 19 & 20, 2021. On the 19th, Justin Kapelmaster shutout Tulsa 3- 0 in Allen. The next night, he shutout the Oilers 5-0 in Tulsa.

 

DID YOU KNOW: How powerful is the Brabham cup curse? The curse is so powerful, it books your tee time before the playoffs start. First place comes with an early exit guarantee.

Congrats to the Kansas City Mavericks, who won the Brabham Cup last night as the ECHL regular season champions. Now they must deal with the curse that goes with winning the regular season. The Brabham Cup is proof that the regular season and the playoffs are two completely different sports. Where regular-season Kings become playoff question marks.

 

The curse has bitten every Brabham Cup winner in the 38-year history of the ECHL except the following three. Will Kansas City overcome the odds? Here are the three teams that won the Brabham Cup and went on to win the Kelly Cup:

 

2013-14 - Alaska Aces

2007-08 - Cincinnati Cyclones

1996-97 - South Carolina Stingrays

 

Gargoyles Crumble Under Americans Onslaught, Allen Wins 6-0, Recaps, Video Highlights, Martinson Comments, Today's Lineup, Top Scorers and More

 

It is no secret that the Allen Americans expected to sweep this series against Greensboro this week. After all, the Gargoyles have the worst road record in the ECHL 9-23-3-0 (.300). You add that to the fact that Greensboro is without six of its top seven scorers because of trades and call-ups, and it is understandable why the Gargoyles have lost eight of their last 10 games. The six players who are no longer with the team represent over 40% of the offense. 

 

-  The big surprise came on Thursday when Greensboro, which had scored a total of four goals in its three previous games, laid a five-spot on the Americans in what was a one-goal game (6-5) until Allen scored two empty net goals at the end..

 

- Whatever ailed Allen defensively on Thursday got fixed last night in a 6-0 shutout win over Greensboro. Goalie Brett Mirwald, making his first professional start, was the #1 star of the game with a 25-save shutout. It wasn't Mirwald's first shutout of the season. A month ago, he was still playing college hockey at the University of British Columbia, where he recorded two shutouts.    

 

- Back-to-back delay of game penalties, four seconds apart, created a long 5-on-3 power play opportunity for the Americans. The first delay of the game penalty was on the goalie for playing the puck in the restricted area, and the second was for shooting the puck out of play. It took just 17 seconds for Sam Sedley to score. It was his team's leading eighth goal by a defenseman and proved to be the game-winner. Sam has had four game-winning goals on eight goals scored. 

 

- Allen wasn't done with the power play goals. A minute later, Brayden Watts scored his 22nd of the season and third in this series to give Allen a 2-0 lead, which they took into the first intermission. A good start proved to be effective once again for the Americans. Allen has won five straight games and scored first in all five. The Americans are almost unbeatable when they score first, 26-2-3-0 (.887). Only Kansas City (.929) has a better point percentage than Allen when scoring first. 

 

- Any thoughts of coming back from a deficit like Greensboro did on Thursday were quickly eliminated in the second period. Two even-strength goals by Colton Hargorve, his 24th at 1:58 and Quinn Warmth, his seventh at 2:58, gave Allen a 4-0 lead. Kevin Gursoy scored his third goal of the season late in the period to give Allen a 5-0 lead at the end of the second period, and the Gargoyles' fate was sealed. Allen's record with a second-period lead is 26-0-2-0. 

 

- Allen added one more goal in the third period to make the final score 6-0. Lukas Sillinger scored his second goal of the season and second in as many nights. Allen's goal totals have been something to behold:

• 14 goals in the two games against Greensboro
• 34 goals on this five-game winning streak (6.8  goals per game average)
• Season-long goals per game average is up to 3.68, #1 in the ECHL.

 

- A recap of the goal scorers: Sam Sedley (8), Brayden Watts (22), Colton Hargrove (24), Quinn Warmuth (7), Kevin Gursoy (3), and Lukas Sillinger (2). Here is another super highlight package from the Allen Americans that shows not only the goals but also how they were set up. Some great passes on these goals. Note on the 6th goal, Danny Katic doesn't get an assist, but made a sprawling play to keep the puck in the zone.https://echl.com/videos/greensboro-gargoyles-vs-allen-americans-apr-3-2026    

 

- It is always enjoyable to revisit the keys to the game after a lopsided affair like last night.

• Allen scored first.
• Allen outshot Greensboro in all three periods, 39-25 for the game.
• Allen led 2-0 after the first period, 5-0 after the second.
• Allen won the special teams battle, going 2-3 on the power play, 0-3 on the penalty kill.

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/04/game-recap-rookie-blanks-greensboro
• Greensboro Gargoyles: https://gargoyleshockey.com/news/2026/04/gargoyles-shutout-6-0-on-friday-night-in-allen  

 

- What does Allen have to do tonight to sweep the series? Coach Martinson had the answer to that question when asked, "More of the same." 

 

- MARTINSON'S POST-GAME COMMENTS

 "I told the guys I wanted to get 8 goals again, but didn't want to give up any. It was nice to get the shutout, and our new goalie played great. He will play again tomorrow."

"It was nice to get the two power-play goals early. Then everyone is happy on the bench."

"Hank Crone is ready to go and will be back in the lineup tomorrow."

"You have heard me say defense wins championships, but the team that scores the most goals wins every game. We want to be better defensively, and tonight we showed it."

