Allen Finishes Series With a Loss, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Many Positives Going Forward and More

 

Even the magic of scoring the first goal of the game 23 seconds after puck drop could not save the Allen Americans as they lost to Greenville last night by a score of 6-4. After giving up 21 shots in the third period on Friday night, the second most shots allowed in the third period in the ECHL the season the Americans followed it up by giving up 22 shots in the first period last night, the second most shots allowed in the first period in the ECHL all season. Giving up 43 shots in two successive periods and being out shot 43-12 is not a recipe for success. Too many defensive zone turnovers and poor special teams performance were the keys to the loss last night.

 

- Greenville scored three goals in the first period onslaught after Allen took the early 1-0 lead and the Americans could never recover. They managed to tie the score 3-3 in the second period but that is as close as the Americans could get. Allen certainly had plenty of opportunity as Greenville was assessed a five minute spearing penalty after the Americans cut the lead to 5-4 at the 13:29 mark of the third period.  Allen couldn't capitalize and as they were about to pull the goalie towards the end of the five minute major the Americans took a penalty of their own. The Swamp Rabbits scored a power play empty net goal to make the final score 6-4.

 

- Allen struggled on special teams in this series but last night was the worst. The Americans gave up three power play goals for the first time all season. Greenville was 3-5 on the power and in the three game series went 5-14 for a power play percentage of 35.7%. Allen was 1-6 on the power play last night and 2-14 (14.3%) in the series.

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Les Lancaster (7), Dyson Stevenson (1), Joe Garreffa (7), and Josh Lammon (7). Lancaster now leads all ECHL defensemen in goals. Garreffa is tied for second for most goals by a rookie even though he missed 12 games when he was called up to San Jose. Here are the video highlights which you can also find on the Allen Americans YouTube Channel. Pay close attention to the second goal in the highlight package as it had me wondering what happened. Greenville is on the power play and you will see Les Lancaster lose his stick. As the play continues Dyson Stevenson gives his stick to Lancaster and as he gets close to Lancaster's stick he picks it up and then just drops it. The player Dyson was covering makes a pass and Greenville scores. When I watched the play it made me wonder why Stevenson picked up Lancaster's stick and immediately dropped it. I asked coach Martinson about the play and he told me the referee told Dyson as he picked up the stick if he didn't drop it he would get a penalty. When Martinson asked for an explanation after the goal he was told it is a penalty to give your stick to another player and then pick up that player's stick. Martinson said he told the referee "I have never heard of that rule" and the players at the end of the bench that heard the explanation all were in agreement they had never heard of that rule either. Prior to the beginning of the second period the referee changed his explanation and  told Martinson he thought the stick was broken. 

- There is plenty to find fault with in the games in Greenville but there is little reason to dwell on that series when you consider almost 40% of the players were playing their first game for the Americans. Going forward there is plenty of reason for optimism. Allen now has 10 NHL/AHL contracted players on the roster, six arriving in the last 10 days and they will get better as they have time to practice with the team.

 

- Four players will be cleared to play by the next game (Wednesday) after following COVID protocol and four others shortly after. COVID has gone through most of the team now and while unfortunate the Americans will end up avoiding COVID issues as the team goes forward into the spring.   

 

- As the players return from COVID Steve Martinson will be dealing with too many players. There are currently 29 players on the roster. I assume the players signed for the weekend (Conway & Fornaris) have been released and Colby McAuley, who is on IR doesn't count. That brings the total to 26. The six players on the Commissioner's Exempt List don't count until they come off the list. So by the numbers, when Allen gets everyone back from COVID, Martinson will have to trim the roster by two or three players. The bottom line is the roster will remain in flux as there will be call ups, loans, injuries, trades, releases, assignments and signings. Allen has already used 39 players and they have only played 36% of the season. In the last three seasons Allen used 41, 45 and 41 players. The Americans will easily surpass those numbers this season.

 

- Allen will have a lot of time to get healthy and practice all of the systems Martinson uses after the home game against Utah on Wednesday. The Americans next game after Wednesday (March 3) isn't until a trip to Utah for three games starting on March 12. 

 

- When Allen returns home in two weeks after its three game series in Utah the Americans will have just 15 road games remaining and 27 homes games remaining. Allen will spend from March 22 to May 6 at home with the exception of a single three game road to Rapid City. This will be a great opportunity for the Americans to gain ground on the teams ahead of them in the standings.   

 

DID YOU KNOW: The number of players playing at least one game for the Americans for each season since they joined the ECHL:

39   2020-21 (thru 26 games)

41   2019-20  (62 games in shortened season)

45   2018-19  

41   2017-18

42   2016-17

46   2015-16

41   2014-15

 

 

 

Allen Back on Winning Track, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coaches Corner, Rubber Match Preview and More

 The Allen Americans got back on the winning track last night in Greenville beating the Swamp Rabbits 5-4 before a crowd of 1820. Allen scored the first goal of the game at the 7:54 mark of the first period to improve their record when scoring first to 13-1 and never trailed in the game. It wasn't easy as Greenville tied the score after trailing 1-0 in the first period and  3-1 in the third period but Allen never relinquished the lead. 

 

- Allen out shot Greenville 23-14 over the first two periods and took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission but it was all Swamp Rabbits in the third period with a 21-5 shot advantage. Greenville's 21 third period shots are the second most shots in the third period in the ECHL all season. Luckily Allen scored two goals on their five third period shots to hold off Greenville after the Swamp Rabbits tied the score 3-3.

 

- The goal scorers for Allen were Samuel Laberge (4,5), Krystof Hrabik (1), Scott Conway (1) and Cory Mackin (12). Here are the video highlights:

- Greenville will most likely start its top goalie tonight. Ryan Bednard stopped 42 of 43 shots in the Swamp Rabbits win on Thursday night. His save percentage this season over 17 games is .917. Last night Greenville started backup goalie, Jacob Ingham, who has a save percentage of .844 in the four games he has started this season, all losses. Allen is going to have to play better tonight defensively as they are unlikely to win a high scoring game against Bednard.

- Special teams were a draw last night with each team scoring a power play goal. The Americans power play has looked better then the results show in the first two games in Greenville. Allen is 1-8 (12.5%) over the first two games. The Americans haven't scored two power play goals in a game in almost a month. The Americans have scored just three power play goals in their last eight games. You sense the power play is about to break out with better results, maybe it will happen tonight.

