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:
No comments:
Post a Comment