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
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