"I am not surprised some things went a little off on Thursday. When you are playing a last-place team that has traded away some guys, you can tell the players all you want that they have to be ready, but they are not listening; they have to experience it. They got a little wake-up call in that game and responded well tonight by playing a smart defensive game."

"I am still expecting to get help from Belleville, but not sure of the timing. Belleville has not been eliminated from the playoffs yet, so that will be a factor. We could get one player as soon as next week." 

     

 Here is the lineup for tonight. Hank Crone returns after a couple of injury setbacks. He has played in only three games since the end of February. 

Forwards

67 Crone - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley 

77 Sillinger - 91 Gildon - 9 Katic

26 Asuchak  - 18 Blaisdell - 29 Watts

11 Barbashyov - 44 Dubois - 14 Gursoy

 

Defense 

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley 

86 Anania - 22 Costantini

21 Decker - 2 Quinn Warmuth

 

Goalies

32 Mirwald 

33 Costantini (backup)

 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 

- Allen has five players with 20 or more goals, and Gildon is just one away. The Americans have never had six players with 20+ goals since joining the ECHL in 2014-15. In 2022-23, the Americans had no players with between 13 and 32 goals. They had four with 33 or more:

 

• 49 goals - Hank Crone
• 39 goals - Colton Hargrove
• 36 goals - Jack Combs
• 33 goals - Liam Finlay 

 

 

- Allen is on a five-game winning streak and can match the lone six-game winning streak it had earlier in the season with a win tonight. The Americans are averaging close to seven goals per game during this win streak. Six players are averaging over 1.50 points per game in the last five games:

• 2.40 - Michael Gildon, 12 points (3G, 9A)
• 2.00  - Colton Hargrove, 10 points (6G, 4A)
• 2.00 - Sam Sedley, 10 points (4G, 6A)
• 1.80 - Harrison Blaisdell, 9 points (5G, 4A)
• 1.80 - Colby McAuley. 9 points (4G, 5A) 
• 1.60 - Brayden Watts, 8 points (3G, 5A) 

 

 

- Here are the players on the ECHL current streak leader board:

#1  Goals - Colton Hargrove (5 games)

#1 Assists - Danny Katic (7 games)

#2 Points - Danny Katic (8 games)

#3 Assists - Colby McAuley (5 games) 

  

 

 

- Here is another contrast between last season and this season. Allen's defensemen totaled 98 points last season. This season, the total is 166 points, and there are still seven games remaining.    

  

 

 - Tahoe has a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win today and join the 10 teams that have already qualified for the playoffs. If that happens, the Mountain Division will be the first to have all four of its playoff teams decided. In other action, Kansas City has another chance to win the Brabham Cup, and Florida has a chance to win the South Division. Here are the details and the game previews for the 13 games on the schedule today: https://echl.com/news/2026/04/echl-today-april-4

 

DID YOU KNOW: Odd stat of the day. The ECHL top road records are better than the top home records, and one team is #1 in both:

 

Top Road Records

.859 - Kansas City (26-3-1-2)

.786 - Fort Wayne (24-4-7-0)

 

Top Home Records

.779 - Kansas City (26-7-1-0)

.765 - Wheeling (24-6-2-2)

 

The odd stat for an individual team goes to Utah. The Grizzlies' home record is dead last (.367 - 9-17-3-1). Utah’s road record is top 10 (.528 - 17-15-3-1).

  

Eight on the Board, Work to Do, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coaches Comments, All-Time Allen Hat Tricks. Allen Defense is Best in 5 Years, and Empty Net Goals

 

It is hard to find fault with an Allen Americans home game that produced the following results:

• Largest crowd of the season, 6275, on a Thursday morning!
• Clinched Kelly Cup playoff spot 
• 8 goals scored, highest of the season (tied).
• Improved average goals per game to 3.64, #1 in the ECHL.
• Scored on the 1st shot of the game, 34 seconds after puck drop. 
• Danny Katic hat trick, his 3rd of the season and Americans' record 9th of the season. 
• Brayden Watts scored 2 goals, including a shorty, giving him 100 for his career.

 

- With all of the greatness in an 8-5 win and qualifying for the playoffs, there was a lot to like, but it wasn't exactly a complete, playoff-caliber performance.

• After scoring first, Allen fell behind 3-1.
• After taking a 5-3 lead with two goals early in the third period, Allen gave up two goals, one of them on an ill-advised 5-on-3 power play. The game was tied 5-5 with five minutes remaining.
• The game was really a 6-5 game as Allen scored two empty net goals.
• Greensboro, without its captain and assistant captain (both traded), leading scorer (recalled), and with 16 rookies on the roster, gave Allen all it could handle. 

 

- The bottom line is Allen put up eight goals and got the win over Greensboro. Allen brought a cannon on offense, but defensively, it was more like a screen door in a storm. And as Coach Martinson reminded me in his post-game interview, making the playoffs isn't the finish line; it is the starting gate. There is no need to celebrate; making the playoffs is the invitation, not the celebration.  

