As the Allen Americans head back to practice at the Allen Event Center (AEC) today I thought it would be a good day to see where this team has been and where it is headed. I want to focus on the roster and the schedule as the team heads into February.
- The Roster - One of the most unpredictable parts of the job for coach Martinson is the roster. Injuries, call ups and loans create situations that go from too many players on the roster to not enough in a matter of days. Just over a week ago the Americans were playing with only seven forwards and using an emergency backup goalie (EBUG). Coach Martinson brought in goalie Peter Di Salvo and contemplated bringing in other players. Within two days Greger Hanson, Bryan Moore and Jake Marchment were back in Allen from AHL assignments and Dyson Stevenson returned from an injury.
- Peter Di Salvo was released yesterday so that means Riley Gill is ready to go and expected to play this weekend. Zach Hall who has been listed as day to day could also be available. All of a sudden coach Martinson isn't thinking about adding players but subtracting players. The Americans could have 12 forwards and seven defensman available this weekend. That doesn't include Aaron Gens and Travis Brown who are still on the mend. The good news is Allen is going into February with a strong roster, the bad news is if everyone is healthy some players will probably get moved.
- The Schedule - Two things are happening at the same time that should be good news for Allen fans. The roster is getting stronger and the schedule is getting more favorable. It is always good to remember at the end of November, Allen had a record of 8-11 and was mired in last place in the Mountain Division. A phenomenal December record of 10-2-1-1 turned things around for the Americans. You may have a feeling January didn't go so well, especially when the team was playing shorthanded but it was an excellent month. The Americans record in January was 7-2-1-1 which computes to a winning percentage of .727. If you combine the last two months Allen's record is 17-4-2-2 which equates to a winning percentage of .760.
- Allen has now played almost two thirds of their games (46 of 72) and has just 26 games left in the regular season. Most of
the difficult travel is done and the majority
of the remaining games are at home (14 of 26). Let's look at the
current winning
percentage of the teams Allen has to play the rest of the season. Here is
the list from lowest to highest win percentage with the number of games
to be played in parentheses.
.352 - Indy (3 games - 2 home 1 away)
.417 - Rapid City (5 games - 2 home 3 away)
.419 - Wichita (4 games - 3 home 1 away)
.500 - Missouri (6 games - 2 home 4 away)
.521 - Tulsa (8 games - 5 home 3 away )
.630 - ALLEN
- It
is a very favorable schedule the rest of the way for Allen with 18 of 26
games against opponents currently at .500 or below. Missouri, Rapid City, Wichita and Indy are the four worst teams in the Western Conference according to winning percentage.
- If the standings are close
at the end of the season it is good to know six of the last seven games
are at home against familiar foes in Tulsa (4 games), Missouri (2
games) and Wichita once. The worst thing about the remaining schedule is
Allen does not play any of the teams ahead of them in the standings.
- The number one goal for Allen is to win their division. The first two rounds of the playoffs are within the division so winning the Mountain Division is critical to obtain home ice advantage. It is going to be a challenge for the Americans to overtake Toledo to become the top seed in the Western Conference. Toledo's winning percentage (.786) is much higher than Allen's (.630) and to make up that much ground in just 26 remaining games is unlikely even with a favorable schedule.
DID YOU KNOW: How important is home ice advantage in the playoffs? In their four consecutive championships the Allen Americans have had at least one seven game series each year. They have had a total of six series go to seven games including the final series in 2013 (Wichita) and 2015 (South Carolina). The Americans have had home ice advantage in all six of their seven game series and have won all of them.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
Allen Wins 5-4 in Overtime, Martinson Comments, Revisiting the Crane for Moore Trade, Free Tickets
The Allen Americans came away with a 5-4 come from behind overtime victory over the Orlando Solar Bears on Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 6747 at the Amway Center. Victories have not come easy for the Americans recently and that was certainly the case yesterday. Allen surrendered two goals in the first 3:53 of the game but came back with two goals of their own in the first period tying the score 2-2 with 51 seconds left in the period. Just 28 seconds later the Americans gave up another goal to make the score 3-2 going into the first intermission.
- Coach Martinson switched goalies at the start of the second period as Peter Di Salvo replaced Jamie Murray. Orlando scored the only goal of the second period. Allen headed into the third period trailing 4-2 and were certainly battling the odds as the Solar Bears had a perfect 13-0 record when leading after the second period.
- The third period showed what the Americans are capable of as they dominated play out shooting Orlando 21-4 and sending the game to overtime on goals by Josh Brittain and David Makowski.
- Allen overcame a penalty during the overtime and scored the game winner with 35 seconds remaining. Eric Roy was the hero as he scored from the point on a play where Bryan Moore did a great job screening the goalie. In summary the goal scorers for Allen were Moore (18), Stevenson (7), Brittain (4), Makowski (5) and Roy (10). You can see all of the goals at ECHL Rewind: http://www.echl.com/
- Here is a recap of the game from the Orlando perspective written by Don Money of Pro Hockey News. It is a very thorough account of the game along with quotes from the coach and some players including Chris Crane. It is worth the read: http://prohockeynews.com/solar-bears-find-silver-lining-in-ot-loss/
- The dominance Allen showed in the third period is an occurrence that is all too familiar to Allen fans. Allen has been out shot by their opponents in the first period this season 562-482 and outscored 49-46. The total for the third period is a shot advantage for the Americans of 496-454 and goal advantage of 66-39.
- Going into the game yesterday Orlando had the worst home penalty kill percentage in the ECHL by a good margin. They were killing penalties at 68.6%. Allen could do nothing on the power play going 0-5 though one Allen goal was scored just as a penalty expired.
- The team stayed overnight in Orlando and will fly home today arriving this afternoon. The team will practice tomorrow as they will start preparing for three games in three days against Tulsa.
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
- I really liked how we outplayed them in the third period. The rest we got with two days off between games was good for us.
- We scored some nice goals today including the game winner in overtime. Bryan Moore won a battle for the puck off the faceoff, got the puck back to the point and went right to the front of the net. Moore was in position to screen the goalie on the Roy game winner.
- It was a good win for Peter Di Salvo the way he shut down Orlando after coming in at the start of the second period.
OTHER COMMENTS
- It was ironic the two best players on the ice yesterday were two players traded for each other back in November. Sometimes trades work out for both teams and that seems to be the case in the Chris Crane for Bryan Moore trade. Crane had two goals and an assist and was the #2 star of the game. Moore had a goal and three assists and was the #3 star of the game. When the trade first happened many fans questioned why Allen would trade Crane for a guy that had played in just six games for Orlando and had zero points. I remember coach Martinson telling me Moore was playing as the 10th forward and was playing behind a lot of contracted players, had a great record as a scorer in the past and also brought some toughness to the table. It took Bryan awhile to get comfortable in Allen as he scored in just one of his first 11 games but since that time he has scored a goal in 12 of 16 games and earned a stint in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda. Chris Crane was a very popular player with fans and in the locker room so it was difficult to see him great traded but Bryan Moore brought a different style of player to the Americans that has really boosted the team. Another example of a player struggling in one system that thrives in the Martinson system. For the record here is how the stats compare for Crane and Moore since the trade.
Moore - Bryan has 30 points (18 goals 12 assists) in 27 games, is a +21 and has 65 penalty minutes
Crane- Chris has 12 points (8 goals 4 assists) in 18 games, is a -6 and has 16 penalty minutes.
- The Mountain Division as a group is playing some great hockey. Five of the seven teams are on winning streaks led by Utah who has won four in a row followed by Colorado, Alaska and Missouri who have won three straight. Allen is on a streak of 2-0-0-1. Only Idaho (0-2-1-0) and Rapid City (0-3-0-0) are on losing streaks. If you add all the streaks together it totals 15-5-1-1.
- The overseas deadline of February 15 is fast approaching so you might see a few players heading back to North America especially if it appears their team will not make the playoffs. Many overseas players are free agents and could sign with any ECHL team. Allen has the rights to Alex Lavoie and Rylan Schwartz which they acquired as part of trades that brought Bryan Moore and Randy Cure to the Americans. They also have the rights to Ian Schultz who they qualified from last season. I would rate the chances of Lavoie coming back at 0% as he is the second leading scorer in the league (Sweden) and his team is in second place in the 14 team league. The chance of Schwartz returning to Allen isn't much higher than Lavoie. Rylan is the leading scorer on his team (Germany) but he is on one of the worst teams in the league. The most likely of the three to return to Allen would be Ian Schultz who is playing in Scotland. He is fourth on the team in scoring and his team is dead last in the standings. The likely outcome is none of the three return but it is something to keep an eye on as the deadline approaches.
FREE TICKETS
- I have four loge (second level) tickets for the game this Thursday, February 2 at 7:05 PM. I will have a drawing for the tickets tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, notify the winners and leave the tickets at will call. If you are interested let me know via Twitter, Facebook, the Blog, text, in person or by email (janssenfamily@msn.com). All I need is your name and if you want two or four tickets. The tickets are in the end of the rink where the Zamboni enters the ice, close by where the players that aren't playing sit. I will list the winner or winners in the blog Wednesday morning. Good luck!
- I also have two tickets for Thursday in section 100. The tickets are at the end of the rink where the Americans are on offense twice. These tickets are for those that like to do research into the past. The first person that emails me at janssenfamily@msn.com the correct answer to the following question gets the tickets. There is one former Allen Americans player that played with Chad Costello in juniors, college and as a professional. Name the player, the teams and the years they played with Chad. Good Luck!
DID YOU KNOW: Talking about the Crane for Moore trade reminded me of what Steve Martinson told me a few years ago when I interviewed him about his coaching philosophy. Here is what he said, "I always say don't mistake me for being friendly because I am not your friend. My job isn't to make players or fans happy. My job is to win games. I have gotten rid of the most popular players in order to help the team win. It is difficult making decisions to trade or cut players as it can have a great impact on their lives but my goal is to win games and do what is best for the team. You don't have to treat everyone the same but you have to be fair."
- Coach Martinson switched goalies at the start of the second period as Peter Di Salvo replaced Jamie Murray. Orlando scored the only goal of the second period. Allen headed into the third period trailing 4-2 and were certainly battling the odds as the Solar Bears had a perfect 13-0 record when leading after the second period.
- The third period showed what the Americans are capable of as they dominated play out shooting Orlando 21-4 and sending the game to overtime on goals by Josh Brittain and David Makowski.
