Practice Update, Roster Update and Handicapping the Mountain Division Championship Race. Asuchak Milestones and More

 The Allen American had their first of three practices this week as they prepare to take on the division leading Utah Grizzlies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The list of players on the current roster not at practice is worth recapping because the numbers are a reminder of all of the injuries the team has endured this season. By my rough count the Americans have already lost 180-200 games from injuries.

Casey Pierro-Zabotel - season ending injury
Thomas Frazee - season ending injury
Mike Gunn - season ending injury
Kevin Sundher - recovering from injury sustained 12/31/18
Dalton Thrower - recovering from injury sustained 1/26/19 
Joel Chouinard - recovering from injury sustained 2/5/19


- In addition to the injuries the Americans had to conduct practice with just one goalie because C.J. Motte is still in Iowa. Jake Doty missed practice dealing with issues related to the birth of his son, Dallas Dean.


- Alex Ranger was at practice wearing the yellow no contact jersey. Alex has missed the last three games.


- Practice ended with a conditioning skate which is a rarity at this time of the season. Maybe the poor third period performances this past weekend when Allen was outscored 9-2 in the three games led to the decision by coach Martinson to work on conditioning more than the skating and conditioning from the normal practice drills.


- The countdown to 1000 wins for Steve Martinson is down to five games. With only one away game in the next 15 it is almost certain the milestone will happen at home sometime in the month of March.


- The Americans have 17 games remaining and they are all within the Mountain Division. Here is a breakdown of the remaining 17 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.

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


- At this point the only realistic goal for the Americans is to escape last place in the division. Allen is currently nine points behind Wichita in the battle to escape the cellar. Allen has 17 games remaining with 14 at home. Wichita has 18 games remaining but 10 of them are on the road. The Americans play Wichita the last three games of the season. They play in Allen on March 30 and then close out the season with two games in Wichita on April 5 and 6. Could the battle for last place come down to these last three head to head games? The Americans have a better record this season against Wichita (6-2-0-2) than any other team they have faced and the Americans have dominated Wichita since the teams joined the ECHL. Over the last five seasons Allen's record against Wichita at home is 21-7-3-1 and in Wichita is 24-5-1-4. It would be a small victory for sure but it is feasible Allen could sweep Wichita the last three games of the season to get out of last place in the division.


- I write frequently about how there is no quit in coach Martinson and he is working just as hard to win games now as he did when Allen was battling for first place in the past. There is no way he rides out the season and starts planning for next season. He continues to look for ways to improve the roster and there is little doubt in my mind there will be more trades in the 14 days remaining before the trade deadline arrives (March 7).


- The race for the Mountain Division championship looks like it will come down to a battle between Utah, Idaho and Tulsa. Here is a recap of the remaining schedule for each team:

Idaho - The Steelheads have 20 games remaining split evenly between home and away. They have three games left against Tulsa (all this week) and they close out the season with three games against Utah.  Idaho plays Rapid City five straight games just before they finish the season against Utah. Playing the same team five straight times is always a recipe for a disaster made even worse because Rapid City leads the ECHL in fights (71) and Idaho is #2 with 57 fights. Will Idaho be worn down after five physical games against the Rush just before the finish the season at Utah?

Utah - The Grizzlies are in the best position to take the division title even though 13 of their remaining 21 games are on the road. Utah is currently leading the division in winning percentage (.657), followed by Idaho (.645) and Tulsa (.611). Utah plays their next sixteen games against teams not in the playoffs (Allen, Maine, Rapid City, Wichita). Then the Grizzlies finish the season with two games in Tulsa followed by a game in Idaho before taking on Idaho two times at home. The division title could very well come down to the three game Idaho vs Utah series to closeout the season.

Tulsa - The Oilers have the fewest games remaining of the top three with seven at home and 11 on the road. This week will be a big one for Tulsa as they travel to Idaho for three games (tonight, Friday, Saturday). While Idaho and Utah will go head to head at the end of the season Tulsa will be at home for their final three games against Kalamazoo (twice) and Wichita.


- Looking at the remaining schedule and the current standings I would give Utah the edge in coming out on top of the Mountain Division. I haven't mentioned Kansas City who holds down the final playoff spot and is playing the best hockey right now going 7-2-0-1 over the last 10 games. The Mavericks have more games remaining (23) than the three teams in front of them and could improve their position down the stretch but having to pass three teams to win the division is highly unlikely. Working against Kansas City is 10 of their last 11 games are on the road and they have the worst road record in the league.


- Look for Zach Pochiro to get back on track this weekend after not scoring a goal in his last five games. Prior to his recent goal scoring drought Zach never went more than three games without a goal. Pochiro is tied for second in the league in goals with 26. Tulsa's Adam Pleskach leads with 27 goals.


- It is hard to understand why rookie defenseman Alex Breton hasn't gotten a look by an AHL team. He is tied for second in goals and points among all ECHL defensemen. He finished second in the fastest skater contest at the recent ECHL All-Star Classic. Maybe his size works against him as he is smaller than the average AHL defenseman and he needs to continue to improve on the defensive end but he is a great prospect that deserves a shot at the next level. It is just a matter of time until he gets his chance.  



DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans have always had at least one player play in every game during the regular season. With 17 games remaining, Spencer Asuchak is the only player left that has played in all 55 games this season. In addition to trying to becoming the only Ironman this season Asuchak is moving up the all-time list is several other categories. Every game Spencer plays he adds to his all-time games played record. If he plays the remaining games he will pass the 300 games played milestone. Asuchak is six goals from third place all-time in goals, his assist on Saturday moved him into second all-time in assists (139) and he is six points from passing Bruce Graham for second all-time in points.