 

- Allen has killed seven of nine penalties (77.8%) in the first two games. Going back to the end of January the Americans have given up a power play goal in 10 of their last 12 games. Over the last 12 games the Americans penalty kill percentage is just 73.3%. The penalty kill was strong early in the season but has now fallen to #11 in the ECHL at 80.9%. The Americans will have to play better on the penalty kill if they expect to win consistently. 

 

- The team that scored first won games one and two so no reason to think that won't happen in game three tonight. A good start is critical especially against the goalie that gave Allen trouble in game one. A reminder of the importance of a good start, Allen is 13-1 when it scores first and 9-0-1-0 when leading after the first period. When tied after the first period the Americans are 6-4 and when trailing after the first period they are 1-4.

 

COACH'S CORNER

- When I checked in with coach Martinson early this morning he was about to go through the game from last night using a software called InStat which provides game reports on both the team and  individual players. In times past coaches had to go through games and compute stats and clip video themselves. Now days these software programs do all of that for you. Martinson describes it as advancing from using a shovel to dig through game video to using a backhoe. He now has data for each player from hits, to turnovers, to puck battles, to face-offs at his finger tips with video down to the player level. 

 

- Martinson was obviously concerned about how the team played in the third period last night and expects to get back to playing like the first five periods of this series. He will go over the defensive breakdowns with the players both even strength and also on the penalty kill. The lineup will be the same tonight with the possible exception of Josh Maser who played sparingly late in the game because of an injury. Josh will be a game time decision.    

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Attendance for the seven games last night averaged 1984 and the ECHL average attendance for the season is now 2147. Here is the attendance last night:

2983 - Florida

2250 - Orlando

2169 - Kansas City

1820 - Greenville

1903 - Indy

1726 - Wichita

1037 - Wheeling

 

- Allen was the only team in the top four of the Western Conference to win last night so it made up some ground. Wichita and Fort Wayne did pick up one point by losing in overtime. Wichita (.729) is still on top but Allen (.660) moved into second place passing Fort Wayne (.643). Rounding out the playoff teams is Utah (.615).

 

- It is another full slate of games around the ECHL tonight with all 14 teams in action. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/2/echl-today-feb-27  

DID YOU KNOW:  ECHL teams with the most and fewest games going to overtime (excluding Fort Wayne). 

MOST

11 - Greenville

10 - Indy

10 - South Carolina

FEWEST

4 - Allen

5 - Jacksonville

5 - Rapid City

 

Allen Plays Well in Loss With Seven New Players, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Martinson Interview, Rematch Preview, My Zoom Interview and More

 

The box score says the Allen Americans lost to the Swamp Rabbits in Greenville last night by a score of 4-1 before a crowd of 1147. The game was much closer than the final score as the Americans had the better opportunities out shooting Greenville in all three periods and by a total of 43-22 for the game. A combination of good goaltending by Greenville goalie Ryan Bednard and inability to finish by Allen led to defeat. Allen's shooting percentage this season is 9.5% which would yield four goals with 43 shots so they under performed. Greenville on the other hand scored four goals on just 22 shots (18.2%) well above their season shooting percentage of 8.9%.

- It was a disappointing loss for sure but Allen should feel good about how they played and confident going into game two tonight. Greenville scored four goals but one was an empty net goal, one was a shorthanded goal that took a weird bounce off the end boards and one was a power play goal. On the one even strength goal a Greenville player got mixed up with Justin Kapelmaster on a rebound.

- Maybe the most amazing stat from the game last night is when Allen took the ice, seven of the 18 players (39%) had never taken the ice for the Americans. Allen played one player short as Jared Bethune, who is on the trip and listed as day to day after an injury in Kansas City in Allen's last game, did not play.

- Allen gave up a shorthanded goal and a power play goal and went 0-5 on their power play opportunities but that doesn't tell the whole story. The shorthanded goal was a fluke and the Americans had numerous high quality power play chances they did not convert. I thought I heard the Greenville broadcast team say Allen had 13 shots on the two power plays in the first period. If Allen keeps up the same type of pressure on the power play tonight as they had last night they will score.

 

- It may be a silly stat but the biggest indicator of who wins a game is the team that scores first. It was Greenville last night as they improved their record when scoring first to 9-0-3-0. Allen has the best record in the ECHL when they score first (12-1-0-0) but when they don't score first, like last night, the Americans record is 3-9-1-0. As I stated in the series preview, Allen and Greenville have the two best records in the league when they score first with a combined record of 21-1-3-0. A good start should be top of mind for Allen tonight.

 

- Allen's lone goal came in the second period as Corey Mackin scored from the slot off a nice behind the net pass from Sam Laberge to tie the score 1-1. It was Mackin's 11th goal and 22nd point of the season, both lead the team.

 

- Here are the video highlights:

  

 

- Here is Steve Martinson's post game interview:

 

- I had a chance to check in with coach Martinson this morning and he told me Josh Maser, who was recently assigned to Allen by Iowa, has arrived in Greenville and will play tonight. Martinson reiterated what he said in his post game interview and emphasized how long it has been since the team played a game, some players haven't practiced for a long time and most were playing together for the first time. He liked the opportunities the team created saying they just need to do a better job of finishing tonight. It will be the same lineup tonight as last night with the addition of Maser. 

 

- I noticed Martinson had Krystof Hrabik taking a lot of offensive zone face-offs in the last period and he won most of them. Something to watch for tonight.   

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 - The Iowa Wild, who had their game against the Texas Stars in Austin on Wednesday postponed because of COVID protocols will be back in action tonight. The play the Stars tonight and tomorrow night. 

 

- With the loss last night Allen's points percentage drops to #5 in the ECHL trailing Indy (.813), Florida (.788), Wichita (.739) and Fort Wayne (.667).

 

- There is a full slate of games in the ECHL tonight with all 14 teams in action. One of the most interesting match ups will be Fort Wayne at Indy for the first of three games in three days. Here is the ECHL Today with a short preview of all seven games: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/2/echl-today-feb-26 

 

- Here is a Zoom interview I did with Tommy Daniels a couple of days ago. Take a look. You may see these videos where a pet or child walk through during the interview but notice my lovely wife and blog proofreader (Nancy) walk through, oblivious to another Zoom interview, haha. As always if you have trouble loading any of the videos they can be found by Googling "Allen Americans YouTube Channel."