- Allen overcame a penalty during the overtime and scored the game winner with 35 seconds remaining. Eric Roy was the hero as he scored from the point on a play where Bryan Moore did a great job screening the goalie. In summary the goal scorers for Allen were Moore (18), Stevenson (7), Brittain (4), Makowski (5) and Roy (10). You can see all of the goals at ECHL Rewind: http://www.echl.com/
- Here is a recap of the game from the Orlando perspective written by Don Money of Pro Hockey News. It is a very thorough account of the game along with quotes from the coach and some players including Chris Crane. It is worth the read: http://prohockeynews.com/solar-bears-find-silver-lining-in-ot-loss/
- The dominance Allen showed in the third period is an occurrence that is all too familiar to Allen fans. Allen has been out shot by their opponents in the first period this season 562-482 and outscored 49-46. The total for the third period is a shot advantage for the Americans of 496-454 and goal advantage of 66-39.
- Going into the game yesterday Orlando had the worst home penalty kill percentage in the ECHL by a good margin. They were killing penalties at 68.6%. Allen could do nothing on the power play going 0-5 though one Allen goal was scored just as a penalty expired.
- The team stayed overnight in Orlando and will fly home today arriving this afternoon. The team will practice tomorrow as they will start preparing for three games in three days against Tulsa.
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
- I really liked how we outplayed them in the third period. The rest we got with two days off between games was good for us.
- We scored some nice goals today including the game winner in overtime. Bryan Moore won a battle for the puck off the faceoff, got the puck back to the point and went right to the front of the net. Moore was in position to screen the goalie on the Roy game winner.
- It was a good win for Peter Di Salvo the way he shut down Orlando after coming in at the start of the second period.
OTHER COMMENTS
- It was ironic the two best players on the ice yesterday were two players traded for each other back in November. Sometimes trades work out for both teams and that seems to be the case in the Chris Crane for Bryan Moore trade. Crane had two goals and an assist and was the #2 star of the game. Moore had a goal and three assists and was the #3 star of the game. When the trade first happened many fans questioned why Allen would trade Crane for a guy that had played in just six games for Orlando and had zero points. I remember coach Martinson telling me Moore was playing as the 10th forward and was playing behind a lot of contracted players, had a great record as a scorer in the past and also brought some toughness to the table. It took Bryan awhile to get comfortable in Allen as he scored in just one of his first 11 games but since that time he has scored a goal in 12 of 16 games and earned a stint in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda. Chris Crane was a very popular player with fans and in the locker room so it was difficult to see him great traded but Bryan Moore brought a different style of player to the Americans that has really boosted the team. Another example of a player struggling in one system that thrives in the Martinson system. For the record here is how the stats compare for Crane and Moore since the trade.
Moore - Bryan has 30 points (18 goals 12 assists) in 27 games, is a +21 and has 65 penalty minutes
Crane- Chris has 12 points (8 goals 4 assists) in 18 games, is a -6 and has 16 penalty minutes.
- The Mountain Division as a group is playing some great hockey. Five of the seven teams are on winning streaks led by Utah who has won four in a row followed by Colorado, Alaska and Missouri who have won three straight. Allen is on a streak of 2-0-0-1. Only Idaho (0-2-1-0) and Rapid City (0-3-0-0) are on losing streaks. If you add all the streaks together it totals 15-5-1-1.
- The overseas deadline of February 15 is fast approaching so you might see a few players heading back to North America especially if it appears their team will not make the playoffs. Many overseas players are free agents and could sign with any ECHL team. Allen has the rights to Alex Lavoie and Rylan Schwartz which they acquired as part of trades that brought Bryan Moore and Randy Cure to the Americans. They also have the rights to Ian Schultz who they qualified from last season. I would rate the chances of Lavoie coming back at 0% as he is the second leading scorer in the league (Sweden) and his team is in second place in the 14 team league. The chance of Schwartz returning to Allen isn't much higher than Lavoie. Rylan is the leading scorer on his team (Germany) but he is on one of the worst teams in the league. The most likely of the three to return to Allen would be Ian Schultz who is playing in Scotland. He is fourth on the team in scoring and his team is dead last in the standings. The likely outcome is none of the three return but it is something to keep an eye on as the deadline approaches.
FREE TICKETS
- I have four loge (second level) tickets for the game this Thursday, February 2 at 7:05 PM. I will have a drawing for the tickets tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, notify the winners and leave the tickets at will call. If you are interested let me know via Twitter, Facebook, the Blog, text, in person or by email (janssenfamily@msn.com). All I need is your name and if you want two or four tickets. The tickets are in the end of the rink where the Zamboni enters the ice, close by where the players that aren't playing sit. I will list the winner or winners in the blog Wednesday morning. Good luck!
- I also have two tickets for Thursday in section 100. The tickets are at the end of the rink where the Americans are on offense twice. These tickets are for those that like to do research into the past. The first person that emails me at janssenfamily@msn.com the correct answer to the following question gets the tickets. There is one former Allen Americans player that played with Chad Costello in juniors, college and as a professional. Name the player, the teams and the years they played with Chad. Good Luck!
DID YOU KNOW: Talking about the Crane for Moore trade reminded me of what Steve Martinson told me a few years ago when I interviewed him about his coaching philosophy. Here is what he said, "I always say don't mistake me for being friendly because I am not your friend. My job isn't to make players or fans happy. My job is to win games. I have gotten rid of the most popular players in order to help the team win. It is difficult making decisions to trade or cut players as it can have a great impact on their lives but my goal is to win games and do what is best for the team. You don't have to treat everyone the same but you have to be fair."
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Allen vs Orlando Game Preview & Allen's All-Time Single Season Plus/Minus Leaders
When the Orlando Solar Bears had to change their schedule because of concerts scheduled at the Amway Center it meant changing two games with Allen from Friday and Saturday to Thursday and Sunday. Because of the schedule change the team spent the last two days primarily checking out the sites and attractions in and around Orlando.
Universal Studios was the main attraction based on what was posted on social media but the Magic Kingdom, Busch Gardens, Cocoa Beach, Hard Rock Cafe and the NFL All-Star game activities were also on the list of things to do.
- It is back to hockey today with an early, 12:30 pm CST puck drop. It is a promotion with the Girl Scouts.
- The Americans beat Florida 3-2 on Wednesday and lost to Orlando 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday. Getting three of four points is certainly laudable but Allen was out shot in the two games by a total of 86-46. The Americans will have to play better defensively today if they expect to win.
- Allen will have as good a roster as they have had in a long time. Bryan Moore and Jake Marchment played with little sleep on Thursday after spending all day on plane just to get to Orlando. Zach Hall is listed as day to day but it is most likely he will not be in the lineup today.
- Here are the current stats comparing Allen and Orlando:
ALLEN ORLANDO
Team Record 26-15-2-2 (56 points) 21-15-4-2 (48 points)
Division Ranking 1st - Mountain 4th -South
Conference Ranking 2nd - Western 7th - Eastern
League Ranking 4th 14th
Last Game 4-3 Loss (Orlando) 4-3 Win (Allen)
Goals For 164 153
Goals Against 130 153
Power Play 19.0% (38/200) 17.1% (32/187)
Penalty Kill 84.5% (33/213) 75.6% (41/168)
Most PIM Mathers (163) Brouillard (62)
Leading Scorers: Costello (23-53-76) Faille (16-26-42)
Hanson (22-25-47) Manderson (11-31-42)
- Here is how Allen and Orlando rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:
Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 1st (29.78) - Orlando 10th (14.45)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 6th (3.64) - Orlando 7th (3.64)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 5th (2.89) - Orlando 23rd (3.64)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 14th (32.04) - Orlando 1st (36.95)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 26th (34.96) - Orlando 23rd (34.52)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (19.0%) - Orlando 12th (17.1%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 8th (84.5%) - Orlando 27th (75.6%)
- A couple of things stand out when you look at the stats above. Orlando is tops in the league in generating shots, averaging almost 37 per game. Allen is ranked #24 in allowing shots. If Allen gives up more than 40 shots tonight it could spell defeat. In Orlando's win on Thursday they out shot Allen 47-25. In Allen's favor is the Orlando penalty kill which is the worst in the ECHL at 75.9% but at home they are even worse with a penalty kill percentage of only 68.6%. Allen was 2-6 on the power play Thursday night. It could be a difference maker in the game this afternoon.
- Orlando is 4-5-0-1 in the last ten games and has lost five of their last six home games dating back to Christmas. Four of their last five home games have gone to overtime or a shootout.
The referee scheduled today is Tyler Puddifant (#28) and the linesmen are Jeff Ning (#97) and Chris Cahoon.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Colorado beat Wichita 9-4 last night and Alaska beat Idaho 3-2 in overtime while Allen was idle. The Mountain Division standings have tightened up again. Here are the current standings:
56 points - Allen
56 points - Colorado
54 points - Idaho
53 points - Alaska
44 points - Utah
43 points - Missouri
35 points - Rapid City
- Alex Lavoie has 39 points (11 goals 28 assists) in 40 games playing in Sweden for BIK Karlskoga. Alex is second in the league in scoring. His team is in second place in a 14 team league.
DID YOU KNOW: The top three in plus/minus for a season all took place in 2014-15. Here are the top 10 all-time:
+45 - Chad Costello (2014-15)
+35 - Greger Hanson (2014-15)
+31 - Gary Steffes (2014-15)
+27 - Dave Bonk (2010-11)
+26 - Trevor Ludwig (2014-15)
+25 - Aaron Gens (2014-15)
+25 - Jamie Schaafsma (2013-14)
+24 - Jack Combs (2014-15)
+24 - Kevin Young (2014-15)
+24 - Joel Chouinard (2016-17)
Universal Studios was the main attraction based on what was posted on social media but the Magic Kingdom, Busch Gardens, Cocoa Beach, Hard Rock Cafe and the NFL All-Star game activities were also on the list of things to do.
- It is back to hockey today with an early, 12:30 pm CST puck drop. It is a promotion with the Girl Scouts.
- The Americans beat Florida 3-2 on Wednesday and lost to Orlando 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday. Getting three of four points is certainly laudable but Allen was out shot in the two games by a total of 86-46. The Americans will have to play better defensively today if they expect to win.
- Allen will have as good a roster as they have had in a long time. Bryan Moore and Jake Marchment played with little sleep on Thursday after spending all day on plane just to get to Orlando. Zach Hall is listed as day to day but it is most likely he will not be in the lineup today.
