Another Road Win for Allen, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Game Three Preview, Jamie Schaafsma Interview, AHL Return to Play and More

 

The Allen Americans road winning streak was extended to six games last night with a 3-2 shootout win over the Utah Grizzlies before a crowd of 2141 at the Maverik Center. The teams will play their third game in 42 hours this afternoon. In what will be one of the shortest turnarounds ever, just 15 hours and 19 minutes will elapse between the final horn last night and puck drop today (1:10 pm Mountain Time).

 

- Once again Allen got off to a good start when Josh Lammon scored the only goal of the first period 92 seconds into the game. It was the fifth straight game (all wins) Allen has scored first. The Americans improved their record when scoring first to 10-1. Their record with a first period lead is now 8-0.

- Allen extended their lead to 2-0 early in the second period (2:11) but that was the end of the Americans scoring in regulation time. Allen let Utah back in the game giving up an even strength goal at 14:55 of the second period and a 5-on-3 power play goal in the third period (10:27) to send the game to over time.

- Allen had 26 seconds of power play time carry over from regulation to overtime but couldn't capitalize. Allen had the better opportunities in overtime outshooting Utah 7-2 but could not get the game winner. 

 

- The home team decides who shoots first in the shootout and Utah sent Allen out first. Conner Bleackley was first up and missed but so did Utah. Corey Mackin led off the second round and missed, so did Utah. Jesse Mychan scored in round three and rookie goalie Justin Kaplemaster got the best of Utah's veteran, Pat Connone, who is 34 and playing in his first ECHL season after a long career (497 games) in the AHL, to win the game.  

 

- The goal scorers for Allen were Josh Lammon (4) and Phillip Beaulieu (1). Mychan gets the goal to win the game in a shootout but doesn't get official credit for a goal or the game winning goal. I have never understood that rule. Here are the video highlights with the goals, the fights and the hit of the game. Remember, if you can't open the video you can find it at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q62kMEIFs7o&t=3s

 

  

- Here is the game recap issued by the Utah Grizzlies: https://www.utahgrizzlies.com/en/grizzlies-news/grizzlies-fall-in-shootout-3-2  

 

- Allen met all of the keys to the game. They scored first, out shot Utah 33-29, gave up a power play goal but also scored a power play goal and took advantage of extra time. Allen is 2-0 in extra time games, Utah is 0-5 having lost three times in overtime and twice in shootouts. 

 

- Today Allen will have a chance to finish off 10 straight road games with a win. It has already been very successful for the Americans having won eight of nine and six in a row on the road. Playing three games in three days is never easy but with the short turnaround with a 1:10 pm local time start (2:10 pm CST) and playing at altitude it will be a will over skill game for sure. In case you were wondering the difference in elevation between the DFW area and Salt Lake City area is almost 4000 feet.

 

- One thing working in Allen's favor is they have been playing more players up front (11) than Utah (9) for most of the first two games. 

- Coach Martinson plans on a couple of lineup changes today. Defenseman Ben Carroll will play and Jake Paterson will get the start in goal.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The top teams in both conferences (Allen, Wichita, Indy, Florida) all won last night. The only top team to lose was South Carolina who lost to Florida. It is still early in the season but the top five teams have separated themselves from the rest. Five teams have point percentages above .700. Indy (.857), Allen (.800), South Carolina (.731), Wichita (.708) and Florida (.706). The other eight teams are all below .568 in points percentage.

 

- Here is a great article written by Tony Androckitis of insideahlhockey.com about the AHL return to play. The AHL Board of Governors (BOG) will meet tomorrow to consider the return to play proposals. There is a lot of detail in this story and the decision by the BOG will impact all AHL players including those assigned to Allen now and in the future. A good read: https://insideahlhockey.com/article/details-emerge-on-changes-to-ahls-cba-for-2020-21-season   

 

- Checkout the Jamie Schaafsma interview where he talks about his career, his teams, his coaches, life after playing hockey and coaching his children. You hear a lot about his thoughts on leadership and coaching. He talks at length about playing for Steve Martinson and why Martinson has won so many championships. Toward the end of the interview Jamie talks about the respect he has for guys that fight and his regret he never learned that skill early in his career. This interview is 45 minutes but worth a listen from start to finish. If you can't open the video you can find it on YouTube by searching "Podcast 22 - Jamie Schaafsma"

  

- There are five games in the ECHL this afternoon and three of them are the third game in three days so you might see some fireworks. Jacksonville is at Greenville, Rapid City at Wichita and Allen at Utah. The other two games have Wheeling at Indy and South Carolina at Orlando. Here is the ECHL preview of all five games today: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-today-jan-31

 

- After some tough times with a lot of players going on the Commissioner's Exempt List (CEL) and many games being postponed things are turning around. In the last three days just one player has been added to the CEL and 23 have been activated from the CEL. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Jamie Schaafsma played three seasons in Allen and won three championships. He was the playoff MVP in 2013-14 and team captain in 2014-15. Jamie signed with Fort Wayne in 2015-16 and was captain of the Komets for four season until he retired after the 2018-19 season.  

In his three seasons in Allen (2012-13 to 2014-15) Jamie was the leader in the playoffs in games (61), goals (20), assists (28) and points (48).

Allen Wins Fifth Straight, Game Recap, Martinson's Comments, Rematch Keys and More

 

If I told you Allen, the #2 ranked ECHL team in shots on goal was outshot last night and managed only 22 shots it would sound like a bad night. If I told you the Americans #1 ranked road penalty kill unit was 50% (2-4) and gave up two power play goals for the first time all season while the Allen power play went scoreless (0-3) it would sound like a bad night. The fact is Allen beat Utah 5-2  last night before a crowd of 1690 at the Maverik Center.

 

- Allen made the most of their 22 shots on goal and did a lot of good things in the game. The Americans once again got off to a good start when Corey Mackin scored the first goal 172 seconds into the game. Allen's record when scoring first is now 9-1. 

 

- The Americans got a second goal (Kameron Kielly) midway through the first period to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Allen scored twice on just seven first period shots. The Americans are a perfect 7-0 this season when leading after the first period.

 

- Utah scored the only goal of the second period on the power play to cut the lead to 2-1. Allen put the game away with two goals in the first five minutes of the third and finished with an empty net goal to make the final score 5-2. The Americans three third period goals were scored on just five shots.

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Corey Mackin (6,7), Kameron Kielly (3), Turner Ottenbreit (2) and Colby McAuley (1).

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/media/game-recap/americans-open-the-weekend-in-snowy-utah-with-5-2-win/    

- Here is the game recap issued by the Utah Grizzlies: https://www.utahgrizzlies.com/en/grizzlies-news/americans-defeat-grizzlies-5-2

 

- When I checked in with coach Martinson this morning here were some of his thoughts:

"We played okay but it wasn't our best. I think the altitude bothers some of our guys. I expect we will play better tonight."

"Our power play has been struggling to get shots. I have tried different groups but it is an area we need to improve."

"Our penalty kill had systemic breakdowns on both of Utah's power play goals. The wrong decision was made on where to be and who to take. We will have that cleaned up for tonight."

 

-  Allen had five goals on 22 shots for a shooting percentage of 23%. It is very rare when a team has a 23% shooting percentage. This game was closer than the score and it seemed the puck luck was on Allen's side. Two goals went off the skates of Utah defensemen and there was the empty net goal. Not a stretch to say the Americans will have to generate more than 22 shots if they expect to win tonight.

 

- The other area that needs improvement tonight is special teams. Again, not often you give up two power play goals and score none and come away with a win. The power play goals Allen allowed last night where the first since January 2. Look for a better special teams outcome tonight. 

- Justin Kapelmaster will get the start tonight. He stopped 36 of 37 shots in his pro debut against Kansas City last Saturday. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS 

- With Wichita and Utah losing last night the Americans have widened their lead in the Mountain Division:

.786 - Allen

.682 - Wichita

.571 - Utah

.467 - Kansas City

.389 - Tulsa

.375 - Rapid City

 

- With two goals last night Corey Mackin has taken over the team lead with 15 points. Corey has seven points (4G, 3A) in his last five games. He is now #3 in the ECHL in points (15) and #3 in goals (7). 

 

- Jake Paterson continued his excellent play in his second start for the Americans. Two games, two wins, a GAA of 1.00 and save percentage of .965. Doesn't get much better then that. 

- It has only been three games since Allen lost both of their goalies (Sawchenko and Motte) and the replacement goalie (Marotte) to the AHL. You could not ask more of Paterson and Kaplemaster, combined they have saved 94 of 97 shots. 

 

- Allen has now won five straight road games which is the longest road winning streak in the ECHL this season. The Americans road record in 7-2-0-0 which is also the best in the ECHL. Allen's record over their last 10 games is 8-2-0-0 which is tied with Indy for the best in the ECHL. 

 

- The AHL Board of Governors will be voting on the return to play proposals on Monday and from what I have read games are still set to start next week with the exception of the Canadian Division which has some problems with COVID restrictions. If AHL games do start next week it will be interesting to see how many players are assigned to ECHL teams. Allen fans are particularly interested in Iowa and San Jose. According to Elite Prospects the Iowa roster has three goalies, nine defensemen and 18 forwards. San Jose has three goalies, 12 defensemen and 23 forwards. Even if Iowa and San Jose keep a few extra players there is certainly the possibility you will see players (especially forwards) sent to Allen. 

  

 - Jake Doty was doing what Jake Doty does in an Ontario Reign preseason game last might, a TKO.

