A Deep Dive On The Schedule & Other News

Kudos to the CHL for getting the schedule out and it is still July. Great for the teams, especially the sales department, but also great for the fans so they can figure out the games they want to attend both home and away. Whenever you look at any schedule the saying "where you sit is where you stand" is always appropriate. With that in mind here are some of my thoughts as well as those I have heard from others.

The Allen schedule is below and it does not include preseason which has not been scheduled. All times are local times. This list is from the CHL master schedule with the first column being the CHL game number.

GN	AWAY	HOME	DATE	TIME	SCORE	BOXSCORE	GS
7	Allen	Wichita	Sat, Oct 19	7:05 PM	Intrust BA
9	Wichita	Allen	Sun, Oct 20	4:05 PM	Allen EC
14	Allen	St. Charles	Fri, Oct 25	7:05 PM	Family Arena
19	Allen	Tulsa	Sat, Oct 26	7:35 PM	BOK Center
21	Allen	Tulsa	Sun, Oct 27	4:05 PM	BOK Center
22	Tulsa	Allen	Wed, Oct 30	7:05 PM	Allen EC
26	Denver	Allen	Fri, Nov 01	7:05 PM	Allen EC
35	Allen	Tulsa	Sat, Nov 02	7:35 PM	BOK Center
36	Tulsa	Allen	Sun, Nov 03	4:05 PM	Allen EC
39	Allen	Brampton	Thu, Nov 07	7:00 PM	Powerade Centre
40	Allen	Brampton	Fri, Nov 08	7:30 PM	Powerade Centre
49	Allen	Brampton	Sun, Nov 10	2:00 PM	Powerade Centre
52	Brampton	Allen	Fri, Nov 15	7:05 PM	Allen EC
64	Tulsa	Allen	Fri, Nov 22	7:05 PM	Allen EC
69	Tulsa	Allen	Sat, Nov 23	7:05 PM	Allen EC
74	Allen	Tulsa	Sun, Nov 24	4:05 PM	BOK Center
75	Allen	Arizona	Wed, Nov 27	6:35 PM	Tims ToyotaCtr
80	Allen	Arizona	Fri, Nov 29	7:05 PM	Tims ToyotaCtr
85	Allen	Arizona	Sat, Nov 30	7:05 PM	Tims ToyotaCtr
91	Rapid City	Allen	Fri, Dec 06	7:05 PM	Allen EC
96	Rapid City	Allen	Sat, Dec 07	7:05 PM	Allen EC
107	Missouri	Allen	Fri, Dec 13	7:05 PM	Allen EC
113	Allen	Missouri	Sat, Dec 14	7:05 PM	Independence EC
118	Brampton	Allen	Fri, Dec 20	7:05 PM	Allen EC
123	Brampton	Allen	Sat, Dec 21	7:05 PM	Allen EC
130	Allen	Tulsa	Thu, Dec 26	7:05 PM	BOK Center
134	Allen	St. Charles	Fri, Dec 27	7:05 PM	Family Arena
136	Tulsa	Allen	Sat, Dec 28	7:05 PM	Allen EC
143	Wichita	Allen	Tue, Dec 31	7:05 PM	Allen EC
147	Rapid City	Allen	Fri, Jan 03	7:05 PM	Allen EC
152	Rapid City	Allen	Sat, Jan 04	7:05 PM	Allen EC
161	Denver	Allen	Fri, Jan 10	7:05 PM	Allen EC
166	Denver	Allen	Sat, Jan 11	7:05 PM	Allen EC
170	Allen	Arizona	Fri, Jan 17	7:05 PM	Tims ToyotaCtr
175	Allen	Arizona	Sat, Jan 18	7:05 PM	Tims ToyotaCtr
181	Arizona	Allen	Mon, Jan 20	1:05 PM	Allen EC
186	St. Charles	Allen	Fri, Jan 24	7:05 PM	Allen EC
194	St. Charles	Allen	Sun, Jan 26	4:05 PM	Allen EC
202	Allen	Wichita	Fri, Jan 31	7:05 PM	Intrust BA
203	Wichita	Allen	Sat, Feb 01	7:05 PM	Allen EC
209	Allen	Missouri	Tue, Feb 04	7:05 PM	Independence EC
211	Allen	Quad City	Wed, Feb 05	7:05 PM	i-wireless
214	Allen	Quad City	Fri, Feb 07	7:05 PM	i-wireless
218	Allen	Missouri	Sat, Feb 08	7:05 PM	Independence EC
225	Arizona	Allen	Thu, Feb 13	7:05 PM	Allen EC
226	Missouri	Allen	Fri, Feb 14	7:05 PM	Allen EC
232	Allen	Missouri	Sat, Feb 15	7:05 PM	Independence EC
238	Allen	Denver	Mon, Feb 17	4:00 PM	Denver Coliseum
248	Allen	Wichita	Fri, Feb 21	7:05 PM	Intrust BA
251	Allen	Tulsa	Sat, Feb 22	7:35 PM	BOK Center
253	Quad City	Allen	Sun, Feb 23	4:05 PM	Allen EC
257	Arizona	Allen	Fri, Feb 28	7:05 PM	Allen EC
262	Arizona	Allen	Sat, Mar 01	7:05 PM	Allen EC
274	Allen	Missouri	Fri, Mar 07	7:05 PM	Independence EC
278	Allen	St. Charles	Sat, Mar 08	7:05 PM	Family Arena
281	Allen	St. Charles	Sun, Mar 09	4:05 PM	Family Arena
290	Allen	Rapid City	Fri, Mar 14	7:05 PM	Rushmore
294	Allen	Rapid City	Sat, Mar 15	7:05 PM	Rushmore
297	Allen	Denver	Sun, Mar 16	4:00 PM	Denver Coliseum
300	Wichita	Allen	Wed, Mar 19	7:05 PM	Allen EC
303	St. Charles	Allen	Fri, Mar 21	7:05 PM	Allen EC
308	St. Charles	Allen	Sat, Mar 22	7:05 PM	Allen EC
315	Allen	Wichita	Sun, Mar 23	5:05 PM	Intrust BA
316	Quad City	Allen	Wed, Mar 26	7:05 PM	Allen EC
319	Denver	Allen	Fri, Mar 28	7:05 PM	Allen EC
324	Denver	Allen	Sat, Mar 29	7:05 PM	Allen EC

