Barry The Blogger - Follow me on twitter at @allenamericans1 and/or like my Facebook page at Allen Americans Blog. This is the official blog of the Allen Americans.
- Not much to report on recruitment for next season. It has been wait and see for so long with the ECHL season suspended and then canceled in the middle of March. Things are about to change as the first day for coach Martinson to sign players for the 2020-21 season is now just three weeks away (June 16).
- Tommy Daniels continues with his video interviews. The latest are with Allen Americans owner Jack Gulati, ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin and former Allen forward Brian McMillin who is one of six players that was part of three championships with the Americans. Here are those videos if you haven't seen them:
- The AHL waited until 10 days ago to cancel their season and Allen's affiliate, the Iowa Wild, were in a similar position to the Americans when the season ended. The Wild were second in the AHL in points and fourth in winning percentage (.651). They had a talented team with a great chance for a deep playoff run and the Calder Cup. Here is a recap of the Iowa Wild season which sounds a lot like the Americans story. https://www.iowawild.com/news/detail/a-team-where-everything-clicked
- The Allen Americans Memorial Day Weekend Clearance Sale is now going on with some great deals on merchandise. You can find these deals at the DASH auction sight but you don't have to bid on the merchandise, you can go to the DASH site and buy the items at a fixed discounted price. You can buy military replica jerseys for $80 (youth) and $91 (adult). There are a lot of hoodie sweat shirts in various colors (red, blue, grey) at only $29. Sizes vary from small to 3X. This sale ends tonight.
- The financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic hit an already struggling Division I hockey school when the University of Alabama Huntsville announced last week they are dropping their hockey program. They have had a Division I hockey program since 1988-89. Three former Allen Americans played at Alabama Huntsville. Here is the list with the season they played for the Americans:
Mike Salekin: 2009-10
David Nimmo: 2010-11
Tyler Poulson: 2017-18
DID YOU KNOW: Tyler Sheehy had 70 points in his rookie season with the Allen Americans which earned him Rookie of the Year honors. Here is the top scoring rookie for each season since Allen joined the ECHL. Notice two of the top scoring rookies (Roy and Baker) were defensemen.
I returned from my daily bike ride this morning to find out long time Allen Americans photographer, Kimberly Sauer, lost her long and courageous battle with cancer last night. I know many of you know Kimberly personally and many others remember her from her spot on the Allen bench, complete with a red Allen Americans hockey helmet, taking photos of game action. It was her faith, spirit, kindness, positive attitude and smile that will always be remembered by those that were lucky enough to know her.
I first met Kimberly and her husband Nathan (they were truly a team) when I started writing the blog back in 2012. They were kind enough to approach me and ask if I would like to use Kimberly's photos in the blog. That started a long and wonderful relationship. I get up at 4:00 am to write my blog and typically on game nights Kimberly and Nathan would be up until 1:00 or 2:00 am editing games photos to send to me for my game recap.
I did a feature story about Kimberly in 2016. Here is part of that story.
Kimberly really doesn't need an introduction as she has been
taking photos at the Allen Americans games since the beginning. She and
Nathan have gone out of their way to help me over the years. Here is
Kimberly's story in her own words:
Photographer Kimberly Sauer
I was raised in a small town in
west Texas that had a population of about 600. While growing up I spent
the majority of my time outside enjoying nature. In 1986, I met my
best friend and husband, Nathan. We enjoy camping and hiking with our
four dogs. I currently work for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (formally
EDS). I became interested in photography when my aunt gave me my first
camera at about the age of 10. We did not have enough money to process
film, so I pretended to take pictures of the deer, cattle, rattlesnakes
and anything else I could find. When I started working, I made sure
film was in my budget even if it was just one roll. I was in hog heaven
when Nathan gifted me my first digital camera.
When the Allen Americans opened up
their franchise in 2009, Nathan purchased our season tickets and
received special permission to bring in my camera. In 2011, I became
the team photographer and was able to take pictures from the bench.The
greatest pleasure was capturing the passion of the players while
winning 4 championships. How did a country bumpkin who had never seen
hockey become interested in the game? It occurred about 25 years ago.