   

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen has now lost three straight games in regulation. The last time that has happened is over two years ago, February 8-16, 2019. The most regulation losses in a row since Allen joined the ECHL is eight which  occurred between December 5-19, 2018.   

Steve Martinson's Roster Scramble Continues, Allen vs Greenville Series Preview, ECHL Top Scoring Duos and More

 

It's game day for the Allen Americans as they play the first of three games against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits tonight. With nine players on the sidelines it would have been easy for the Americans to postpone/cancel this trip to Greenville which is the most expensive road trip of the season. It seems like there is no standard for what hoops a team has to go through to add players when they have a COVID breakout in order to avoid postponing games. I do know coach Martinson has busted his backside to find enough players to play these games in Greenville.

 

- Rather than having an EBUG for the series, Martinson signed goalie Taran Kozun yesterday who met the team in Greenville. Kozun is a highly decorated 27 year old rookie goalie that has been signed for a short term by several ECHL teams this season. Taran is from Saskatchewan and played his junior hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and then played college hockey (USports) at the University of Saskatchewan. Kozun was selected as the WHL Top Goaltender (Del Wilson Trophy) in 2014-15 and was the back to back USports Goaltender of the Year in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Last season in addition to being the USports Goalie of the Year he was also awarded Player of the Year. Taran's brother, Tad, is a forward for the Orlando Solar Bears. Taran and Turner Ottenbreit were teammates in the WHL.

 

- Josh Maser, who was just assigned to the Americans by Iowa and was expected to make the trip to Greenville ended up staying in Allen. He may fly to Greenville for the weekend games but could also end up back with Iowa. The Wild had their game in Austin last night against the Texas Stars postponed and according to the press release the reason was "due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the Iowa Wild." The Iowa games against Texas on Friday and Saturday have not been postponed yet so if they get played and Iowa has players out with COVID they may need Maser back. Just my guess but Maser will be playing this weekend, just not sure if it will be in Greenville or Austin. Welcome to the life of a pro hockey player.

 

- With Maser questionable coach Martinson reached out and signed another forward on the east coast that will meet the team in Greenville this afternoon. Martinson is talking to other players just in case there is a need for the weekend.

 

- Here is the bottom line, Allen has nine players on the sidelines plus Maser who is waiting to see what happens. Six of Allen's top 10 players in games played are not with the team. As many as seven players could play their first game for Allen in this series. Martinson is doing whatever he can to make sure he has enough players so he is not playing short if he has injuries.   

 

- This series pits two teams that have good records but have struggled lately. Allen's record is 15-7-1-0 (.674) but it has lost four of the last six games including the last two. Greenville, who is in third place in the Eastern Conference with a point percentage of .540 has lost four of their last five games and been shutout three times. 

- All eyes will be on the Allen vs Greenville game (6:05 pm Allen time) as it is the only game in the ECHL tonight. 

- Allen scores an average of 3.3 goals per game and allows 2.5 goals per game. Greenville is just the opposite scoring 2.6 per game and allowing 3.2 per game. Allen has scored 77 goals and allowed 58 for a +19 goal differential. Greenville has scored 66 goals and allowed 80 for a goal differential of -16.

 

- Four of the top scoring defensemen in the league will be on the ice in this series. Allen's Matt Register is #1 (19 points) and Les Lancaster is #5 (14 points). Lancaster leads the league in goals by a defensemen with six. You don't see two defensemen leading a team in scoring very often but that is the case with Greenville. Rookie Ben Finkelstein (#5) has 17 points and Sam Jardine (#21) has 17 points to lead the Swamp Rabbits in scoring. They rank #2 in the ECHL, right behind Register, in points by defensemen.

- Allen's road special teams percentage is 19.6% on the power play and 82.0% on the penalty kill. At home Greenville is 9.1% on the power play and 82.5% on the penalty kill. 

- Scoring first is always important but even more so in this series. These are the two best teams in the ECHL when scoring first. Their combined record when scoring first is an almost unbeatable 20-1-3-0. Allen is 12-1-0-0 and Greenville is 8-0-3-0. If past is prologue the team that scores first will win at least two but likely all three games.

 

- The likelihood of an overtime game when you play Greenville is quite high. They have had more overtime games (11) than any team in the league as 44% of their games have gone extra time. The Swamp Rabbits overtime record is 4-5 and their shootout record is 0-2. Allen's overtime record is 1-1 and their shootout record is 2-0. Advantage Allen.

- Greenville (12.84) and Allen (13.00) average about the same number of penalty minutes per game but the mix of penalties is different. Greenville has more minor penalties (128-102) and Allen has more five minute major penalties (15-9). Most of the major penalties are fighting majors, the Americans have had 14 fights compared to the Swamp Rabbits nine fights. 

OTHER COMMENTS

- If there is a silver lining with so many players out because of COVID protocols, it is once the team gets past this weekend they should be in great shape going forward. You don't wish COVID on anyone but with so many on the team now having had it the term herd immunity applies. 

 

- It was just three weeks ago Allen's NHL affiliate, Minnesota Wild, was shutdown for two weeks with a COVID breakout that had 15 players on the NHL COVID list in just 10 days. However, the Wild have come back strong after having to postpone games and starting their recent road trip with many regulars still on the COVID list. The Wild just returned home winning four straight road games. They beat the Ducks 3-1 and 5-1, the Sharks 6-2 and the Avalanche 6-2. 

 

- Both AHL teams the Americans work with have had to postpone games this week. Iowa's game against Texas last night was postponed and it is possible their two games this weekend could be postponed. The San Jose Barracuda have also postponed their game tonight against Bakersfield. From the Barracuda press release, "Despite having only one player currently impacted, the decision to cancel the team's practice and training activities on Wednesday and postpone the game on Thursday was made out of an abundance of caution." The Barracuda have not played a game since February 13 and have now had five straight games postponed. They are scheduled to play Ontario at home on Saturday and Sunday. 

 

- Indy and Florida won in the only two ECHL games last night to extend the points percentage lead as the top two teams in the ECHL. There are only three teams above .700 with another three above .600. Here are the top six;

.813 - Indy

.788 - Florida

.739 - Wichita

.674 - Allen

.667 - Fort Wayne

.640 - Utah

 

- Indy and Florida are starting to run away in the Eastern Conference standings. After Indy (.813) and Florida (.788) third place Greenville's point percentage is way back at .540.