- Probably the best thing about the schedule is the length. It is one week longer than in the past which allows for one extra weekend to spread out the games. The number of weekday home games has been reduced to six. And if you factor in that three of those weekday games are traditional holiday games you have a much improved schedule. Those holiday games include our New Year’s Eve game, Halloween Celebration and the MLK game. Our New Year’s Eve Game will commence at 7:05pm in an exciting battle against the Wichita Thunder. This year’s Halloween game will take place on October 30th instead of October 31st. The date change will allow for kids and parents to wear their costumes twice! In addition, we will bring back our pregame trick-or-treating on the concourse as well as the popular haunted house. The Martin Luther King Jr. game on Monday January 20th is also “Kid’s Day Out.”


- So with two fewer midweek games and two extra weekends games it will help draw more fans and make it easier for families who have to factor in school nights. And I assume it is a little more money for the players with the extra time added to the schedule. A win all the way around.

-Here is a breakdown of our games which each team:

Arizona (4 home, 5 away) - Two trips to Arizona which includes the traditional three games during Thanksgiving and two games in January. Arizona come to Allen four times playing only one game each time. I think they use Allen as a stop over as part of their road trips.

Brampton (3 home, 3 away) - As expected only one trip to Brampton for three games in November (7th, 8th, & 10th). This road trip does not include any other games. Just the over 1300 mile trek to Brampton and return. We end up playing Brampton four times in a row as our next home game after this trip is against the Beast. I'm sure the team is figuring out the best way to get the equipment and team to Brampton. Let's hope the players get to fly on this one. Brampton actually comes to the Allen Event Center AEC twice as they come for only one game on November 15th and then return for two games in December. If you want to see a brutal schedule look up Bampton's schedule for the year. Lots of travel and time away from home in long stretches. (See note below)

Denver (5 home, 2 away) - The team travels twice to Denver (February 17th & March 16th) for one game each time. Denver comes to the AEC three different times (November, January & March).

Missouri (2 home, 5 away) - This unbalanced schedule will be fodder for the conspiracy theorist as they question why the powers to be had Allen play the Mavericks so many times away. Four of the seven games we play against the Mavericks are in February.

Quad City (2 home, 2 away) -  We never seem to play Quad City very often. The four games are the fewest we play any team. The Mallards visit the AEC twice this year for one game in February (23rd) and one in March (26th). The Americans visit Quad City only once for two games in February (5th & 7th).

Rapid City (4 home, 2 away) - Rapid comes to the AEC twice while Allen only goes to Rapid City  once.

St. Charles (4 home, 4 away) - Allen actually makes three trips to St Charles to get in four games. Always part of a road trip which includes Wichita or Missouri. St. Charles comes to Allen twice (January & March)

Tulsa (5 home 6 away) - It was to be expected we would play the team closest to Allen (230 miles) more than any other team. While it is not like Ft Worth (18 times including preseason) our 11 games with Tulsa is the most we play any team. This could become a rivalry as we play the Oilers early and often. In our first 16 games of the season we play Tulsa 8 times including three in a row twice and a stretch of five out of six. From December 28th to the end of the season (March 29th) we only play Tulsa one time.