I became a hockey fan when flipping through TV channels and came across a Dallas Stars game.Razor
and Ralph were teaching the rules and explaining what was happening on
the ice. They had me hooked within the first few minutes. When taking
hockey pictures, my focus is on the player’s strength, dexterity,
balance, speed, hand-eye coordination and the overall effort they put
into the game. In addition to sports photography,
I also take family portraits, landscapes and wildlife.
Here
is a sample of Kimberly's photos from the last two games against
Cincinnati.
The shootout game winner
I got a few souvenirs
Let me out of here!
How's your mom and dad?
Oops!
These warm ups are strenuous
Hey Rick, want to catch a bite to eat after the game?
The scouts at their best
Trainer Jaime Garcia tending to Riley Gill
Cyclone's Jack Downing ties the score with 12.7 seconds left in the game
DID YOU KNOW: When I wrote the story about Kimberly I asked her for something most people didn't know about her to use for the "Did You Know" for the day. Here is what she shared with me.
My dad was a rattlesnake hunter and I
would go with him. Every winter we had to keep the snakes warm, so we
stored them under our beds. I had two cages under my bed that held
about a 1000 snakes each.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Nathan and Kimberly's loved ones and I am sure the same can be said for the entire Allen Americans family. Her legacy will live forever in the people she touched and the thousands of photos she has published of the Allen Americans players and fans. Rest in peace Kimberly, job well done!
- Another week with little to report in the way of recruitment for the 2020-21 Allen Americans team. The AHL formally announced the cancellation of their 2019-20 Season last week so now AHL teams can move full speed ahead on their recruiting process for 2020-21. The decisions the Wild make on the depth players they sign will have an impact on Allen's roster. Coach Martinson has been and will continue to work with the Wild organization on recruitment. Remember, the first day Martinson can sign players to ECHL contracts is still a month away (June 16).
Tommy Daniels continues his video Zoom chats. Here are his latest with Darryl Bootland and Cole Fraser:
- Here are a few more look back stats for players past and present from another project I am working on:
Kayle Doetzel - Kayle was recruited by coach Martinson to fill a vital role on the team. Martinson was looking for a player with proven AHL experience who was a stay at home defenseman that could play against the opposing team's top line. Doetzel was a four year pro with 68 games of AHL experience. Kayle played a key role in Allen's defensive scheme as was a leader by example. He scored two goals all season and oddly enough they came in the same game when he led Allen to a win over Tulsa. He also had an assist in that game. His point total for the season was 10 (2G, 8A) and three of his points or 30% came in that one game.
David Strathman - David played just one season in Allen (2010-11) which was his rookie professional season after graduating from Northeastern University. His college teammates included other Allen alumni Wade MacLeod, Chad Costello and Drew Daniels. He played junior hockey for the USHL Cedar Rapids Roughriders with a bunch of future Allen Americans including Costello, Gary Steffes, Phil Fox and Steve Kaunisto. Playing on what I believe was the most talented team in Allen history, the 2010-11 team lost to Bossier-Shreveport in the Conference final. Strathman led all defensemen on that team in points with 41 (13G, 28A) in 66 games. He was one of two players on that team (Colton Yellow Horn the other) that did not miss a game all season. David was named to the CHL All-Star Team and was also selected to the CHL All-Rookie team where he was joined by another rookie, Gary Steffes, who was playing for Tulsa.
Trevor Ludwig - Trevor was a 6th round draft choice of the Dallas Stars in the 2004 NHL draft. He played four seasons in Allen (2011-15) and was part of three championship teams. Trevor is top 10 all-time among defensemen in every category; games played (171), goals (20), assists (42) and points (62). Trevor retired after the 2016-17 season and moved back to North Texas and now owns a pool Serivice, Ludwig's Pool Service.
David Makowski - David played four seasons in Allen (2015-19) and was a member of the 2016 Kelly Cup championship team. He led all defensemen in scoring in three of his four seasons. He is Allen's all-time leader among defensemen in goals (55) and points (174). Makowski was selected to the ECHL First All-Star team in 2016-17 and 2017-18 and was second in the Defense of the Year voting both seasons. David retired after the 2018-19 season and lives in Allen. He went to corporate route and works for the McLane, which is a wholesale supply chain services company.