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL’s top goal scoring duos:

27 - Huntebrinker (14) & McCarron (13), Florida

22 - Pierog (14) & Marcinew (8), Indy

22 - Coulter (11) & Peterson (11), Rapid City

20 - Mackin (10) & Mychan (10), Allen

20 - Reid (12)& Bordson (8), Kansas City

20 - Gennaro (10) & Fournier (10), Wichita    

Allen Heads to Greenville Leaving Key Players at Home, Travel Roster, Josh Maser Profile, ECHL Defensemen Scoring and More

 

It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they will fly to Greenville this afternoon to play the Swamp Rabbits on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Here is the list of players making the trip to Greenville. This list is current as of early this morning. 

   

Goalies

#39 - Justin Kapelmaster

#?? - ????? ?????

 

Defensemen 

#5 - Phil Beaulieu

#7 - Kayle Doetzel

#14 - Les Lancaster 

#16 - Chaz Reddekopp

#20 - Ben Carroll

#43 - Matt Register

Forwards

#8 - Joe Garreffa 

#9 - Kyle Topping 

#15 - Corey Mackin

#18 - Steenn Pasichnuk

#21 - Jared Bethune

#23 - Josh Maser    

#27 - Sam Laberge

#28 - Krystof  Hrabik

#40 - Josh Lammon

#71 - Dyson Stevenson

 

- Allen will not use an EBUG in Greenville. Steve Martinson has signed a goalie that will meet the team in Greenville. This will be on transactions this afternoon.

 

- Turner Ottenbreit was loaned to Iowa and is in Austin where the Wild will play the Texas Stars tonight, Friday and Saturday.

 

- In addition to the four players placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List yesterday (Conner Bleackley, Zane Franklin, Will Lochead, Jake Paterson) others not making the trip to Greenville are Spencer Asuchak, Kameron Kielly, Nolan Kneen and Jesse Mychan. 

 

- Rookie forward Josh Maser has been assigned to Allen by the Iowa Wild and will make the trip to Greenville. Josh played in two games for Iowa and had one goal. He scored his first pro goal in his first pro game. Here is some info about Josh from the Iowa press release when he was signed last July.

Maser served as team captain for the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season, recording 48 points (29g, 19a) in 62 games.  Maser, 22 (1/18/99), hails from Houston, British Columbia.  His 29 goals last season were 16 more than the next closest Prince George skater, and his 19 assists placed him fourth on the team. A 6-foot-2, 207 pound left winger, Maser totaled 143 points (90g, 53a) in 218 career WHL games.

Here is a Maser hat trick highlight from last season:

  

- Wichita beat Kansas City last night 4-3 in overtime to extend their lead in the Western Conference standings. The Thunder improved their points percentage to .739. The second place Americans have a points percentage of .674. It will be a challenge for Allen to not lose more ground to Wichita this week. Allen is on the road in Greenville (.540 points percentage) for three games while Wichita is at home against Rapid City (.389 points percentage) for three games.  

- The two teams just behind Allen looking to pass the Americans are Fort Wayne (.667 points percentage) who is on the road for three games in Indy (.804 points percentage) and Utah (.640 points percentage) who is visiting Wheeling (.333 points percentage) for three games. 

 

- Allen needs to snap their two game losing streak which is the longest of the season or they could end up in fourth place at the end of the week. With eight key players in COVID protocol and not on the trip and another five players playing their first games for the Americans it will be a challenge for sure. There is plenty of talent to win all three games in Greenville but how the team plays as a team will be key to success. 

 

- I will have a complete series preview tomorrow but one stat that is encouraging is Greenville, who is in third place in the Eastern Conference with a point percentage of .540 has lost four of their last five games and been shutout three times. 

 

- Here is my ECHL stats post for today that shows Allen ranks #2 in most goals scored by defensemen (16) and #2 in percentage of total team goals scored by defensemen (20.8%). Not a surprise with all of the talented offensive defensemen on the Americans roster.

Goals by defensemen varies widely around the ECHL. 23.1% of all goals by the Utah Grizzlies this season come from defensemen. At the other end of the range is Florida, another good team, with a league low of 9.2% of their goals coming from defensemen. Here are all ECHL teams with goals by defensemen and percentage of team’s total goals:

 

18 - Utah, 23.1%

16 - Allen, 20.8%

12 - Wichita, 16.2%

11 - Kansas City, 18.6%

10 - Indy, 12.3%

9 - Orlando, 14.3%

9 - Florida, 9.2%

8 - Tulsa, 14.3%

8 - South Carolina, 12.9%

7 - Wheeling, 13.0%

7 - Greenville, 10.6%

7 - Rapid City, 9.9%

5 - Jacksonville, 10.4%

2 - Fort Wayne, 10.0%

 

DID YOU KNOW: The games this weekend will be the first out of conference games for both Allen and Greenville. So far this season there have been 16 games between the two conferences. The Western Conference record against the Eastern Conference is 7-4-3-2.  

Famine to Feast to Famine - The Allen Roster and Weather Fluctuations

 

It is feast or famine for Allen coach and general manager Steve Martinson. Just when you think the Allen Americans are out of the woods with the roster another shoe drops. A week ago coach Steve Martinson was down to 12 skaters with call ups and injuries and was desperately trying to find players for two home games against Kansas City. However the two home games were postponed because of the worst winter storm and the coldest three days on record and the records go back to 1898. Now just a week later the high today is expected to be in the mid 70's and coach Martinson has added five players from San Jose, defensemen Matt Register and Phil Beaulieu have returned from Iowa and Iowa is sending forward Josh Maser to Allen. All of a sudden Allen's roster has two goalies, nine defensemen and 16 forwards and looks full. Not so quick. Defenseman Turner Ottenbreit has been loaned to Iowa and the team has had a coronavirus breakout so is once again shorthanded. Because Martinson has so many players on the roster you will see some of the players in the COVID protocol added to the Commissioner's Exempt List (CEL). Remember, there is no requirement to put players on the CEL if there are sufficient roster spots available (20 active plus four reserve) and you are within the salary cap. When transactions come out today it will be the first time Allen has players on the CEL. All players affected may not be on the CEL but the breakout includes more than a few players and covers all positions. In a week's time Allen has gone from famine to feast to famine. Welcome to the ECHL in 2020-21. 

 

- The trip to Greenville will go on as planned but the Americans will be playing shorthanded in the first game for sure (see below) and possibly all three games. 