- Here are the current stats comparing Allen and Orlando:
ALLEN ORLANDO
Team Record 26-15-2-2 (56 points) 21-15-4-2 (48 points)
Division Ranking 1st - Mountain 4th -South
Conference Ranking 2nd - Western 7th - Eastern
League Ranking 4th 14th
Last Game 4-3 Loss (Orlando) 4-3 Win (Allen)
Goals For 164 153
Goals Against 130 153
Power Play 19.0% (38/200) 17.1% (32/187)
Penalty Kill 84.5% (33/213) 75.6% (41/168)
Most PIM Mathers (163) Brouillard (62)
Leading Scorers: Costello (23-53-76) Faille (16-26-42)
Hanson (22-25-47) Manderson (11-31-42)
- Here is how Allen and Orlando rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:
Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 1st (29.78) - Orlando 10th (14.45)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 6th (3.64) - Orlando 7th (3.64)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 5th (2.89) - Orlando 23rd (3.64)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 14th (32.04) - Orlando 1st (36.95)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 26th (34.96) - Orlando 23rd (34.52)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (19.0%) - Orlando 12th (17.1%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 8th (84.5%) - Orlando 27th (75.6%)
- A couple of things stand out when you look at the stats above. Orlando is tops in the league in generating shots, averaging almost 37 per game. Allen is ranked #24 in allowing shots. If Allen gives up more than 40 shots tonight it could spell defeat. In Orlando's win on Thursday they out shot Allen 47-25. In Allen's favor is the Orlando penalty kill which is the worst in the ECHL at 75.9% but at home they are even worse with a penalty kill percentage of only 68.6%. Allen was 2-6 on the power play Thursday night. It could be a difference maker in the game this afternoon.
- Orlando is 4-5-0-1 in the last ten games and has lost five of their last six home games dating back to Christmas. Four of their last five home games have gone to overtime or a shootout.
The referee scheduled today is Tyler Puddifant (#28) and the linesmen are Jeff Ning (#97) and Chris Cahoon.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Colorado beat Wichita 9-4 last night and Alaska beat Idaho 3-2 in overtime while Allen was idle. The Mountain Division standings have tightened up again. Here are the current standings:
56 points - Allen
56 points - Colorado
54 points - Idaho
53 points - Alaska
44 points - Utah
43 points - Missouri
35 points - Rapid City
- Alex Lavoie has 39 points (11 goals 28 assists) in 40 games playing in Sweden for BIK Karlskoga. Alex is second in the league in scoring. His team is in second place in a 14 team league.
DID YOU KNOW: The top three in plus/minus for a season all took place in 2014-15. Here are the top 10 all-time:
+45 - Chad Costello (2014-15)
+35 - Greger Hanson (2014-15)
+31 - Gary Steffes (2014-15)
+27 - Dave Bonk (2010-11)
+26 - Trevor Ludwig (2014-15)
+25 - Aaron Gens (2014-15)
+25 - Jamie Schaafsma (2013-14)
+24 - Jack Combs (2014-15)
+24 - Kevin Young (2014-15)
+24 - Joel Chouinard (2016-17)
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Hockey Advice From My Father - by the Allen Americans
When the Dallas Stars have their annual dads road trip one
of the questions that always gets asked is what advice the players got from
their dads when they were young that they still remember today.
Something their father would yell from the stands or talk about on the
many trips to and from the rink. It made me think it would be
interesting to ask that question to those in the Allen Americans
organization.
It would be cruel and unusual punishment to replicate the "take dad on the road" for the Allen Americans as it would mean taking the dads on "Big Red" in a 1995 bus (with over 2,000,000 miles) for hours at a time when you can be fined $50 for going to the bathroom.
It was easy to get the answer about the fatherly advice. For some players the response was immediate, for some it made them think and reflect, for some it was a very short answer and for others it was a long conversation.
In their own words here is the Allen Americans version of "Advice From My Father".
Dyson Stevenson - My dad would always tell me to have fun and work hard. Another thing he would say to me and my little sister was if you don't win you might as well not come home. He was mostly joking when he would say that but he was also kind of serious.
Bryan Moore - My dad would always tell me to give 110% and if I wasn't going to do that stay off the ice. I have always tried to push myself and it has paid off.
Derek Mathers - My dad just wanted me to have fun. He would watch my games but I used to say I could score three goals in my own net and he would just laugh all the way home. Some dads are tough on their kids if they play bad, I never had that.
Joel Chouinard - My dad was a psychologist so it wasn't about the hockey but the psychological aspects of the game. If I had a bad game he would always tell me not to be so hard on myself. He would tell me you will hold onto your stick tighter if you put too much pressure on yourself and stuff like that. He would basically say have fun and stay loose on the ice.
Eric Roy - The most important thing my dad said to me growing up was hockey is just a game and just have fun. If times get tough you need to just push through it and have fun.
Spencer Asuchak - I always remember my dad telling me it is fun to work hard.
Randy Cure - My dad would always tell me to keep my feet moving and he still tells me that to this day.
David Makowski - My dad used to say, work hard, have fun and listen to your mother. My mom always thought she knew the ins and outs of the game of hockey more than my dad.
Harrison Ruopp - My dad didn't say much but he used to say "Wherever you are, you are there."
Miles Liberati - It is not my dads quote but he used to tell me before every game hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.
Jamie Murray - My dad was always on me about competing. It wasn't about if a played well or played poorly. He wanted me to have fun but always emphasized competing. I have carried that advice throughout my career.
Kale Kerbashian - My dad was always the quietest guy in the rink. He still calls it the power kill so he was never really into the game but just supported me. He was always positive and encouraged me to have fun. He built me a really awesome outdoor rink when I was a kid. My dad is more quiet than I am.
Tanner Eberle - My dad didn't play hockey so he didn't know the game when I was little. He has learned the game a lot more from watching me play all these years. My dad always emphasized to have fun. A big thing with my dad was not to pout on the ice. I used to complain to the referee a lot when I was younger and my dad would always give me grief about that. He used to tell me not to slam the gate or show you are mad on the bench because it is not good for your team. Keep your cool and don't get too frustrated with yourself or others and you will be a good teammate.
Josh Brittain - My dad was always telling me to have fun and enjoy the game but he also told me to play with toughness. If I was injured he told me to never stay down but try and get up and get back to the bench. I have always taken that advice to heart and it has carried with me throughout my hockey career. I take pride in being tough and playing tough.
Aaron Gens - My dad used to always say "It's showtime Gensy" and he used that for all of us. It was a family thing.
Riley Gill - My dad always told me to have a short memory and just forget about the bad things that happen to me during a game. He would always say, "Don't let the little things get you down."
Gary Steffes - I got into hockey because of my dad who played in a men's league when I was a kid. I was a wild kid and super competitive so my dad thought hockey was a way I could release some energy and have some fun. My dad would travel about an hour to Detroit to work and than drive back home after work and pick me up and then drive an hour back to Detroit to take me to practice. He would often try and teach me by telling me to watch other players that were good at some aspect of the game. My dad was always there for me, he was always supportive and he was always pushing me to get better. I would not be playing professional hockey if it wasn't for my dad.
Chad Costello - My dad never yelled when I was playing as he is a pretty laid back. He used to always say to me it is not how good you are right now, it is how good you can become. He would always emphasize the process of getting better and learning from success and failure.
Greger Hanson - I remember my dad (and mom) being strict about school as they would say if you don't do your homework you can't go to practice. My dad would also always tell me if you are not having fun then don't go to practice. He was very good at letting me decide and not pushing me at all. My dad played hockey but never coached me. He was my coach in soccer.
Steve Martinson - My dad didn't play hockey but played three sports all the way through college. He always stressed hard work, compete and have fun.
It was fascinating talking to all of the players (and coach) about their dads and in many cases you can see how the advice from their fathers as youngsters has shaped the type of hockey players and young men they have become.
DID YOU KNOW: If you ask Wayne Gretzky the advice his dad gave him as a kid that stuck with him throughout his career he would say my dad always told me to, "skate to where the puck is going, not to where it has been." Gretzky used his dad's advice to score 378 goals as a 10 year old.
It would be cruel and unusual punishment to replicate the "take dad on the road" for the Allen Americans as it would mean taking the dads on "Big Red" in a 1995 bus (with over 2,000,000 miles) for hours at a time when you can be fined $50 for going to the bathroom.
It was easy to get the answer about the fatherly advice. For some players the response was immediate, for some it made them think and reflect, for some it was a very short answer and for others it was a long conversation.
In their own words here is the Allen Americans version of "Advice From My Father".
Dyson Stevenson - My dad would always tell me to have fun and work hard. Another thing he would say to me and my little sister was if you don't win you might as well not come home. He was mostly joking when he would say that but he was also kind of serious.
Bryan Moore - My dad would always tell me to give 110% and if I wasn't going to do that stay off the ice. I have always tried to push myself and it has paid off.
Derek Mathers - My dad just wanted me to have fun. He would watch my games but I used to say I could score three goals in my own net and he would just laugh all the way home. Some dads are tough on their kids if they play bad, I never had that.
Joel Chouinard - My dad was a psychologist so it wasn't about the hockey but the psychological aspects of the game. If I had a bad game he would always tell me not to be so hard on myself. He would tell me you will hold onto your stick tighter if you put too much pressure on yourself and stuff like that. He would basically say have fun and stay loose on the ice.
Eric Roy - The most important thing my dad said to me growing up was hockey is just a game and just have fun. If times get tough you need to just push through it and have fun.
Spencer Asuchak - I always remember my dad telling me it is fun to work hard.
Randy Cure - My dad would always tell me to keep my feet moving and he still tells me that to this day.
David Makowski - My dad used to say, work hard, have fun and listen to your mother. My mom always thought she knew the ins and outs of the game of hockey more than my dad.
Harrison Ruopp - My dad didn't say much but he used to say "Wherever you are, you are there."
Miles Liberati - It is not my dads quote but he used to tell me before every game hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.
Jamie Murray - My dad was always on me about competing. It wasn't about if a played well or played poorly. He wanted me to have fun but always emphasized competing. I have carried that advice throughout my career.
Kale Kerbashian - My dad was always the quietest guy in the rink. He still calls it the power kill so he was never really into the game but just supported me. He was always positive and encouraged me to have fun. He built me a really awesome outdoor rink when I was a kid. My dad is more quiet than I am.
Tanner Eberle - My dad didn't play hockey so he didn't know the game when I was little. He has learned the game a lot more from watching me play all these years. My dad always emphasized to have fun. A big thing with my dad was not to pout on the ice. I used to complain to the referee a lot when I was younger and my dad would always give me grief about that. He used to tell me not to slam the gate or show you are mad on the bench because it is not good for your team. Keep your cool and don't get too frustrated with yourself or others and you will be a good teammate.
Josh Brittain - My dad was always telling me to have fun and enjoy the game but he also told me to play with toughness. If I was injured he told me to never stay down but try and get up and get back to the bench. I have always taken that advice to heart and it has carried with me throughout my hockey career. I take pride in being tough and playing tough.
Aaron Gens - My dad used to always say "It's showtime Gensy" and he used that for all of us. It was a family thing.
Riley Gill - My dad always told me to have a short memory and just forget about the bad things that happen to me during a game. He would always say, "Don't let the little things get you down."
Gary Steffes - I got into hockey because of my dad who played in a men's league when I was a kid. I was a wild kid and super competitive so my dad thought hockey was a way I could release some energy and have some fun. My dad would travel about an hour to Detroit to work and than drive back home after work and pick me up and then drive an hour back to Detroit to take me to practice. He would often try and teach me by telling me to watch other players that were good at some aspect of the game. My dad was always there for me, he was always supportive and he was always pushing me to get better. I would not be playing professional hockey if it wasn't for my dad.