 

- There is a full slate of  six ECHL games tonight with Orlando the only team on the sidelines. The number of games played by each team varies from as few as 10 (Wheeling) and 11 (Wichita) to as high as 18 (Tulsa). Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of all six games tonight: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-today-jan-30  

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL’s most points by defensemen:

14 points (1G,13A) - Samuel Jardine, Greenville

11 points (0G,11A) - Mark Auk, Orlando

10 points (1G,9A) - Matt Register, Allen

9 points(1G,8A) - Willie Corrin, Kansas City

8 points (3G,5A) - Ben Finkelstein, Greenville

Allen vs Utah Series Preview Plus News and Notes

 

The Allen Americans are in the midst of an unparalleled number of road games. They are in Utah for three games (tonight, Saturday and Sunday) which will make 10 straight road games. Between January 1 and March 21 the Americans schedule has 28 games of which 22 will be on the road. What it all means is a lot of home games in the last part of the season.

 

- The ECHL schedule has only been announced through April 3. Tonight will be the first time this season Allen has played Utah but between now and April 3 the Americans will play 29 games with 11 (38%) being against the Grizzlies.

 

- These three games in Utah will be a good test pitting the #1 (Allen) and #2 (Utah) ranked teams in the Western Conference in points. Both teams have had to deal with numerous roster changes between loans, recalls, injuries and COVID. Utah got off to a good start to the season but has lost six of their last eight games. Allen has played their last seven games on the road and won six of them.

 

- As a reminder in the last 10 days Allen has lost both of their goalies, two of their top goal scorers and the team leader in assists to the AHL. In addition. an experienced player left for Europe and three veterans were out of the lineup. What has made Allen successful is how they have overcome all of these obstacles by bringing in new players and having others step up when given more ice time. Allen headed to Utah with everyone on the roster except Braylon Shmyr. 

ALLEN VS UTAH SERIES PREVIEW

- Allen's overall record is 10-3-0-0  with a points percentage of .769. They have a four game winning streak and their record over their last seven games in 6-1. Last season Allen's record against Utah was 3-2-0-1.

- Utah's overall record is 6-3-3-1 with a points percentage of .615. Their record over their last eight games is 2-2-3-1.

- Utah's home record in 4-1-1-0 and Allen's road record is 6-2-0-0. 

- Allen has scored 48 goals and allowed 29 for a +19 goal differential. Utah has scored 41 goals and allowed 40 for a goal differential of +1.

- As always special teams will play an important role in this series. The power play percentages are almost identical, Allen on the road is 6-29 (20.7%). Utah at home is 5-24 (20.8%). There is a big difference in the penalty kill units. The Americans have the best road penalty kill unit in the ECHL at 95.5% (1-22). The Grizzlies home penalty kill percentage is ranked #12 at 68.2% (7-22). 

 

- Both teams should be aware of the shorthanded goal in this series. Allen is ranked #1 in road shorthanded goals with three. Utah is ranked #1 in home shorthanded goals with three. It is not going out on a limb to say there will be a shorthanded goal scored in this series. 

- As usual a good start is vital for both teams in this series. Allen is 8-1-0-0 when scoring first, Utah is 5-1-1-1. With a first period lead Allen is 6-0-0-0, Utah is 3-1-0-1.

- If you are looking for players to keep an eye on in this series watch #10 Matthew Boucher who had six points (1G, 5A) in Utah's last three games and was the ECHL Player of the Week. A 5'9" rookie that can skate and is fun to watch. His father, Philippe, played in the NHL for 17 seasons including six seasons with the Dallas Stars. In his final NHL season he won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh. 

- For Allen the players to watch are #10 Conner Bleackley who has three goals in four games and #15 Corey Mackin who has 5 points (2G, 3A) in his last three games.

- Both goalies will play this weekend but you have to assume the more experience goalie, Jake Paterson, will get the start tonight. In his last start, his first since signing with Allen, Paterson had a 31 save shutout. Rookie, Justin Kapelmaster, who stopped 36 of 37 shots in his pro debut should get the start on Saturday.

OTHER COMMENTS

- After having a lot of games canceled last weekend, as of this morning all games are a go which is a slate of five games tonight. Orlando is at Greenville, South Carolina at Florida, Kansas City at Tulsa, Rapid City at Wichita and Allen at Utah. With five game on Friday, six on Saturday and five on Sunday this will be the biggest weekend of the season in the ECHL. Here is a link to ECHL Today with a preview of the five games tonight: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-today-jan-29

- Some news on former Allen goalies. Aaron Dell was put on the NHL COVID Protocol List yesterday. Dereck Baribeau was recalled to the Minnesota Wild taxi squad. Joel Rumpel was loaned to the Iowa Wild (AHL) by the Kansas City Mavericks.

DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans are the youngest team in the ECHL. Here is a breakdown of the youngest and oldest ECHL teams:

2020-21 ECHL average age:

 

Youngest Average Age

24.86 - Allen

25.07 - Orlando

25.12 - Wichita

 

Oldest Average Age

26.85 - Florida

26.60 - Kansas City

26.29 - Fort Wayne 

 

In 2019-20 the oldest ECHL team was Atlanta (26.16) and the youngest was Newfoundland (24.13).

Allen's Travel Roster, Waiver Claim Explained, ECHL Using Record Number of Players and More

 

It is another getaway day for the Allen Americans as the fly to Utah this morning where they will take on the Grizzlies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to the recent postponement of three home games the Americans will set a record this weekend for most consecutive road games. The games in Utah will be the eighth, ninth and tenth road games in a row dating back to January 1st. The most consecutive road games Allen has played prior to this weekend was eight in 2018-19. 

 

- All 20 healthy players on the Allen roster made the trip to Utah, two goalies, eight defensemen and 10 forwards. The only player not making the trip is Braylon Shmyr who will be available next weekend. Here is the travel roster:

Goalies

#34 - Jake Paterson

#39 - Justin Kapelmaster

 

Defensemen

#4 - Turner Ottenbreit

#5 - Phil Beaulieu

#7 - Kayle Doetzel

#14 - Les Lancaster 

#20 - Ben Carroll

#25 - Nolan Kneen

#43 - Matt Register

#47 - Will Lochead

Forwards

#10 - Conner Bleackley

#11 - Kam Kielly

#15 - Corey Mackin

#17 - Colby McAuley    

#26 - Spencer Asuchak

#27 - Sam Laberge

#29 - Jesse Mychan

#40 - Josh Lammon

#44 - Zane Franklin

#71 - Dyson Stevenson

 

- If you follow the ECHL transactions you saw yesterday that Allen claimed off waivers from Fort Wayne, forward Mason Bergh. Don't look for Bergh to show up in Allen any time soon. Here is the story. Bergh is a graduate of Colorado College where he was the captain of the hockey team for two seasons. He is an excellent player who turned pro last season and split time between Ontario (AHL) where he played 25 games and Fort Wayne (ECHL) where he played 29 games. With Fort Wayne getting ready to start playing Bergh informed the team he was retiring from pro hockey. The Komets could have suspended Bergh and retained his rights but decided to release him and put him on waivers. Coach Martinson was familiar with Mason and put in a waiver claim just to get his rights. Allen will suspend him to retain his rights. Bergh was an outstanding student in college, graduated Cum Laude, retired at age 25 after one year of pro hockey and has gone to work as an Investment Analyst for Yale Capital Group back home in Minnesota. While the odds of him returning to pro hockey are slim, coach Martinson took no risk in obtaining Bergh's rights just in case he changes his mind. 

 

- With eight defensemen on the trip to Utah you can expect Will Lochead to play some at forward. He has played both positions and he was upfront last weekend.  

-  Utah has had crowds as high as 2140 at their recent weekend home games so the fan atmosphere will be alive and well this weekend.

 

- I will have a complete series preview tomorrow but here is one stat that may be a factor against Utah. Allen has had just one of their 13 games go to extra time which they won. Utah has had four of their 13 games go extra time and they lost all four.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 - There was one game in the ECHL last night, Florida shutout Orlando 3-0. There have been six shutouts in the ECHL season and Florida has three of them. Florida also has the best goal differential in the league at +28. Allen is second at +19. 

 

 

- There is one game in the ECHL tonight with Kansas City (4-7-1-1) at Tulsa (6-8-1-1).  

 

 

 - Yesterday I posted about how many players Allen has already used so early in the season. This morning my post on ECHL Stats looked at the players used by all ECHL teams. Here is that post:

The COVID protocols along with numerous players being loaned/recalled to the AHL has caused ECHL teams to use a record number of players early in this season. Tulsa has played only 16 games and already used 34 players, the same number of players they used in the entire season (63 games) in 2019-20. Leaguewide teams have used an average of 33 players this season ranging from 29 (Allen, Wheeling) to 35 (Florida, Indy, Kansas City, Rapid City). Here are the total players used this season and last season. It is clear most if not all ECHL teams will soon surpass the number of players they used all season in 2019-20.

 

 

TOTALS

2019-20: 1594 games, 546 players used (42 average per team)

2020-21: 168 games, 428 players used (33 average per team)

 

Allen - 29 vs 41

Florida - 35 vs 43

Greenville- 33 vs 46

Indy - 35 vs 41

Jacksonville - 34 vs 47

Kansas City - 35 vs 39

Orlando - 34 vs 55

Rapid City - 35 vs 43

South Carolina - 30 vs 37

Tulsa - 34 vs 34

Utah - 34 vs 37

Wheeling - 29 vs 40

Wichita - 31 vs 43

 

 

DID YOU KNOW:  The most famous streak for Allen road games was in 2009-10. Because the Allen Event Center (AEC) wasn't ready the first seven games in Americans history were played on the road. The team came home with a record of 5-1-0-1. It is hard to imagine now but Allen played six different teams on that seven game road trip. They went to Arizona for two games and then single games in Bossier-Shreveport, Laredo, Fort Worth, Tulsa and Corpus Christi.