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Lukas Sillinger (1), Danny Katic (32,33,34), Brayden Watts (20,21), and Colton Hargrove (22,23). Michael Gildon had three assists, Ty Prefontaine, Harrison Blaisdell, and Watts had two. Here is a great highlight package that shows all of the goals and includes how the goals were set up. https://echl.com/videos/greensboro-gargoyles-vs-allen-americans-apr-2-2026  

 

- Here are the game recaps with the goal-by-goal details: 

• Allen Americans: "Americans Clinch Playoff Spot."  https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/04/americans-clinch-playoff-spot
• Greensboro Gargoyles: https://gargoyleshockey.com/news/2026/04/gagnon-kuzma-score-twice-in-8-5-loss-at-allen 

 

- Talking to the coaches after the game, the pregame meetings today will go over the defensive breakdowns on the 5 goals allowed (team defense), the over-passing, and the need to compete harder against a team that should not be tied with Allen late in the game. My message is be selfish, shoot the puck, don't get outshot (it was 32-28 last night).

 

- Here is an update on the keys to the game from yesterday. 

• Keep up the recent scoring. Allen has averaged seven goals per game over the last four games (8,7,6,7). 
• Score first. Allen is 25-2-3-0 (.883) when they score 1st, enough said.
• Get off to good starts. Allen's goal differential by period is -7 (1st), +34 (2nd), and +11 (3rd). 
• Win the special teams battle. Allen has the #1 home penalty kill percentage (88.6%), Greensboro has the #28 ranked road penalty kill percentage (73.3%) 
• Play with the lead. Allen is 25-0-2-0 when leading after the 2nd period.  

 

- The game tonight will go from one referee to two. The referee from yesterday was Grant Hendrich (#5). He will be joined by Ryan Siegel (#42) tonight. There will also be one different linesmen, Aaron Schacht (#51) joins Joey Kramer (#90) from last night.

 

- The lineup tonight will be almost the same as yesterday. It hasn't been officially reported anywhere, but if you haven't heard, Jackson Parsons was recalled by Belleville. Brett Mirwald will make his first pro start tonight. There are also changes on a couple of the lines. Here is the lineup tonight:

Forwards

11 Barbashyov - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley 

77 Sillinger - 91 Gildon - 9 Katic

26 Asuchak  - 18 Blaisdell - 29 Watts

19 Maxwell - 44 Jax Dubois - 14 Gursoy

 

Defense 

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley 

86 Anania - 22 Costantini

21 Decker - 2 Quinn Warmuth

 

Goalies

32 Mirwald 

33 Costantini (backup)

 

 

- Here is the game preview issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/04/game-day-preview-friday-night-on-ice-in-allen 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

-  Danny Katic's hat trick yesterday set the all-time record for hat tricks in a single season. Here is every hat trick since Allen joined the ECHL in 2014-15. The order is by most hat tricks: 

• 2025-26 (9)
• 3 - Danny Katic 
• 2 - Harrison Blaisdell 
• 1 - Hank Crone 
• 1 - Mark Duarte 
• 1 - Colton Hargrove 
• 1 - Brayden Watts

 

• 2022-23 (8)
• 3 - Hank Crone
• 2 - Liam Finlay
• 2 - Colton Hargrove
• 1 - Jakov Novak 

 

• 2021-22 (6)
• 2 - Branden Troock
• 1 - Chad Costello  
• 1 - Gavin Gould
• 1 - Luke Henman
• 1 - Josh Winquist

 

• 2016-17 (6)
• 3 - Bryan Moore 
• 2 - Greger Hanson
• 1 - Chad Costello

 

• **2014-15 (6)
• 2 - Jack Combs
• 1 - Chad Costello
• 1 - Conrad Abeltshauser*
• 1 - Kyle Follmer
• 1 - Greger Hanson

 

• 2018-19 (5)
• 1- Alex Breton*
• 1 - Jacob Doty
• 1 - Zach Pochiro
• 1 - Braylon Schmyr
• 1 - Gary Steffes

 

• 2024-25 (3)
• 1 - Spencer Asuchak
• 1 - Easton Brodzinski
• 1 - Brayden Watts

 

• 2019-20 (3)
• 1 - Gabe Gagne
• 1 - Alex Guptill
• 1 -Jordan Topping 

 

• 2017-18 (3)
• 1 - Vincent Arseneau
• 1 - Alex Guptill
• 1 - Gary Steffes

 

• **2015-16 (3)
• 1 - Dyson Stevenson
• 1 - Chad Costello
• 1 - Chris Crane

 

• 2020-21 (2)
• 1 - Les Lancaster*
• 1 - Jesse Mychan  

 *Defensemen 

**Kelly Cup Championship years

 

- I get lots of feedback every day on how the Allen Americans are performing from comments on the blog and social media, to text messages, emails, and chatting with fans at the game. Recently, there have been lots of comments about the defense. Being a stats guy, I decided to look at the offense and defense and compare this season to the last five seasons and the two Kelly Cup championship seasons. The stats say this season is the best in the last five seasons and is on par with the 2016 championship team. Here is Allen's ECHL rank on offense (1st number) and defense (2nd number) based on average goals scored and allowed per game:

• 2025-26: #1 - #16
• 2024-25: #29 - #29
• 2023-24: #12 - #26
• 2022-23: #8 - #23
• 2021-22: #9 - #20
• 2015-16: #10 - #13
• 2014-15: #1 - #7 

 

- It is a big night in the ECHL with 28 of the 30 teams in action, and there are still six playoff teams to be determined. Lots of teams are still fighting for those six playoff spots, plus other teams are trying to get home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Bottom line is there are a lot of meaningful games on the schedule tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/04/echl-today-april-3  

 

- Danny Katic's hat trick vaulted him into the ECHL lead in goals with 34. Here are the players with 30 or more goals with games remaining. The way Katic has been scoring, 12 goals in his last 12 games, he could hit 40 goals and is the clear favorite to lead the league in goals. 