 

- It was a short weekend call up to Iowa for Matt Register and Phil Beaulieu who were with the Wild for two games. Both games were against  the league leading Chicago Wolves. Iowa lost 10-2 on Saturday and 4-1 on Sunday. Beaulieu played his first AHL game on Saturday but sat out on Sunday. Register played in both games. Turner Ottenbreit will join the Wild in Austin where they will play the Texas Stars on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

 

- Matt Register will have to serve the one game suspension he was given for "flipping the puck into the spectator area" when he flipped a puck to a fan in Kansas City. He will have to sit out Allen's first game in Greenville on Thursday. I have had some questions on exactly what the rule says so here it is from the ECHL Rulebook. The one game suspension is not automatic but at the discretion of the Commissioner. Remember, no penalty was called on Register during the game. Kansas City sent in a video clip to the league office and asked that it be reviewed.

RULE 63.9: Puck Shot Into The Spectator Area – Any player or goalkeeper who shoots or flips the puck outside the playing surface after a whistle into a spectator area not protected by netting will be assessed a minor penalty for delay of game and a game misconduct.  

 

- The Americans announced some schedule changes yesterday to make up the two postponed games against Kansas City from last weekend. Allen will play Kansas City on April 7 instead of Tulsa as scheduled. The Tulsa game will move to April 27. The other Kansas City makeup game will be May 17. Here is the press release from the Americans with all of the details:  https://allenamericans.com/news/press-release/americans-announce-additional-home-games/  

- The Americans schedule for the week calls for practice today and travel tomorrow afternoon to Greenville. Allen plays the Swamp Rabbits on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They will fly back to Allen on Sunday, arriving home in the afternoon .

 

- Former Allen goalie Aaron Dell had his first start for the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in a nationally televised game against the Washington Capitals. The Devils played well early and had a 2-0 lead late in the second period but three Caps goals in the third period led to a 4-3 loss. Aaron played well as the Devils were outshot 41-26 and the Caps had a couple of power play goals. 

 

- Team President Mike Waddell issued this open letter to Allen fans to thank them for their support and recap all that has gone on this past year with hopes for better times ahead: https://allenamericans.com/news/a-letter-to-fans-from-team-presidnet-mike-waddell/ 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The Greenville Swamp Rabbits franchise is traced back to one of the five original ECHL teams (Johnstown Chiefs). The team was known as the Greenville Road Warriors until they rebranded it as the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in 2015. Swamp Rabbit was the local name of a railway that began operating with mixed success back in the 1920's. A 22 mile multi use greenway system along the old railway bed was opened in 2009 as was named the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Here is a short and interesting story with more detail some old photos:  https://gvltoday.6amcity.com/swamp-rabbit-history-greenville-sc/ 

Western Conference Standings Tighten, Goalie Stats, Former Players Update, Plus/Minus Leaders and More

 

Don't look now but the Allen Americans only venture outside the Western Conference this season, a trip to Greenville, has taken on more importance. With Allen having its two games against Kansas City over the weekend postponed, along with wins by Wichita, Fort Wayne and Utah yesterday, the conference standings are tighter than a tree knot (only clean one I know). The Americans are still in second place in the conference but they are closer to fourth place than first place. Here are the Western Conference standings:

.727 -  Wichita

.674 - Allen

.667 - Fort Wayne

.640 - Utah

.481 - Tulsa

.457 - Kansas City

.389 - Rapid City 

 

- Allen's next seven games are against just two teams with six of the seven on the road. The Americans play in Greenville on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then play Utah four straight games. They play the Grizzlies at home on March 3 and then travel to Utah for three games on March 12, 13 and 14. 

- Greenville is in third place in the Eastern Conference with a point percentage of .540 and will be a tough opponent for the Americans. While Allen is playing Greenville, Wichita will be playing against Kansas City and Rapid City. Utah will be in Wheeling for three games. The schedule definitely favors Wichita and Utah. Only Fort Wayne, who is in Indy for three games, has a tougher schedule this week than Allen. Needless to say the top four spots in the Western Conference could look quite different by the end of the week.

 

- The Eastern Conference is looking more and more like a two team race between Indy (.804) and Florida (.780). Four teams, Greenville (.540), Orlando (.522), South Carolina (.522) and Jacksonville (.500) will battle for the final two playoff spots. It is hard to bet against South Carolina as it hasn't missed the playoffs since 2007 and always seems to play better toward the end of the season. Orlando has made the playoffs five of the seven years they have been in the league. The underdogs based on past performance would be Greenville who has missed the playoffs four of the last five seasons and Jacksonville who made the playoffs just one time going all the way back to 2013 when the Icemen were in Evansville. 

 

- Here is the post from this morning on my ECHL Stats & Information pages on Facebook and Twitter (@ECHLStats). An interesting post if you are an Allen Americans fan.

Just five ECHL goalies currently have a save percentage above .925 (minimum 420 minutes played). The top goalies:

 

.934 - Jake Hildebrand, Florida

.932 - Jake Paterson, Allen

.927 - Evan Weninger, Wichita

.926 - Dan Bakala, Indy

.926 - Zach Sawchenko, Allen

 

What do four of the five on the list have in common? All but Bakala have played for the Allen Americans.

 

 

- Another former Allen goalie, Joel Rumpel, got his first start of the season for the Iowa Wild yesterday. Joel got his first action for Iowa in the third period on Saturday in a relief role with the Wild trailing 9-0 against Chicago. Joel stopped 12 of 13 shots in the third period as Iowa lost the game 10-2. Joel's reward for the good performance was a start in the rematch against Chicago on Sunday. Iowa dominated the game everywhere but  on the scoreboard. The Wild out shot Chicago 41-14 but lost the game 4-1.

 

-  Former Dallas defenseman Dalton Thrower has just signed to play in Sweden. Dalton signed to play for Boras HC which plays in the third tier professional league in Sweden. 

 

- Former Allen forward Zach Pochiro who led the Americans and was #3 in the ECHL in goals (34) in 2018-19 is playing for Fort Wayne this season. Zach had a hat trick yesterday against Wheeling, just the fourth in the ECHL this season. Zach is off to a great start with the Komets with a goal in his last four games. In five games he has six goals. After just five games Zach is tied for #26 in goals scored in the ECHL. 

- Here are the plus/minus leaders for the top four teams in the Western Conference.