Roster Update, ECHL Expands to Savannah, News and Notes

 

ROSTER UPDATE

Alex Lavoie - Alex has signed with HC Vita Hasten of the Allsvenskan League which is the second highest professional league in Sweden. Alex is familiar with this league as this will be the third team Lavoie has played for in the Allsvenskan since 2016-17. In the press release from his new team it says, "Lavoie is a player who has shown that he can produce in both Karlskoga and Timra (the other Allsvenskan teams Alex played for) but also in Norway. The papers are ready, he will come here on Thursday and will be able to join the team on Friday." His new team will look for Alex to help them make the playoffs as they are currently on the outside looking in. The Allsvenskan is a 14 team league and Vita Hasten is in 11th place with a record of 12-15-5. However, 10 teams make the playoff and Vita Hasten is only two points out of the playoffs. The regular season goes to the middle of March.

Alex's team is located in Norrkoping, Sweden which is about 100 miles southwest of Stockholm. It is Sweden's 10th largest city and with the suburbs has a population of about 140,000. It traces it's history back to the 12th century. A river (Motala) winds through the city and the average temperature in February is a low of 25 and high of 35. 

 The name of the arena that Lavoie's team calls home is a mouthful, "Himmelstalundshallen" which opened in 1977 and has a capacity of 4280. The last I saw Sweden's capacity restriction as strange as it sounds was a maximum of eight.

Tyler Sheehy - Tyler was recalled by Iowa yesterday and has joined the Wild training camp. The reigning ECHL Rookie of the Year is off to a good start with the Americans, leading the team with 10 assists in 13 games. The Wild have 18 forwards in camp so plenty of competition to make the opening day roster (February 5) but he certainly has proven during his time in Allen he deserves a chance. 

Braylon Shmyr - Braylon has been on injured reserve after being injured in a scrimmage at the end of training camp. He wasn't able to skate because of the nature of his injury but is back on the ice and practicing with the team wearing the no contact jersey. He is not scheduled to go on the trip to Utah but should be available when Allen plays Wichita at home on February 3.

Jesse Mychan - Jesse got hurt in the game last Saturday against Kansas City and missed the game in Tulsa on Sunday. He is fine and back at practice. Jesse is in a seven way tie for the ECHL lead in goals with seven but does not have a goal in his last five games.

 

- As I have said many times, roster changes both additions and subtractions will be off the charts this season so cheer for the name on the front of the jersey not on the back of the jersey if you don't want to be disappointed. 

OTHER COMMENTS

ECHL officials will be in Savannah, GA today to announce an expansion team coming to town but they will not start playing until the 2022-23 season. The franchise will be owned by Andy Kaufmann, a Jacksonville businessman who is the majority owner of the Jacksonville Icemen. The president of the Icemen, Bob Ohrablo, will also serve as the president of the new Savannah franchise. Here is a story from the Savannah Morning News with all of the details:  https://www.savannahnow.com/story/sports/pro/2021/01/26/pro-hockey-team-coming-to-savannah-arena-echl-minor-league/4256714001/

 

- Allen has an important three game series this weekend against Utah. Another of what has become commonplace this season, three games in three days. The Sunday game starts at 1:10 MST so that means these teams will play three games in less than 45 hours. 

- Utah won four of their first five games but have lost six of their last eight. Four of the six losses came in extra time. Just like Allen and many other ECHL teams, Utah has been impacted when players were recalled/loaned to the AHL. In one day last week the Grizzlies lost five players, including both of their goalies, to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. 

- Former Allen forward, J.C. Campagna signed with the Florida Everblades yesterday. He was with Norfolk last season and had signed a tryout deal with Toledo for this season before they recently opted out. 

 

- California has lifted their stay at home orders for much of the state but the San Jose Barracuda remain in Arizona. Santa Clara County does not allow their facility to be open so for the foreseeable future the Barracuda will play in Tuscon. They have a home game scheduled in San Jose on February 27 so they are still hoping they can get back to playing in San Jose. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: It seems like the Americans have used a lot of players already this season and they have. However, the Americans have used the fewest players of any team in the league. Allen and Wheeling have used 29 players thus far. Indy, Kansas City and Rapid City are tied for the most players used at 35. 

Alex Lavoie Leaves Team, Iowa Wild Start Training Camp, All Time Rookie Point Leaders, Stats and More

 

The big news yesterday for Allen Americans fans was the suspension of Alex Lavoie by the team. This is the transaction the team must take to retain a player's rights when they go overseas. Alex, who was returning to play in North America this season after spending the last four seasons in Europe (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria) is returning to Sweden to play. 

 

- Lavoie returned to Allen this season with much fanfare having played in Allen as a rookie in 2013-14. In that rookie season Alex was the team's leading scorer with 76 points (25G, 51A) in just 60 games. He helped lead the Americans to their second championship and was selected as the Central Hockey League Rookie of the Year. 

 

- This season Alex could never find the spark he had as a rookie in Allen. In 12 games he had no goals and six assists. He is the only forward on the team that has played more than six games that doesn't have a goal. You have to wonder after playing for four years on the bigger ice surfaces in Europe the adjustment to the smaller ice in North America was a factor. Clearly Alex's style of play as a playmaker benefits him on the bigger ice in Europe. It is always difficult to see popular players like Alex move on but this move may prove to be good for both Alex and the Americans.

 

- I haven't seen anything put out by the ECHL but keep hearing the number of players that can dress for each game has been reduce from 20 (18 skaters) to 19 (17 skaters). This isn't a big adjustment since coaches are used to playing with 16 skaters which was the rule for years. 

 

- Allen has played just 13 games and had a four game win streak early in the season and currently has a four game win streak. Checked last season and in 62 games the Americans had one six game win streak and two four game win streaks. This team is looking like it could have plenty of multigame win streaks this season.

 

- The Iowa Wild started their training camp yesterday with two goalies, eight defensemen and 16 forwards. None of the five contracted players assigned to Allen (Register, Mychan, Sheehy, Kielly, Beaulieu) are on the training camp roster. There are so many factors that can impact the Iowa roster as they get ready for their season that could have them recall players from Allen. Injuries and COVID issues in Iowa or Minnesota may necessitate call ups. There are Wild draft choices currently in Iowa that are junior players that will return to their junior teams when the WHL and OHL start playing. The bottom line is there are a lot of moving parts around the AHL startup and depending how it all plays out Allen could get more players assigned or have players recalled. The Iowa Wild open their season on February 5 at home against the Texas Stars.

 

- I was looking at the scoring by period stats this morning and noticed how the top teams all have something in common. Their second period is their worst but they excel in the third period. Allen has barely outscored their opponents in the second period (15-14) but have the biggest goal differential in the league in the third period (+10) outscoring their opponents 17-7.

 

- Indy is a stark example of good teams having poor second periods and great third periods. The Fuel have the best record in the ECHL (11-2) but only 10 second period goals compared to their opponents 17. Indy has outscored their opponents in the third period 16-8. 

 

- Here is a statistical oddity. Allen has the ECHL high this season for saves in one period and saves in a game. On December 27, 2020 against Tulsa, Zach Sawchenko had 22 saves in the third period and 46 for the game. The oddity is Allen won the game 5-1. Stopping 46 of 47 shots computes to a save percentage of .979 for Zach.

 

DID YOU KNOW: Alex Lavoie had the best rookie season in the history of the Allen Americans that led to Rookie of the Year honors and a championship. Here are the Allen rookies that scored 30 or more points:

76 points - Alex Lavoie (2013-14)
64 points - Tyler Sheehy (2019-20)
56 points - Spencer Asuchak (2013-14)
44 points - Braylon Shmyr (2018-19)
*41 points - David Strathman (2010-11)
41 points - Nick Layton (2011-12)
*39 points - Alex Breton (2018-19)
*39 points - Justin Baker (2014-15)
33 points - Tobias Whelan (2009-10)
*30 points - Eric Roy (2015-16)

*defensemen

 

         

Allen Extends Road Winning Streak With 5-0 Shutout, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Martinson Interview, PPG Stats and More

 

The Allen Americans beat an out manned and tired Tulsa Oilers team 5-0 yesterday before a crowd of 2461 at the BOK Center. It was Allen's fourth straight road win. The Americans have now played seven straight road games and won six of them. They have three more road games in Utah before their next home game on February 3.

 

- Anytime you win 5-0 on the road you know you have played a good game but the game against Tulsa was one of the most complete games the Americans have played all season. Here are the stats to back that up:

First Allen shutout this season

Largest margin of victory all season (5)

Most shots on goal all season (42)

Outshot Tulsa in all three periods (13-9, 17-11, 12-11)

Allen out shot Tulsa 41-31, the fewest shots Tulsa has had against Allen since 2018-19  

Scored two power play goals for the first time all season

Five goals scored by five different players

Took just two penalties with only one power play opportunity

12 of 17 skaters had at least one point

 

- The game was close in the scoreless first period but Allen scored twice in less than a minute early in the second period and it was all downhill for Tulsa from that point. Allen scored three more goals in the third period to make the final score 5-0. According to their coach, Tulsa had 12 players out recently because of COVID protocol, haven't been able to practice, are playing with a bunch of players they just signed and were playing their third game in less than 48 hours. It is easy to see how the Oilers ran out of gas against Allen who had to travel overnight after beating Kansas City Saturday but were playing just their second game in 15 days. 

