I arrived at the Allen Event Center (AEC) early (4:30 pm) last night full of optimism after the Americans beat Utah 4-2 on the road Sunday afternoon. I had listened to that game as I was traveling from my North Dakota pheasant hunting trip back to Minneapolis. It was quite the hunting trip if you call -11 temps, 30 MPH winds, eight inches of snow, whiteout conditions and getting stuck in a snowdrift an exciting trip. The windchill in those conditions is -40. As odd as it sounds (you have to be a hunter to appreciate this) it was an adventure and a lot of fun.
- My alarm clock went off at 2:30 am yesterday for my trek back to Allen which was probably similar to the Americans schedule. My trip included a luggage claim as American Airlines may have put my luggage through a trash compactor. Actually, I think it must have been caught in the luggage conveyor and it was a mess. The good news is the contents (including my pheasants) were intact when the luggage arrived because I always put a strap on the outside of the luggage.
- I share this story because as I was sitting in the pressbox at the AEC around 5:00 pm it hit me how tired I felt with the lack of sleep. All I did the past few days was stomp around frozen sloughs and marshes in North Dakota. I could only imagine what the Allen Americans must feel based on their last few days with 40 hours on a bus that is a coach bus not a sleeper bus, playing two games in 19 hours and then getting up early to fly back to Allen for a third game in less than 48 hours.
- The next revelation in the pressbox was Steve Martinson would not be behind the bench. Martinson was suspended for two games as a result of a game misconduct penalty he was assessed after Allen's last home game (December 22) against Cincinnati. The penalty was assessed by referee, Andrea Barone, at the 20:00 mark of the third period. Where the on ice officials enter their locker room and the Americans enter their locker room is only a few feet apart so "verbal exchanges" take place from time to time. That is my understanding of what happened after that game.
- So the team was tired and they were without their coach on the bench but that is not an excuse. Tulsa played in Wichita on Sunday and had to travel to Allen overnight. Allen was playing three games in three days with travel but the Oilers were playing four games in five days with travel so don't think the tired card works as an excuse.
- That is a long preface to say Allen got beat last night 3-1 by the Tulsa Oilers before a New Years Eve crowd of 4405 at the AEC.
- There were some good points for the Americans. They scored first for the second straight game and just the 10th time this season (36 games). Unfortunately Allen's record when scoring first of 5-4-0-1 is way below the ECHL average. Allen had a 1-0 lead after the first period and historically that has been almost an assured victory. Last year the Americans were 12-1-1-0 at home when leading after the first period. This season they are 0-3.
- In addition to scoring first and taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission the Americans were perfect on the penalty kill (0-6) and their lone goal by Joel Chouinard came on the power play.
- The downside for Allen was the same issues that have plagued them all season. They could not generate any offense even strength. The Americans managed just six shots in the first period and five in the second. The shot totals after two periods were 27-11 in favor of the Oilers and 37-23 for the game.
- Allen had no answer for Tulsa's second line who scored all three Tulsa goals. Allen's top line was scoreless and were on the ice for two of the three Tulsa goals.
- The Americans have scored two or fewer goals in half of their games and for the season are ranked #25 scoring with an average of 2.44 goals per game. You combine that with allowing a league worst 3.93 goals per game and you can see why Allen continues to struggle.
- Here is the game recap issued by the Tulsa Oilers: https://tulsaoilers.com/oilers-win-third-straight-entering-the-new-year/
- Here Allen's only goal of the game which was Joel Chouinard's fourth goal of the season. Watching the goal live I thought Kevin Sundher deflected the puck but if you look close it was the Tulsa defenseman that got a piece of the puck.
- I had a chance to hear from Jason Deitsch who stepped in as head coach for the game and from Steve Martinson who watched the game from the second level. While they both talked about several issues that contributed to the loss the primary issue was the numerous turnovers, mostly at neutral ice. This team has too many players that insist on trying to stick handle the puck into the offensive zone and create turnovers. If there is no play they have to dump the puck and get it behind the defense. By turning the puck over in the neutral zone, Allen loses a shooting opportunity but also gives up one to the opponent. This contributes to the disparity in shots on goal. As Deitsch told the season ticket holders after the game, it is a lot of work to dump and chase the puck but if you don't have a play that is what you have to do.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Allen was playing without defensman Alex Breton who has been signed to a tryout contract by the Belleville Senators (AHL). Of the injured players (Josh Atkinson, Thomas Frazee, Garrett Clarke, Alex Ranger) only Atkinson may be ready for the Americans home game on Wednesday against Kansas City. Jason Deitsch will be the coach for that game as Steve Martinson sits out again.
- With the game last night Allen has completed half of the season. They are 15 points from getting out of the cellar, 19 points from a playoff spot and 23 points from first place. For those of you that still hold out hope Allen can make the playoffs here is the task at hand. Based on history to make the playoffs the Americans will have to have a record in the last half of the season of around 29-7-0-0 or a winning percentage of .805. Getting out of the cellar is actually a stretch goal at this point.
- Allen has won eight games in the first half of the season but only four have been won in regulation time, one in overtime and three in shootouts. The Americans have three wins at home and five on the road. They are flirting with the fewest wins in a season (current record is 14). Allen's first half winning percentage of .250 is the fifth worst all-time for a full season. The fewest home wins ever is five.
- Allen starts 2019 with eight more losses than any other team in the ECHL. The Americans have allowed almost twice as many goals (141) than first place Cincinnati (74).
- The Mountain Division remains close because most of the teams in the division have not been playing well. Other than Idaho who is 8-2-0-0 over the last 10 games, no other team in the division has won more than four of their last 10 games.
- The top two teams in the Western Conference come from the Central Division. Cincinnati leads the ECHL in points (48) and winning percentage (.750). Toledo is third in points (45) and winning percentage (.726). Florida is the only other ECHL team with a winning percentage above .700 (.734).
- How is this for a stat to think about? Allen has 26 regulation time loses at the halfway point (36 games). In 2014-15 the Allen Americans had 14 regulation losses for the entire season (72 games).
DID YOU KNOW: At the halfway point of the season Allen has the deadly combination of scoring at the lowest pace while allowing the most goals since joining the ECHL. Here are the goals scored and allowed by number of games:
Goals Scored
0 goals - 4 games
1 goal - 6 games
2 goals - 8 games
3 goals - 9 games
4 goals - 7 games
5 goals - 1 game
6 goals - 1 game
Goal Allowed
0 goals - 2 games
1 goal - 1 game
2 goals - 4 games
3 goals - 6 games
4 goals - 7 games
5 goals - 10 games
6 goals - 6 games
Hope the birds were moving and you were shooting true
ReplyDeleteThe refs trashed the locker room after the game they had the argument with coach, which goes to show just what sort of refs this league has.
ReplyDeleteWell New Year and we change to white jersey at home games. Still love Americans and although, not what we expected, hockey in Allen is still exciting. Can't wait for second half of season.
ReplyDeleteThe team only seems to be able to stay focused for a period, maybe two. I have only seen one game this year where they seemed to play for the whole game. I see tons of talent on the ice but I don’t see a team out there, just five guys skating together. Our defense also needs to figure out how to correct. While I think that third goal should never have happened (I saw a trip in the Oiler zone that allowed the puck to be turned over), you can see Motte’s frustration as he snapped his stick over his knee.
ReplyDeleteLots of people trash their rooms. Comes with the "its a rental" mentality. Reflects more about our society as a whole not so much about the refs. They actually tolerate more than you might imagine.
ReplyDelete