Wichita - Jacob Graves & Cam Clarke (+15)

Allen - Conner Bleackley (+11)

Fort Wayne - Anthony Petruzzelli (+5)

Utah - Matt Abt & Jack Jenkins (+8)

The ECHL leader in plus/minus is Logan Roe of Florida who is +27. In second place is Willie Raskob of Indy who is far behind at +17. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: In Allen's franchise history a plus/minus above +30 has happened just four times. Here is the list of the all time best plus/minus seasons:

+47   Joel Chouinard (2016-17)

+43   Chad Costello (2014-15)

+35   Greger Hanson (2014-15)

+31   Gary Steffes (2014-15)

 

    

Sunday Morning This and That - Allen Americans From A to Z (Asuchak to Zabotel)

 Not much new to write about this morning so not sure where this post will start or finish so let's get started:

- The Iowa Wild took it in the shorts last night losing to Chicago 10-2. Allen's AHL affiliate was down 4-0 after the first period and 9-0 after the second period. Iowa had seven players in the lineup that have played in Allen including defensemen Matt Register and Phil Beaulieu who were playing in their first game for the Wild since being recalled by Iowa last Monday. Former Allen goalie, Joel Rumpel, saw his first action with Iowa. Joel was the backup goalie but replaced the starting goalie in the third period with Iowa trailing 9-0. Iowa plays Chicago again today at 3:00 pm CST.

 

- There were six games in the ECHL last night and the total attendance was 17,025 for an average of 2837 per game. In this year of COVID restrictions that is an impressive number. Jacksonville had a crowd of 4635 last night. The top three teams in average attendance are Jacksonville (3454), Florida (3220) and Rapid City (2981). What they have in common is they come from states with no attendance restrictions for sporting events. 

 

- Fort Wayne, who is the perennial ECHL attendance leader, has played two home games and had a COVID restricted sellout of 2943 for both games.   

- Florida leads the ECHL in many statistical categories and is the hottest team in the league with a record of 8-0-0-1 in its last nine games. The Everblades started the season with five straight wins but then lost four of seven games after having several key players recalled to the AHL. Florida got some players back from the AHL, signed some players and traded for players and are back on track in a big way. In their last 13 games the Everblades are 11-1-0-1. 

- One player Florida signed in the middle of January was former Allen goalie Jake Hildebrand who had signed with Kalamazoo before it opted out of the 2020-21 season. Last season in Kalamazoo Jake had a GAA of 3.50 and save percentage of .889 playing for a team with a points percentage of .443. This season, playing for a good team that is #1 in average goals scored (3.92) and #1 in average goals allowed (2.20), Jake has the best stats in the ECHL. Since joining Florida, Hildebrand's record is 6-0 and he is #1 in the league in GAA (2.00) and save percentage (.934). Jake was the ECHL Goalie of the Week last week.

- A who's who of former Allen Americans play for SC Csikszereda which is a professional team in Miercurea-Ciuc, Romania, Colton Yellow Horn (2009-12), Jack Combs (2014-15) and Judd Blackwater (2010-11). Imagine being able to watch these three exciting players in a community of less than 40,000 population. Blackwater leads the group with 49 points (16G, 33A) in 31 games. Yellow Horn has 45 points (16G, 29A) in 30 games. Combs arrived later and has 34 points (16G, 18A) in just 24 games. Their team is in third place in a 10 team league but only one point out of second place and three points from first place.

 

- Alex Lavoie has played in 10 games since joining his new team (HC Vita Hasten) in Sweden and has 11 points (4G, 7A). His team is in 11th place in a 14 team league. 

 

- The top three ECHL players in taking minor penalties this season all have ties to the Allen Americans. #1 with 16 minor penalties is Cole Fraser, #2 is Zane Franklin with 15 minor penalties and #3 is Bryan Moore with 14 minor penalties. Moore managed to get his 14 penalties in just nine games. Greenville traded Moore to Wichita and he failed to report so he is out of hockey now.

 

- Allen has two goalies (C.J. Motte & Frank Marotte) currently in Bridgeport (AHL). They were signed by Bridgeport because of injuries so it is possible one or both of them will return to Allen in the not too distant future. This could present some tough choices for coach Steve Martinson. Jake Paterson, who was brought in when Allen lost Motte and Zach Sawchenko, has been outstanding. He is currently ranked #2 in the ECHL in GAA (2.10) and #2 in save percentage (.932). I know Martinson isn't fond of carrying three goalies but he might be in that position soon.

 

- Hopefully Joe Garreffa, who just returned to Allen, can pick up where he left off when he was recalled by San Jose. Joe leads all ECHL rookies with a shooting percentage of 23.1%. He has six goals (fourth among rookies) in just 26 shots.

 

- This didn't get as much publicity as some of the other decision the ECHL Board of Governors made this week but they decided the 2021-22 season will start a little later than normal. The 2021-22 season will open October 22, 2021 and run through April 17, 2022.

 

- Iowa Wild gave up 10 goals to Chicago last night. The most goals scored by a team in the ECHL this season is eight. Wichita scored eight against Kansas City and Greenville scored eight against Orlando.

 

- Allen has the best record in the ECHL when they score the first goal (12-1-0-0). 

 

- Allen has scored goals on three of their five shootout attempts for a 60% conversion rate, the best in the ECHL.

 

- Spencer Asuchak sets a new Allen Americans all time record every game he plays. Spencer is now at 368 regular season games played, 121 more than second place Tyler Ludwig. If you include playoffs, Asuchak has played in 451 games, 143 more than second place Tyler Ludwig.

 

- Asuchak's close hometown friend, Casey Pierro-Zabotel is not playing pro hockey this season. He played last season for Adirondack and they opted out this season. Since Casey started playing in the ECHL in 2009-10 he is one of the greats. For his 11 years in the league from 2009-10 to 2019-20, the guy known as CPZ, is ranked #3 in games played (621), #2 in goals (173), #2 in assists (370) and #1 in points (543). An impressive career for sure which includes two Kelly Cup championships (Allen and Colorado).

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen's all time record for penalty minutes in a season is 274 set by Derek Mathers in 2016-17. Did you know in 1985-86 Steve Martinson, playing for the Hershey Bears (AHL), had 432 penalty minutes averaging 6.25 PIMS per game. 