 

- The goal scorers for Allen were Kameron Kielly (2), Spencer Asuchak (1), Les Lancaster (3), Nolan Kneen (3) and Josh Lammon (40).

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/news/general/americans-and-paterson-shutout-tulsa/     

- Here are two videos, the highlight video and the post game interview with Coach Martinson. If you have trouble opening these videos you can also find them on the Allen Americans YouTube Channel. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4skvqPU3CGKx-vRDPCD4tA

 

 

 

- Jake Paterson, making his first start, stopped all 31 Tulsa shots. Jake is no stranger to shutouts as he tied for the league lead with seven shutouts in 2016-17 playing for Toledo. To find a goalie with more than seven shutouts in a season you have to go back to the 2013-14 season.  

 

- Allen allowed just one goal in their two road wins this weekend while scoring seven goals. The Americans are now ranked #1 in average goals allowed per game (2.23) and #2 in average goals scored per game (3.69). The team save percentage is .932.

- It is seven weeks into the season and Allen has already had 29 players play at least one game for the Americans. They still have a way to go to catch the 41 players that played in the shortened 2019-20 season and the 45 that played in 2018-19. Odds are Allen exceeds 45 players this season.

- With Joe Garreffa recalled by San Jose the Americans have just one player averaging a point per game. Corey Mackin has 13 points (5G, 8A) in 13 games. 

 

- The Americans will have a few days at home before they head back on the road on Thursday to take on Utah on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These will be the last of 10 straight road games for Allen. The Americans six road wins are tied with Indy for the most in the league. They have identical 6-2-0-0 road records. 

 

- There was good news yesterday regarding the Commissioner's Exempt List (CEL). After six straight days of at least six players being added to the list there were no players added yesterday. Even better  there were nine players removed from the CEL which is the most removed in one day all season.

DID YOU KNOW: Here are Allen's points per game leaders for each season since they joined the ECHL (minimum 40 games):

1.49 - Tyler Sheehy, 2019-20

.92  - Dante Salituro, 2018-19

.98 - Zach Pochiro, 2017-18

1.69 - Chad Costello, 2016-17

1.43 - Chad Costello, 2015-16

1.74 - Chad Costello, 2014-15

Allen Wins 2-1, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Allen vs Tulsa Preview and More

 

Two goals by recently signed Conner Bleackley and great goaltending by recently signed  Justin Kapelmaster led Allen to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Mavericks last night before a COVID restricted sellout crowd of 2169 at the Cable Dahmer Arena. 

- Allen met their goal of a good start when Conner Bleackley scored unassisted at the 9:53 mark of the first period by creating a turnover and immediately putting the puck in the back of the net.  It was the only goal of the first period. Allen's record when scoring first is now 7-1. Bleackley gave the Americans a 2-0 lead midway through the second period. It was his third goal in just four games since signing with Allen. Kansas City closed the gap to 2-1 just over a minute after Allen had taken the 2-0 lead and the Americans went into the second intermission with the lead. It was a good sign for Allen fans since the Americans haven't lost a game all season (7-0) when leading after the second period. The third period was scoreless thanks to the Allen penalty kill that had to kill a late penalty when the Mavericks pulled their goalie and had a 6-on-4 advantage. 

 

- Allen did not allow a power play goal in the game killing off all four Mavericks opportunities. The Americans improved their league leading road penalty kill percentage to 95.2%. Allen has allowed just one goal in the 21 times they were shorthanded. 

 

- The other feel good story from the game was the play of rookie Allen goalie Justin Kaplemaster who stopped 35 of 36 shots for a save percentage of .973. What a great performance by Kapelmaster who was making his first professional start. The win was even sweeter for Justin since it came against the team that released him earlier this season.

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/news/general/americans-win-close-battle-with-kc/

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Kansas City Mavericks: https://www.kcmavericks.com/en/news/mavericks-defeated-by-allen-saturday-night-2-1    

- Here are the video highlights: 

ALLEN VS TULSA GAME PREVIEW

- It will be a quick turnaround for the Americans as they jumped on the bus right after the game last night and headed to Tulsa (265 miles) where they will take on the Oilers (4:05 pm CST) this afternoon. 

 

- While Allen will be tired this afternoon because of the overnight travel it hasn't been an easy week for Tulsa even though they have been at home. The game this afternoon will be their third in three days and fourth in five days. To make matters worse Tulsa has lost five straight games. A COVID breakout has decimated the team. Since last Tuesday the Oilers have put 11 of their players on the Commissioner's Exempt List (CEL) and signed six new players just to have a team to take the ice. While they just lost three straight games at home to Indy they have been a scrappy team. Friday night the Oilers outshot Indy 20-4 in the first period and had a 1-0 lead into the third period before losing 2-1 in overtime. Last night Tulsa outshot Indy 43-32 and took a 2-1 lead into the third period before losing 4-2.

 

- The game this afternoon is one of those games that heavily favors the Americans. Yes, Allen played last night but it was their first game in two weeks and they are still fresh and should be better tonight. Allen has won five of their last six games, all on the road. Tulsa is playing with a makeshift lineup and will playing their third game in less than 48 hours. You see this all the time where the more tired shorthanded team on a losing streak surprises the fresher more talented team. Allen will have to be at their best this afternoon to come away with four points on this road trip. 

 

- Allen won last night but were outshot by Kansas City 26-12 in the first two periods and 37-24 overall. The Americans will have to do a better job in holding down shots on goal against Tulsa. Despite losing to Indy the last two nights the Oilers outshot the Fuel, the the team with the best record in the ECHL, 82-66. Tulsa is ranked #1 in the ECHL in average shots on goal per game (36.40). 

 

- With so many of their good players on the CEL the Oilers have struggled scoring even though they are getting their shots. In their last five games, all losses, Tulsa has scored a total of eight goals (1.6 per game average). Allen only had two goals last night but in their last six games, all on the road, the Americans have scored 21 goals (3.5 per game average). Allen's goal differential (goals for minus goals against) this season is +14, Tulsa's is -10.

 

- Special teams should favor the Americans as their #1 ranked road penalty kill (94.5%, 1-21) will be going up against Tulsa's #11 ranked home power play (10.0%. 3-30). On the power play Allen was 0-3 last night. Tulsa did not allow a power play goal in their last two games against Indy. Coach Martinson usually tweaks the power play when things aren't working so look for some changes in the power play tonight. The way Conner Bleackley is shooting the puck I wouldn't be surprised to see him with a bigger role on the power play. 

 

- Allen played a different style of game against Kansas City which was a more physical style of play you could call "heavy skill" and you can expect that to continue against Tulsa. The Oilers Mike McKee is one of the ECHL leaders in penalty minutes per game and is always trying to stir things up. Allen has some pot stirrers that weren't in the lineup that last time these teams met. Will be part of the game within the game this afternoon. 

 

- If Allen expects to win in Tulsa they will have to do better job of puck possession. They spent way to much time in their own zone against Kansas City.  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Indy finally had a game that was decided by more then one goal with their 4-2 win over Tulsa last night. The Fuel have gotten off to an outstanding start with a record of 11-1-0-0. You don't win 10 of 11 games without being a great team but Indy has certainly had some breaks. They beat Kansas City twice early in the season when the Mavericks were missing a bunch of players with COVID, Indy has four wins against Wheeling who has a .350 winning percentage and just beat Tulsa three straight when they had a bunch of players on the CEL. Indy may continue to pile up the wins as their next eight games are against Wheeling and Rapid City. The Rush's winning percentage is lower than Wheeling at .333.

 

- With two games canceled earlier the only teams playing today are Allen at Tulsa  and Indy at Wichita. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of both games: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-today-jan-24

 

- Having no COVID restrictions certainly helps on Saturday night games. Rapid City (no restrictions) had a crowd of 4417 last night in an arena that holds 5119 for hockey. Kansas City was sold out (with restrictions) with a crowd of 2169 in an arena that holds 5800 for hockey. 

 

- He has only played four games but Conner Bleackley is already #5 on the Americans in goals with three. Two of the four ahead of him (Garreffa and McGrew) are no longer with the team. Bleackley is also tied for #5 on the team in plus/minus at +4. 

 

- You may have noticed Wichita had seven players assigned by their AHL affiliate (Bakersfield) yesterday. Matt Harding from The Sin Bin reported this was basically a paper transaction since these players were overseas and not on an ECHL roster at the Euro deadline. The AHL had to assign them as a way of clearing a path for the players to be assigned to Wichita at some point.

 If I understand this process correctly this paper only assignment will allow these players who did not meet the ECHL rule of returning from overseas by January 2 become qualified to play in the ECHL. I thought the ECHL moved their overseas return date from the normal February 15 to January 2 to help out players in North America because of the shortage of jobs due to COVID. Apparently these players meet the AHL rule for returning from overseas even though it was after January 2 and by doing this paper only assignment they can get around the ECHL rule. So much for saving jobs for players in North America.  

 

- If you haven't had a chance to read Dyson Stevenson's latest blog post here is a link. He shares how he decided to wear #71 this season:  https://allenamericans.com/news/blog/bubblelife-3-how-i-chose-my-number-this-season/ 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The Indy Fuel have a record of 11-1 and a points percentage of .917. In the history of the ECHL there has never been a full season when a team finished with a points percentage above .900. There has only been one team in league history that has finished above .800. In 2001-02 the Louisiana IceGators set the all time high in points percentage at .806. Their record was 56-12-4.        