Chad Costello - My dad never yelled when I was playing as he is a pretty laid back. He used to always say to me it is not how good you are right now, it is how good you can become. He would always emphasize the process of getting better and learning from success and failure.
Greger Hanson - I remember my dad (and mom) being strict about school as they would say if you don't do your homework you can't go to practice. My dad would also always tell me if you are not having fun then don't go to practice. He was very good at letting me decide and not pushing me at all. My dad played hockey but never coached me. He was my coach in soccer.
Steve Martinson - My dad didn't play hockey but played three sports all the way through college. He always stressed hard work, compete and have fun.
It was fascinating talking to all of the players (and coach) about their dads and in many cases you can see how the advice from their fathers as youngsters has shaped the type of hockey players and young men they have become.
DID YOU KNOW: If you ask Wayne Gretzky the advice his dad gave him as a kid that stuck with him throughout his career he would say my dad always told me to, "skate to where the puck is going, not to where it has been." Gretzky used his dad's advice to score 378 goals as a 10 year old.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Allen Loses in a Shootout, Martinson & Player Comments, Shootout Stats, Orlando History & More
Sometimes a team feels fortunate to come away with one point and that was the case last night as the Allen Americans lost to the Orlando Solar Bears 4-3 in a shootout before a crowd of 4508 at the Amway Center. It was the first meeting ever between these teams and the Solar Bears out worked and out played the Americans for most of the game.
- Allen had a great start against the Everblades on Wednesday night getting out to an early 3-0 lead. It was just the opposite against the Solar Bears last night as Allen gave up two first period goals while being out shot 15-4. The Americans were out shot 43-19 in regulation time though they did have a 6-3 shot advantage in the overtime period.
- It was quite a night for Greger Hanson in his second game since returning from San Diego (AHL). He had two goals in the second period to lead the Allen comeback. Hanson had 11 shots on goal and was on the ice for all six goals scored in regulation. Unfortunately three of the six were scored by Orlando. Greger was also successful in his shootout attempt. He was selected as the #2 star of the game.
- Chad Costello assisted on all three Allen goals. The goal scorers were Hanson (21 & 22) and Eric Roy (9). Check out the highlight package on ECHL Rewind. All of the goals from regulation and the shootout are included along with a save that Jamie Murray made you will want to watch a few times using the rewind button. You will recognize the move Hanson made on his shootout goal as that has become his go to move. Also note the passes Costello makes on the two power play goals. The color guy from Orlando says Chad lost the puck on the Roy goal but I think it was a pass. You can judge for yourself. You will hear the Orlando color commentator several times on the highlights. You may recognized the voice as Trevor Ludwig who is out for the season with a leg injury. I always thought Trevor did a great job in the booth when he was in Allen and spent time with Tommy Daniels. Here is the link: http://www.echl.com/
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
- The truth is we got outplayed in the first two periods. Orlando won most of the puck battles.
- Chad Costello made some big plays for us tonight especially on those two power play goals.
- We should be a lot fresher on Sunday. We will practice in the morning but the only time we could get ice was 8:45 am. We do not have ice on Saturday.
- It is nice to have everyone back with Moore and Marchment arriving in Orlando just a couple of hours before game time. We should have everyone available for the game on Sunday. It would be nice to have more speed in the lineup against Orlando so we will see how things play out.
- We have four or five players who are not in good enough shape and haven't been able to keep up with the pace of the game the last two nights.
PLAYER COMMENTS
Mike Holum caught up with Greger Hanson and Bryan Moore after the game and this is what they had to say:
"My first goal was a deflection from the side of the net. There is a little bit of luck on that play as I got the puck elevated over the goalie's shoulder. The second goal was just an amazing pass from Chad on the 5-on-3 as it was pretty easy to put the puck in the net.".....Greger Hanson
"We really struggled and got out played tonight to be honest. Orlando played really well and moved their feet. They had us against the ropes and we should be happy to get a point out of that game. We traveled last night after the game but that is nothing new. That happens in this league all of the time. You can't blame that for the way we played.".....Hanson
"It was great to be back up in the AHL. I was there most of last year with San Diego and getting another opportunity was a pleasure for sure. The coaches were great and the guys welcomed me right away. I just went out and tried to play my best. Fortunately I was able to get on the scoreboard in the last game (Wednesday) with a goal and assist. I am just going to try and keep working hard every day and get back up to the AHL.".....Bryan Moore
"I definitely felt a little different out there tonight. I think I was a little bit slow and my timing was off just because of the traveling. We played last night in San Jose and got back to the hotel in time for two hours of sleep before we jumped on a plane for six hours to get to Orlando. We were dehydrated and didn't get enough meals in us. That all could have effected us but there are no excuses to be made on this game. We should have won, we need to practice hard tomorrow and come back ready for Sunday.".....Moore
OTHER COMMENTS
- With three assists in the game Chad Costello extended his lead in the ECHL scoring race to 20 points. Chad has 76 points (23 goals 53 assists) and his 53 assists are more than anyone else in the league has total points with the exception of Peter Sivak who has 56 points.
- Eric Roy's goal was his ninth of the season and moves him into third place in the ECHL for goals scored by a defenseman.
- One of Greger Hanson's goals was on the power play which gives him eight power play goals this season good for second in the ECHL. First place is owned by Spencer Asuchak who has nine power play goals.
- A lot of Allen fans made the trip to Orlando to support the team. Here are a couple of pictures Mike Holum shared.
- With the shootout loss last night Allen picked up one point and extended their Mountain Division lead to three points. Here are the current standing with games played in parentheses. Allen is idle the next two nights while the three teams chasing them play both nights. Colorado is at home against Wichita and Idaho is at Alaska.
56 points - Allen (45 games)
53 points - Idaho (42 games)
52 points - Colorado (42 games)
49 points - Alaska (39 games)
40 points - Utah (41 games)
39 points - Missouri (41 games)
35 points - Rapid City (39 games)
- Allen's record is now 5-2 in overtimes and 1-2 in shootouts. The Americans are 4-7 in shootout attempts. Hanson is 3-3, Costello 0-1, Steffes 0-1, Moore 0-1 and Matt Willows was 1-1. Riley Gill was in goal for the lone shootout win an didn't allow a goal (0-2). Jamie Murray has been in goal for the two shootout losses and has struggled. He has allowed five goals in five attempts including 3-3 last night.
DID YOU KNOW: The Orlando Solar Bears joined the ECHL in 2012-13. They revived the name of the original Orlando Solar Bears who played in the International Hockey League (IHL) from 1995-2001. The Solar Bears won the last IHL championship, claiming the Turner Cup in 2001. The ECHL Solar Bears have made the Kelly Cup playoffs twice in their first four years losing in the first round both times.
- Allen had a great start against the Everblades on Wednesday night getting out to an early 3-0 lead. It was just the opposite against the Solar Bears last night as Allen gave up two first period goals while being out shot 15-4. The Americans were out shot 43-19 in regulation time though they did have a 6-3 shot advantage in the overtime period.
- It was quite a night for Greger Hanson in his second game since returning from San Diego (AHL). He had two goals in the second period to lead the Allen comeback. Hanson had 11 shots on goal and was on the ice for all six goals scored in regulation. Unfortunately three of the six were scored by Orlando. Greger was also successful in his shootout attempt. He was selected as the #2 star of the game.
- Chad Costello assisted on all three Allen goals. The goal scorers were Hanson (21 & 22) and Eric Roy (9). Check out the highlight package on ECHL Rewind. All of the goals from regulation and the shootout are included along with a save that Jamie Murray made you will want to watch a few times using the rewind button. You will recognize the move Hanson made on his shootout goal as that has become his go to move. Also note the passes Costello makes on the two power play goals. The color guy from Orlando says Chad lost the puck on the Roy goal but I think it was a pass. You can judge for yourself. You will hear the Orlando color commentator several times on the highlights. You may recognized the voice as Trevor Ludwig who is out for the season with a leg injury. I always thought Trevor did a great job in the booth when he was in Allen and spent time with Tommy Daniels. Here is the link: http://www.echl.com/
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
- The truth is we got outplayed in the first two periods. Orlando won most of the puck battles.
- Chad Costello made some big plays for us tonight especially on those two power play goals.
- We should be a lot fresher on Sunday. We will practice in the morning but the only time we could get ice was 8:45 am. We do not have ice on Saturday.
- It is nice to have everyone back with Moore and Marchment arriving in Orlando just a couple of hours before game time. We should have everyone available for the game on Sunday. It would be nice to have more speed in the lineup against Orlando so we will see how things play out.
- We have four or five players who are not in good enough shape and haven't been able to keep up with the pace of the game the last two nights.
PLAYER COMMENTS
Mike Holum caught up with Greger Hanson and Bryan Moore after the game and this is what they had to say:
"My first goal was a deflection from the side of the net. There is a little bit of luck on that play as I got the puck elevated over the goalie's shoulder. The second goal was just an amazing pass from Chad on the 5-on-3 as it was pretty easy to put the puck in the net.".....Greger Hanson
"We really struggled and got out played tonight to be honest. Orlando played really well and moved their feet. They had us against the ropes and we should be happy to get a point out of that game. We traveled last night after the game but that is nothing new. That happens in this league all of the time. You can't blame that for the way we played.".....Hanson
"It was great to be back up in the AHL. I was there most of last year with San Diego and getting another opportunity was a pleasure for sure. The coaches were great and the guys welcomed me right away. I just went out and tried to play my best. Fortunately I was able to get on the scoreboard in the last game (Wednesday) with a goal and assist. I am just going to try and keep working hard every day and get back up to the AHL.".....Bryan Moore
"I definitely felt a little different out there tonight. I think I was a little bit slow and my timing was off just because of the traveling. We played last night in San Jose and got back to the hotel in time for two hours of sleep before we jumped on a plane for six hours to get to Orlando. We were dehydrated and didn't get enough meals in us. That all could have effected us but there are no excuses to be made on this game. We should have won, we need to practice hard tomorrow and come back ready for Sunday.".....Moore
OTHER COMMENTS
- With three assists in the game Chad Costello extended his lead in the ECHL scoring race to 20 points. Chad has 76 points (23 goals 53 assists) and his 53 assists are more than anyone else in the league has total points with the exception of Peter Sivak who has 56 points.
- Eric Roy's goal was his ninth of the season and moves him into third place in the ECHL for goals scored by a defenseman.
- One of Greger Hanson's goals was on the power play which gives him eight power play goals this season good for second in the ECHL. First place is owned by Spencer Asuchak who has nine power play goals.
- A lot of Allen fans made the trip to Orlando to support the team. Here are a couple of pictures Mike Holum shared.