 

 

Roster Update, WHL Connections Run Strong, Allen's Historical Record After 25 Games and More

The Americans will get back on the ice this afternoon as they will have their first practice of the week. With all of the bad weather and the AEC being closed Allen hasn't practiced since returning home from Kansas City after the game last Monday. 

The Allen roster has undergone eight changes in the last week with six players added and two players subtracted. It has clearly changed the makeup of the team. The Americans now have two goalies, seven defensemen and 15 forwards. You could call the Americans the Western Hockey League (WHL)  All-Stars because 14 of the 24 players, 60% of the team, are WHL alumni. With an average age of 24.25 years the Americans are the youngest team in the ECHL. Here is the updated roster including the jersey number the new guys will be wearing. The players that spent time in the WHL are marked with an asterisk. 

 

Goalies

#34 - Jake Paterson

#39 - Justin Kapelmaster

 

Defensemen

#4 - Turner Ottenbreit*

#7 - Kayle Doetzel*

#14 - Les Lancaster 

#16 - Chaz Reddekopp*

#20 - Ben Carroll*

#25 - Nolan Kneen*

#47 - Will Lochead

Forwards

#8 - Joe Garreffa 

#9 - Kyle Topping*

#10 - Conner Bleackley*

#11 - Kam Kielly

#15 - Corey Mackin

#17 - Colby McAuley*

#18 - Steenn Pasichnuk

#21 - Jared Bethune*    

#26 - Spencer Asuchak*

#27 - Sam Laberge

#28 - Krystof Hrabik*

#29 - Jesse Mychan*

#40 - Josh Lammon

#44 - Zane Franklin*

#71 - Dyson Stevenson*

 

- Allen hasn't played a game since February 15 and with the postponement of the two home games against Kansas City this weekend the Americans won't play again until they are in Greenville to take on the Swamp Rabbits on February 25. It will give the team time to practice with the new players and will also allow time for some of the injured players to heal.

 

- The Western Conference standings have started to tighten as the top two teams (Wichita and Allen) have lost their last two games while the bottom two teams (Kansas City and Rapid City) have won their last two games. There is still some distance from top to bottom with Wichita at .700 and Rapid City at .400.

 

- Indy lost last night and Florida won so now there are just three teams with point percentages above .675; Indy (.786), Florida (.771) and Wichita (.700). There are six games scheduled in the ECHL tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of all of the games: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/2/echl-today-feb-20

 

- Allen, Kansas City, and Rapid City became franchises at about the same time with the Rush one year earlier then the others. I decided to look at who is the all-time leader in assists for each team.

Allen - Chad Costello is the all time assist leader for the Americans with 252 assists in 216 games. Chad has 76 more assists than any other Allen player. He played three seasons for the Americans and averaged 84 assists per season.

Kansas City - Sebastain Thinel is the all time assist leader for the Mavericks with 250 assists in 265 games over four seasons. Thinel has 108 more assists than any other player in Mavericks history.

Rapid City - Jesse Schultz, who played for the Rush from 2010-15 is the all time assist leader with 176 assists in 234 games. He is also the all time leader in points for Rapid City with 275.

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen has played 23 games and coming up on 25 games played even though it is almost March. Could this be the best 25 game start for Allen since joining the ECHL? Not quite. If the Americans win games 24 and 25 in Greenville their 25 game record would be 17-7-1-0 for 35 points.  Here is Allen's record after 25 games for each season since joining the ECHL with points in parenthesis:

2019-20:   18-4-3-0   (39 points)
2018-19:   6-17-0-2   (14 points)
2017-18:   15-7-2-1   (33 points)
2016-17:   13-12-0-0 (26 points)
2015-16:   15-9-1-0   (31 points)*
2014-15:   19-4-1-1   (40 points)*

*Kelly Cup champions  

Five Guys From San Jose, The Story, The Profiles and Why Matt Register Was Suspended

 

To start the day I wanted to share some information on the five players that were just assigned to Allen by San Jose. Their trip to Allen was unique. As I mentioned yesterday the Barracuda were in Austin to play the Texas Stars. They beat the Stars 5-2 last Friday and lost to the Stars 5-3 on Saturday. The third game of the series was scheduled for last Tuesday but by then the winter storms hit and the game was postponed. Steve Martinson was in contact with San Jose General Manager, Joe Will, because he needed help as Allen was down to 12 skaters. The original plan was to have Barracuda players assigned on February 22 when San Jose is moving from Tucson, where they had training camp and started the season, back to San Jose. When Allen ended up being short players and in need of help San Jose stepped up by agreeing to assign players early. The question was how to get the players from Austin to Allen in the middle of two winter storms and frigid temperatures. Steve Martinson told Joe Will he would drive to Austin himself to pick up the five players. This was Wednesday before the Allen games were postponed. Coach Martinson headed to Austin in a two wheel drive Suburban and spent the next 11 hours on the road. Martinson grew up in Minnesota and has driven a lot in bad weather but he told me it was as tough of driving he has ever had. A mere 11 hours after he left Allen he got back home. He had to exit Highway 35 a couple of times because the road was blocked because of the snow, ice and slush,  Sounds like above and beyond the call of duty but Martinson is always willing to do whatever it takes and he wasn't going to ask anyone else to make the trip in those conditions. The highlight of the trip was a stop at Buc-ee's which was a new experience for the players.

 

JOE GARREFFA - Joe doesn't need an introduction since he was the Americans leading scorer when he was recalled by San Jose after playing 11 games in Allen. Garreffa is still tied for sixth in points by ECHL rookies (13) and third in goals by a rookie (6) even though he has missed 12 games since being called up by the Barracuda. His 13 points (6G, 7A) is fourth on the team and his 1.18 average points per game leads the Americans. Garreffa was the ECHL Player of the Week for the week of December 28 - January 3.

Here is what I included about Joe when he was assigned to Allen at the beginning of the season. In a shortened 2019-20 season, Garreffa, 21, finished seventh in the Ontario Hockey League in points with 90 (36 goals, 54 assists), sixth in plus/minus (+48) and tied for third in points-per-game (1.82) as a member of the Ottawa 67’s. Over a five-year career in the OHL, with Ottawa and the Kitchener Rangers, the five-foot-seven, 176-pound Toronto, Ontario, native totaled 315 points (108 goals, 207 assists), 34 penalty minutes and plus-13 rating.

 Joe played in two of the Barracuda's four games before being assigned to Allen and had no points.