Allen vs Kansas City Game Preview, AHL Schedule Released and More

 

It has been two weeks but it is finally game day for the Allen Americans as they are on the road to play the Kansas City Mavericks tonight (7:05 pm CST). Six players that were with the Americans the last time they played will not play tonight. Seven players on the ice tonight did not play in Allen's last game. Four of the seven were recently signed, goalies Jake Paterson and Justin Kapelmaster, defenseman Will Lochead and forward Colby McAuley. In addition Spencer Asuchak will be back in the lineup after being injured in a game on January 1 and Dyson Stevenson will return after being injured in his first shift of the season on December 12. Defenseman Phil Beaulieu also returns after being out of the lineup since December 18.

- Three of Allen's top six scorers will not be in the lineup tonight. Joe Garreffa and Jake McGrew were recalled by San Jose and Matt Register is not on the trip. There is plenty of skill to pick up the slack and it is clear the lineup tonight will be the "heavy" lineup Martinson was planning for this season. This will be the toughest lineup to play against Allen has had all season.

 

-  I am sure the plan is to get both goalies a game this weekend and it makes sense that Justin Kapelmaster will get his first pro start tonight. Jake Paterson just arrived in Allen while Kapelmaster has practiced all week. Another factor may be the fact that Kapelmaster was released by Kansas City so starting against the team that released you may be a consideration when Martinson decides who gets the start tonight. 

RECORDS

Allen:  8-3-0-0 (.727)

Kansas City: 4-6-1-1 (.417)

Allen's road record is 4-2-0-0

Kansas City's home record is 1-3-1-0

 

LEADING  SCORERS

Allen - Garreffa (6G, 7A), Mackin (5G, 6A), Sheehy (2G, 9A)

Kansas City - Reid (7G, 7A), Estephan (4G, 10A), Scheidl (5G, 4A)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Allen - PP overall (14.9%), PP road (17.4%), PK overall (87.2%), PK road (94.1%)

Kansas City - PP overall (24.0%), PP home (26.7%), PK overall (87.2%), PK home (90.0%)

Special teams are always important but the stats above show how the game tonight will pit the #1 ECHL road penalty kill (Allen 94.1%) against the ECHL #2 ranked home power play (Kansas City 26.7%). The winner on special teams will most likely win the game. 

Another thing to keep in mind is Allen has a shorthanded goal in their last three games so they can apply offensive pressure when they kill penalties.

- Scoring first is always a key to the game. The combined record of Allen and Kansas City when scoring the first goal of the game this season is 9-1-0-1.

 

- A challenge for Allen will be how everything fits together with so many players that have not played together or are just getting back to playing. When you consider four players on the roster including both goalies have not played a game this season, Stevenson has played one, Beaulieu has played two, Bleackley has played three and Laberge has played six it is hard to expect everyone will be at the top of their game. This is even more of a reason to expect Allen will play a "heavy" game tonight.

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 - The Americans will head to Tulsa after the game (265 mile) where they will play the Oilers at 4:05 pm CST on Sunday. Tulsa has had a COVID breakout with 10 players being added to the Commissioner's Exempt List in the last four days. Tulsa signed a bunch of players just to keep playing. They lost to Indy 3-2 in overtime last night and will play the Fuel again tonight. 

-  The AHL released their schedule yesterday with the regular season running from February 5 to March 15. The AHL normally plays a 76 game schedule but this season teams will play between 24-44 games with each team deciding the number of games to play. There will be a lot of variation on games played even within each division. Here are a few examples of the number of games AHL teams are playing that may be of interest to Allen fans: 

Iowa - 34 games including 12 against the Texas Stars

San Jose - 40 games and will start playing their home games in Tuscon

Bridgeport - 24 games (two Allen goalies, Motte and Marotte are loaned to Bridgeport)

Texas - 38 games

Rockford - 30 games (Allen has the rights to Gabe Gagne who plays for Rockford)

Ontario - 38 games (Allen has the rights to Jake Doty who plays for Ontario)

- Two more ECHL games were canceled late yesterday (Greenville at Orlando). A total of 18 ECHL games have now been cancelled and a total of 108 players have been placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List (CEL). Remember, teams are not required to put players on the CEL unless they want to exclude them from the roster and salary cap. 

- With all of the cancellations it will be another sparse night with only three games on tap tonight. Saturday the biggest drawing night of the week so teams hate losing a Saturday game. Allen is at Kansas City, Indy at Tulsa and Utah at Rapid City. The number of games played by ECHL teams varies from 9 (Wichita) to 14 (Florida, Tulsa, Rapid City). Standings this season will be based on winning/points percentage rather than points earned because all teams will not play the same number of games.

DID YOU KNOW: Three former Allen Americans are on the Mavericks roster, goalies Joel Rumpel and Andrew Shortridge and defenseman Corbin Baldwin. It would be a great matchup to see Rumpel who played for Allen and against Kapelmaster who was released by Kansas City. I think both would like to play against their old team.  

 

Getaway Day Details, Player Profiles on Newly Signed Jake Paterson and Colby McAuley and More

 It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they take the 475 mile bus trip to play the Kansas City Mavericks tomorrow night. The team will practice at 11:00 and leave early this afternoon and stop on the way for dinner. There will be 21 players on the trip, two goalies, seven defensemen and 12 forwards. Matt Register and Braylon Shmyr are the only players not available who will stay home. Here is the travel roster:

Goalies

#34 - Jake Paterson

#39 - Justin Kapelmaster

 

Defensemen

#4 - Turner Ottenbreit

#5 - Phil Beaulieu

#7 - Kayle Doetzel

#14 - Les Lancaster 

#20 - Ben Carroll

#25 - Nolan Kneen

#47 - Will Lochead

Forwards

#10 - Conner Bleackley

#11 - Kam Kielly

#15 - Corey Mackin

#17 - Colby McAuley

#19 - Alex Lavoie

#22 - Tyler Sheehy    

#26 - Spencer Asuchak

#27 - Sam Laberge

#29 - Jesse Mychan

#40 - Josh Lammon

#44 - Zane Franklin

#71 - Dyson Stevenson

 

 

- Yesterday Allen announced the signing of two experience players that have played for Allen in the past. Here are player profiles:

 

Jake Paterson

#34 JAKE PATERSON

Jake has had two stints with Allen. In 2017-18 he was assigned to Allen late in the season when he was under contract with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). He played in 14 regular season games with a GAA of 2.92 and save percentage of .917. Jake was the Allen goalie in the 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs when the Americans lost to Idaho in the first round in seven games after taking a 3-0 series lead. Jake's save percentage in that series was 916.

Last season Jake returned to Allen and played more games (28) than any of the Americans goalies but did not have a great season. While his record was 18-5-3-1 he had the highest GAA (3.55) and lowest save percentage .899 of the five goalies that played for the Americans last season. Allen had three goalies on the roster for much of last season and that is a difficult environment for a goalie. The other goalies (Dereck Baribeau, Zach Sawchenko, Andrew Shortridge) were all NHL/AHL contracted goalies so many times it was hard to get everyone enough work. When you go a week or more between starts, which happened to Jake several times during the season, it is difficult to stay sharp.

Paterson is 26 years old, stands 6'1' and  weighs 190 pounds. He is from the Toronto area. Jake was the third round draft choice (80th overall) of the Detroit Red Wings in 2012 NHL draft. Paterson signed a three year entry level contract with Detroit in 2013 and spent most of his time with the Red Wings ECHL affiliate the Toledo Walleye. In 2016-17 Jake led the Walleye to the best regular season record in the ECHL. His record was 34-13-2 with a GAA of 2.28, a save percentage of .918 and seven shutouts. He was runner-up to Riley Gill for the ECHL Goalie of the Year.

 In parts of three seasons with Toledo, Paterson compiled a record of 53-24-4, a GAA of 2.24 and save percentage of .920. Over his seven year professional career Paterson has played in 160 ECHL games with a GAA of 2.95 and save percentage of .906. 

 Paterson will wear #34 for the Americans, the third number he has worn in Allen. He wore #39 in 2017-18 and #35 last season. 

 Here is the Allen Americans press release on the signing of Jake Paterson:  https://allenamericans.com/news/press-release/popular-goalie-jake-paterson-returns/

 

 

Colby McAuley

#17 Colby McAuley

Colby McAuley was assigned to Allen for three months is 2017-18 when he was under contract with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL). He signed a two year entry level contract with San Jose in 2017. Unlike Paterson who was a highly touted player when he was a junior hockey player ranked as the third best goalie in North America, Colby wasn't even drafted by his junior team. He was a free agent invite to the Prince George Cougars (WHL). Here is what was said about Colby when he signed with the Barracuda in 2017.

“Colby has worked relentlessly over the past three seasons to get himself to this point and to see him sign professionally with the San Jose Sharks organization is a testament to his passion and his commitment to the game of hockey,” said Cougars General Manager, Todd Harkins. “Colby McAuley is proof that it doesn’t matter if you’re drafted to the WHL, or drafted to the NHL – If you work hard enough and you have the right focus, you’re going to get opportunities at the next level. We are so happy for Colby and his family and we wish him the very best as he continues his pro hockey career with the San Jose Barracuda.”

Colby served as an alternate captain in each his two seasons in the WHL.

Since turning pro Colby has played in 117 ECHL games for three different teams (Allen, Orlando, Idaho) and has 76 points (34G, 42A). He also has 36 AHL games to his credit, all with San Jose and has 10 points (4G, 10A). The 6'0" 185 pound left shot forward has played center and wing but will start out as a winger in Allen. McAuley is the type of player that fits well in Steve Martinson's system. He has a combination of skill and toughness, is a hard worker at both ends of the ice, will finish his checks and isn't afraid to drop the gloves if the situation calls for it. 