- With the shootout loss last night Allen picked up one point and extended their Mountain Division lead to three points. Here are the current standing with games played in parentheses. Allen is idle the next two nights while the three teams chasing them play both nights. Colorado is at home against Wichita and Idaho is at Alaska.
56 points - Allen (45 games)
53 points - Idaho (42 games)
52 points - Colorado (42 games)
49 points - Alaska (39 games)
40 points - Utah (41 games)
39 points - Missouri (41 games)
35 points - Rapid City (39 games)
- Allen's record is now 5-2 in overtimes and 1-2 in shootouts. The Americans are 4-7 in shootout attempts. Hanson is 3-3, Costello 0-1, Steffes 0-1, Moore 0-1 and Matt Willows was 1-1. Riley Gill was in goal for the lone shootout win an didn't allow a goal (0-2). Jamie Murray has been in goal for the two shootout losses and has struggled. He has allowed five goals in five attempts including 3-3 last night.
DID YOU KNOW: The Orlando Solar Bears joined the ECHL in 2012-13. They revived the name of the original Orlando Solar Bears who played in the International Hockey League (IHL) from 1995-2001. The Solar Bears won the last IHL championship, claiming the Turner Cup in 2001. The ECHL Solar Bears have made the Kelly Cup playoffs twice in their first four years losing in the first round both times.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Allen vs Florida Game Recap Including Martinson & Player Comments, Allen vs Orlando Game Preview
The Allen Americans beat the Florida Everblades 3-2 last night before a big crowd of 5070 at Germain Arena. It was a much anticipated meeting between the #1 ranked team in the Eastern Conference and the #2 ranked team in the Western Conference. If you tuned in late you missed all three Allen goals. Dyson Stevenson scored his sixth goal of the season on his first shift back after missing the last seven games due to an injury. Dyson's goal came just 33 seconds into the game and was assisted by Harrison Ruopp and Josh Brittain. At the 5:31 mark of the period Spencer Asuchak scored his 17th goal of the season assisted by David Makowski and Chad Costello. It was a power play goal, the type Allen fans have become accustomed to seeing where Costello sets up Makowski who blasts a shot from the point and Asuchak is in front of the net to tip it home. Derek Mathers made the score 3-0 just 41 seconds after the Asuchak goal as he put in a rebound for his fifth goal of the season. Miles Liberati and Gary Steffes assisted on Derek's goal.
- There were lots of things to like about the game last night. To start with anytime you can beat the best team in the Eastern Conference at home it is a good night. It was only the fourth regulation loss by Florida at home all season. Allen got off to a great start taking a 3-0 lead six minutes into the game. Not going to lose many games with a start like that.
- The highlights are not yet posted at echl.com but what they would show is all three goals came within a foot or two of the crease. The type of goals coach Martinson likes with shots to the net and guys in front. Stevenson's goal was off a Ruopp shot from the point. Asuchak's was right at the crease in front of the goalie when he tipped in a Makowski shot from up high. Gary Steffes made the play on Mather's goal with a perfect face-off draw back to Liberti who shot from just above the face-off circle. Steffes got the rebound and took a shot that the goalie stopped but rebounded to the other side of the goal mouth where Mathers whacked it home. If you added all three goals together they weren't more than a total three feet from the crease.
- Another thing to like about the game was the balanced scoring. All three lines had a goal and there were six assists on the three goals. Nine different players had a point and nobody had more than one point.
- Jamie Murray had a great game in goal stopping 37 of 39 shots and earning the #1 star for his effort.
- With the good there are some areas that will have to be cleaned up for the game tonight against Orlando. The power play scored on the first opportunity but then went 0-6 the rest of the game including a 5-on-3 and a four minute power play.
- The power play unit gave up their 10th shorthanded goal of the season. Seven of the 10 have come on the road. The Americans are now dead last (all by themselves) in the ECHL in total shorthanded goals (10) and road shorthanded goals (7).
- Allen continues to be out shot by their opponents and that is a concern. Last night Florida out shot Allen 39-21 including 11-3 in the third period. Sometimes power plays skew the shots on goal but last night Allen had three more power plays than Florida. Counting shots on goal seems to be an art more than a science and Tommy Daniels mentioned on the broadcast he saw shots that were not counted so that may have been a factor.
POST GAME QUOTES
Here are Steve Martinson's post game comments along with some from the players. Thanks to Mike Holum for taking the time to talk to a few of the players after the game, get their thoughts and pass them along.
"It was a good win tonight against a Florida team that is very quick.".....Steve Martinson
"We missed out on some quality scoring chances by trying to be too cute and not getting shots on net. All three of our goals were from shots on net with guys in front.".....Martinson
"We will take this win after a rough game in Wichita on Sunday and not being able to skate for the last two days.".....Martinson
"It was really good for us to get off to a quick start tonight against a good team like Florida. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time on my goal.".....#2 Star Derek Mathers
"It is always good to get a win on the road and it is extra special to get a win against one of the top teams in the league.".....Mathers
"The defense helped out a bunch tonight and limited opportunities for Florida.".....#1 Star Jamie Murray
"I felt rested after a couple days off with no skating. This was a good team effort against a really good team and we just jelled.".....Murray
"It is nice to get some more speed back in the lineup with Greger Hanson and Dyson Stevenson which helped out a lot. Anytime you get a three goal lead is a great help.".....Murray
"It was a big boost in confidence to score that quickly (33 seconds), of course I was out in front of the net and a nifty pass from the corner comes and I was able to put it in the goal.".....Dyson Stevenson
OTHER COMMENTS
- Bryan Moore and Jake Marchment both had great games last night in the San Jose Barracuda's 5-0 win over Stockton. Moore had a goal, assist, three shots, 12 penalty minutes and was a +2. He was selected as the #3 star of the game. Marchment had two fights in the game. Despite their great performances I would guess they may get sent back to Allen as early as today when two forwards recently acquired from Ottawa in a trade arrive in San Jose. It is especially difficult for Moore who is a free agent. He may be better than contracted players and has shown in his two games in San Jose that he is but the contracted players will stay. Marchment is under contract with San Jose but might get caught up in a numbers game. If one or both of them are headed back to Allen something should come out today.
- Here is a video Tommy Daniels recorded with Greger Hanson after the pregame skate yesterday.
- With their win last night Allen moved into sole possession of first place in the Mountain Division with 55 points. The Americans are two points ahead of Idaho, three points ahead of Colorado and six points ahead of Alaska.
ALLEN VS ORLANDO PREVIEW
- While Allen was taking on the Everblades last night in a game that ended at 10:00 pm and then drove the 165 miles to Orlando in vans the Solar Bears were idle having last played on Saturday at home when they lost to Florida 5-2. For sure Orlando will be the more rested team tonight when they take on the Americans.
- The game tonight (6:00 pm CST) will be the first ever against Orlando and it should be quite an experience. The Solar Bears play at the Amway Center which is also the home of the NBA Orlando Magic. The arena was built in 2010 at a cost of $480 million. It seats 17,353 for hockey. If you recall Allen was originally scheduled to play Orlando on Friday and Saturday. That schedule was changed to Thursday and Sunday to accommodate two concerts now scheduled on Friday (Billy Joel) and Saturday (Florida Georgia Line). Maybe the players can get hooked up with tickets if they are interested.
- Allen seems back on track after some poor games recently while they were playing with a short bench. With Hanson and Stevenson back in the lineup, Zach Hall day to day and the possibility of Moore and maybe Marchment returning, all of a sudden coach Martinsion could go from to few forwards to a situation where there are too many forwards. A nice problem to have if it happens.
- Here are the current stats comparing Allen and Orlando:
ALLEN ORLANDO
Team Record 26-15-2-1 (55 points) 20-15-4-2 (46 points)
Division Ranking 1st - Mountain 3rd -South
Conference Ranking 2nd - Western 5th - Eastern
League Ranking 4th 12th
Last Game 3-2 Win (Florida ) 5-2 Loss (Florida)
Goals For 161 149
Goals Against 126 150
Power Play 18.6% (36/194) 17.3% (32/185)
Penalty Kill 84.4% (33/211) 75.9% (39/162)
Most PIM Mathers (163) Brouillard (60)
Leading Scorers: Costello (23-50-73) Faille (16-26-42)
Hanson (20-25-45) Manderson (11-31-42)
- Here is how Allen and Orlando rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:
Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 1st (20.14) - Orlando 10th (14.51)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 4th (3.66) - Orlando 5th (3.63)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 3rd (2.86) - Orlando 24th (3.66)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 13th (32.20) - Orlando 1st (36.71)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 24th (34.68) - Orlando 25th (34.76)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (18.6%) - Orlando 12th (17.3%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 10th (84.4%) - Orlando 26th (75.9%)
- A couple of things stand out when you look at the stats above. Orlando is tops in the league in generating shots averaging almost 37 per game. Allen is ranked #24 in allowing shots. If Allen gives up more than 40 shots tonight it could spell defeat. In Allen's favor is the Orlando penalty kill which is ranked #26 at 75.9% but at home they are even worse with a penalty kill percentage of only 68.8%. It could be a good night for the Allen power play.
- Orlando is 3-5-0-2 in the last ten games and has lost their last five home games dating back to Christmas. During the five game home losing streak the Solar Bears are giving up an average of 4.2 goals per game.
- Allen is 7-2-1-0 in their last ten games and despite the 5-1 road loss to Wichita on Sunday have an outstanding road record. In their last 10 road games Allen's record is 8-1-1-0 including five shutouts.
- Officials scheduled for the game are referee Andrew Bruggeman (#25) and linesmen Ken Radolinski (#64) and Jason Leisten (#52). Bruggeman was the referee last night against the Everblades.
- Here is a video game preview of the upcoming two games with Orlando. It includes Chris Crane talking about how to stop the Allen Americans:
DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans lead the ECHL in penalty minutes with 886 in 44 games for an average of 20.14 per game. This is not however, the most penalized team in Americans history. That honor goes to the 2012-2013 CHL championship team who won the Presidents' Cup while having over 400 more penalty minutes than any other team in the league. Allen had 1571 penalty minutes that season in 66 games for an average of 23.80 per game.
- There were lots of things to like about the game last night. To start with anytime you can beat the best team in the Eastern Conference at home it is a good night. It was only the fourth regulation loss by Florida at home all season. Allen got off to a great start taking a 3-0 lead six minutes into the game. Not going to lose many games with a start like that.
- The highlights are not yet posted at echl.com but what they would show is all three goals came within a foot or two of the crease. The type of goals coach Martinson likes with shots to the net and guys in front. Stevenson's goal was off a Ruopp shot from the point. Asuchak's was right at the crease in front of the goalie when he tipped in a Makowski shot from up high. Gary Steffes made the play on Mather's goal with a perfect face-off draw back to Liberti who shot from just above the face-off circle. Steffes got the rebound and took a shot that the goalie stopped but rebounded to the other side of the goal mouth where Mathers whacked it home. If you added all three goals together they weren't more than a total three feet from the crease.
