Allen Suffers Record Sixth Shutout of the Season, Game Recap, Mountain Division Stats, Former Players and More

The Allen Americans were shutout for a record sixth time this season, losing last night to the Kansas City Mavericks by a score of 2-0 before a crowd of 4621 at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.


- The Americans deserved a better fate as they outplayed the Mavericks but could not get the puck behind Kansas City goalie Mason McDonald who stopped all 33 Allen shots to record his second shutout in the last three games.


- Allen lost despite out shooting the Mavericks in every period for a total of 33-19. The 19 shots allowed was the fewest shots Allen has allowed all season.


- One of the keys to the game was staying out of the penalty box and Allen was able to accomplish that goal. The Americans had five power plays compared to just three for Kansas City. It was the first time in the eight games against the Mavericks this season that Allen had the edge in power play opportunities.


- Allen's penalty kill was perfect, killing all three Kansas City power plays. It was the first game this season the Mavericks haven't scored a power play goal against the Americans.


- What didn't work for Allen is they gave up the first goal of the game and were playing from behind. That is a tough task against Kansas City who improved their record when scoring first to 15-2-1-0. The game wasn't decided until the Mavericks scored an empty net goal with 57 seconds remaining.


- What really hurt the Americans was their inability to score on their five power play opportunities. Early in the third period the Mavericks took two boarding penalties just 37 seconds apart to give the Americans 1:23 of 5-on-3 power play time but they could not capitalize. They only managed one shot on goal during their 5-on-3 time.


- Kyle Hayton came up big again for Allen stopping 17 of the 18 shots he faced. In two games this week, his first two starts since the middle of December, Kyle stopped 50 of 51 shots for a save percentage of .980. He certainly deserved a better outcome last night.


- Here is the game recap issued by the Kansas City Mavericks: https://kcmavericks.com/en/news/mcdonald-stops-33-shots-in-2-0-shutout-victory-against-allen



OTHER COMMENTS

- Most of the team boarded the bus for the trip back to Allen right after the game but some stayed in Kansas City and will take advantage of  the delayed all-star break to fly elsewhere to visit friends and family. Because the all-star break always comes shortly after the Christmas break coach Martinson and the players always agree to delay the break. They will now take the three day all-star break.


- Since the Americans don't play again until Friday against Worcester they will have plenty of practice time this week even with the three day all-star break. 


- As if the task wasn't already impossible the chances of making the playoffs are closer to zero after Allen's loss to Kansas City last night, the team they will have to catch to make the playoffs. Here are the facts.  Allen would need to win every one of their final 20 games, something that is highly unlikely given the Americans have had just two winning streaks longer than one game. Allen won two in a row back in October and four in a row in January. If through some miracle the Americans reel off 20 wins in their final 20 games they would end the season with 78 points. Even if Allen wins their next 20 games, Kansas City makes the playoffs with a record of 14-13-1-0 over their last 28 games. It was true at Thanksgiving, it was true in January and it is true now, the Americans are not going to make the playoffs. With that said, if you have attended any of the recent home games, the Americans are playing much better and the games have been entertaining. In the last five home games Allen's record is 3-1-1-0. Now is the time to come out and support the team and enjoy the hockey. Allen won't make the playoffs but they will have a say in who does.


- There are two stats to describe Allen's recent performance which give a very different perspective but both are true. The glass half full stat is the Americans have earned at least one point in 11 of their last 14 games. The glass half empty stat is the Americans have lost seven of their last 10 games. Either way Allen will have to play better if they are going to escape the cellar in the Mountain Division. The Americans currently trail sixth place Rapid City by seven points with the Rush having two games in hand.


- One way to see which Mountain Division teams are moving forward and backward is to look at points earned in the last 10 games. You can see the teams in the middle aren't making up any ground on each other. Here is the list:

15 points - Utah
12 points - Idaho
11 points - Kansas City
10 points - Tulsa
10 points - Rapid City
10 points - Allen
8   points - Wichita


- J.C. Campagna had a great night in a losing cause for Fort Wayne last night. The Komets were visiting the Newfoundland Growlers, where former Allen player, John Snowden is the coach. Campagna tied the score twice after the Growlers took 1-0 and 2-1 leads. His two goals were the only ones for Fort Wayne as the game headed to overtime tied 2-2. Neither team scored in overtime so it went to a shootout. J.C. was the first shooter for the Komets and he scored but Fort Wayne missed their next six attempts and lost the game. Campagna has 23 goals in 36 games since being traded to Fort Wayne. He is tied for fourth in the ECHL in goals.


- Matt Foget leads the Orlando Solar Bears in goals (13) and points ((30). Matt started the season in Allen. Orlando has become "Allen Americans East" with five former Americans in the Solar Bears lineup last night as they beat Jacksonville 2-1. Foget, Olivier Archambault, Colby McAuley, Alex Schoenborn and Mike Brodzinski all play for Orlando.


- Utah scored with 71 seconds in the game last night to beat Idaho 4-3 in the battle for the top of the Mountain Division. It looks more and more like these two teams will vie for the division championship. Idaho and Utah finish the season with a three game series (one in Idaho and two in Utah) that could very well decide the division championship.


- Allen has a rare Saturday night off but there are 12 games on tap in the ECHL tonight including rematches of Idaho at Utah and Wichita at Rapid City. Here is the the ECHL Today with a preview of all of the games: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2019/2/echl-today-feb-9


- Keep an eye on the Atlanta Gladiators as they are accomplishing what Allen has hoped for. It wasn't long ago Atlanta was wallowing at the back of the back along with Allen and Greenville. They are now the hottest team in the ECHL and have rattled off a streak of 10-0-2-0. They have gained 14 points on the last playoff spot and are now seven points back with three games in hand. It will be quite the comeback if they can pull it off.   



DID YOU KNOW: With the 2-0 shutout loss in Kansas City last night Allen has surpassed their single season record for shutouts since joining the ECHL. The shutout last night was the sixth of the season, one more than last season and Allen still has 20 games remaining The six shutouts have been spread out with one each month with the exception of November when the Americans were shutout in back to back games in Utah. All six shutouts this season have come on the road. Here is the list:

2-0   October 28 in Rapid City
4-0   November 21 in Utah
5-0   November 23 in Utah
3-0   December 29 in Utah
2-0   January 4 in Tulsa
2-0   February 8 in Kansas City


Here are the number of times Allen has been shutout in each of their five ECHL seasons:

6 - 2018-19   (through 52 games)
5 - 2017-18
2 - 2016-17
2 - 2015-16
1 - 2014-15