• 34 goals - Danny Katic (8 games remaining)
• 32 goals - Brendan Hoffmann, Idaho (has been loaned to the AHL since February 10)
• 31 goals - Reed Lebster, Utah (6 games remaining)
• 30 goals - Brandon Hawkins, Toledo (7 games remaining)  

 

- The Kansas City Mavericks can clinch the regular season championship (Brabham Cup) tonight if they beat Idaho on the road and Florida loses at Jacksonville. The big question is whether the Mavericks can survive the curse of the Brabham Cup. The regular season champion hasn't won the Kelly Cup since 2014. The Brabham Cup has been less of a trophy and more like a warning label the last 12 years: "contents may not survive the playoffs."    

 

- Seven players had multi-point games last night and kept their hot hand going:

• Harrison Blaisdell has a 5-game point streak, 10 points (6G, 4A)
• Michael Gildon has a 5-game point streak, 12 points (4G, 8A).
• Brayden Watts has 9 points (2G, 8A) in the last 6 games.
• Danny Katic has averaged a goal per game over the last 12 games and has a six-game assist streak.
• Colton Hargrove has a 4-game goal streak (5G, 2A).
• Ty Prefontaine hasn't had a negative plus/minus game in a month. He leads the team at +20.
• Colby McAuley has a four-game points streak, 8 points (4G, 4A).

 

DID YOU KNOW: Empty net goals for each ECHL team range from 3 to 17:

 

17: *KC*

16: ALN

14: IDH, SC, *WHL*

13: RC

12: ADK, *FLA*, MNE, REA, SAV, *TOL*

11: GVL, TUL

10: ATL, BLM, NOR, UTA

9: FW, GSO, TR

8: JAX

7: WIC

6: IND, ORL, TAH, WOR

5: IA, KAL

3: CIN

 

*Division point leaders

 

School Day Preview vs Greensboro, Asuchak Returns, Today's Lineup, Allen Win Clinches Playoffs, Goalies Assigned to ECHL, Players on IR and More

 

The Allen Americans can clinch a playoff spot today with a win over Greensboro in the third School Day game of the season (10:30 am CDT). The first two School Day games have been big hits on and off the ice. 

• November 5 - Allen beat Wichita 6-4, led by a Mark Duarte hat trick, before a Wednesday morning crowd of 6250, of which 5000 were children. It was a milestone game for Coach Martinson, his 400th win in Allen.
• December 3 - Allen beat Utah 3-2, led by a Hank Crone hat trick. Once again, it was a big crowd (6112) of mostly school kids when the 6-7 craze was in full view. Here is what I wrote in the blog after that game. You can only imagine what happened in the game yesterday when the kids heard player introductions, and Hank Crone 6-7 was in the starting lineup. The noise was off the charts. It only got louder when Hank scored a natural hat trick (3 straight goals). Each time PA Announcer, Lee Hastings, announced a Crone goal in a drawn-out 6-7, it got louder and louder. By the time Hank scored his third goal to give Allen a 3-1 lead, the 6-7 brought a level of noise as loud as I have ever heard in the arena, including the championship years.  
• The question of the day is, who gets the hat trick today to lead Allen to victory?

 

- It is always enjoyable when teams outside the Mountain Division visit Allen. It typically happens twice per season. This season, it was Norfolk, and now Greensboro (1st-year franchise). Last season, it was Worcester and Jacksonville, and in 2023-24, it was Atlanta and Adirondack:

 

- Here is a preview of the three games against Greensboro today, Friday, and Saturday. Here are some comparison stats between Allen and Greensboro:

• Allen's record is 35-23-5-0, Greensboro is 18-38-6-1. 
• Allen is 6-4-0-0 over the last 10 games, Greensboro is 3-6-1-0.
• Allen is 18-9-2-0, Greensboro is 9-21-3-0 on the road.
• Allen's goal differential is +36 (225-189), Greensboro's is -67 (164-231).
• Allen's team plus/minus is +85, Greensboro's is -272.
• Allen's team save percentage is .913, Greensboro's is .882.

 

- Here is the more traditional statistical comparison between the two teams. The league rank is in parentheses: 

• Goals scored average: Allen, 3.57 (#3) - Greensboro, 2.60 (#24)
• Goals allowed average: Allen, 3.00 (#15) - Greensboro, 3.67 (#30)
• Shots for average: Allen, 33.52 (#2) - Greensboro, 29.41 (#19)
• Shots against average: Allen, 34.63 (#28) - Greensboro, 31.08 (#20)
• Power play percentage: Allen, 20.7% (#10) - Greensboro, 15.1% (#26)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen, 83.7% (#11) - Greensboro, 77.1% (#27) 

 

- If you look at the stats above, it is clear that Allen is the better team. How do the Americans turn that advantage into three wins against the Gargoyles? 