- There are no players that played on all four Allen Americans championship teams but there are six (Spencer Asuchak, Greger Hanson, Trevor Ludwig, Tyler Ludwig, Brian McMillin, Jamie Schaafsma) players that earned three rings in Allen. Here is the list by championship season:
- There is another DASH auction taking place this week and the Zoom Video Chat Experience up for auction is with ECHL Defenseman of the Year Alex Breton. The current bid is $70 with the auction ending tonight. All of the proceeds from this auction go to the Players Relief Fund which has raised about $300,000 toward the goal of $750,000. The first Allen players fund auction was last week and brought in a whopping $1150 for a video chat with Spencer Asuchak. Knowing Asuchak he was marketing the auction to his many friends and family to help raise money for his fellow players.
Some ECHL teams are really stepping up to help the players fund. The Kansas City Mavericks are donating 50% of all team store sales in the month of May to the players fund. The South Carolina Stingrays just raised $15,190 from Stingrays fans through a game worn jersey auction and the principal owner contributed a two for one match with 100% of the proceeds benefiting players and their families. A total of $45,570 will be donated to the player fund. The Indy Fuel also held a jersey auction and raised $13,320 for the players fund.
- If you are interested in jerseys the Americans are having a few up for auction each week on DASH. The jerseys on the current auction include:
Jake Paterson autographed military game jersey - $330 current bid
Brett Pollock autographed military game jersey - $250 current bid
Stepan Falkovsky autographed red game jersey - $250 current bid
Jack Sadek autographed red game jersey - $250 current bid
Gabe Gagne autographed red game jersey - current bid $310
This auction also ends tonight. If
you are not sure of how to get to the DASH site an easy way is to go to
the Allen Americans website and click on the blue tab "Click For Live
Auctions" on the home page.
- The Americans are having a big DASH three day Memorial Weekend Clearance sale (May 23rd, 24th, 25th):
Merchandise bundles 40-50% off
Military Replicas 30-35% off
End of Season Clearance
- The ECHL announced the save of the year yesterday and Allen was involved. Goalie Merrick Madsen of the Rapid City Rush received the award for a save on Jordan Topping.
- Here is my ECHL Stats and Information post from this morning which you can find on Twitter and Facebook each day. Yet another record held by Chad Costello:
MOST ASSISTS, ONE KELLY CUP PLAYOFF YEAR
29 - Chad Costello, Allen, 2016*
26 - John Spoltore, Louisiana, 2000**
25 - Wayne Simpson, South Carolina, 2015** 24 - David Desharnais, Cincinnati, 2008* 23 - Brad Dexter, South Carolina, 1997*
*Team won Kelly Cup
**Team was Kelly Cup runner-up
In 2016 Chad Costello also set the playoff record for the most assists in a Kelly Cup final. Of Chad’s record 29 assists in the playoffs, 10 came in
the finals series against Wheeling, breaking the previous record of nine
set by David Desharnais of Cincinnati in 2008.
DID YOU KNOW: The oldest player that has ever played for the Allen Americans is Todd Robinson who was born on June 16, 1978 and is 41. Here are the oldest players from Allen's CHL teams (2009-2014) and the oldest players from the ECHL teams (2014-2020). I used a minimum of 50 games played for this list. Here are the oldest from each league with their birth dates:
CHL
40 - Daniel Tetrault - September 4, 1979
40 - Ryan Fairbarn - November 15, 1979
40 - Erik Adams - February 29, 1980
40 - Jason Deitsch - April 21, 1980
38 - Brett Clouthier - June 8, 1981
38 - Darryl Bootland - November 2, 1981
ECHL
37 - Kevin Young - July 16, 1982
37 - Jamie Schaafsma - February 11, 1983
35 - Adam Miller - November 1984
35 - Riley Gill - January 1, 1985
34 - Tyler Ludwig - May 24, 1985
34 - Trevor Ludwig - May 24, 1985
I want to start out today by wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's during these trying times. Some of you like me won't be able to hug your mom or grandmother because they are in heaven. Some of you won't be able to hug your mother, your grandmother or your kids because of social distancing. The toughest ones for me to watch are those mothers and grandmothers in assisted living, long term care or memory care and their loved ones aren't allowed in the facility so they will be alone without family. I have been thinking a lot about my mom, who was a nurse from Ireland and met my dad during World War II in England. In honor of all these mom's I thought today would be a good time to bring back a classic video about how special mom's are that always brings a tear to my eye and especially on this day, "So God Made a Hockey Mom."