- Another thing to like about the game was the balanced scoring. All three lines had a goal and there were six assists on the three goals. Nine different players had a point and nobody had more than one point.
- Jamie Murray had a great game in goal stopping 37 of 39 shots and earning the #1 star for his effort.
- With the good there are some areas that will have to be cleaned up for the game tonight against Orlando. The power play scored on the first opportunity but then went 0-6 the rest of the game including a 5-on-3 and a four minute power play.
- The power play unit gave up their 10th shorthanded goal of the season. Seven of the 10 have come on the road. The Americans are now dead last (all by themselves) in the ECHL in total shorthanded goals (10) and road shorthanded goals (7).
- Allen continues to be out shot by their opponents and that is a concern. Last night Florida out shot Allen 39-21 including 11-3 in the third period. Sometimes power plays skew the shots on goal but last night Allen had three more power plays than Florida. Counting shots on goal seems to be an art more than a science and Tommy Daniels mentioned on the broadcast he saw shots that were not counted so that may have been a factor.
POST GAME QUOTES
Here are Steve Martinson's post game comments along with some from the players. Thanks to Mike Holum for taking the time to talk to a few of the players after the game, get their thoughts and pass them along.
"It was a good win tonight against a Florida team that is very quick.".....Steve Martinson
"We missed out on some quality scoring chances by trying to be too cute and not getting shots on net. All three of our goals were from shots on net with guys in front.".....Martinson
"We will take this win after a rough game in Wichita on Sunday and not being able to skate for the last two days.".....Martinson
"It was really good for us to get off to a quick start tonight against a good team like Florida. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time on my goal.".....#2 Star Derek Mathers
"It is always good to get a win on the road and it is extra special to get a win against one of the top teams in the league.".....Mathers
"The defense helped out a bunch tonight and limited opportunities for Florida.".....#1 Star Jamie Murray
"I felt rested after a couple days off with no skating. This was a good team effort against a really good team and we just jelled.".....Murray
"It is nice to get some more speed back in the lineup with Greger Hanson and Dyson Stevenson which helped out a lot. Anytime you get a three goal lead is a great help.".....Murray
"It was a big boost in confidence to score that quickly (33 seconds), of course I was out in front of the net and a nifty pass from the corner comes and I was able to put it in the goal.".....Dyson Stevenson
OTHER COMMENTS
- Bryan Moore and Jake Marchment both had great games last night in the San Jose Barracuda's 5-0 win over Stockton. Moore had a goal, assist, three shots, 12 penalty minutes and was a +2. He was selected as the #3 star of the game. Marchment had two fights in the game. Despite their great performances I would guess they may get sent back to Allen as early as today when two forwards recently acquired from Ottawa in a trade arrive in San Jose. It is especially difficult for Moore who is a free agent. He may be better than contracted players and has shown in his two games in San Jose that he is but the contracted players will stay. Marchment is under contract with San Jose but might get caught up in a numbers game. If one or both of them are headed back to Allen something should come out today.
- Here is a video Tommy Daniels recorded with Greger Hanson after the pregame skate yesterday.
- With their win last night Allen moved into sole possession of first place in the Mountain Division with 55 points. The Americans are two points ahead of Idaho, three points ahead of Colorado and six points ahead of Alaska.
ALLEN VS ORLANDO PREVIEW
- While Allen was taking on the Everblades last night in a game that ended at 10:00 pm and then drove the 165 miles to Orlando in vans the Solar Bears were idle having last played on Saturday at home when they lost to Florida 5-2. For sure Orlando will be the more rested team tonight when they take on the Americans.
- The game tonight (6:00 pm CST) will be the first ever against Orlando and it should be quite an experience. The Solar Bears play at the Amway Center which is also the home of the NBA Orlando Magic. The arena was built in 2010 at a cost of $480 million. It seats 17,353 for hockey. If you recall Allen was originally scheduled to play Orlando on Friday and Saturday. That schedule was changed to Thursday and Sunday to accommodate two concerts now scheduled on Friday (Billy Joel) and Saturday (Florida Georgia Line). Maybe the players can get hooked up with tickets if they are interested.
- Allen seems back on track after some poor games recently while they were playing with a short bench. With Hanson and Stevenson back in the lineup, Zach Hall day to day and the possibility of Moore and maybe Marchment returning, all of a sudden coach Martinsion could go from to few forwards to a situation where there are too many forwards. A nice problem to have if it happens.
- Here are the current stats comparing Allen and Orlando:
ALLEN ORLANDO
Team Record 26-15-2-1 (55 points) 20-15-4-2 (46 points)
Division Ranking 1st - Mountain 3rd -South
Conference Ranking 2nd - Western 5th - Eastern
League Ranking 4th 12th
Last Game 3-2 Win (Florida ) 5-2 Loss (Florida)
Goals For 161 149
Goals Against 126 150
Power Play 18.6% (36/194) 17.3% (32/185)
Penalty Kill 84.4% (33/211) 75.9% (39/162)
Most PIM Mathers (163) Brouillard (60)
Leading Scorers: Costello (23-50-73) Faille (16-26-42)
Hanson (20-25-45) Manderson (11-31-42)
- Here is how Allen and Orlando rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:
Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 1st (20.14) - Orlando 10th (14.51)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 4th (3.66) - Orlando 5th (3.63)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 3rd (2.86) - Orlando 24th (3.66)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 13th (32.20) - Orlando 1st (36.71)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 24th (34.68) - Orlando 25th (34.76)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (18.6%) - Orlando 12th (17.3%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 10th (84.4%) - Orlando 26th (75.9%)
- A couple of things stand out when you look at the stats above. Orlando is tops in the league in generating shots averaging almost 37 per game. Allen is ranked #24 in allowing shots. If Allen gives up more than 40 shots tonight it could spell defeat. In Allen's favor is the Orlando penalty kill which is ranked #26 at 75.9% but at home they are even worse with a penalty kill percentage of only 68.8%. It could be a good night for the Allen power play.
- Orlando is 3-5-0-2 in the last ten games and has lost their last five home games dating back to Christmas. During the five game home losing streak the Solar Bears are giving up an average of 4.2 goals per game.
- Allen is 7-2-1-0 in their last ten games and despite the 5-1 road loss to Wichita on Sunday have an outstanding road record. In their last 10 road games Allen's record is 8-1-1-0 including five shutouts.
- Officials scheduled for the game are referee Andrew Bruggeman (#25) and linesmen Ken Radolinski (#64) and Jason Leisten (#52). Bruggeman was the referee last night against the Everblades.
- Here is a video game preview of the upcoming two games with Orlando. It includes Chris Crane talking about how to stop the Allen Americans:
DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans lead the ECHL in penalty minutes with 886 in 44 games for an average of 20.14 per game. This is not however, the most penalized team in Americans history. That honor goes to the 2012-2013 CHL championship team who won the Presidents' Cup while having over 400 more penalty minutes than any other team in the league. Allen had 1571 penalty minutes that season in 66 games for an average of 23.80 per game.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Allen vs Florida Preview, Roster Update, Evansville Franchise Sold, Sharks 2 for 1 Trade May Help Allen
The Allen Americans have their work cut out for them tonight (6:30 pm CST) as they take on the number one team in the Eastern Conference, the Florida Everblades. Florida is coming off of two wins (7-2 & 5-2) against Orlando while Allen is coming off of two losses (4-0 & 5-1) at the hands of the Wichita Thunder.
- Allen's roster will be bolstered by the expected return to the lineup of Dyson Stevenson and Greger Hanson. Stevenson is coming off an injury while Hanson was released from his PTO (professional try out) by the San Diego Gulls (AHL) yesterday. It is also possible Zach Hall will be in the lineup as he is listed as day to day.
- Here are the current stats comparing Allen and Florida:
ALLEN FLORIDA
Team Record 25-15-2-1 (53 points) 27-8-1-2 (57 points)
Division Ranking 1st - Mountain 1st -South
Conference Ranking 2nd - Western 1st -South
League Ranking 4th 2nd
Last Game 5-1 Loss (Wichita ) 5-2 Win (Orlando)
Goals For 158 139
Goals Against 124 105
Power Play 18.7% (35/187) 14.8% (21/142)
Penalty Kill 84.1% (33/207) 85.5% (21/148)
Most PIM Mathers (163) Gogol (98)
Leading Scorers: Costello (23-49-72) O'Donnell (26-20-46)
Hanson (20-25-45) Harris (15-27-42)
- Here is how Allen and Florida rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:
Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 1st (20.43) - Florida 8th (14.84)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 4th (3.67) - Florida 5th (3.66)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 6th (2.88) - Florida 2nd (2.76)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 11th (32.47) - Florida 2nd (35.47)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 24th (34.38) - Florida 6th (29.24)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (18.7%) - Florida 19th (14.8%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 11th (84.1%) - Florida 5th (85.8%)
- A couple of things stand out when you look at the stats above. Allen and Florida are evenly matched as both are at the top of the ECHL in goals scored and goals allowed. Florida has the advantage in shots as they take more per game than Allen and allow fewer than Allen. Allen has the advantage on the power play as 22% of the Americans goals come from the power play versus 15% for Florida.
- A good start is so critical to success for the Americans. When Allen scores first their record is 18-2-1-1. When they don't score first their record is 7-13-1-0. Allen has given up the first goal in five of the last six games. Here are some stats that are even more striking about the importance of a good start for the Americans:
15-2-1-1 - Allen's record when leading after the first period
1-13-1-0- Allen's record when trailing after the first period
In the odd stat category the Americans have not lost a game all season when tied after the first period as they are a perfect 9-0-0-0.
- Allen should be aware of the shorthanded goal tonight. The Americans have given up six shorthanded goals on the road this season which is the most in the league. Florida has scored five shorthanded goals at home which is third in the league.
- The ECHL's number two and three goals scorers will be going head to head tonight. Florida's Brendan O'Donnell is #2 with 26 goals and Allen's Chad Costello is #3 with 23 goals.
- Officials scheduled for the game are referee Andrew Bruggeman (#25) and linesmen James Johnstone (#37) and Billy Gubelman (#36).
OTHER COMMENTS
- The San Jose Sharks made a trade yesterday sending forward Tommy Wingels to Ottawa for two forwards (Buddy Robinson & Zach Stortini) and a seventh round draft choice. Robinson and Stortini were immediately assigned to the Barracuda. The Barracuda now have 15 forwards on their roster. Haven't had a chance to talk to coach Martinson about the trade but I expect Bryan Moore could be sent back to Allen after the Barracuda game tonight. It is possible Jake Marchment could also be assigned to Allen. Stay tuned.