• Keep up the recent scoring. Allen has averaged six goals per game over the last four games (7,6,7,4). 
• Score first. Allen is 24-3-2-0 (.879) when they score 1st, enough said.
• Get off to good starts. Allen's goal differential by period is -7 (1st), +34 (2nd), and +8 (3rd). 
• Win the special teams battle. Allen has the #1 home penalty kill percentage (89.0%), Greensboro has the #28 ranked road penalty kill percentage (73.5%) 
• Play with the lead. Allen is 25-0-2-0 when leading after the 2nd period.  

 

- If any of the games go to overtime, here are the records:

• Allen: 3-5 in overtime, 3-0 in shootouts
• Greensboro: 1-6 in overtime, 2-1 in shootouts  

 

- It is hard to say who the players are to watch for Greensboro. They have been sellers recently, trading players for futures/players for next season. Five of the Gargoyles' top six players in points are gone, including their captain (Logan Nelson) and assistant captain (Patrick Newell). The leading scorer (Tyler Weiss) was recalled and assigned to another ECHL team. In their place, Greensboro has recently signed a bunch of college guys. I was talking to the Greensboro broadcaster yesterday after practice, and he shared that the Gargoyles have 16 rookies on the roster. 

 

- Who has been hot for the Americans? 

• Andre Anania is in the midst of a 9-game point streak (2G, 10A) and a 6-game assist streak.
• Harrison Blaisdell has a 4-game goal streak, scoring 6 goals in the last 4 games.
• Michael Gildon has 10 points (4G, 6A) in a four-game point streak.
• Brayden Watts has six assists in the last five games.
• Danny Katic has a 5-game assist streak.
• Colton Hargrove has a three-game goal streak (3G, 2A). 

 

- Allen's lineup today includes the return of Spencer Asuchak, who has been out since February and Chase Maxwell, who has missed the last four games with an upper body injury. Hank Crone will not play in the Greensboro series. Sam Sedley is back from a quick call-up to Belleville. Marco Costantini gets the start in goal. Coach Martinson has said all three goalies will play in this series, but that can change based on the situation. Here is the lineup for today. 

Forwards

11 Barbashyov - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley 

9 Katic - 91 Gildon - 29 Watts

26 Asuchak  - 18 Blaisdell - 77 Sillinger

19 Maxwell - 44 Jax Dubois - 14 Gursoy

 

Defense 

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley 

86 Anania - 22 Costantini

21 Decker - 2 Quinn Warmuth

 

Goalies

33 Costantini

32 Mirwald (backup)

 

- The game will be a one-referee game. The referee will be Grant Hendrich (#5). The linesmen will be Daniel Barnes (#76) and Joey Kramer (#90). 

 

- Here is the game preview from the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/04/game-morning-preview-americans-host-gargoyles-at-1030-am 

  

OTHER COMMENTS

 - A reminder that I no longer have an Allen Americans Blog X (Twitter) account, but those of you who have accessed the blog via X still can. I am posting the blog directly to the Allen Americans X account. Make sure you are following the Allen Americans (@AllenAmericans).    

Here are other ways to access the blog:

• Bookmark "Allen Americans Blog" on Google or whatever search engine you use.
• Go to the Allen Americans website (allenamericans.com) and click on News & Info, and there will be a drop-down menu. Click on Janssen on Hockey, and it will take you to the blog.
• If you have Facebook, follow Allen Americans Blog. 

 As of this morning, I have written 2843 blogs and had 4,362,672 page views, and it is still a lot of fun because of you, the readers! Thanks!

 

- Allen is the only Mountain Division team playing today. Last night's results helped Allen be in a position to clinch a playoff spot with a win this morning:

• Tulsa beat Rapid City 5-0 
• Idaho beat Kansas City 4-3 in a shootout. Idaho scored with one second remaining to tie the score. 
• Cincinnati beat Tahoe 4-3 in overtime 

 

- Here are the maximum points each team could earn if they won all remaining games: Current points are in parentheses:

• 120 points - Kansas City (106)
• 96 points - Idaho (87)
• 93 points - Allen (75)
• 82 points - Tahoe (70)
• 76 points - Wichita (60)
• 74 points - Rapid City (60)
• 71 points - Utah (59)
• 67 points - Tulsa (51)

 

- There are five games on the ECHL schedule today. The Americans' School Day game is the only morning start. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/04/echl-today-april-2 

 

- Here is Allen's record at the end  of each month this season:

• 2-2-1-0 -  October 
• 6-7-3-0 - November
• 14-10-3-0 - December
• 22-14-4-0 - January
• 29-19-5-0 - February
• 35-23-5-0 - March

 

- This was my ECHL Stats post as of Tuesday. Notice Greensboro has two NHL-contracted goalies. The ECHL serves as a development league, especially for goalies. The numbers vary, but this week, 22 NHL contracted goalies and 23 AHL contracted goalies are assigned to ECHL teams. Here are the teams with NHL & AHL contracted goalies assigned. Rapid City had its AHL-contracted goalie recalled yesterday, and is the only ECHL team without a NHL/AHL-contracted player currently on its roster.