Colby played 38 games for Allen as a rookie in 2017-18 and had 20 points (8G, 12A) to go along with 72 penalty minutes. He wore jersey #27 back then but will be wearing #17 now.  

McAuley finished last season with Idaho and had re-signed with the Steelheads before they opted out of the 2020-21 season. When Colby re-signed with Idaho in July his coach noted what makes Colby special in addition to his skill is his character, work ethic and personality. 

Here is the press release issued by the Allen Americans on the signing of Colby McAuley:  https://allenamericans.com/news/press-release/colby-mcauley-returning-to-allen/

OTHER COMMENTS

- It is always fun to find past fights between new teammates but was surprised to find this one between McAuley and Braylon Shmyr from back in 2014 in their junior days. While McAuley has had 45 fights since 2014-15 Shmyr has had just three. I think Braylon paid the price because he took a slashing penalty and Colby reacted. I am sure Shmyr remembers this fight. I wonder if Colby does?

- The long awaited AHL schedule is expected to be released at noon (EST) today. It will be interesting to see the number of games each team is planning to play, some may play as few as 24 games. Remember the expectation is the AHL regular season will conclude in early May and there has been no announcement on their playoffs. 

 

- There were eight more players added to the Commissioner's Exempt List yesterday which makes a total of 26 in the last four days. Tulsa has added four players to the list since Tuesday but have continued to play and will take on Indy at home tonight and Saturday. Allen visits Tulsa on Sunday.

 

- With some games canceled it is a light Friday night schedule around the ECHL tonight. In addition to Indy at Tulsa, Greenville is at Orlando and Utah is at Rapid City. 

 

- Fort Wayne won't start playing games until February 12. Since the standings will be determined by point/winning percentage the Komets seem to have an advantage since they will play far fewer games than the other 13 teams playing. The final ECHL schedule is still not out but Fort Wayne could end up playing about 20 games fewer than the other 13 teams. Even more of an advantage is in their first month the Komets will play 13 games but nine of them are against Wheeling whose win/point percentage is a paltry .350. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL has played a 72 game schedule since the 2000-01 season but when the league started in 1988-89 they had a 60 game schedule. The ECHL went to 64 games in 1990-91, 68 games in 1993-94, 70 games in 1995-96 before expanding to the present 72 game schedule in 2000-01. 

More ECHL Postponements, Roster Update, Game Winning Goal Leaders and More

 

Pandemic impact on the ECHL has gone from bad to worse in rapid fashion. There have been 94 players placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List since the start of the season (December 11) but 42 have been added in the last nine days. Just two games were postponed between December 11 and January 14. Since January 14 there have been 14 games postponed. Here are all of the postponed games:

Tulsa at Utah - December 12, 13

Wheeling at Indy - January 15, 16

Wichita at Allen - January 15, 16, 17

Jacksonville at South Carolina - January 18

Greenville at Orlando - January 20

Kansas City at Wichita - January 21

South Carolina at Wheeling - January 22, 23, 24

Florida at Jacksonville - January 22, 23, 24

 

-  I share the details on the postponed games to show how quickly this has escalated and the impact has been all over the ECHL. Ironically the only team that has not had a game postponed is Rapid City who has placed more players on the Commissioner's Exempt List (16) than any other team. 

 

- You never know when games are postponed which team is the cause or if both teams have significant COVID issues. I have been told the postponement of the game tonight between Kansas City and Wichita in Wichita will not impact the Allen vs Kansas City game on Saturday. Things can change day to day but as of now both of Allen's games this weekend are still a go. 

- Everyone keeps asking about the goalie and forward that Martinson is adding to the roster. Part of getting the latest information about the team is honoring an agreement to not share information on newly signed players without approval from the Americans. A big part of the reason for having these restrictions is contracts have to be approved by the league before players can be announced.  Information has to be provided to the league before they can review the contracts. I have never seen a list but I am sure the league reviews immigration paperwork, vet status, salary and COVID protocol to name a few of the issues. With that said I can say Allen fans will be familiar with both of these new players.

 

- Anyway you slice it the Americans will have a new look in their games this weekend against Kansas City and Tulsa. There will be six to eight players that played in Allen's last game that will not be in the lineup this weekend. It will be a good test for the Americans. Kansas City doesn't have a good record (4-6-1-1) but won their last two games on the road in Utah. Tulsa's record is 6-6-0-1 but after their 3-2 loss to Indy last night they have lost three straight games. The Oilers will play Indy again on Friday and Saturday before taking on Allen Sunday afternoon at 4:05 pm CST.

 

- Three Allen players are tied for the team lead in game winning goals. Les Lancaster, Tyler Sheehy and Jesse Mychan each have two game winning goals. Nolan Kneen and Matt Register each have one. 

 

- In the only game in the ECHL last night the Indy Fuel went on the road and beat Tulsa 3-2. It has been an amazing start for Indy who improved their record to 9-1-0-0. It hasn't been easy as all 10 games were decided by one goal and Indy has only three regulation wins to go along with five overtime wins and one shootout win. Last season Indy had 10 of 60 (17%) of their games go extra time. This season six of 10 (60%) have gone extra time. It remains to be seen how good Indy is when they play some of the top tier teams. Four of Indy's nine wins have come against Wheeling who has the worst winning/point percentage in the conference (.350).

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are Allen's leaders in game winning goals (GWG) for each season since they joined the ECHL:

6 - Gabe Gagne (2019-2020)

4 - Spencer Asuchak (2018-19)

5 - Bryan Moore (2017-18)

6 - Chad Costello (2016-17)

7 - David Makowski (2015-16)

11 - Greger Hanson (2014-15)*

*Greger Hanson has the record for game winning goals even though he only played in 56 games in 2014-15. Hanson scored the GWG in 20% of the games he played. 

   

Allen's #1's, The Schedule, The Roster, Steve Martinson Reaches 1700 Games Coached Milestone in Pursuit of All-Time Wins Record

 

Not much happening with the Allen Americans as they continue preparations for games at Kansas City (Saturday) and at Tulsa (Sunday). Because their games last weekend were postponed Allen hasn't played a game since January 9 and will end up playing 10 straight road games. The Americans last home game was December 31 and they won't play at home again until February 3. With all of the roster changes and so many road games this will be an important stretch for the Americans whose road record is 4-2-0-0.

 

- I decided to go through the entire ECHL daily report this morning and list every category (individual & team) where Allen is #1 or tied for #1. Here is the list:

#1 goals - Jesse Mychan (7)

#1 shorthanded points - Josh Lammon (3)

#1 saves - Zach Sawchenko (224)

#1 rookie points - Joe Garreffa (13)

#1 rookie goals - Joe Garreffa (6)

#1 rookie goals - Jake McGrew (6)

#1 rookie penalty minutes - Zane Franklin (33)

#1 rookie power play assists - Joe Garreffa (3)

#1 rookie power play points - Joe Garreffa (5)

#1 rookie power play goals - Joe Garreffa (2)

#1 defensemen shots - Matt Register (35)

#1 overtime win percentage - Allen 100% (1-0-0-0)

#1 road penalty kill percentage - Allen (94.1%)

#1 road shorthanded goals - Allen (3)

#1 record when leading after 1st period - Allen (5-0-0-0)

#1 record when leading after 2nd period - Allen (6-0-0-0)

#1 longest streak with a point - Tyler Sheehy (8 games)

#1 most saves one game - Zach Sawchenko (46)

#1 most saves 3rd period - Zach Sawchenko (22)

 

- Allen has already had 13 roster changes in January and there are still 12 days left in the month. There will be two more additions to the roster happening soon when the goalie and forward Martinson has come to terms with are announced. 

 

- Had someone ask me yesterday how many wins Steve Martinson has and how many more he needs to become #1 all time. Martinson stands at 1051 wins as of today and needs 194 more wins to break the record of 1244 held by Scotty Bowman. Over his coaching career Martinson has averaged over 40 wins per season. If he maintains a pace of 40 wins per season he will become the all time winningest coach at the end of the 2024-25 season or early in the 2025-26 season. Martinson has won 62% of the games he has coached. He has coached exactly 1700 games and won 1051.  I don't think it is a question of whether he will break the record, the question is whether he will break the record in Allen or elsewhere. 

 

- Five more players were recalled/loaned to the AHL yesterday. They were all from Utah heading to Colorado and included both of Utah's goalies That makes a total of 32 ECHL players recalled/loaned to the AHL in the last six days.

 

- Six more players were added to the Commissioner's Exempt List (CEL) yesterday and two were removed. In the last eight days 36 players have been added to the CEL.

 

- Five ECHL teams have a winning/point percentage above .710. The remaining teams are all at .591 or below. Here are the top five:

.889 - Indy

.773 - South Carolina

.727 - Allen

.722 - Wichita

.714 - Florida

DID YOU KNOW: Here is Steve Martinson's record since joining the Allen Americans. Based on a 72 game schedule he has averaged just over 41 wins per season.

8-3-0-0:      2020-21  (11 games)

40-14-6-2:  2019-20  (62 games)

25-41-4-2:  2018-19  (72 games)

35-29-6-2:  2017-18  (72 games)

49-17-4-2:  2016-17  (72 games)

*41-24-3-4:  2015-16  (72 games)

*48-14-6-4:  2014-15 (72 games)

*39-22-1-4:  2013-14 (66 games) 

*39-18-3-6:  2012-13  (66 games)

*won championship

 

ECHL - Resilient, Flexible, Adaptable in 2020-21

 

When the ECHL took the lead among the top three North American professional hockey leagues and announced they would begin play on December 11 it caught many by surprise. When the league  planned to play a full 72 game season that wouldn't conclude until June the 6 it was even more of a surprise. It was a given from the get go teams would have to be both flexible and adaptable. One team Fort Wayne decided to start playing in February and 12 teams opted out of the 2020-21 season. 