- Nothing new to report on the recruiting front for the Allen Americans. I did have a chance to talk to coach Martinson and as he has said in his recent interviews he has been recruiting for a while and is now waiting for two things to happen before plans can be finalized. One is the ECHL signing date which is still five weeks away with no indication the June 16 date will be changed.
- The other decision that will impact recruiting is the fate of the remaining of the season in the AHL. The AHL Board of Governors met on Friday to discuss the issue but did not announce their decision. An official announcement is expected Monday and it is a forgone conclusion the decision is the AHL season will end. I read one account where the league was waiting until Monday so teams could be prepared to field questions from fans and sponsors during business hours.
- With the AHL season almost certainly coming to an end on Monday you can look for more attention focusing on the 2020-21 season. I know coach Martinson has been working with the Wild organization to identify players they might sign to add depth to the Iowa roster and also be a good fit in Allen. Martinson has always been an advocate of signing these depth players early in the recruiting process.
- Because of Covid 19 the dynamic in Europe has changed and recruitment for imports from North America has slowed down some and the money being offered is less. This could have an impact on recruitment for ECHL teams. Players could be available next season that would normally be heading to Europe.
- No matter how it all plays out the one thing that is certain is the 2020-21 Allen team will have more grit and toughness. Martinson mentions that every time he talks about the recruiting process for next season. There are a lot of moving pieces in the recruiting process this year with what is happening in the AHL, Europe and the overall uncertainty with Covid 19. Coach Martinson has much of his recruiting done but has to remain flexible as there are a lot of moving pieces to the recruitment puzzle and he will have to adapt to the changes as they develop.
- Tommy Daniels continues his Zoom chats. Here are the latest if you haven't seen them, Jamie Schaafsma and Brett Pollock:
- On Friday I sat down with Tommy Daniels for one of his Zoom chats and I wiffed on a couple of my comments. Luckily I write a blog so have a second chance. Strike one, I was talking about the talent on the 2010-11 Americans team and was recounting or trying to recount the three players that had 30 goals that season, names which I know very well. When I watched the interview back to my amazement I said Brian McMillin instead of Bruce Graham. For the record the three 30 goal scorers that season were Bruce Graham (34), Colton Yellow Horn (34) and Nino Musitelli (33).
- Strike two was when Tommy asked me my three most memorable moments ever other than the four championships. Nothing wrong with answers I gave but when I reflected on that question after the interview and what came to mind were memories not related to a specific game but more personal memories. The tribute to Steve Martinson after his 1000 win choked me up but when I interviewed him in his office long after everyone had left and asked if all the tributes from family and friends made him emotional his typical Marty answer was, "not really." When Martinson passed John Brophy for #2 on the all time wins list (1028), the Americans asked me to present a plaque to the coach at center ice along with his wife and daughter. Both of those milestones are favorite memories. Another favorite memory is off the ice. For a few years the players would come out to Heritage Range, where I live, to fish in the afternoons after practice. Aaron Gens and Riley Gill were the ring leaders and there were some avid fishermen like Eric Roy, Tanner Eberle, Dyson Stevenson and Derek Mathers to name a few. Then there were the guys who will remain nameless that needed help putting the minnow on the hook and taking the rare fish they would catch off the hook. It was always a fun time with lots of chirping and fish tales. Now that I have taken a second crack at the questions here is the interview where Tommy and I cover a few different topics from favorite championships to the schedule for 2020-21 to some former Allen players.
- Here is a look back on the 2019-20 season for a few more of the Allen players:
Andrew Shortridge - The rookie goaltender signed a one year free agent
contract with the San Jose Sharks for the 2019-20 season and was
assigned to Allen in January. Andrew allowed 13 goals in his first three
games with the Americans. He took extra practice
with Allen’s goalie coach and also put in a lot of time on video
review. After those first three games Shortridge was very effective
allowing just 14 goals in is last seven games before the season was
canceled. In those seven games he had two shutouts and
a save percentage of .932.
