It is game day for the Allen Americans as they are in Rapid City to start a three game series against the Rush. You hear about "trap games" in sports all the time when a stronger opponent overlooks a weaker opponent and ends up getting beat. This could be a trap game for Allen if they look at how Rapid City has played in their first seven games and conclude they will be easy to beat. Here are a few stats that show the difference between these two teams.
- Allen has a record of 6-2 and a win/point percentage of .750. Rapid City has a record of 1-6, has lost six straight games and has the worst winning/point percentage in the ECHL at .143.
- Allen is ranked #3 in average goals allowed (2.63) while Rapid City is last (#13), giving up 4.00 goals per game. Allen's team save percentage is .924 compared to Rapid City's .888.
- When you look behind the stats there are a few mitigating factors. Rapid City is 1-6 but they have only played two home games and split them (1-1). The Rush have only played two teams thus far and they are both good teams. Rapid City is 1-4 against Utah and 0-2 against Allen.
- Allen played Rapid City twice in their home opening weekend and beat the Rush 5-2 and 3-2. Because of a COVID breakout and a number of players on the Commissioner's Exempt List, Rapid City played with 14 skaters instead of 18 and had to use an EBUG. The Americans won game one 5-2 but let Rapid City back in the game after taking a 3-0 first period lead. The Rush fought back to 3-2 early in the third period before Allen pulled away. Game two on Saturday was even closer with Rapid City scoring first and taking a 2-1 lead into the third period. Allen took the lead with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Here is what I wrote after the two games with Rapid City:
"A win is a win but taking on a team that was playing four players short and playing with several others who were just signed this week, you would have expected Allen to have an easier time sweeping the two games against Rapid City this weekend."
- The bottom line is beware the trap games against the Rush. Rapid City is playing at home for the first time since December 12. They split their first two home games and are healthier than they have been all season. To top it off South Dakota doesn't have attendance restrictions so there should be good crowds in the arena. Rapid City is #2 in average attendance having averaged 3393 in their first two home games. The crowd tonight might be smaller being it is a midweek game but the weekend games should see big crowds by this season's standard.
- Rapid City and Allen are typically at the top of the list when it comes to penalty minutes so special teams will likely play a major role in this series. Despite their poor record the Rush have a better power play than the Americans. Rapid City is ranked #5 with a power play percentage of 16.0%. Allen is ranked #9 and has a power play percentage of 13.2%. In the two games these team played in December Allen was 1-8 on the power play and Rapid City was 1-9.
- Allen has the edge on the penalty kill ranked #7 (84.4%) compared to Rapid City ranked #12 (77.8%). Something for the Americans to be aware of, in Rapid City's lone win this season in their home opener against Utah, they scored two shorthanded goals.
- In the ECHL about 78% of the time the team that scores first wins the game. Rapid City has scored first in just two of their seven games and lost them both. Allen has scored first in six of their eight games and has a record of 5-1 when scoring first.
- With Braylon Shmyr, Phil Beaulieu, Dyson Stevenson and Spencer Asuchak staying home, Allen doesn't have any extra players on the trip (2 goalies, 7 defensemen, 11 forwards) so hopefully they can stay healthy. Look for Cole Fraser to play forward in this series. Coach Martinson always reminds me that after many years of playing with 16 skaters (typically 10 forwards and 6 defensemen) having 18 is a luxury. If they end up having to play short one or two players this weekend because of injury or illness it won't be a problem.
- There will be some player streaks on the line tonight. Tyler Sheehy has a seven game point streak and a five game assist streak, both of those streaks are the longest in the ECHL this season. Joe Garreffa has a goal and an assist in three straight games. Garreffa has five goals on just 19 shots for a shooting percentage of 26.3%.
OTHER COMMENTS
- The AHL is just a week or 10 days from starting their training camps so you can expect to see contract players from around the ECHL being recalled soon. Unlike the ECHL, the AHL will play an abbreviated season (30-40 games) with no fans in many locations. Not all teams will play the same number of games. Their season is scheduled to begin February 5 and end on May 16. The league hasn't decided on a playoff format.
- There are three ECHL games scheduled tonight. In addition to Allen at Rapid City, Wheeling is at Greenville and Jacksonville is at Florida. Here is the ECHL Today with previews: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-today-jan-6
- Wichita beat Kansas City 8-4 last night in the only game scheduled. The Thunder improved their record to 4-1-1-0 with their only losses against Allen. Here are the five teams with a winning/points percentage at .750+ with their record in parenthesis:
.857 - Indy (6-1-0-0)
.800 - Utah (4-1-0-0)
.778 - Florida (7-2-0-0)
.750 - Allen (6-2-0-0)
.750 - Wichita (4-1-1-0)
DID YOU KNOW: Rapid City coach Daniel Tetrault won his only professional championship with the Allen Americans in 2014 when he was 34 years, 7 months and 25 days old. Tetrault was known as a gamer who never quit. He played hurt but never missed a game that season playing in all 66 regular season games and 17 playoff games. He was at his best in the playoffs as a shutdown defenseman. There were two Allen players with a plus/minus greater than +10 in the playoffs. Jamie Schaafsma was +15 and Daniel led the team and the entire playoffs at +19. Tetrault coaches as he played, his teams never quit.
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