Wichita (4 home, 4 away) - I am sure the league made a conscious decision to have the Americans play Wichita in a home and home series for the first two games of the season. The first game is in Wichita on October 19th. Again for the conspiracy theorists Allen didn't get the first game because of a scheduling conflict at the AEC. Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller and Kevin Nealon are in concert that night. If the AEC was available the Championship team would have gotten the 19th. So now the home opener will be on October 20th against Wichita. I personally think it would have been better to schedule a team other than Wichita for the home opener where the championship banner will be raised and whatever other celebration takes place. Obviously the league doesn't agree with me.

- I am sure one of the many things the team looks at when the schedule comes out is how many times they have to play three games back to back. Three games in three days is stressful especially if there is travel involved. Players are more prone to injuries in these situations. Here are our back to back to back games:
October 25,26,27 - St Charles (A), Tulsa (A), Tulsa (A)
November 1,2,3 - Denver (H), Tulsa (A), Tulsa (H)
November 22,23,24 - Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (A)
December 26,27,28 - Tulsa (A), St. Charles (A), Tulsa (H)
February 13,14,15 - Arizona (H), Missouri (H), Missouri (A)
February 21,22,23 - Wichita (H), Tulsa (H), Quad City (A)
March 7,8,9 - Missouri (A), St. Charles (A), St. Charles (A)
March 14,15,16 - Rapid City (A), Rapid City (A), Denver (A)
March 21,22,23 - St. Charles (H), St. Charles (H), Wichita (A)

- Three times during the year the team plays four games in five days and all three include travel:
February 4th - 8th - Missouri (A), Quad City (A), Quad City (A), Missouri (A)
February 13th - 17th - Arizona (H), Missouri (H), Missouri (A), Denver (A)
March 19th - 23rd - Wichita (H), St. Charles (H), St. Charles (H), Wichita (A)

- As usual the Americans were able to avoid too many home dates during football season as the schedule is backloaded after football season. Here are the home games by month. The only regular season schedule conflict with Allen High School varsity football is November 1st. Playoffs might be another story.
October - 2
November - 5
December - 7
January - 7
February - 5
March  - 7

- Here is a breakdown of the games by day of week compared to last year:

                       2012     2013
Friday               10         13
Saturday           11         10
Sunday              4           4
Monday             2           1  (This is the MLK holiday game)
Tuesday             5           1  (This is New Years Eve game)
Wednesday        1           3  (This includes the Halloween game)
Thursday           0           1

- Arizona opens their season in Brampton on October 18th a mere 2200 miles away from home. Brampton's closest opponent is 650 miles away (Quad City) and most are well over 1000 miles. Brampton has one stretch (November 15 - December 8) where they play 11 straight road games.



- Here is the mileage chart for your reference. Thanks to "MavsFanJoe" for putting this together.

 - Not much new on player signing announcements. There should be some announcements next week as several players have been signed but not announced. I know several of you have asked me about your favorite player and whether they are coming back next year. I think the next few announcements will make many of you happy.

-With European teams starting to finalize their rosters there are fewer options available for players. And those hoping for an AHL contract may have to start looking elsewhere for fear they may have problems finding a spot if they wait too long. Coming to Allen, even if a player feels he belongs in the AHL, is a great way to get noticed. Just ask Scott Howes, Brett Skinner and Ryley Grantham who all parlayed their Allen experience into AHL promotions.

- Each year Allen has been able to get slots in AHL camps to give players an opportunity for exposure at that level. While there have been no announcements about where the team might be able to send players to AHL camps you can be assured that is being worked on as well as affiliation agreements. Probably still a few weeks away.

- In the former player signings department, Jake Newton, defenseman who played briefly for the Americans in 2011-2012 has signed with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL. Jake, who is a southern California native, played in Italy last year where he was named best player in the league and helped his team win the Itlay2 Championship.

- Ran into Jason Wallace yesterday at the AEC as he was saying goodbye to the staff. He leaves today for Austin to begin his new job as head trainer for the Texas Stars. Good luck, Jason.

- Replacing Jason is not easy as there are many vacancies around the country for trainers and not a lot of qualified candidates. The Americans have identified a potential candidate and hope to fill the position in the near future.

- 2013-14 Important Dates
Training Camp Opens: Monday, October 7
Preseason Schedule Begins: Thursday, October 10
Regular Season Opens: Friday, October 18
Christmas Break: December 23-25
Mid-Season Break: January 13-16
Hockey Day in Canada: January 18
Hockey Weekend Across America: February 28-March 2
Last Day of Regular Season: Sunday, March 30

- I hope to contact some of the new players next week for some 10 questions type interviews. If there is anything you want me to ask them let me know.