 

NHL - 17 teams (5 have 2)

Adirondack

Allen

Bloomington

Fort Wayne(2)

Greensboro (2)

Idaho

Iowa (2)

Jacksonville

Kalamazoo

Maine

Norfolk

Orlando

Toledo(2)

Tulsa

Utah(2)

Wheeling

Worcester 

 

AHL - 18 teams (5 have 2)

Adirondack

Atlanta(2)

Cincinnati

Florida

Greenville

Indy (2)

Kalamazoo

Kansas City (2)

Norfolk

Orlando

Reading

Savannah(2)

South Carolina

Tahoe

Trois Rivières (2)

Wheeling

Wichita

Worcester

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL stats post today is about players on 14-day IR. One of Allen's players is Troy Murray. There was a question in the comments section about his status. Troy is out for the season and went home a few weeks ago. FYI, Braidan Simmons-Fischer was injured and is also out for the season. He was on loan to the Iowa Wild (AHL).

 

Injuries can have a big impact on team success, especially as the playoffs approach. Here are the number of players currently on 14-day injured reserve for each ECHL team:

 

9: JAX, IND, UTA

8: SC

6: BLM, FW, KAL, MNE, TUL, WOR

5: ADK, *FLA, GVL, REA

4: IDH, NOR, ORL, TAH

3: ALN, ATL, GSO, IA, *KC, RC, SAV

2: CIN, TR, *WHL, TOL

0: WIC

 

*Division leaders

 

2 Games, 13 Goals, 2 Wins, Allen Sweeps Utah, Game Recaps, Video Highlights, Martinson Comment, Frozen Four Allen Connections, 50 Game Winners and More

 

The Allen Americans defeated the Utah Grizzlies 7-4 on Sunday afternoon in their final game ever at the Maverik Center. The Americans finished the season with a record of 7-2-1-0 against Utah. 

 

- The Americans tallied 13 goals in the two-game sweep of Utah, winning 6-2 on Thursday and 7-4 on Sunday, but the games were closer than the final scores. Eight of Allen's 13 goals came in the third period. On Thursday, Allen had a 1-0 lead after the first period and a 2-0 lead after the second period. Yesterday, the game was tied 1-1 after the first period, and the Americans had a slim 3-2 lead after the second period.

 

- Jax Dubois, playing his second pro game, scored his first pro goal at the 2:28 mark of the first period. Allen has proven to be almost unbeatable when it scores first. The Americans' record improved to 24-3-2-0 (.879), which is #2 in the league. The Grizzlies showed they were not going to make it easy for Allen. They tied the score 1-1 before the end of the first period and took a 2-1 lead at the 6:10 mark of the second period. The momentum was all with Utah, and they were controlling the play. That all changed when Colton Hargrove struck back just 40 seconds after Utah took the lead. Allen added another goal late in the 2nd period by Michael Gildon to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. A second-period lead is all that the Americans need. They have been close to perfect when leading after the second period, and it proved to be the case once again. Allen's record when leading after the second period is now 25-0-2-0.

 

- When Utah scored 51 seconds into the third period to tie the score 3-3, it appeared this game was going to be close. That is when Allen's explosive offense took over, scoring three straight goals in less than five minutes to put the game away. Colby McAuley got it started with an unassisted shorthanded goal at 5:47. Anthony Costantini scored by throwing the puck at the net at 6:44, and Michael Gildon put the game out of hand at the 10:45 mark to give the Americans a 6-3 lead. Utah scored a goal at 16:36 to cut the score to 6-4, and Colby McAuley scored an empty net goal at 19:31 to make the final score 7-4. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Jax Dubois (1), Colton Hargrove (21), Michael Gildon (19), Colby McAuley (22,23), Anthony Costantini (2), and Harrison Blaisdell (26). Danny Katic had two assists. Here are the video highlights. Utah puts together a great highlight package that includes all of the goals and many saves by both goalies: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-utah-grizzlies-mar-29-2026    

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans: "Americans Sweep Utah." https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/03/game-recap-americans-sweep-utah
• Utah Grizzlies: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2026/03/friesen-scores-twice-leclerc-delivers-first-pro-goal-in-grizzlies-7-4-loss 

 

- The Americans offense is in high gear. Allen has scored 7+ goals five times this season. Two of them have come in the last week. The Americans have scored 13 goals in the last two games (6.5 average), 20 in the last three (6.67 average), and 24 in the last four (6.00 average). The offense is clicking! Allen's goals per game average for the season is up to 3.57, #3 in the ECHL, behind #1 Kansas City (3.61) and #2 Tahoe (3.60). 

 

- Coach Martinson has obviously been pleased with how the offense has been scoring recently, but how about the team defense? When I asked him about that, he was short and to the point: "One way or another, we will need to get better defensively as a team if we want to go far in the playoffs."   

Martinson also mentioned defenseman Sam Sedley is on his way back to Allen after playing in Belleville on Saturday. 

 

-  The team flies home this morning with nine games remaining in the regular season, 7 of them will be at home. Two separate road games to Wichita (April 12 & 17) are the only road games left. Here are the remaining games:

• April 2, 3, 4 - Greensboro 
• April 8 - Wichita (home)
• April 10, 11 - Tahoe
• April 12 & 17 - Wichita (away)    
• April 18 - Kansas City

 

- Allen has a six-point lead over Tahoe (75-69) with two games in hand. Tahoe's maximum points are 83. If the Knight Monsters win all of their seven remaining games (highly unlikely), the Americans could go .500 in their final nine games (4-4-1-0) and still finish in third place. If Allen wins 2 of 3 against Greensboro this week and Tahoe loses 2 of 3 playing Cincinnati at home, this will be over. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

The NCAA Frozen Four teams were finalized yesterday. The semi-finals are on Thursday, April 9, in Las Vegas, Wisconsin vs North Dakota, and  Michigan vs Denver. The National final is on Saturday, April 11. Here are the current/former Allen players who played for these four finalists. The seasons they played in Allen are in parentheses. Let me know who I missed.

