Allen's Comeback Falls Short, Game Recap, Humble Pie, The Season in Perspective, Stats of Note Around the ECHL and More

I am back from a week of stomping around the marshes, sloughs and grain fields of rural North Dakota in temperatures mostly in the single digits. I grew up pheasant hunting in a small town in South Dakota (Flandreau) as most of my relatives were dairy farmers. I got my first shotgun (a 20 gauge bolt action) when I was nine so hunting has been in my blood for a very long time. As you get older you appreciate the ability to still be able to get out in the fresh cold air and pursue a lifelong passion. Even better I was hunting with a lifelong friend, Dave Carter, who is so much fun to hunt with and has a great hunting dog named Jett. As usual we retold countless hunting stories from the past which is a long time since we have hunted together for 55 years. We have hunted geese on the Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba where we could watch polar bears from our blind and quail in west Texas but most of our lives it was duck, goose and pheasant hunting in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. We had so much fun this past week we are planning another trip to North Dakota between Christmas and New Year's when there should be more snow and even colder temperatures, both great things if you are a pheasant hunter.

Dave, Jett & myself enjoying another pheasant hunt in North Dakota

- I arrived home last night just in time for the Americans game against Kansas City. It was a hard fought game that went back and fourth with Allen coming from behind after trailing 2-0 at the start of the third period. The Americans scored three times in just over two minutes (6:38, 7:19 & 8:49) to take a 3-2 lead. Just when it looked like they might have a nice comeback win Allen surrendered two goals in 33 seconds and another loss was in the books. Not sure it is worth counting anymore but it was the third straight loss for Allen, the fourth loss in five games, the eighth loss in the last 10 games and the 16th loss in the last 19 games.


- The goal scorers for the Americans were Adam Miller (6), Dante Salituro (6) and Joel Chouinard (3). Miller has been a bright spot recently having at least one point in six of the last seven games. In those seven games he has eight points (5G, 3A).


- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/americans-comeback-in-kc-spoiled-by-two-late-mavericks-goals/


- Here is the game recap issued by the Kansas City Mavericks: https://kcmavericks.com/en/news/2018/12/postgame-snapshots-mavs-win-back-and-forth-affair-over-allen


- If you are looking for positives from last night it was a close game and Allen made a nice comeback but moral victories are pretty shallow when you find yourself in last place by 10 points and 13 points out of a playoff spot. The harsh reality is the Allen Americans will miss the playoffs this season for the first time in franchise history. I took a lot of grief when I said at Thanksgiving that Allen would not make the playoffs. I was basing that prediction on historical NHL data which shows if you are more than six points out of the playoffs at Thanksgiving it is virtually impossible to make the playoffs. Based on historical ECHL averages the Americans record the rest of the season will have to be about 32-13-1-0 to make the playoffs.


- One thing I know for sure is Steve Martinson will keep grinding until the team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and then he will start grinding for next season. If you are an Allen fan now is the time to show your support for the team. This is a team and coach that has had more success in AA hockey over the past seven years than any other AA franchise. Allen has been on top for so long this is the season for everyone to get their paybacks whether it is on the ice or on social media. I would encourage all Allen fans to be humble and respectful as the the Americans take the heat from fans that have been looking up at Allen for a long time. Support the players and the coaches each and every game and enjoy the hockey. Knowing Steve Martinson this team will play better.


- The team heads back to Allen today before continuing their road trip with a game in Wheeling on Wednesday and three games in Reading on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The games in Reading will be the first between the two teams owned by Jack Gulati and they will be important for the Royals who play in the very competitive North Division. Reading is currently in third place with 26 points but just three points ahead of last place. All seven teams in the division are at .500 or better and first place (Newfoundland) and seventh place (Worcester) are separated by only 10 points.


