The start of alumni weekend when fans got the opportunity to interact with players from the past ended in a disappointing 6-2 loss for the Allen Americans last night. A crowd of 3991 watched the Americans fall off the rails in the third period as the Worcester Railers scored five unanswered goals to win the first meeting ever between these teams.
- Despite giving up four power play opportunities and being out shot 19-13 in the first period the Americans came away with a 1-0 lead on a goal by Braylon Shmyr, his 14th of the season. Gary Steffes, who was signed by Allen yesterday, had the primary assist on the goal.
- Worcester tied the game 1-1 at the 15:53 mark of the second period but just 58 seconds later Dante Salituro scored his 11th goal of the season and give Allen a 2-1 lead which they took into the second intermission.
- The third period belonged to the Railers as they out shot Allen 14-8 and outscored the Americans 5-0. From the 3:45 mark of the period to the 16:56 mark Worcester scored five goals on 10 shots. The five goals tied the mark for the most goals allowed in the third period this season in the ECHL.
- Here is the game recap from Bill Ballou who I had the chance to meet last night in the press box and talk to about the Railers but also baseball. Bill has covered the Boston Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette since 1987. I grew up in Minneapolis and as a kid watched Red Sox prospects, including Carl Yastrzemski, come through as the Minneapolis Millers were Boston's AAA farm club until 1960 when the Minnesota Twins arrived.
Bill told me he has taken one road trip with the Railers each season and that one trip is to Allen and then on to Tulsa. Here is the story Bill filed about the Worcester 6-2 win last night. https://www.telegram.com/news/20190215/railers-five-goal-third-period-propels-worcester-past-americans-in-texas
- Here are the video highlights from the game:
STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS
"It looked to me like some of the penalties we took tonight shows we just didn't want to win, they were just dumb plays."
"Hayton held us the game the first two periods facing 27 shots and multiple power plays but it seemed like everything was going in the net in the third period."
"We had our all-star break last Saturday, Sunday and Monday and it looked like we were still on break in that third period."
"We didn't pass the puck very well tonight. So many time we had puck possession and we didn't put the puck on the tape when we made passes. When we did make plays we missed the net."
"We have a lot of guys that don't kill penalties and when we have so many penalty kills it wears guys that do kill penalties down. I would like to use more guys but they just haven't done it. We have too many guys that have been non-penalty killing, goal scoring guys."
"My commitment to you is I am not giving up and we are back to the drawing board. I thought we were getting better over the last month but what happened in that third period I did not see coming."
ALLEN VS READING PREVIEW
- Tonight the Americans take on the Reading Royals in the battle of last place teams. Reading is last in the North Division but just four points out of a playoff position. The Royal have lost four straight games. Allen has lost seven of their last 10 games and their only hope is to get out of last place in the Mountain Division. The playoffs are no longer feasible.
- Allen played in Reading twice in mid December losing both games (5-3 & 4-2). Penalties plagued the Americans as they gave up 15 power play opportunities and had just seven of their own. It has been a problem all season, it was a problem in the two games against Reading and it was a problem last night. Allen leads the league in minor penalties with 309 and it has cost them dearly. Reading has taken a league low 182 minor penalties. The Royals have a fast team and are capable of drawing stick penalties as so often happens when a defensive player gets beat. Staying out of the penalty box and avoiding stick penalties will be key for the Americans. If you look at power play percentages Allen is 16.9% at home. Reading is 17.1% on the road. The penalty kill percentages are 80.8% for Allen and 79.7% for Reading.
- The third period was the downfall for Allen last night. Getting off to a good start is very important but so is playing well in the third period. The Americans have given up more third period goals (66) than any team in the league. Allen has scored 50 third period goals so the goal differential is -16. They are tied with Reading for the worst third period goal differential in the ECHL. Reading has scored 41 third period goals and allowed 57. Should make for an interesting third period in the game tonight.
- Kyle Hayton will be in goal tonight and hopefully he hasn't lost confidence after the five goal outburst in the third period by the Railers last night. Kyle had eight straight periods of outstanding play since returning to the lineup when C.J. Motte was recalled to Iowa. In those eight periods Hayton stopped 76 of 78 shots for a save percentage of .994. In the third period last night his save percentage was .643 (9 of 14).
- Coach Martinson doesn't have any extra players with Chouinard, Ranger and Lang the latest to be out of the lineup so look for the same group on the ice tonight as last night.