• Denver
• Hank Crone (2022-24 & 2025-26)
• Daniel Doremus (2015-16)
• Liam Finlay (2022-24)
• Les Lancaster (2019-21)
• Anthony Maiani (2012-14)
• David Makowski (2015-19)

 

• Michigan
• Nick Boka (2018-20)
• Alex Guptill (2016-18 & 2019-20)
• Hayden Lavigne (2020-21)

 

• North Dakota
• Harrison Blaisdell (2024-26)
• Aaron Dell (2012-13 & 2014-15)

 

• Wisconsin
• Tyler Barnes (2016-17)
• Joel Rumpel (2014-16)
• Sam Stange (2025-26)

 

 - Kansas City is on pace for a record-breaking season. The Mavericks lead the league in wins (51), home wins (26), road wins (25), points (105), and points percentage (.820), and still have eight games remaining. They could end up #5 or better all-time in all of these categories. Kansas City's .820 points percentage is #2 all-time.

With such a great regular season, the question is, can the Mavericks overcome a history of great regular-season teams failing in the Kelly Cup playoffs? Here are two examples:

• Kansas City already has 51 wins. 11 teams have had 50+ wins since 2008-09, none have won the Kelly Cup.
• The regular season champion (Brabham Cup) hasn't won the Kelly Cup since 2014.  

 

- All teams want to be playing their best hockey at this time of the season. Here are the ones that are doing just that: 

• 9-1-0-0: Wheeling
• 9-1-0-0: Kansas City
• 8-1-1-0: Fort Wayne
• 8-1-1-0: Maine
• 7-2-0-1: Florida
• 7-3-0-0: Atlanta
• 7-3-0-0: Kalamazoo

 

- Allen players are all over the ECHL current streaks list:

• #1 goals - Harrison Blaisdell (4 games, 6 goals)
• #1 assists - Andre Anania (6 games, 8 assists)
• #2 points - Andre Anania (9 games, 12 points) 
• #3 assists - Danny Katic (5 games, 6 assists) 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Since 2008-09, 11 teams have reached the 50-win milestone. None went on to win the Kelly Cup. Will Kansas City break that streak in 2025-26? Here are the 50+ win teams:

 

2025-26

52 - Kansas City (8 games remaining)

 

2024-25

52 - South Carolina

 

2023-24

54 - Kansas City

 

2022-23

*58 - Idaho

 

2018-19

51 - Cincinnati

50 - Florida

 

2017-18

53 - Florida

50 - Toledo

 

2016-17

51 - Toledo

 

2015-16

 52 - Missouri

 

2014-15

50 - Toledo

 

*All-time record for wins in a single season.

 

Allen vs Utah Preview, Good News & Bad News, Active Streaks, Mountain Division Analysis, Contracted Players Used by ECHL Teams, Who Wins the Kelly Cup and More

 

It's Sunday afternoon hockey for the Allen Americans in Utah. After sitting around idle for two days, the Americans should be chomping at the bit to play the Grizzlies again after beating them 6-2 on Thursday. It was good news/bad news for the Americans while they were idle the last two days. Idaho won a game and lost in overtime at home against South Carolina to increase its lead over Allen to an almost insurmountable 12 points. Allen does have three games in hand, but needs to win out and get some help from Idaho. The good news is Tahoe lost twice in Rapid City (they play again this afternoon) and the Americans maintain a six-point lead over the Knight Monsters with two games in hand.

 

- Allen's Sunday record is decent (4-2-1-0), especially when you consider Sunday games are usually the tail end of three games in three days. This afternoon (4:10 pm CDT), both teams are well-rested, though the Americans will be playing shorthanded with just 10 forwards. After today, Allen won't play again until Thursday, when they open a three-game series against Greensboro. It will be back-to-back odd start times as the Thursday game is a School Day game with a 10:30 am puck drop.

 

- Allen hasn't won more than three games in a row since the middle of January. As the playoffs approach, the Americans have a chance to extend their current winning streak, which is at two games, against Utah today, the worst team in the league at home, (.339). Next week, there are three games against the #29-ranked road team, Greensboro (.328). A six-game win streak would match the longest of the season (accomplished once), close the gap on Idaho, and widen the gap on Tahoe. 

 

- Inconsistency has been an issue with Allen this season, and has kept the Americans from moving from a good team to a great team. If you look at the March record, you can see this inconsistency. Allen's March record is 5-4-0-0. Here are the goals scored in the nine games:

• 1 goal - 2 times
• 2 goals - 1 time
• 3 goals - 1 time
• 4 goals - 1 time
• 6 goals  -2 times
• 7 goals - 2 times

Allen has averaged over 4 goals (4.11) per game in March, but scored 3 or fewer goals in 4 of the 9 games. 

 

- Allen has a potent offense (# 3 in the ECHL), and it has really shown up recently. The Americans scored 7 goals on Thursday, 13 goals in the last two games, and 17 goals in the last three games. That is an average of 5.67 per game. Coach Martinson has been playing with three lines recently, and that has been working; it will have to work again today. The roster will definitely grow before the Greensboro series; it is just a matter of how much.