- If you recall last year the Evansville IceMen franchise was unable to come to lease terms with the city of Evansville and were planning to move to Owensboro, Kentucky which is only 40 miles away. That plan never got off the ground and the team suspended operations for the 2016-17 season. Yesterday it was reported the team has now been sold to a group from Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville and Reno, Nevada have often been mentioned as cities that have groups interested in establishing an ECHL franchise that would begin play in the fall of 2018. Here is a link to the story: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/reports-minor-league-hockey-team-sold-to-jacksonville-group/392344699
DID YOU KNOW: The game tonight will be the first meeting ever between Allen and Florida. The Everblades were founded in 1998 and have missed the playoffs only once in team history (2013-14). They have been to the Kelly Cup finals three times, winning in 2012. The team is based in Estero which is near Fort Myers. The Everblades are affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) and Charlotte Checkers (AHL). Florida plays in Germain Arena which opened in 1998 and has a capacity of 7186. Here are a couple of pictures of the arena.
- Allen's roster will be bolstered by the expected return to the lineup of Dyson Stevenson and Greger Hanson. Stevenson is coming off an injury while Hanson was released from his PTO (professional try out) by the San Diego Gulls (AHL) yesterday. It is also possible Zach Hall will be in the lineup as he is listed as day to day.
- Here are the current stats comparing Allen and Florida:
ALLEN FLORIDA
Team Record 25-15-2-1 (53 points) 27-8-1-2 (57 points)
Division Ranking 1st - Mountain 1st -South
Conference Ranking 2nd - Western 1st -South
League Ranking 4th 2nd
Last Game 5-1 Loss (Wichita ) 5-2 Win (Orlando)
Goals For 158 139
Goals Against 124 105
Power Play 18.7% (35/187) 14.8% (21/142)
Penalty Kill 84.1% (33/207) 85.5% (21/148)
Most PIM Mathers (163) Gogol (98)
Leading Scorers: Costello (23-49-72) O'Donnell (26-20-46)
Hanson (20-25-45) Harris (15-27-42)
- Here is how Allen and Florida rank in the ECHL in some statistical categories:
Penalty Minutes Per Game: Allen 1st (20.43) - Florida 8th (14.84)
Goals Scored Per Game: Allen 4th (3.67) - Florida 5th (3.66)
Goals Allowed Per Game: Allen 6th (2.88) - Florida 2nd (2.76)
Shots For Per Game: Allen 11th (32.47) - Florida 2nd (35.47)
Shots Against Per Game: Allen 24th (34.38) - Florida 6th (29.24)
Power Play Percentage: Allen 10th (18.7%) - Florida 19th (14.8%)
Penalty Kill Percentage: Allen 11th (84.1%) - Florida 5th (85.8%)
- A couple of things stand out when you look at the stats above. Allen and Florida are evenly matched as both are at the top of the ECHL in goals scored and goals allowed. Florida has the advantage in shots as they take more per game than Allen and allow fewer than Allen. Allen has the advantage on the power play as 22% of the Americans goals come from the power play versus 15% for Florida.
- A good start is so critical to success for the Americans. When Allen scores first their record is 18-2-1-1. When they don't score first their record is 7-13-1-0. Allen has given up the first goal in five of the last six games. Here are some stats that are even more striking about the importance of a good start for the Americans:
15-2-1-1 - Allen's record when leading after the first period
1-13-1-0- Allen's record when trailing after the first period
In the odd stat category the Americans have not lost a game all season when tied after the first period as they are a perfect 9-0-0-0.
- Allen should be aware of the shorthanded goal tonight. The Americans have given up six shorthanded goals on the road this season which is the most in the league. Florida has scored five shorthanded goals at home which is third in the league.
- The ECHL's number two and three goals scorers will be going head to head tonight. Florida's Brendan O'Donnell is #2 with 26 goals and Allen's Chad Costello is #3 with 23 goals.
- Officials scheduled for the game are referee Andrew Bruggeman (#25) and linesmen James Johnstone (#37) and Billy Gubelman (#36).
OTHER COMMENTS
- The San Jose Sharks made a trade yesterday sending forward Tommy Wingels to Ottawa for two forwards (Buddy Robinson & Zach Stortini) and a seventh round draft choice. Robinson and Stortini were immediately assigned to the Barracuda. The Barracuda now have 15 forwards on their roster. Haven't had a chance to talk to coach Martinson about the trade but I expect Bryan Moore could be sent back to Allen after the Barracuda game tonight. It is possible Jake Marchment could also be assigned to Allen. Stay tuned.
- If you recall last year the Evansville IceMen franchise was unable to come to lease terms with the city of Evansville and were planning to move to Owensboro, Kentucky which is only 40 miles away. That plan never got off the ground and the team suspended operations for the 2016-17 season. Yesterday it was reported the team has now been sold to a group from Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville and Reno, Nevada have often been mentioned as cities that have groups interested in establishing an ECHL franchise that would begin play in the fall of 2018. Here is a link to the story: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/reports-minor-league-hockey-team-sold-to-jacksonville-group/392344699
DID YOU KNOW: The game tonight will be the first meeting ever between Allen and Florida. The Everblades were founded in 1998 and have missed the playoffs only once in team history (2013-14). They have been to the Kelly Cup finals three times, winning in 2012. The team is based in Estero which is near Fort Myers. The Everblades are affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) and Charlotte Checkers (AHL). Florida plays in Germain Arena which opened in 1998 and has a capacity of 7186. Here are a couple of pictures of the arena.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Allen Regroups for Games in Florida, Roster Update, Americans Sign Patrick Megannety & More
Sorry for the lateness of the blog today. My cable and internet went down at 4:00 am this morning and just got back up at 2:00 pm.
The
Allen Americans are in regroup mode as they prepare to take on the Florida
Everblades (Wednesday) and the Orlando Solar Bears (Thursday & Sunday) this
week. It will be the first road trip to South Division teams since the
Americans joined the ECHL. The only other South Division team Allen has faced
was earlier this season when Atlanta came to the Allen Event Center (AEC) and
split two games.
-
Florida
leads the South Division with a record of 27-8-1-2, has a winning percentage of
.750 and is 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games. Orlando has been struggling
recently going 3-5-0-2 in their last 10 games but still holds third place in
the division with a record of 20-15-4-2 and a winning percentage of .561.
-
Allen
has problems of their own coming off two very poor performances against Wichita
where they were beaten 4-0 and 5-1. The Americans have been playing with a short bench with several players in the AHL along with numerous injuries.
-
Allen
will be in better shape player personnel wise as they head to Florida. Dyson Stevenson is expected to
be back in the lineup and coach Martinson has signed Patrick Megannety from the
SPHL Pensacola Ice Flyers. Megannety is a 23 year old rookie who is a left shot
forward. Steve Martinson and Megannety’s father (Neal) played together with the
Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) in the late 1980’s.
-
Riley
Gill will not make the trip to Florida but Zach Hall will be with the team.
Hall is listed as day to day.
-
There
is nothing new regarding the players in the AHL. San Jose (Moore &
Marchment) and San Diego (Hanson) both
have games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. If either team gets some of their
injured players back it is possible you could see Moore, Hanson or Marchment in Florida. The news out of San Jose is
several injured players are now day to day.
-
With
the possibility of Moore and Hall being out of the lineup it will
be critical to have some of the forwards that have not been scoring
step up and create offense. Allen continued to score goals when Hanson and
Marchment went to the AHL but have just
one goal in the last two games without Hall and Moore. The Americans scored 19
goals in the last six games. If you eliminate Hall and Moore the forwards have
just six of the 19 goals. Costello has three, Asuchak, Steffes and Mathers have
one each.
-
The
Allen penalty kill is another area that needs improvement if the Americans are
to have success in Florida. Over the last six games the penalty kill percentage
is only 75% (8-32). Having Dyson Stevenson back in the lineup should be a big
help. Stevenson probably logs more penalty kill minutes than anyone.
OTHER
COMMENTS
-
Here
is an article about a possible deployment plan for Aaron Dell for the remainder
of the season. It should be noted this is not being suggested by the team. Dell
has done an outstanding job in his backup
role and actually has better stats than the starter (Martin Jones). It does
make one wonder why Dell isn’t used more frequently to provide rest for Jones down the
stretch so he is well rested for the playoffs. http://thehockeywriters.com/a-deployment-plan-for-aaron-dell/
-
Greger
Hanson has played in five games for the San Diego Gulls since being loaned on
January 11. He has three points (1 goal 2 assists), is a +2, has 18 shots on
goal and two penalty minutes.
-
Jake
Marchment has played in two games since being recalled by the San Jose Barracuda
on January 10. Jake has recorded no points, is a -2, has two shots on goal and
two penalty minutes.
-
Bryan
Moore has played in one game since being loaned to San Jose last Saturday.
Bryan’s boxscore for the game was all zeros with the exception of two shots on
goal.
-
There
will be some familiar faces when Allen goes to Orlando. John Snowden is the assistant
coach for the Solar Bears. Trevor Ludwig plays for Orlando but has been out
with an injury since the end of December. Chris Crane is also in Orlando having been
traded to the Solar Bears for Bryan Moore.
-- Here Patrick Megannety's stats courtesy of hockeydb:
Patrick Megannety
Forward -- shoots LBorn Feb 1 1993 -- Oakville, ONT
[23 yrs. ago]
Height 5.11 -- Weight 195
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2009-10 | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2010-11 | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL | 50 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2011-12 | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL | 41 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 33 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 10 | |
| 2012-13 | Clarkson University | ECAC | 36 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 8 | ||||||
| 2013-14 | Clarkson University | ECAC | 37 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 2 | ||||||
| 2014-15 | Clarkson University | ECAC | 34 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 4 | |||||
| 2015-16 | Clarkson University | ECAC | 35 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 0 | |||||
| 2015-16 | Brampton Beast | ECHL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016-17 | Pensacola Ice Flyers* | SPHL | 18 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 1 | |||||
DID
YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans have more fights this season (53) than the
Florida Everblades (24) and Orlando Solar Bears (16) combined (40). Allen leads
the ECHL in fights and penalty minutes (878). Despite having the most penalty
minutes the Americans have 35 power play goals. Only Toledo has more (39). Allen
has scored 158 goals this season. Only Toledo (160) and Manchester (159) have
scored more.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Allen's Second Straight Loss to Wichita in Historical Perspective, Roster & Schedule Update & More
The headline reads the Allen Americans lost to the Wichita Thunder Sunday afternoon by a score of 5-1 before an ecstatic crowd of 5330 at Intrust Bank Arena. It was the first time the Thunder has beaten Allen in a regulation game at home since December 27, 2014.
- It is hard to overstate the significance of the last two games between these teams. Wichita shutout the Americans 4-0 in Allen Saturday night before the 5-1 drubbing on Sunday. The Thunder came away with two regulation wins, outscored Allen 9-1 and out shot the Americans 76-54. Before these two losses to Wichita, Allen had not lost a game in regulation since December 14.