 

- It is now five weeks into the season, the NHL has started playing with a reduced 56 game schedule and will start their playoffs almost a month before the ECHL finishes the regular season. The AHL plans to begin on February 5 and some teams will play as few as 24 games. It is clear ECHL teams are adjusting each and every day and those that will be most successful will be the teams that can adapt to what is happening in the most unique ECHL season ever. 

 

- Many AHL teams did not sign a lot of players in the off season waiting to see the impact of the pandemic. Others sent contracted players to the ECHL. Now AHL teams are scrambling to get ready for the start of the season. Just in the last five days there have been 27 ECHL players loaned or recalled by AHL teams.

 

- In addition to the players being recalled and loaned to the ECHL teams have had to deal with COVID related issues which have been trending up. In the last week 30 players have been added to the Commissioner's Exempt List (CEL). Since December 11 a total of 80 players have been on the CEL. Eight teams (Allen, Indy, Jacksonville, South Carolina, Tulsa, Utah, Wheeling) have had games postponed.

 

- With all of these changes it creates so much extra work for coaches, general managers, trainers and front office staffs. Those most flexible and adaptable will be most successful.

 

- Allen's power play has a goal in five of their last six games after going 2-18 (11%) to start the season. Joe Garreffa got a lot of power play ice time and leads the Americans in power play points with five (2G, 3A). Jake McGrew, who along with Garreffa just got recalled by San Jose had a power play goal. Allen has seven power play goals on the season, McGrew and Garreffa have three (43%) of them. The Americans have so many great power play guys starting with Tyler Sheehy who had 20 power play points last season (5G, 15A) and leads the team in power play assists this season with four. Several guys will get more power play ice time to see if Allen can keep improving.

 

- I have had a couple of questions about the scrimmage last weekend where the Allen players from the Western Hockey League (WHL) played everyone else (the World). I asked team captain Spencer Asuchak, a WHL alum about the scrimmage. Spencer said, "It wasn't pretty for the WHL but when there is no hitting it is usually beneficial for the guys from the other leagues! haha" 

 

- Here is the ECHL Weekly which provides information on all teams with their schedule for the week:   https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-weekly-jan-18  

DID YOU KNOW: The best power play in franchise history for the Americans and it isn't even close didn't happen in one of the Americans four championship seasons. The best power play was in 2016-17 when Allen had a power play percentage of 24.4% and scored 71 power play goals, which was 25% of their total goals. The team was led by Chad Costello who had 49 power play points (9G, 40A) and defenseman David Makowski who had 32 power play points (8G, 24A).

Allen Loans Goalie C.J. Motte to Bridgeport (AHL), The Silver Lining, Roster Update, Special Teams Stats and More

 

One of the reasons Allen has had a good start to the season is the play of the goalies. To be successful in today's ECHL it takes good defense and two good goalies. Allen has had the luxury of having two of the best in Zach Sawchenko and C.J. Motte who are both #1 goalies. Sawchenko has a record of 5-2 with a GAA of 2.55 and save percentage of .926. Motte is 3-1 with a GAA of 2.52 and a save percentage of .915.  Allen's team save percentage ranks #2 in the league. Here are the six teams with a team save percentage higher than .905:

.928 - Wichita

.922 - Allen

.914 - South Carolina

.914 - Florida

.909 - Tulsa

.908 - Utah

 

 

- The demand for goalies this season is off the charts because of the pandemic. The NHL has required each team to have an extra goalie on the active roster or the taxi squad. As AHL teams start their training camps they also are planning on carrying three goalies. An extra goalie for each NHL and AHL team computes to 60 goalies not available to ECHL teams. In the past most NHL and AHL teams would carry two goalies and have a fifth goalie with their ECHL affiliate who could be recalled in there were injuries.

 

 

- Coach Martinson assumed he would lose San Jose contracted goalie Zach Sawchenko when the AHL started to get ready for their season and that happened as he left for Barracuda training camp yesterday. In anticipation of Sawchenko getting recalled Martinson signed rookie Frank Marotte to back up C.J. Motte. In a sign of the demand for goalies, Marotte was signed to an AHL deal by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before he even arrived in Allen. Martinson then signed rookie Justin Kapelmaster to back up Motte.

 

 

- Things went from bad to worse yesterday when C.J. Motte was loaned to Bridgeport (AHL) and coach Martinson was on the phone to find a replacement. He has come to terms with a veteran goalie who he will pair with rookie Kapelmaster. 

 

 

- There is a possible silver lining in losing two goalies (Marotte & Motte) to the same AHL team (Bridgeport). Here is the logic. If Marotte and Motte are signed to AHL deals by Bridgeport they are no longer AHL free agents so they can't go to any other AHL team. Allen has the rights to both players so the only ECHL team they can be sent to is Allen. Bridgeport has injured goalies so when all the goalies are healthy Allen should get a goalie back. As a bonus it could save some salary cap money. If Motte would return to Allen as a Bridgeport contracted goalie he would only cost $525 against the salary cap, much less than his salary before being loaned to Bridgeport. 

- It is hard to overstate the impact of losing the four players Allen lost yesterday. Both goalies, the teams leader in points, the team leader in plus/minus and the two players tied for second in goals. Losing Zach Sawchenko, C.J. Motte, Joe Garreffa and Jake McGrew will be quite a challenge for Allen to overcome. 

 

 

- Coach Martinson always talks about when players leave it is opportunity for other players to get more ice time and he is confident others will pick up the scoring lost with Garreffa and Mcgrew being recalled. Remember Stevenson and Asuchak will be back in the lineup, Bleackley and Laberge will be back up to speed and Martinson is bringing in another top AA forward.  

- So far none of the Iowa Wild contracted players have been recalled but it might be just a matter of time. According to elite prospects Iowa has only six defensemen on their roster so may need to add a blue liner.

- It is hard to look ahead but when it becomes playoff time it is important to remember that players that have started the season in Allen and end up playing in the AHL will be qualified for the ECHL playoffs. The AHL season is scheduled to end on May 16 and it is still undetermined what their playoffs will look like. The ECHL regular season won't end until June 6 so you can expect a flood of AHL players on ECHL rosters come playoff time. 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 

 

- The pandemic has created a lot of financial hardships for ECHL players with teams opting out, games being cancelled and the uncertainty of playing the full season and playoffs. I came across this article about the financial issues facing AHL players whose contracts are prorated with some teams playing as few as 24 games. The also must provide their own lodging. A good read:  https://nypost.com/2021/01/16/ahls-financial-situation-growing-dire-because-of-covid-19/   

 

 

- Joe Garreffa leaves the Allen Americans as the top rookie in the ECHL. He is #1 in points (13), tied with teammate Jake McGrew for #1 in goals (6), #2 in assists (7), #1 in power play goals (2) and #1 in power play points (5). He is fun to watch and you can tell he loves to play the game, the typical rink rat. 

 

 

- Florida is the most penalized team in the ECHL averaging 17.64 PIMS per game. Tulsa is the least penalized team averaging 9.42 per game. Over a 72 game season these averages would equate to 1270 PIMS for Florida compared to 678 PIMS for Tulsa. Allen's PIM would be 1105 based on their current average.

 

 

- By the time Wednesday rolls around Allen will have added five players to the roster and lost six players in 10 days. It shows why general manager Martinson is sometimes more important than coach Martinson. 

 

 

- Allen's special teams have been steadily improving. The goal for excellent special teams is to exceed 105% when you add the power play percentage and penalty kill percentage together. The Americans were in the mid 90% earlier in the season but have improved to 102.1%. 

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here is Allen's combined power play and penalty kill percentage for every season in franchise history. It is no coincidence the three best years were the three seasons Chad Costello played in Allen and quarterbacked the power play.

 

POWER PLAY %

2020-21:     102.1%   (thru 11 games)

2019-20:     99.9%
2018-19:     98.4%
2017-18:     98.7%
2016-17:     108.8%
*2015-16:   107.5%
*2014-15:   109.4%
*2013-14:   102.8%
*2012-13:   104.6%
2011-12:     102.4%
2010-11:     106.7%
2009-10:     100.3%

*won championship

 

Allen Americans Stats that May Surprise You - A Look Back in History

 

 Today's blog will be for the stat geeks. Not much happening with the team so I was looking at the stats this morning and ended up seeing many that made me appreciate them more now than in the past. I think some of these will surprise you but others will remind you how many great performances Allen fans have witnessed over the years. 

- In 2014-15 Jack Combs and Chad Costello were the best one two punch in the ECHL. Jack for 32 games and Chad for the entire season. They had the top two points per game (PPG) averages in the league at 1.75 for Jack and 1.74 for Chad. The next closest player in PPG (minimum 30 games) was 1.30. These are the top two PPG averages in Americans history.

 

- If I asked you the top two players in plus/minus in a single playoff season since Allen joined the ECHL what would be your guess? The all time record was set in 2014-15 when Chris Crane was +17 in Allen's first Kelly Cup championship. Second place in playoff plus/minus is Eric Roy who was +12 in 2015-16 when Allen won their second Kelly Cup.

- This one surprised me. Since Allen joined the ECHL only three players have had a single playoff season with 10+ goals and 10+ assists and Chad Costello is not one of them. It happened in 2014-15 on the way to Allen's first Kelly Cup. The three players were Greger Hanson (12G, 17A), Spencer Asuchak (11G, 10A) and Chris Crane (10G, 10A). 