Stepan Falkovsky - Known as “The Falcon” and with a cannon of a shot,
Stepan led the ECHL in goals by a defenseman with 15 and finished #4 in
points with 41. Falkovsky also led all ECHL defensemen in power play
goals (8), shorthanded goals (2) and shooting
percentage (17%). The native of Belarus, Stepan was able to get back
home to Minsk after the season was canceled, before flying
internationally became so difficult.
Jared VanWormer - Jared finished his college career at Ferris State
University in 2016-17 having scored a total of 25 goals in four seasons
and never had a 10 goal season. He is a tenacious worker that never
takes a shift off and despite his size lives in the
dirty areas of the ice in front of the net and in the corners. He has
improved in each of his three pro seasons. In 2019-20 he had 22 goals in
54 games, the best goal production of his pro career. Coach Martinson
did not name a team captain at the beginning
of the season as he made a decision to wait but when the time came he
selected Jared to wear the “C”
Josh Lammon - Rookie Josh Lammon was acquired by the Americans in a
trade with Florida just before the start of the 2019-20 season. A smart player
who is always in the right position, he was captain of his college team
(Mercyhurst) and was voted the best defensive
forward in the entire league as a senior. After scoring just one goal
in the first three months of the season in Allen the dam broke on
January 18 when Josh had two goals and an assist in a win over Kansas
City. Over the next eight games Josh had 11 points
(6G, 5A). Lammon finished the season with 27 points (8G, 11A) but you
get the feeling his second pro season will show he has just scratched
the surface of what he can accomplish.
- The new DASH auction site the Americans have recently switched to has been very active with offerings each week. The latest has a Zoom video chat experience with Spencer Asuchak with the all proceeds benefiting Player Relief Fund. A great way to support the players and have a chance to have a private conversation with the longest tenured Allen Americans. I would be asking for some stories about the bus trips and championship celebrations back in 2013-14 when the Americans were in the CHL as there were some classics. The current bid is $110 with a little over two days remaining.
The jerseys on the current auction include:
Alex Breton autographed military game jersey - $300 current bid
Corey Durocher autographed military game jersey - $250 current bid
Jake Doty autographed red game jersey - $270 current bid
Cody Corbett autographed red game jersey - minimum bid $250
Team autographed grey eagle jersey - current bid $250
If you are not sure of how to get to the DASH site an easy way is to go to the Allen Americans website and click on the blue tab "Click For Live Auctions" on the home page.
- Congrats are in order for former Allen defenseman Daniel Tetrault who is the current coach of the Rapid City Rush. Daniel signed a two year contract extension this week with a mutual option for a third year. Tetrault won the only championship in his storied 15 year professional career when he played for the Allen Americans in 2013-14. - I sure hope the Allen Americans are working on a contract extension for Steve Martinson. The 2019-20 ECHL General Manager of the Year has just one year left on his contract. With 10 championships and 1043 wins as a pro coach which is #2 all time it is imperative to lock up Martinson for the future of the franchise no matter the ownership situation.
DID YOU KNOW: It never ceases to amaze me the records Chad Costello set in his three seasons (2014-17) in Allen. Two Kelly Cups, three scoring titles, three MVP's and not missing a single game (regular season or playoffs) which was 276 games straight. He won his three scoring titles by 45, 34 and 23 points. I came across this stat while doing some other research which shows just how dominant Chad was in those three season. He certainly stood above the rest and had three of the best seasons in the history of the ECHL. Here are the top six players in total points, combined regular season and playoffs, from 2014-15 to 2016-17. As you can see Allen dominates this list.
426 points - Chad Costello, Allen
263 points - Shane Berschbach, Toledo
249 points - Shawn Szydlowski, Fort Wayne
236 points - Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Florida, Allen, Colorado
234 points - Greger Hanson, Allen
207 points - Gary Steffes, Allen
It has only been a couple of days since the last blog but had a few things on the list to share so decided to go ahead and put them out.