 

-  The keys to the game today would be pretty much what Allen accomplished on Thursday:

• Allen scored first.
• Allen took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. 
• Allen took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission. 
• Allen outshot Utah.
• Allen won the special teams battle.
• Allen stayed out of the penalty box.
• Allen got great goaltending. 
• Allen scored six goals.

When I asked Coach Martinson for improvement he would like to see in the game today, he said this, "The biggest thing I want to get straightened out is our forwards are swinging around too much. It makes it too hard to find them for a pass." 

 

- The lineup this afternoon will be very similar to Thursday. The one difference for sure is that defenseman Sam Sedley will not be in the lineup. He was loaned to Belleville and played last night as the Senators lost 1-0 at home to Manitoba. Quinn Warmuth will take Sedley's place, pairing with Ty Prefontaine. With two days' rest, I expect Coach Martinson to go with the hot goalie, Jackson Parsons. I will post the lineup here and on social media when I get it later today. 

UPDATE 

Forwards

11 Barbashyov - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley 

9 Katic - 91 Gildon - 29 Watts

77 Sillinger - 44 Dubois - 18 Blaisdell

                                          14 Gursoy

 

Defense 

8 Prefontaine - 2 Warmuth 

86 Anania - 22 Costantini

25 LeDonne - 21 Decker 

 

Goalies

31 Parsons 

33 Costantini (backup)

 

- There are a lot of streaks on the line this afternoon. Some are not so obvious:

• Andre Anania is in the midst of an 8-game point streak and a 5-game assist streak.
• Harrison Blaisdell has a 3-game goal streak, scoring 5 goals in the last 3 games.
• Brayden Watts has an assist in the last 4 games and the last 9 road games.
• Danny Katic has at least one penalty in the last 7 road games, the longest ECHL streak this season. 

 

 - The same two referees who worked the game on Thursday, Kurtis Pare (#55) and David Lilly (#25), will work the game this afternoon. They called 9 penalties on Thursday; 4 of them were high-sticking penalties, including two double minors. That explains, in part, why Allen had 7 power plays to Utah's 3. Double minors count as two power play opportunities.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The best way to see the Mountain Division teams gaining and losing ground in the standings is by points earned in the last 10 games. Here is the latest:

• 18 points - Kansas City
• 13 points - Idaho 
• 12 points - Allen
• 10 points - Utah 
• 10 points - Rapid City
• 8 points - Tulsa 
• 6 points - Tahoe
• 6 points - Wichita 

 

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

105 points - Kansas City (8)

85 points - Idaho (7)

73 points - Allen (10)

67 points - Tahoe (8)

59 points - Rapid City (9) 

58 points  - Wichita (10)

57 points - Utah (9) 

49 points - Tulsa (9) 

  

 

- Two more teams, Fort Wayne and Maine, can clinch spots in the playoffs today and join the 7 teams already qualified. Here is the list by division:

• North Division: Wheeling
• South Division: Florida, Atlanta, South Carolina
• Central Division: Toledo
• Mountain Division: Kansas City, Idaho

 

- It is a very busy day around the ECHL for a Sunday with 12 games on the schedule. Fans in Wichita will have the earliest start time (2:05 pm CDT), and fans in Orlando the latest (6:00 pm EST). Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/03/echl-today-march-29  

 

- I put this information together a couple of days ago. It is the total number of NHL/AHL contracted players used by each ECHL team this season. Includes current players assigned (active, reserve, 3-day IR, 14-day IR) plus any players that spent time with the ECHL team earlier in the season, but are now recalled by their NHL/AHL team. Something to note about the Allen number. The Americans have had seven NHL/AHL contracted players assigned, but 3 of them come from teams other than the Allen affiliate (Ottawa/Belleville). 

 

20: SC

19: WHL

17: REA

16: SAV

13: ADK, FW

12: CIN, FLA, IA, RC, TR, UTA, WOR

11: BLM, MNE, ORL, TUL

10: KAL

9: GSO, GVL, IDH, KC, WIC

8: IND, NOR, TAH

7: ALN, JAX

6: ATL, TOL

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: If defense wins championships, the 2026 Kelly Cup will go to one of these five teams whose goals allowed average is below 2.50:

2.05 - Florida

2.13 - Kansas City

2.35 - Wheeling

2.41 - Maine

2.44 - Atlanta 

 

 

If offense wins championships, the 2026 Kelly Cup will go to one of these five teams whose goals scored average is 3.45 or above:

3.61 - Kansas City

3.58 - Tahoe

3.52 - Allen

3.48 - Idaho

3.45 - Fort Wayne 

 

 

The truth is, it will take a team that is good at both ends of the ice to win the 2026 Kelly Cup. Here are the top teams when you combine the two numbers by rank. For example, if a team is #3 in offense and #5 in defense, their number is 8. Here are the top teams:

3 - Kansas City (#1 offense, #2 defense)

8 - Florida (#7 offense, #1 defense)

11 - Fort Wayne (#5 offense, #6 defense)

13 - Wheeling (#10 offense, #3 defense)

14 - Toledo (#6 offense, #8 defense)

15 - Maine (#11 offense, #4 defense)

17 - Allen (#3 offense, #14 defense)