OTHER COMMENTS
- The alumni game will start today at 4:15 and it should be a lot of fun. Old and not so old, in shape, out of shape, guys that play regularly to "where are my skates" guys. One thing for sure is it will be entertaining so come out and support this event. Doors open at 3:15 and a ticket to the game tonight gets you in for the alumni game. Make sure to wear a jersey if you have one. I will be wearing a McMillin #23 which is a throwback to his first season in Allen.
- Allen fans had plenty of opportunity to interact with the players from the past at a meet and great before the game and on the concourse between periods. Having been involved with the team from the beginning as a fan for the first three years and a blogger for the last seven I had so many thoughts as I took in the goings on. Here are a few:
- How great is it that so many players from the early years made it back for the alumni game. Graham, Bowers, Whelan, Lukin, Adams and McMillin are a big part of what established hockey in Allen and their excellence lives on today.
- The first two championships in the CHL days are well represented by Trevor Ludwig, Tyler Ludwig, McMillin, Bootland, Deitsch, Lukin, and Asuchak (who is still playing).
- The ECHL championships are represented by Asuchak, Pierro-Zabotel, Makowski, Gunn who are still playing for Allen, Gill, Gens, Tyler Ludwig, McMillin and Gary Steffes, who came to town for the alumni game and signed a contract and played against Worcester last night.
- As much fun as it was to talk to the players it was just as much fun catching up with the wives who sacrificed a lot when the guys were on the road and with Allen and "Big Red" there was always a lot of long bus trips with plenty of drama. I had a chance to talk to Whitney Graham, Lindsay Whelan, Leah Bowers, Holly Ludwig, Angie Gill and Wendy McMillin. The next generation of Allen Americans family is growing and growing and it was great to see so many of the children make the journey back to Allen with their parents to watch dad play hockey one more time.
- It dawned on me as I was watching the players that this weekend isn't about the alumni hockey game and as much as the guys enjoy interacting with the fans and getting reacquainted with friends in Allen, the time spent with old teammates reliving a time in their life with laughter, chirping and fond remembrances is what this weekend is all about.
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| Alumni autograph session between periods last night |
- The gap between the top three teams in the Mountain Division and the bottom four teams continues to grow. Last night the top three (Utah, Idaho, Tulsa) won and the bottom four (Kansas City, Rapid City, Wichita, Allen) lost.
- Utah has a record of 8-1-1-0 over their last 10 games and has improved their winning percentage to .684. Having a winning percentage above .680 is a big indicator of a Kelly Cup champion. It is kind of a sweet spot because the top team usually doesn't win the Kelly Cup but neither do teams below .680. Here are the top five ECHL teams in winning percentage.
.755 - Cincinnati
.735 - Florida
.696 - Newfoundland
.684 - Utah
.677 - Toledo
- Here is a preview of the 11 games in the ECHL tonight: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2019/2/echl-today-feb-16
- I have four FREE premium level club tickets (second level) for the Allen game on Sunday (February 17 at 4:05 pm) against Reading. I will have a drawing for the tickets this afternoon (2:00 pm), notify the winner and leave the tickets at will call. If you are interested let me know by email (janssenfamily@msn.com). All I need is your name and whether you are interested in two or four tickets. The tickets are on the upper level in the end of the rink where the Zamboni enters the ice. Good luck!
DID YOU KNOW: Allen's 2009-10 team clearly over performed in the playoffs making it all the way to the championship final in their first year as a franchise. They were a tight knit group with many of the guys having played together in the past and many of them were already friends before they signed in Allen. Here is how that team ranked statistically. There were 15 teams in the CHL in 2009-10.
Points - Allen finished second in their conference and fourth overall with 89 points. Odessa was #1 with 101 points.
Goals Scored - Allen was ranked #8 with 210 goals scored (3.28) per game. Colorado was #1 with 277 goals scored.
Goals Allowed - Allen was ranked #2 in goals allowed with 183 (2.86 per game). Only Bossier- Shreveport allowed fewer goals (180).
Penalty Minutes - Allen was ranked #12 in penalty minutes with 1229 which was an average of 19.2 minutes per game. Missouri led the league in penalty minutes with 1589.
Power Play - Allen was ranked #6 on the power play at 16.9%. Odessa was ranked #1 at 27.3%.
Penalty Kill - Allen was ranked #6 on the penalty kill at 83.4%. Odessa was ranked #1 at 86.2%.
The Americans had a bye in the first round of the playoffs by finishing second in their conference. Allen beat Laredo 4-3 in the second round and Odessa 4-3 in the conference final, beating the Jackalopes on the road in game seven. Allen lost to Rapid City in the finals 4-2.
Lets trash all of our current players and just sign the alumni team to play tonight. Can’t be any worse than the product that was out there last night...
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