OTHER COMMENTS:


- The Mountain Division has two of the top three teams in the ECHL in winning percentage. Utah is #2 at .727 followed by Kansas City at #3 with a .714 winning percentage. The Western Conference has the #1 spot with Toledo (.762) and #4 Cincinnati (.705). These are the only four teams in the league with a winning percentage over .700.


- The last five Kelly Cups have been won by Western Conference teams and 2019 looks like the west will have some great teams again. The five Kelly Cups all came from teams in what is now the Mountain Division (Allen (2), Colorado (2) and Alaska). The Central Division usually wins in the regular season against the Mountain Division but then loses in the playoffs. Last season the Central had a record of 52-32-6-1 against the Mountain and so far the season is 10-5-0-0. Toledo has the best record in the ECHL this season and has never been lower than #2 in the last five seasons. The Walleye are always toward the bottom of the league in penalty minutes and struggle getting past tougher teams in the playoffs. With Colorado now in the AHL and Allen out of the playoff picture could this be Toledo's year to win the Kelly Cup or will the Eastern Conference prevail. The Mountain Division is going for a sixth straight Kelly Cup so don't count them out either.


- The top six ECHL teams in fighting majors this season all come from the Western Conference and four of the six are from the Mountain Division. Here are the top six according the dropyourgloves.com:

34 - Rapid City
26 - Idaho
23 - Utah
21 - Fort Wayne
18 - Cincinnati
17 - Wichita

The last four Kelly Cup champions have finished 1st, 3rd, 2nd and 7th in fighting majors. Is it a coincidence or does toughness along with skill in the regular season translate to playoff success?



- Here are a few stats of note from the ECHL daily report:

Reading has a great road record (8-1-0-3) but like the Americans have struggled at home. The Royals home record is 2-6-2-1.

Cincinnati has still not lost a home game in regulation time. Their home record is 9-0-2-1.

The top two scorers in the ECHL are from the same team (Utah) and are on the same line. Caleb Herbert leads the league in points (36) and goals (19). Cole Ully is second in points (31) and first is assists (22). Fittingly, they were selected as co-winners as the ECHL Player of the Month for November. For the month Herbert had 21 points (10G, 11A) in 12 games while Ully had 21 points (5G, 16A) in 11 games.

The top three rookie scorers all hail from the Newfoundland Growlers. Brady Ferguson and Giorgio Estephan are on top with 25 points and Scott Pooley is tied for third with 23 points.

Defenseman Matt Register is back in a familiar spot atop the list in scoring by a defenseman with 22 points (4G, 18A) in 21 games. Allen's Alex Breton is second with 19 points (5G, 14A).

The top three ECHL power play teams all come from the Mountain Division, maybe because they get a lot of power play opportunities in that division. The #1 power play unit is Wichita (22.1%), #2 is Kansas City (21.6%) and #3 is Utah (21.3%).

Former Allen forward J.C. Campagna, who now plays for Fort Wayne, had his goal scoring streak snapped last night in the Komets 5-2 loss the Indy. Campagna had scored at least one goal in the last seven games. That is the longest goal scoring streak in the ECHL this season.   


DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans are eating crow this season but they are still the only one of the seven teams that came to the ECHL from the CHL that has a championship in the last seven years and the Americans have four, two in the CHL and two in the ECHL. There has been lot of losing at the hands of the Allen Americans for these former CHL teams since Steve Martinson took over as coach and general manager. Against Allen's four biggest rivals, Rapid City, Tulsa, Kansas City and Wichita, Steve Martinson has never lost a playoff series and has beaten all four (Kansas City twice) on the way to a championship. Since joining the ECHL in 2014, Allen's regular season record against these four rivals is a combined 127-60-12-8 so it is understandable why some and I emphasize some because it is a small minority of fans want to take shots at Allen this season. They have been waiting a long time. Here are Allen's head to head regular season records (including this season) since joining the ECHL, against these four rivals.

Wichita:        41-12-4-5
Rapid City:   25-9-1-0
Tulsa:            35-22-3-3
Kansas City: 26-17-4-0