A Season High 51 Shots Isn't Enough, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Martinson's Comments, Division Standings, PIMS Stat, Christmas Break & More

The Allen Americans lost to the Cincinnati Cyclones last night by a score of 4-3 before a crowd of 4001 at the Allen Event Center. When you have won seven games all season and have the worst record in the league the last thing you should talk about is moral victories but that is what I am going to start with this morning. With the win on Friday and loss last night the Americans proved to themselves, the fans and anyone else who is watching that they have a team that is competitive far beyond their record.


- The Americans went toe to toe with the best team in the league these last two games. Allen scored seven goals against the best defensive team in the ECHL, averaging 3.50 goals per game against a team that allows an average of 2.28 goals per game.


- Allen has been outshot in 24 of their 33 games and were facing a team that allows 28.93 shots per game. Allen averaged 40 shots per game this weekend.


- The Americans held their own in goals (7-7), shots (80-81) and also on special teams. Allen was 1-5 (20%) and Cincinnati 1-8 (12.5%).


- It would have been great to get back to back wins against Cincinnati going into the Christmas break but in my opinion the team had a break through that will serve them well going forward.


GAME RECAP

- The game last night started out the same way Allen's last 13 games have started, their opponent scored first. Cincinnati scored at the 3:57 mark of the first period and followed it up with a second goal in less than two minutes. The first period ended with a 2-0 Cyclones lead but the Americans outshot the Cyclones 20-17 and had numerous grade A scoring chances.


- Allen answered with the only two goals in the second period to tie the game 2-2. Spencer Asuchak scored midway through the period and when Zach Pochiro tied the score with 30 seconds remaining all of the momentum swung to Allen.


- When Asuchak scored his second goal of the game early in the third period (2:53) to give Allen a 3-2 it looked like the Americans would get back to back wins for the first time since October. The Americans had the lead and were outplaying Cincinnati. Midway through the third period Allen had a 9-3 shot advantage. The last half of the third period was all Cyclones who outshot Allen 11-3. There was a defense breakdown on the goal that tied the score 3-3 as Allen left a forward trailing the play wide open in the slot.  The game winner came on the power play with two minutes remaining in the game. Allen never had a chance to score after Cincinnati took the 4-3 lead because of penalties.


- Spencer Asuchak scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season and assisted on Pochiro's goal. Spencer now has 25 points (11G, 14A). Pochiro scored his 16th goal of the season and extended his scoring streak to 10 games. Over the last 10 games Zach has had 16 points (8G, 8A). Here are the Sporfie highlights on the three Allen goals.

Spencer Asuchak - Zach Pochiro takes a shot from the sideboards and Spencer is Johnny on the spot to put the rebound in the net.





Zach Pochiro - This was a big goal with 30 seconds left in the second period. Zach makes a great shot just inside the post. Adam Miller is the player in front of the goalie.




Spencer Asuchak - I noticed the camera fell off its mooring prior to this goal. That is why you only see a partial view. You can see the goalie make a save and that is Spencer off to the side of the goal who puts home the rebound.




- Here is a fast paced highlight reel that shows the goals plus all of the near misses and great saves by both goalies.

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/late-goals-bury-americans-in-4-3-loss-to-cincinnati/


- Here is the game recap issued by the Cincinnati Cyclones: https://cycloneshockey.com/news/2018/12/glotov-s-winner-propels-clones-to-thrilling-win


- I stopped by coach Martinson's office after the game and he was clearly upset (nice word) about the game. He walked me through the defensive breakdowns on the last two Cincinnati goals and was already putting clips together for use after the Christmas break. After talking for a while I finally made my case why I thought the team played so much better on Friday and Saturday and it was apparent this team can play with any team in the league. His point to me was how frustrating it is to have a lead with less than six minutes remaining in the game and don't come away with a point. When I asked if he saw any positives coming out of the weekend he said, "Sure, I said to the players it is good that we are playing better but it should feel real crappy that we lost tonight, I am sick of losing."     


OTHER COMMENTS

- The Americans will now have a break for Christmas before they head to Utah for two games on Friday and Saturday. The task doesn't get any easier as the Grizzlies lead the Mountain Division in points (36) and winning percentage (.667).


- The Mountain Division results last night managed to squeeze the top six teams even closer. Kansas City beat Tulsa 6-5, Wichita beat Rapid City 2-1 and Idaho beat Utah 7-3. The point difference between first place and sixth place is now just four  points. Games played by Mountain Division teams varies from 27 to 33. With such disparity in games played, looking at winning percentage is the best way to compare teams. Here is the current list:

.667 - Utah
.630 - Kansas City
.603 - Idaho
.552 - Tulsa
.533 - Wichita
.516 - Rapid City
.242 - Allen


- The Mountain Division standings are extremely close but there are teams going in both directions. Tulsa is falling with a record over the last 10 games of 0-8-2-0. The team with the best record over the last ten games is Idaho (8-2-0-0).


- The best home record in the ECHL belongs to Cincinnati (12-0-2-1) and the best road record belongs to Toledo (11-4-2-0). Allen has taken over the lead in penalty minutes (693). The least penalized team in the ECHL is Manchester (251).


- Allen leads the ECHL in penalty minutes but the makeup of those penalty minutes tells a story of lack of discipline. The only category Allen doesn't lead the league is in five minute majors which are mostly fighting majors. Fighting majors usually take two players off the ice and don't hurt. The Americans lead the ECHL in minor penalties (194) which usually create a power play opportunity for the opponent. Allen also leads in 10 minute misconduct, game misconduct and match penalties. The Americans are one of 27 teams which is about 4% of the league. They have 12.1% of the 10 minute misconduct penalties, 16.1% of the game misconduct penalties and 60% of the match penalties.  


- The Americans wore specialty jerseys in the game last night that were auctioned off live immediately after the game. Most of the jerseys sold for $250 with just one as high as $550. The days of $1000 and up auctions seem to be in the past. Not sure if it is the number of jersey auctions, confusion between online auctions and live auctions, the jerseys themselves or some other reasons but you can definitely buy game worn jerseys at a much lower price than in the past.




DID YOU KNOW:  The Christmas critical dates started last night. No trades or placing players on waivers can take place until noon on Wednesday. It doesn't mean coach Martinson is trying to improve the roster between now and Wednesday as he certainly is. Deals can still happen but won’t be official until Wednesday. Here are the Christmas critical dates:

Dec. 22 - waiver/trade freeze begins (5:00 pm EST)
Dec. 24-26 - no games or practices
Dec. 26 - waiver/trade freeze ends (noon EST)