Hanson Loaned to San Diego Gets #2 Star, Net Cam Arrives, Free MLK Day Tickets, Player Nationalities

When Steve Martinson signed Josh Brittain last week he said it was to add depth to the team. The way Allen has been playing recently (9-0-0-1) coach Martinson anticipated he would be getting calls from AHL teams that needed help. Fast forward to this week and Jake Marchment has been recalled by San Jose and Greger Hanson has been loaned to San Diego. In case the terms are confusing here is the difference in being recalled or loaned.  A player under an AHL contract playing in the ECHL such as Marchment is "recalled" and can only go to the team that has him under contract. Hanson is not under an AHL contract so he is a free agent and can be "loaned" to any AHL team. Hanson was signed to a PTO (professional try out) contract by San Diego that can be terminated at any time. 


- Marchment's first opportunity to play will be Friday when the Barracuda take on the Ontario Reign at home.


- It didn't take Greger Hanson long to make his presence known in San Diego. After practicing in Allen yesterday morning, flying to San Diego, signing his PTO in the afternoon,  Greger had a goal and an assist last night to help San Diego defeat Stockton 5-3. For his effort Hanson was named the #2 star of the game. San Diego was trailing 1-0 in the first period when Greger scored a power play goal on a deflection in front of the net. "Great play by Brandon Montour from the point there," Hanson said when asked about the goal. "I was able to tip it in and it found a way past their goalie."


- To quote one of his Allen teammates, "Greger has been a beast lately." It is great to see him get another chance at the next level. It is the fifth time Hanson has been loaned to an AHL team having spent time in Oklahoma City (3 games) and Worcester (11 games) in 2014-15. Last season he spent time in San Jose (17 games) and Utica (7 games). When a player gets loaned you never know how long it will last. Coach Martinson tells the story about a player that was loaned to the AHL for one game and never returned. With the start Hanson had last night for the Gulls you never know what might happen.

Wearing #34 Greger Hanson had a goal and an assist in his first game with San Diego

- With Hanson and Marchment in the AHL, Stevenson and Kerbashian injured, Allen is down to eight healthy forwards and that is counting Derek Mathers who is listed as day to day. Would guess there won't be anyone added to the roster for tomorrow night. More likely one of the defensman will move up and play forward. Not sure if any of the guys played up front in juniors but a guy like Miles Liberati who is a smooth skater with offensive instincts may be a candidate.



OTHER COMMENTS

- Idaho beat Colorado 5-3 at home last night while Alaska lost at home to Orlando to make a tight race at the top of the Mountain Division even tighter. Here are the standings with games played in parentheses:

46 points - Allen (37 games)
46 points - Colorado (36)
46 points - Idaho (36)
43 points - Alaska (34)
31 points - Utah (35)
31 points - Missouri (34)
29 points - Rapid City (34)


- Aaron Dell got his sixth start of the season last night as San Jose lost to Calgary 3-2. Aaron's record is now 4-2 with a GAA of 1.96 and save percentage of .929. Here are the highlights of the game:

- Photographer Dianne Webster was experimenting with a "net cam" at the Allen practice yesterday. Not the fancy camera and custom case they use in the NHL. Dianne jerry-rigged a Go Pro, a plastic case, and some zip ties to get these shots. Good job by Dianne and thanks to Jamie Murray for his help and cooperation.

Hi Mom!

- There will be a complete game preview tomorrow but Allen has a great opportunity this weekend to improve their winning percentage to .650 if they can win all three games. They will be playing two teams that are struggling. Friday night Wichita comes to the AEC with a 1-8-1-0 in their last 10 games. Missouri is in Allen for games on Sunday and Monday. The Mavericks are 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 games. It won't be easy and the Americans will have to play better than they did in their two game sweep against Indy last weekend but if they play to their potential three wins is a realistic goal.


- Ticket Quiz: I have four loge (second level) tickets for the Martin Luther King day game on Monday against Missouri. It is a 1:05 pm start so if you have the day off and would like free tickets all you need to do is a little research. The first person to email (janssenfamily@msn.com) me the answer to this question gets the tickets. There have been 22 players that have played 100 or more  games for the Allen Americans. Name one of these players for each year the team has been in existence. You can't use the same name twice. So provide the name of a 100 game player for each season from 2009-10 through 2016-17.  All I need in addition to the answer is your name and whether 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. Good luck!


DID YOU KNOW: According to the website eliteprospects.com the Allen Americans have had 220 players throughout their history from eight different countries. Here is the list:

130 - Canada
83 - United States
2 - Czech Republic (Patrik Valcak & Josef Fojtik)
1 - Sweden (Greger Hanson)
1 - Netherlands  (Jamie Schaafsma is from Canada but has dual citizenship)
1 - Italy  (Brian Ihnacak another Canadian with dual citizenship)
1 - Germany (Konrad Abeltshauser)
1 - Latvia (Nikita Jevpalovs)