- The Rockford IceHogs have been in the AHL since 2007-08 but prior to that, from 1999 to 2007 the IceHogs were in the United Hockey League (UHL) which was a double-A league. The IceHogs won their one and only the championship (Colonial Cup) in 2007 and their coach was Steve Martinson. Friday night the IceHogs had one of their rewind events and replayed the 2007 game seven championship game when they best Kalamazoo 3-1. Here is the rewind replay and if you don't watch the game (two hours) watch the first 17 minutes which is an interview with Steve Martinson that was just recorded where he relives that 2007 championship. It is classic Martinson:
- Tommy Daniels did another of his Zoom interviews this week and this one was a get a to know you interview with new team President, Mike Waddell. I had the chance to talk to Mike last week and it is clear he brings a lot of energy and ideas to the job and he has a wealth of experience. There is no doubt, as he says in this interview, he will be visible and accessible and believes fans have to be at the center of everything the Americans do. If you haven't seen this interview take the time to do so:
- Here are a few more season recaps I did for another project that I wanted to share.
Corey Durocher - The 6th round NHL draft pick of the Florida Panthers (2010)
was picked up by the Americans from the Kansas City Mavericks in the
middle of November. One of the faster skaters on the team, Corey played
in 44 games and had 23 points (9G, 14A) to
go along with a plus/minus rating of +15. One of his nine goals was a
highlight reel unassisted shorthanded goal against Wichita.
Alex Breton - Alex had an outstanding season in his second pro year in
Allen. He tied with teammate Tyler Sheehy for the most assists (44) in
the ECHL. He led all ECHL defensemen in scoring with 55 points (11G,
44A). Breton is the only ECHL defenseman who
had 10+ goals in 2018-19 and 2019-20. For his efforts Alex was selected
as the ECHL Defenseman of the Year and was name to the All-ECHL first
team.
Jake Doty - Jake was slated to play with Allen in 2019-20 but received a
training camp tryout invitation from the Ontario Reign (AHL) and made
the team. As a result Jake played just three games in Allen. Had the
season not been shortened Jake would have played
the five games needed to qualify for the ECHL playoffs and would have
been in Allen for the pursuit of their third Kelly Cup. In the second of
the three games Doty played in Allen, against rival Wichita, he became
the playmaker and had the primary assist on
Allen’s first three goals to lead them to victory.
Cody Corbett - Cody was a late season (February 9) acquisition from
Atlanta. The defenseman played in 11 games with the Americans and had
three points. The sixth year pro has 95 AHL games to his credit and
returned to the ECHL in 2019-20 after playing in Italy
in 2018-19.
- If you haven't been tracking the latest DASH auction there are some good values. A ZOOM video chat experience with Gary Steffes is at $40. All this money goes to charity so a great chance to do some good and anytime you can talk to Gary it is always inspiring.
Other auction items include a Gabe Gagne military jersey at $310 and a Les Lancaster military jersey at $250. The red game jerseys from this past season can be had for $250 (Alex Guptill) and $270 (Baribeau) based on current bidding. There are two days left on this auction.
- It is always great to get updates on former Allen players and their post hockey careers. Congrats are in order for Brian McMillin who recently earned his CFP (certified financial planner) certificate. The requirements to get a CFP include a bachelor's degree or higher, three years full time experience in the field, mastery of a curriculum of about 100 topics on financial planing which culminates in passing the CFP Certification Examination. Here is what Brian told me about the process leading up to the exam. "Eight months of class for three hours three nights per week. Then a four month review process followed by a six hour exam. Huge relief to pass!" I know it has been a while but Brian was an outstanding student in college having been chosen the top student-athlete in all men's varsity sports at Colorado College in 2010. Stick taps to Brian.
- Allen will visit Rapid City twice in 2020-21. They have a three game series on November 11, 13 and 14. They will return to play the Rush in a two game series on January 22 and 23.
DID YOU KNOW: It has hard to believe it is May 3 and it has been 57 days since the Americans played a hockey game. With the canceled 2019-20 season, March 7 was obviously the earliest the Americans have
played their last game of the season in the history of the franchise. Early May was crunch time during the CHL days. Here is the date of
the last game played in each year of the Allen franchise along with the
results. There are some great memories in some of these last games but also some big disappointments. It is open for discussion what were the most talented teams in franchise history but a good argument can be made for the 2010-11 and 2016-17 teams which both bowed out early in the playoffs.
