Allen vs Worcester Game Preview, Alumni Weekend Details, ECHL Scoring First Stats, Free Tickets and More

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they take on the Worcester Railers for the first time ever. Allen has a history with hockey in Worcester as the Worcester Sharks were the AHL affiliate of the Allen Americans until the franchise was moved to San Jose in 2015. A year later it was announced Worcester had been granted an ECHL expansion franchise that would begin play for the 2017-18 season.


- Both teams enter the game tonight on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Worcester has a record of 21-20-5-3 which has them tied for fifth place in the North Division, four points out of a playoff spot. Allen's record is 16-30-4-2 which places them in last place in the Mountain Division, 13 points out of a playoff spot. The Americans situation is even more dire because fourth place Kansas City has played six fewer games than Allen to go along with the 13 point lead.


- Worcester arrives in Allen having lost three straight games (two in OT) and a record of 4-3-2-1 over their last 10. Allen's record over the last 10 games is 3-3-4-0.


- When you compare season long stats you would describe Worcester as a team that has trouble scoring goals but is good in not allowing goals. They have scored the fewest goals in the ECHL (144) averaging 2.53 per game. The Railers are ranked #8 in average goals allowed per game (2.98).


- Allen has been better recently but still ranks #23 in goals scored (2.77 per game) and #24 in goals allowed (3.60 per game).


- The Americans have 20 games remaining and 17 of them are at home. It is imperative Allen capitalizes on this huge home ice advantage. In their first 52 games the Americans have a better winning percentage on the road (.379) than at home (.342). That will have to change if the Americans hope to get out of last place in the division. The good news is in their last five home games the Americans record is 3-1-1-0.


- If the game tonight comes down to special teams maybe the most important stat is Allen has given up 261 power play opportunities compared to just 163 for Worcester. 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 17.3% at home, Worcester is 12.5% on the road. The penalty kill percentages are 80.6% for Allen and 81.4% Worcester.


- Scoring first is always important when you consider the league wide stat. Teams that score first have won 75% of the points this season. Worcester and Allen are both below the league average. Allen's record when scoring first is 10-4-4-1 (.658). Worcester's record when scoring first is 15-6-1-2 (.688). The best record in the ECHL when scoring first belongs to Florida at 22-1-4-0 for a winning percentage of .889. The worst record when scoring first belongs to Indy at 12-8-1-0 (.595).


- It wouldn't be much of a surprise if the game tonight goes longer then 60 minutes because 40% of recent games for both teams have gone extra time. Neither team has fared well in overtime this season. Allen is 1-4 while Worcester is 3-5. The Americans are 3-2 in shootouts while the Railers are 2-3.


- Look for Emerson Clark to be back in the lineup after missing the last two games. Chase Lang has not practiced all week so I doubt he will play tonight. Joel Chouinard will miss all three games this weekend as he recovers from an injury. Allen fans will get a chance to see defensman Stepan Falkovsky who was recently assigned to Allen by the Minnesota Wild. It won't be hard to find Stepan (he will wear #33) on the ice as he is easy to spot with his 6'7" frame. Watching Falkovsky in practice he has a cannon of a shot from the point.


- With C.J. Motte still in Iowa and Allen using an EBUG, Kyle Hayton will be called on to start all three games this weekend. In two games last week, his first two starts since the middle of December, Kyle stopped 50 of 51 shots for a save percentage of .980.


- The referee scheduled tonight is Andrew Bruggeman (#25). The linesmen will be Jordan Solomon (#78) and Michael Miggans (#47).



OTHER COMMENTS


-  The Allen Alumni Weekend gets underway tonight with a meet and greet with season ticket holders. The roster has been somewhat fluid as the alumni game approaches. The latest I heard (yesterday) was Dave Bonk will not be attending but Austin Smith, who played briefly for Allen in 2014-15 before heading to Europe, will participate. I also heard the teams for the alumni game will be selected through some kind of draft. Finally, there will be several opportunities for all fans to interact with the players and get autographs. The gates open at 3:15 on Saturday with puck drop at 4:15. You will be able to leave the AEC and return until the normal gate opening time (6:05 pm). If you leave the arena after 6:05 you won't be able to reenter.


- If you aren't attending the game tonight against Worcester don't forget it is part of the ECHL.TV free showcase series. You can watch the game free, live on Facebook. Just go to the ECHL Facebook page and you will see the link. It shows the game will go live at 7:03 pm.


- It is crunch time around the ECHL as the season enters the final 30%. In two of the divisions (North & Central) every team has a realistic chance of making the playoffs. In the North Division Reading and Worcester are tied for fifth place but are only four points in back of fourth place Brampton. Maine is in last place but just five points from a playoff spot. In the Central Division there are only five points separating third place Kalamazoo and last place Indy.


- There are seven teams in the ECHL with winning percentages below .500. Three of them are in the South Division (Norfolk, Atlanta, Greenville) and three are in the Mountain Division (Rapid City, Wichita, Allen).


- There are 12 games in the ECHL tonight with all seven Mountain Division teams in action. Kansas City is at Utah, Rapid City at Idaho and Wichita visits Tulsa. The two best teams in the Western Conference (by winning percentage) will go head to head in an home and home series starting with Toledo visiting Cincinnati tonight. They will have a rematch in Toledo on Saturday. Here is the ECHL Today with a short preview on all 12 games. https://www.echl.com/en/news/2019/2/echl-today-feb-15


- Allen traded Olivier Archambault's ECHL rights to Orlando for Curt Gogol, Etienne Boutet and the rights to defenseman Sam Jadine. Coach Martinson then traded Jardine's rights to Toronto and in return Toronto assigned Emerson Clark to Allen. It all sounds complicated because of all of the rules between how players move between the ECHL and AHL. Here is a story about Sam Jardine that does a good job of using his case to explain how this all works. It is a good read because it explains the process by using Jardine and Allen as the example.  https://www.thetelegram.com/sports/hockey/jardines-taken-a-long-twisted-route-from-toronto-to-st-johns-and-newfoundland-growlers-284023/


- 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 tomorrow (Saturday ) afternoon, 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: The Worcester team name "Railers" was selected to honor the rich rail history of the community. The Boston-Worcester railroad line was one of the pioneers in Massachusetts, opening in 1835.