Practice Update, Magic Numbers, Allen's Quest for Fifth Place, Playoffs and More

The good news from the Allen Americans practice yesterday was to see Dalton Thrower and Joel Chouinard on the ice. They didn't participate in practice but did some skating before practice started. Alex Ranger did practice and newly acquired goalie Lukas Hafner got acquainted with his new teammates as he arrived in Allen in time to practice with the team. The Americans are preparing for another grueling weekend as they try to extend their four game winning streak. They play Tulsa at home on Friday then travel to Tulsa to play the Oilers on Saturday and then head back to Allen to take on Rapid City on Sunday.


- For those still holding out slim hope to make the playoffs every game at this point is a must win. Allen could still win the Mountain Division but they will start to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs as early as this weekend. Here are the magic numbers for elimination by the top four teams in the division. Any combination of points lost by Allen or points gained by these teams will eliminate the Americans.

Idaho - 5 points
Tulsa - 7 points
Utah - 7 points
Kansas City - 17 points


- A goal that is achievable for Allen is to get out of the Mountain Division cellar and finish in fifth place ahead of Wichita and Rapid City. The Americans have 14 games remaining (11 at home) and they are all within the Mountain Division. Here is a breakdown of the remaining 14 games with the number of times Allen will play each team in the division and the Americans record this season in parentheses. The only team Allen does not play is Idaho.

4 games - Tulsa (2-6-1-0)
4 games - Wichita (6-2-0-2)
3 games - Utah (4-4-0-0)
2 games - Kansas City (1-7-0-0)
1 games - Rapid City (3-2-0-0)


- Allen is currently five points behind Wichita and six points behind Rapid City in the battle for the last three spots in the division. Wichita has 15 games remaining with seven of them on the road. The Americans will play Wichita four times, in Allen on March 17 and 30 and then close out the season with two games in Wichita on April 5 and 6. The Americans record this season against Wichita is 6-2-0-2 so the four head to head games could determine if the Americans can pass the Thunder in the standings.


- Rapid City has 15 games remaining with eight of them on the road. Rapid City plays in Wichita tomorrow night and in Allen on Sunday. After Rapid City visits Allen on Sunday they will play six straight games against Utah (3 home 3 away) followed by five straight games against Idaho (2 home, 3 away). The Rush close out the season with two games against Kansas City at home. Allen will need some help to pass Rapid City but if the Americans can beat the Rush on Sunday they will have an excellent chance to pass them. Rapid City's last 13 games are against playoff teams battling for where they will be seeded. Allen should get some help from Idaho, Utah and Kansas City.


- It was great to see an Allen player finally recognized as the ECHL Player of the Week. Dante Salituro received that honor yesterday and it was well deserved. Dante had a goal in all three games as Allen swept Utah. He also had an assist in all three games (two on Sunday). Here is the press release from the ECHL  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2019/2/allen-salituro-named-inglasco-echl-player-of-the-week


- Salituro missed three weeks and six games in November with an upper body injury and it took a while for him to get back to his fearless style of play. Since the beginning of January, Dante has led the team in scoring with 29 points (9G, 20A) in 20 games. Over a two month period that is a point per game average of 1.45 and an average of 1.00 assist per game. Very impressive.


-  As the playoffs approach the Mountain Division is not as dominant as they have been in the past. The top three teams in the division are ranked #5 (Idaho), #6 (Utah) and #8 (Tulsa) in the ECHL in winning percentage. The Kelly Cup champion the last four years were ranked #4 (Colorado), #3 (Colorado), #6 (Allen) and #2 (Allen) in regular season winning percentage. The top three teams in winning percentage this season have separated themselves from the pack and they are all above .700. Cincinnati (.769), Florida (.718) and Newfoundland (.704) have to be the favorites for the Kelly Cup.


- The wild card when it comes playoff time is what help will teams get from their AHL affiliate. Of the top six teams in the ECHL (winning percentage) four of them (Cincinnati, Florida, Newfoundland, Toledo) would have their AHL affiliate in the playoffs if they started today. The two exceptions are the two Mountain Division teams. Utah is affiliated with Colorado and the Eagles are currently in fifth place, four points out of a playoff spot. Idaho is affiliated with Texas and the Stars are currently in fifth place, three points out of a playoff spot. If the season ends this way it could be a big advantage for the two Mountain Division teams in their quest to bring a fifth straight Kelly Cup to the teams that are in the Mountain Division.


- The Manchester Monarchs ownership group has put the team up for sale. Manchester's average attendance this season is 2378. Here is the story from the local paper: https://www.unionleader.com/news/business/want-to-buy-a-hockey-team-the-monarchs-are-for/article_e987dd46-02ac-5bde-8137-4bd7df320a86.html



DID YOU KNOW: Including all of the injured players the Allen Americans have 26 players on the roster. Here are some facts about the roster courtesy of eliteprospects.com

- There are 15 players from Canada, 10 from the US and one from Belarus
2094 - number of games played with the Allen Americans
900 - number of games played in the AHL
6'1" - average height
196 - average weight
25.73 - average age