May 4, 2010 - A 4-3 loss to Rapid City in the CHL Presidents' Cup finals
May 8, 2011 - A 5-3 loss to Bossier-Shreveport in the CHL Berry Conference finals
April 10, 2012 - A 4-2 loss to the Texas Brahmas in the CHL Berry Conference semi-finals
May 11, 2013 - A 4-3 OT win over Wichita in the CHL Presidents' Cup finals
May 10, 2014 - A 5-2 win over Denver in the CHL Presidents' Cup finals
June 14, 2015 - A 6-1 win over South Carolina in the Kelly Cup finals
June 9, 2016 - A 4-2 win over the Wheeling Nailers in the Kelly Cup finals
May 9, 2017 - A 4-3 loss to Colorado in the ECHL Mountain Division finals
April 25, 2018 - A 4-1 loss to Idaho in the ECHL Mountain Division semi-finals
April 6, 2019 - A 4-1 loss to Wichita, out of playoffs
March 7, 2020 - A 4-2 loss to Tulsa, season canceled
The Allen Americans released their 2020-21 home schedule yesterday which is a big step in planning for next season. Every season there are changes to the schedule after it is published and given the current circumstances with Covid 19 it is even more likely that changes will happen before the season arrives. Here are some of my general thoughts about the schedule and then more of a deep dive.
- The home schedule is much more balanced than in past years. Last season Allen's schedule had the Americans playing six or more home games against four different teams. In 2020-21 only Idaho will play six games in Allen (two series of three games).
- Tulsa and Wichita play only four times in Allen which is hard to believe given their geographic proximity to North Texas. In a typical season Tulsa and Wichita are in Allen for a total of 12-13 games. In 2020-21 the total is only eight.
- Allen fans will see nine different teams in 2020-21 compared to eight different teams in 2019-20.
- The team usually takes a lengthy road trip and it looks like that will be in late November or early December. The Americans play Utah at home on November 21 and don't play at home again until December 18. That is longest time between home games in many years.
- Last season the Americans spent most of January on the road. Next season it will be the month of February. Just three home games in February, Wichita on the 4th and Cincinnati on the 19th and 20th. Between January 19 and and March 2 (42 days) the Americans have only three home games.
- Below
is a complete list
of Allen's 36 home games by opponent. Teams with an asterisk are Mountain Division foes.
6 games - Idaho*
5 games - Utah*
5 games - Kansas City*
4 games - Tulsa*
4 games - Wichita*
4 games - Rapid City*
3 games - Orlando
3 games - Florida
2 games - Cincinnati
Note
the emphasis on divisional play. Allen will play 78% of their home games (28 of 36) against Mountain Division foes.
-
Here is a breakdown of the schedule by day of the week comparing next season with last season. The biggest
change is on Wednesdays. Last season Allen had no
Wednesday home games, next season they have seven. The other thing to note is the loss of one Friday and one Saturday game from last season. It doesn't seem like much but weekends are the biggest gates. Saturday is the best night for home
games based on average attendance
- The
following lists the home games by month for 2020-21 and 2019-20.
2020-21
October - 5
November - 6
December - 6
January - 4
February - 3
March - 7
April - 5
2019-20
October - 5
November - 7
December - 4
January - 9
February - 5
March - 5
April - 1
Allen
has typically tried to get more
road games early in the season to avoid conflicts with football plus
early season road trips help bring the team together. After just one October home game in 2018-19,
last season there were five October home games. No improvement for
2020-21 as there will be five home games again in October.
Next season almost half
of Allen's home games (17) will take place before January 1st. This compares
to 16 last season and 14 in 2018-19.
Last
season the Americans had seven home games in October and November, this
season they have 12.
- In the last two seasons the schedule had a combined total of one home game
in April. In 2020-21 there will be five home games in April. Could be a
benefit if the standings are close.
