It was back to practice for the Allen Americans yesterday after a day off on Monday. It wasn't a planned day off on Monday as the team had travel problems getting home from Idaho on Sunday. It seems like winter trips out west have plagued the Americans for years. Getting stuck in a mountain snow storm on Big Red several years ago and the 40 hour bus ride on a coach bus this year are probably the two worst road trips from hell in the history of the franchise.
- The Sunday travel woes pale in comparison and some team member turned lemons into lemonade. It all started when the team's flight home on Sunday was cancelled not because of weather but because of mechanical problems. Southwest Airlines suggested it might be better to fly to Las Vegas and then Dallas rather than waiting for the flight from Boise. A big group of players opted to go the Las Vegas route while others waited for an aircraft in Boise. I am not clear on the sequence of events and when the Las Vegas group could have gotten back to Allen. I was told by a reliable source at some point a player that will remain unnamed, who is a very hard worker, has been playing great hockey and well liked by the coach, called Steve Martinson and asked if the team could have the day off on Monday so the boys could spend the day in Vegas. Martinson agreed and the lemons turned to lemonade. The group that stayed in Boise was able to get back to Dallas Sunday night and had Monday off as well.
- Not sure if it was a coincidence or payback for the extra day off but the end of practice yesterday was a bag skate. With a week between games it was the perfect day to do this conditioning skating drill. It was not with stops and starts but continuous loops around the rink and it looked exhausting. I think it is only the second time all season the practice has ended with such a conditioning drill, no pucks, just a lot of skating.
- Some good news from practice was both Johnny McInnis and Alex Ranger were full participants and are scheduled to make the trip to Tulsa for the three games this weekend. If Etienne Boutet returns after suffering an injury in Idaho the Americans could have 16 skaters on Friday even with the suspensions. Zach Pochiro will go on the Tulsa trip but will be serving the second of his two game suspension on Friday night.. Curt Gogol and Emerson Clark will stay home as they serve their five game suspensions. Finally, Casey Pierro-Zabotel will make the trip to Tulsa as the assistant coach to help behind the bench.
- I am sure Allen defenseman Alex Breton made a great impression as the Americans representative to the All-Star game. Alex had a goal and an assist and was the runner up in the fastest skater skills competition. Former Allen player Bryan Moore won the fastest skater event with a time of 12.97 seconds followed closely by Breton at 13.01 seconds. Here is the ECHL press release with a recap of all of the events at the All-Star Classic. https://www.echl.com/en/news/2019/1/eastern-conference-2019-ccm-echl-all-star-classic
- Here are some video highlights from the All-Star Classic which took place in Toledo. Former Allen player, Bryan Moore, who now plays for Toledo is featured in the intro, the fastest skater event and the goal scoring:
- It is hard to believe Alex Breton won't get an opportunity in the AHL soon. His offensive ability, skating skill and exposure at the All-Star game all point to AHL teams giving the 21 year old prospect a shot. Too bad the Iowa Wild don't sign Breton so he could remain in Allen. The Wild have a lot of small sized defensemen on their roster and that could be why they have not shown any interest in Breton who is a small sized defenseman.
- The Americans have scored points in six straight games which is the longest streak in the Mountain Division by a factor of two. When you think about the number of players missing on Saturday when Allen lost to Idaho 3-3 in overtime it makes that effort even more impressive. Here is a list of players that missed that game because of injury, call ups or suspensions.
Zach Pochiro
Casey Pierro-Zabotel
Mike Gunn
Etienne Boutet
Garrett Clarke
Curt Gogol
Josh Thrower
Emerson Clark
Thomas Frazee
Johnny McInnis
Alex Ranger
Kevin Sundher
- It is jersey reversal time in the ECHL. When is the jersey reversal date? ECHL teams wore their dark jerseys at home from October 12, 2018 to January 21, 2019. They will now wear white jerseys at home from January 25 through the remainder of the season. Home teams will wear dark jerseys during the 2019 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
- The official all-star break is from Tuesday (January 22) through tomorrow (Thursday). There are no games, no travel or practice during this time. Allen always delays the all-star break because it comes so soon after the Christmas break. That is why the Americans are practicing this week. They will take their all-star break the second week of February.
DID YOU KNOW: The 2010 ECHL All-Star game holds the record for the most goals by both teams. The all-star game in those days was a traditional game between the two conferences, In 2010 it was the American Conference (eastern teams) vs the National Conference (western teams) and the game was played in Ontario, California. The game ended in a 10-9 shootout win for the American Conference. The 19 total goals is the most ever recorded in an ECHL All-Star game. The #2 star of the that game was none other than Allen's Adam Miller who had four points (2G, 2A). Adam was playing for the Las Vegas Wranglers at the time.
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