- Allen has owned Wichita since the teams joined the ECHL in 2014. They played their first ECHL game against each other on October 25, 2014 and Allen beat the Thunder 5-3. Gary Steffes (two goals) and Chad Costello (two assists) were the offensive stars of the game and Aaron Dell was the winning goalie for the Americans. Since that first win in 2014 through the Allen 5-3 win over the Thunder Friday night, 819 days had passed and Wichita had a grand total of two regulation wins. That is two years, two months and 27 days with two regulation wins. The next two regulation wins took a grand total of two days.
- Allen still has an amazing record against Wichita since joining the ECHL (29-4-4-3) including 13-0-0-0 last season and 7-2-1-0 this season, but the decisive Thunder wins the last two days may be an indication of a much closer rivalry in the future.
- Many would point to the fact that Allen is missing 40% of their goal scoring with Hanson, Moore and Marchment in the AHL and Stevenson, Hall, Gens and Brown injured. Allen's #1 goalie, Riley Gill, has been out of the lineup for a month. The reality is all teams go through call ups and injuries and coach Martinson would never use that as an excuse. As he said after the loss to Wichita on Saturday, "We have a good enough team to win even with the missing guys."
- It was disappointing because of budget constraints the team had travel to Wichita on game day and spend all day on the bus. The team should have traveled to Wichita after the game on Saturday but that is not an excuse for losing.
- I say this all of the time and I truly believe it, there is nobody in the Allen Americans organization from ownership, to the front office to the players and the staff that takes a loss worse than Steve Martinson. He has been in over 2000 games as a professional player and coach and it still bothers him a lot when he loses, especially when he feels the team didn't give their best effort.
- I talk to coach Martinson after virtually every game to get his thoughts and comments to share in the blog. Last night was one of those rare occasions I opted to not contact him because I knew there would be nothing he would say that would be fit for print.
- The team will not skate the next two days as they head to Florida for games with the Florida Everblades on Wednesday and Orlando Solar Bears on Thursday and Sunday. Hopefully the roster situation will improve with players listed as day to day (Stevenson, Hall, Gill) back in the lineup. It is also possible one of the players in the AHL (Hanson, Moore, Marchment) could be sent back while the team is in Florida.
- Don't rule out a trade or free agent signing this week. Some players squandered a great opportunity this weekend to step up and show what they could do with so many players out of the lineup. I know coach Martinson thought going into the weekend with a short bench would give some players more minutes in an effort to get them going. That strategy seemed to backfire. Martinson is not very patient when players under perform especially when the team loses like they did the last two games.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Despite losing two games in a row the Americans are still in first place in the Mountain Division. Idaho is the only team in the top four that won their last game. Here are the current standings with the team's record over the last 10 games in parentheses:
53 points - Allen (7-2-1-0)
53 points - Idaho (7-1-1-1)
50 points - Colorado (4-6-0-0)
47 points - Alaska (5-5-0-0)
38 points - Utah (6-3-1-0)
37 points - Missouri (4-4-1-1)
35 points - Rapid City (4-4-2-0)
- After spending most of January at home the Allen Americans started a stretch of away games yesterday. Eight of ten games on the road including two long road trips. The team will fly to Florida for three games this week before returning home for two games with Tulsa on February 2 & 3. They then travel to Tulsa for a game on February 4. Then it is off to Rapid City on the last long bus trip of the season (1058 miles) where the play the Rush on February 8,10 & 11.
- Terry Ruskowski was fired on Friday as the coach of the Quad City Mallards. I remember doing some research about him for a story I wrote a few years ago and was impressed by the fact he was the captain of three different NHL teams (Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh) and had 237 fights even though he was 5'9" and 168 pounds. Ruskowski has 24 years as a head coach. His team has missed the playoff just one time in the last 16 years. He went to four straight Central Hockey League (CHL) championships between 2004-2007 while head coach of the Laredo Bucks and won two championships. Here is a story about Terry and his impact on the Quad City Mallards. You will notice in the story Ruskowski lives in the Dallas area so it is possible he might show up at the AEC: http://qctimes.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/metcalf/ruskowski-leaves-lasting-impact-on-mallards-hockey/article_5da48b3e-55f1-54e8-a746-8d053fd4d5bc.html
DID YOU KNOW: Derek Mathers is slowly moving up the single season penalty minutes record list. He has been dealing with a sore hand recently so his penalty minutes/fights have slowed a bit. Here is a list of the top ten players for penalty minutes in a season, with the number of games played in that season in parentheses. The far right shows the number of fights each players had according to dropyourgloves.com.
257: Garrett Klotz - 2013-14 (55 games) 20 Fights
256: Brett Lyon -2014-15 (47 games) 13 Fights
223: Garrett Clarke - 2012-13 (54 games) 12 Fights
205: Garrett Clarke - 2014-15 (57 games) 16 Fights
186: Aaron Gens - 2014-15 (72 games) 8 Fights
185: Brandon Straub - 2009-10 (58 games) 12 Fights
168: Jim McKenzie - 2011-12 (54 games) 7 Fights
163: Derek Mathers - 2016-17 (36 games) 18 Fights
157: Brett Clouthier - 2011-12 (60 games) 10 Fights
146: Kip Brennan - 2010-11 (31 games) 11 Fights
- It is hard to overstate the significance of the last two games between these teams. Wichita shutout the Americans 4-0 in Allen Saturday night before the 5-1 drubbing on Sunday. The Thunder came away with two regulation wins, outscored Allen 9-1 and out shot the Americans 76-54. Before these two losses to Wichita, Allen had not lost a game in regulation since December 14.
- Allen has owned Wichita since the teams joined the ECHL in 2014. They played their first ECHL game against each other on October 25, 2014 and Allen beat the Thunder 5-3. Gary Steffes (two goals) and Chad Costello (two assists) were the offensive stars of the game and Aaron Dell was the winning goalie for the Americans. Since that first win in 2014 through the Allen 5-3 win over the Thunder Friday night, 819 days had passed and Wichita had a grand total of two regulation wins. That is two years, two months and 27 days with two regulation wins. The next two regulation wins took a grand total of two days.
- Allen still has an amazing record against Wichita since joining the ECHL (29-4-4-3) including 13-0-0-0 last season and 7-2-1-0 this season, but the decisive Thunder wins the last two days may be an indication of a much closer rivalry in the future.
- Many would point to the fact that Allen is missing 40% of their goal scoring with Hanson, Moore and Marchment in the AHL and Stevenson, Hall, Gens and Brown injured. Allen's #1 goalie, Riley Gill, has been out of the lineup for a month. The reality is all teams go through call ups and injuries and coach Martinson would never use that as an excuse. As he said after the loss to Wichita on Saturday, "We have a good enough team to win even with the missing guys."
- It was disappointing because of budget constraints the team had travel to Wichita on game day and spend all day on the bus. The team should have traveled to Wichita after the game on Saturday but that is not an excuse for losing.
- I say this all of the time and I truly believe it, there is nobody in the Allen Americans organization from ownership, to the front office to the players and the staff that takes a loss worse than Steve Martinson. He has been in over 2000 games as a professional player and coach and it still bothers him a lot when he loses, especially when he feels the team didn't give their best effort.
- I talk to coach Martinson after virtually every game to get his thoughts and comments to share in the blog. Last night was one of those rare occasions I opted to not contact him because I knew there would be nothing he would say that would be fit for print.
- The team will not skate the next two days as they head to Florida for games with the Florida Everblades on Wednesday and Orlando Solar Bears on Thursday and Sunday. Hopefully the roster situation will improve with players listed as day to day (Stevenson, Hall, Gill) back in the lineup. It is also possible one of the players in the AHL (Hanson, Moore, Marchment) could be sent back while the team is in Florida.
- Don't rule out a trade or free agent signing this week. Some players squandered a great opportunity this weekend to step up and show what they could do with so many players out of the lineup. I know coach Martinson thought going into the weekend with a short bench would give some players more minutes in an effort to get them going. That strategy seemed to backfire. Martinson is not very patient when players under perform especially when the team loses like they did the last two games.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Despite losing two games in a row the Americans are still in first place in the Mountain Division. Idaho is the only team in the top four that won their last game. Here are the current standings with the team's record over the last 10 games in parentheses:
53 points - Allen (7-2-1-0)
53 points - Idaho (7-1-1-1)
50 points - Colorado (4-6-0-0)
47 points - Alaska (5-5-0-0)
38 points - Utah (6-3-1-0)
37 points - Missouri (4-4-1-1)
35 points - Rapid City (4-4-2-0)
- After spending most of January at home the Allen Americans started a stretch of away games yesterday. Eight of ten games on the road including two long road trips. The team will fly to Florida for three games this week before returning home for two games with Tulsa on February 2 & 3. They then travel to Tulsa for a game on February 4. Then it is off to Rapid City on the last long bus trip of the season (1058 miles) where the play the Rush on February 8,10 & 11.
- Terry Ruskowski was fired on Friday as the coach of the Quad City Mallards. I remember doing some research about him for a story I wrote a few years ago and was impressed by the fact he was the captain of three different NHL teams (Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh) and had 237 fights even though he was 5'9" and 168 pounds. Ruskowski has 24 years as a head coach. His team has missed the playoff just one time in the last 16 years. He went to four straight Central Hockey League (CHL) championships between 2004-2007 while head coach of the Laredo Bucks and won two championships. Here is a story about Terry and his impact on the Quad City Mallards. You will notice in the story Ruskowski lives in the Dallas area so it is possible he might show up at the AEC: http://qctimes.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/metcalf/ruskowski-leaves-lasting-impact-on-mallards-hockey/article_5da48b3e-55f1-54e8-a746-8d053fd4d5bc.html
DID YOU KNOW: Derek Mathers is slowly moving up the single season penalty minutes record list. He has been dealing with a sore hand recently so his penalty minutes/fights have slowed a bit. Here is a list of the top ten players for penalty minutes in a season, with the number of games played in that season in parentheses. The far right shows the number of fights each players had according to dropyourgloves.com.
257: Garrett Klotz - 2013-14 (55 games) 20 Fights
256: Brett Lyon -2014-15 (47 games) 13 Fights
223: Garrett Clarke - 2012-13 (54 games) 12 Fights
205: Garrett Clarke - 2014-15 (57 games) 16 Fights
186: Aaron Gens - 2014-15 (72 games) 8 Fights
185: Brandon Straub - 2009-10 (58 games) 12 Fights
168: Jim McKenzie - 2011-12 (54 games) 7 Fights
163: Derek Mathers - 2016-17 (36 games) 18 Fights
157: Brett Clouthier - 2011-12 (60 games) 10 Fights
146: Kip Brennan - 2010-11 (31 games) 11 Fights