-
Allen had one of the best winning percentage in the ECHL last season at .710. Here
is a complete
list of the nine teams the Americans play at home this season in winning
percentage order from last season. The number of games Allen will
play each team this season is in
parenthesis:
- I was asked for key stats on some of the players from last season and after I completed the assignment I thought it was worthy of sharing here.
Gabriel Gagne -
Gabe had 24 goals in 36 games before he was loaned to the AHL (Rockford)
and never returned. Gagne was leading the ECHL in goals when he left
(January 15). Despite playing only 36 games in Allen he finished #3 on
the team in goals
(24). He led the team in goals per game (.667). Gabe played only 36
games with the Americans but led the team in game winning goals with
six. Three of his six game winning goals came in overtime.
Les Lancaster - The rookie defenseman got off to a great
start with 13 points in his first 10 games with the Americans. At the
time of his first loan to the AHL back in November he was leading all
ECHL defensemen in scoring. Several ECHL stints
limited his time in Allen. He played in 34 games and had 22 assists.
Turner Ottenbreit - A defenseman with a combination of
skill and toughness. Turner only spent 17 games in Allen and the rest of the
season was with the Iowa Wild. In those 17 games he had 11 points and 36 PIMS which is
an average of .65 points per game and 2.02
penalty minutes per game. His 2.12 PIMS per game trailed only Cole
Fraser (2.33) in PIMS per game (minimum 10 games).
Alex Guptill - Another player with skill and toughness. He led
the team in penalty minutes (97) and all forwards in fighting majors
(5). He was #4 in goals (23), assists (29) and points (52).
Dereck Baribeau - The young rookie goalie who was only
20 when the season started ended with the best winning percentage of all
Allen goalies. In 11 decisions he had a record of 9-2-0-0 with two
shutouts.
Spencer Asuchak - Mr. Allen Americans spent his
franchise record seventh season with the team in 2019-20. Spencer is the
all time leader in franchise history in games played (349) and goals
(102). His 83 playoff games with Allen is also a record
to go along with his three championship rings.
Jack Sadek - The rookie defenseman had a great season
playing in 61 of Allen’s 62 games. He led the team in plus/minus at +25.
Jack came on strong at the end of the season with 13 points in the last
12 games of the shortened season.
- The Allen Americans new auction site, DASH, is up and running and the latest auction has another of the experiences to raise funds. This one is with Gary Steffes and is a great opportunity. There are also several different styles of jerseys up for auction. Here are the details.
Gary Steffes Video Chat Experience: 100% of the PROCEEDS will go to the Allen Public Safety Recovery Fund. Don't miss out on this opportunity to talk to fan favorite alumni Gary
Steffes. Ask questions regarding the past two seasons when Gary was
asked to come out of retirement. Delve into the two seasons he served as
Co-Captain, winning two Kelly Cup Championships
in 2015 and 2016. Probe deeper regarding his faith and what led to writing
the book "The Mental Side: Training Athletes to win in Heart and Mind for
Jesus Christ." Get your bids in now to win this unparalleled
experience. This video chat experience will be moderated
by the voice of the Allen Americans, Tommy Daniels. Date and time will be
mutually agreed upon by all parties involved.
Jersey Auction: Check out the current auction where you
can bid and win autographed player jerseys (Military, Red Game, Grey
Eagle), autographed collectibles, $20 off on military replicas and 25% off on never seen before apparel.
There is a direct link to the DASH auctions from the Americans website (allenamericans.com)
- If you haven't seen some of the most recent interviews from Tommy Daniels here are the latest with Steve Martinson, Joel Chouinard and Les Lancaster.
DID YOU KNOW: Here is an Allen Americans trivia question not many people will get. I stumbled across it when doing the research on the players above. Who led the Allen Americans in average penalty minutes per game in 2019-20. It is not Mitch Vandergunst (2.89), it is not Cole Fraser (2.33), it is not Turner Ottenbreit (2.12). The player that led the Americans with the most penalty minutes per game at 3.00 was none other than Gary Steffes. Gary played two games and had six penalty minutes. All the penalty minutes came in the second game he played when he took a slashing, roughing and boarding penalty. Mr. Tough guy helped the Americans to a 5-2 win over Rapid City.
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