- Allen's all time single season scoring record by a defenseman is not held by Alex Breton, David Makowski, Matt Register or Tyler Ludwig. The record was set in 2014-15 when Aaron Gens led all Allen defenseman and all ECHL defenseman with 56 points (8G, 48A).

- Allen's all time record for scoring by a defenseman in a single season in the playoffs is held by Eric Roy who had 21 points (5G, 16A) in 2015-16.

- Since joining the ECHL only five Allen goalies have had a single season save percentage of .915 or more (minimum 10 games) and two of them were last season. Here are the five:

.935 - Riley Gill (2016-17)

.930 - Zach Sawchenko (2019-20)

.917 - Jake Paterson (2017-18)

.917 - Jeremy Brodeur (2017-18)

.915 - Andrew Shortridge (2019-20)

 

- Allen's record for playoff plus/minus when they were in the Central Hockey League (CHL) is held by Daniel Tetrault. In 2013-14 Daniel was +19 in 17 playoff games as Allen won their second CHL championship. Tetrault had just one game with a negative plus/minus and that was -1. 

 

- Allen was in the CHL for five seasons and won two championships. In those five seasons they had just two players with a season of 20+ goals, 20+ assists and 125+ penalty minutes. In 2011-12 Jim McKenzie had 20 goals, 24 assists and 158 penalty minutes. In 2012-13 Darryl Bootland had 22 goals, 29 assists and 135 penalty minutes. 

- When Allen won their second Kelly Cup in 2016 they finished #6 in the regular season standings with 89 points and didn't even win their division. Only one time since 2005 did a team finish lower than #6 in the regular season and go on to win the Kelly Cup. The following season (2016-17) Allen finished #2 in the regular season with 104 points, the second most in team history. They lost to Colorado in the second round of the playoffs.

- Zach Pochiro and Bryan Moore played only two seasons in Allen but are tied for #9 and #10 in all-time points with 99 (ECHL only). 

- David Makowski is the only Allen defenseman since the Americans joined the ECHL to average a point a game in the playoffs over his career. In 36 playoff games Makowski had 36 points (11G, 25A). No other defenseman has a PPG average above .683.

- Allen's all time record for penalty minutes (PIMS) in a single playoff year since they joined the ECHL is held by Vincent Arseneau who had 55 PIMS in 2015-16. The record from the CHL years belongs to Mike Salekin who had 82 PIMS in 2009-10.

- Since joining the ECHL just two players are in the top ten in games, points, goals, assists and penalty minutes, Spencer Asuchak and David Makowski.

- Brian McMillin played in 256 games for the Allen Americans and had a total of 51 penalty minutes.  In 2012-13 Brian had six penalties in 76 games (regular season and playoffs). He had twice as many goals (27) as penalty minutes (12) and led the team to their first championship being selected as the playoff MVP. 

 

- Todd Robinson scored the most famous goal in Americans history with his game seven overtime game winner against Wichita in the 2013 CHL championship finals. Robinson only played in five regular season games in Allen. If you look at the Americans all time regular season games played list Robinson ranks #228. Robinson was with Allen for just one season but he is ranked #18 all time in playoff points (22) and #13 in playoff assists (16). 

 

- In a home game on April 3, 2015 against Brampton the Americans scored a league high five power play goals in an 8-1 win. Chad Costello was involved in all five power play goals with four assists and one goal. Defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser had two power play goals and a hat trick.

 

DID YOU KNOW: Steve Martinson has been coaching since 1995-96 when he won his first championship in his first season. He has won 10 championships in four different AA leagues. Here are his playoff results:

10 - won championship

1 - lost in finals

7 - lost in second round

3 - lost in first round

2 - out of playoffs 

Change, Change, Change - The Roster, The Schedule, The Standings

 

It is a quiet weekend on the ice for the Allen Americans because of the postponement of three games against Wichita but there has been a lot of change with roster movements, a new schedule and the announcement of how teams will be aligned in the standings.

 

ROSTER

- The Americans signed three players this week, two goalies and a defenseman. Goalie Frank Marotte was signed and immediately loaned to the AHL (Bridgeport) where he was signed to an AHL deal. Then Allen signed goalie Justin Kapelmaster who will be the back up goalie behind C.J. Motte. The other signing this week was defenseman Will Lochead.

- San Jose recalled their three contract players (Zach Sawchenko, Joe Garreffa, Jake McGrew) who will leave for Barracuda training camp tomorrow. Garreffa and McGrew have been two of the top rookies in the league and Sawchenko has been one of the top goalies in the ECHL. It is going to be hard to replace the production from these players.

- Yesterday Allen traded Cole Fraser to the South Carolina Stingrays for future considerations. If you know coach Martinson's approach to future considerations trades there will not be a player coming back to Allen as part of this trade.

- Another forward will be added to the roster early next week. A free agent who had signed with one of the teams that opted out for the season.

 

- Here is the updated Allen roster which includes two goalies, eight defensemen and 13 forwards:

Goalies

#31 - C.J. Motte

#39 - Justin Kapelmaster

 

Defensemen

#4 - Turner Ottenbreit

#5 - Phil Beaulieu

#7 - Kayle Doetzel

#14 - Les Lancaster 

#20 - Ben Carroll

#25 - Nolan Kneen

#43 - Matt Register

#47 - Will Lochead

Forwards

#9 - Braylon Shmyr 

#10 - Conner Bleackley

#11 - Kam Kielly

#15 - Corey Mackin

#19 - Alex Lavoie

#22 - Tyler Sheehy    

#26 - Spencer Asuchak

#27 - Sam Laberge

#29 - Jesse Mychan

#40 - Josh Lammon

#44 - Zane Franklin

#71 - Dyson Stevenson

#?? - ????? ??????? 

SCHEDULE

 

- The ECHL released the next phase of the schedule yesterday. Here is Allen's schedule from now until April 3. The remainder of the schedule will be released later. 

January 23    at Kansas City

January 24    at Tulsa

January 29    at Utah

January 30    at Utah

January 31    at Utah

February 3    Wichita

February 5    Wichita

February 6    at Wichita

February 9    Utah

February 13   at Kansas City

February 14   at Kansas City

February 15   at Kansas City

February 19   Kansas City

February 20   Kansas City

February 25   at Greenville

February 26   at Greenville

February 27   at Greenville

March 3         Utah

March 12       at Utah

March 13       at Utah

March 14       at Utah

March 17       Tulsa

March 19       Tulsa

March 20       at Tulsa

March 21       at Tulsa

March 24       Rapid City

March 26       Rapid City

March 27       Rapid City

April 1            Utah

April 2            Utah

April 3            Utah

- Of the scheduled games 14 are at home and 17 are on the road but six of the 14 home games are between March 24 and April 3.

- If familiarity breeds contempt there is plenty in this schedule. Allen will play Kansas City five straight games, (3 home, 2 away). Allen plays Utah four straight (1 home, 3 away) and Tulsa four straight (2 home, 2 away).

- The only non-division opponent on the schedule is Greenville which the Americans will play three times on February 25, 26 and 27. Unfortunately the Greenville series is on the road. Bryan Moore and Jack Sadek, two former Allen players could be in the lineup. Sadek is currently with his AHL team (Ontario). Moore has played in nine games and has two points (2G, 0A) but his 43 penalty minutes are #2 in the ECHL. 

 

- With the postponement of the home games this weekend the next home game isn't until February 3 . Here is the situation for Allen fans on the 36 homes games the Americans will play this season. Between February 3 and the end of the ECHL season on June 6 Allen will play 31 of their 36 home games. Said another way, in the first two months of the season Allen will play just five home games.

 

- Allen has played 11 games (5 home, 6 away) and now has 31 more games scheduled (14 home, 17 away). The Americans have 30 games still to be scheduled between April 5 and June 6. Of the 42 games Allen has played or are now scheduled here is the breakdown by team.

11 - Utah (5 home, 6 away)

8 - Tulsa (4 home, 4 away)

8 - Rapid City (5 home, 3 away)

6 - Wichita (3 home, 3 away)

6 - Kansas City (2 home, 4 away)

3 - Greenville (0 home, 3 away)

 

- With 30 games remaining to be scheduled, based on the list above, you can expect a heavy dose of games with Wichita including the three postponed games. More games with Tulsa both home and away are certain and it looks like Kansas City will come to Allen and the Americans might have to make another trip to Rapid City. Fort Wayne was just added to the Western Conference and starts playing on February 12. It would be great to have the Komets added to Allen's schedule in those last 30 games. 

STANDINGS

- The ECHL announced yesterday how the 14 teams playing this season will be aligned. There will be no divisions and the teams will be evenly divided into the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. The three Central Division teams from last season that are playing this season have been split with Fort Wayne staying in the Western Conference and Wheeling and Indy moving to the Eastern Conference. The standings will be by winning percentage instead of points because all teams won't play the same number of games. Here are the current standings in the new conference configurations:

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

.889 - Indy

.750 - South Carolina

.667 - Florida

.600 - Orlando

.545 - Greenville

.417 - Jacksonville

.350 - Wheeling

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

.727 - Allen

.722 - Wichita

.667 - Utah

.650 - Tulsa

.300 - Kansas City

.182 - Rapid City

.000 - Fort Wayne 

DID YOU KNOW: After a two week period when just three players were added to the COVID related Commissioner's Exempt List there have been 20 players added from eight different teams in the last four days. Every team in the league with the exception of Allen has now had at least one player on the Commissioner's Exempt List but remember teams aren't required to put COVID positive players on the list. The reason teams add players to the list is they don't count against the roster or the salary cap. If roster space or salary cap isn't an issue, teams don't have to put players on the list.