 

KYLE TOPPING - The name is familiar to Allen fans as his older brother (two years older) Jordan was the leading goal scorer (26 goals) for the Americans last season. Kyle is a rookie who signed with San Jose last May. Here is some information from the press release when he signed.

"Kyle is a playmaking two-way center with a high hockey IQ and we're excited for him to join the organization," said San Jose General Manager, Joe Will.

In a shortened 2019-20 season, Topping, 21, finished with 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists), 14 penalty minutes and a plus-six rating in 33 games with the Kelowna Rockets.

Over a four-year career in the WHL, all with Kelowna, Topping finished with 196 points (71 goals, 125 assists), 177 penalty minutes and plus-41 rating in 226 games.

The six-foot, 191-pound, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, native attended the Sharks Development Camp in 2019.

Kyle played in two of the Barracuda's four games before being assigned to Allen and scored his first pro goal in his first pro game against the Texas Stars.

Here is a highlight reel from Kyle's 2018-19 season:

 

 

KRYSTOF HRABIK (CHRIS-toff RAW-beek) - Krtstof signed a two year AHL deal with San Jose in October, 2019. From the San Jose press release:

"Krystof is a natural center who can skate and play a power forward type of game," said General Manager Joe Will. "He played on the top line for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championships last year and we expect him to be a top player in the WHL this season."

The native of Praha, Czech Republic, appeared and scored in two AHL exhibition games, collecting two goals, while putting four shots on net and finished with a plus-one rating.

In 2018-19, the six-foot-four, 209-pound native of Praha, Czech Republic skated in 63 games with the Tri-City Americans (WHL), totaling 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists), 53 penalty minutes and a minus-eight rating. In addition, Hrabik skated in five WHL playoff games, collecting two points (one goal, one assist), two penalty minutes and a minus-nine rating. Hrabik also skated in five games with Team Czech Republic at the 2019 World Junior Championship where he totaled one assist, two penalty minutes and a minus-one rating.

In the shortened 2019-20 season with the Tri-City Americans Hrabik was the team's captain and had 31 points (14G, 17A) in 42 games. 

Krystof played in one of San Jose's four games before being assigned to Allen and had no points.

Here is Krystof's highlight reel for 2018-19.

  

 STEENN PASICHNUK (PASH-nuck) - Steenn was signed by the Barracuda last June after completing his collegiate career. Here is info from the press release announcing his signing.

"Steenn is a physical, defensively conscious utility forward who contributed to building a solid program at Arizona State (ASU) and we're excited for him to join our organization," said General Manager Joe Will.

Pasichnuk, 25, just completed his senior season at ASU, finishing with a pair of points (one goal, one assist), while ranking tied for fifth on the team in penalty minutes (29).

Pasichnuk finished his collegiate career, skating in 113 games for the Sun Devils, fifth-most in program history, while collecting 21 points (six goals, 15 assists), and 119 penalty minutes, fourth-most in school history.

The six-foot-four, 208-pound, Bonnyville, Alberta, native is the older brother of defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk who the Sharks signed to an entry-level contract on March 31, 2020.

Both Steenn and Brinson participated in the Sharks Development Camp in 2019.

Steenn did not play in a Barracuda game before being assigned to Allen.

Here is a interview with the Pasichnuk brothers from August:

 

CHAZ REDDEKOPP - The only defenseman of the group, Chaz signed with the Barracuda just a month ago. The six-foot-three, 225-pound left-shot blueliner was originally selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2015 NHL Draft (round seven, 187th overall).

Chaz finished five seasons in the WHL with the Victoria Royals in 2017-18.  He finished his WHL career with 280 games played, 134 points (27G, 107A) and 191 penalty minutes. 

Reddekopp spent the 2018-19 season with the Ontario Reign (AHL) and finished with 10 points (1G, 9A) to go along with 101 PIMS in 40 games. 

Chaz, 24, skated in 22 games for the Ontario Reign in 2019-20, totaling one assist and 55 penalty minutes. The West Kelowna, British Columbia, native also appeared in 17 games for the Fort Wayne Komets scoring one goal and adding six assists. 

Chaz played in two of the Barracuda's four games with no points before being assigned to Allen.

Here is an exit interview with Chaz at the end of the 2018-19 season when he was in Ontario:

 

- I apologize if you can't see these videos on your phone. They always work on my tablets, laptops and desktops. You can find all of these videos on YouTube.

- You may have noticed the ECHL suspended Matt Register for one game yesterday and wondered what caused the suspension. Register was suspended under the rule (69.3) that prohibits players from shooting pucks into the crowd. If you recall a Kansas City player was given a game misconduct penalty and one game suspension for shooting the puck into the crowd in game one on Saturday. This happened after the player was responsible for Les Lancaster being given a penalty shot. Fast forward to game three on Monday in the second period. There was stoppage in play for an injured Kansas City player. As the players were skating around waiting for play to resume Matt Register picked up the pick with his stick, had it laying on the blade and flipped the puck over the glass to a fan in the front row. You see players do this all the time in warmups. As it turns out that is technically a violation of the rule that you can't shoot a puck into the crowd. The only way the league would even review this since no penalty was called is Kansas City sent it into the league office for a video review. Coach Martinson's quote to me, "That was one of the most chicken sh** moves I have seen. Asking the league to review a player giving a young fan a souvenir puck during a stoppage in play."  The Kansas City coach was well aware if Register was suspended it would be against Allen in a game that would have been played tonight had it not been postponed. Maybe Register violated the letter of the rule but certainly not the spirit of the rule. I know coach Martinson has a long memory and he won't forget this move by the Kansas City coach. Register will serve the one game suspension when he next plays in the ECHL.

 

- Goalie Dereck Baribeau was called up to the Minnesota Wild yesterday from the taxi squad and was the backup goalie for the Wild last night as they beat Anaheim 3-1. One step closer to seeing NHL action for Dereck. Baribeau had a record of 9-2-0-0 last season in Allen with a .914 save percentage.

DID YOU KNOW: While a number of players with NHL experience have played in Allen just two have played in Allen and gone on to NHL careers. Jordie Benn who played in Allen as a second year pro in 2009-10 he has gone on to a 10 year NHL career and has played 531 NHL games. Jordie is currently with the Vancouver Canucks. The other player to go on from Allen to the NHL is Aaron Dell who was the goalie in the Americans first championship in 2012-13. Aaron is in his sixth NHL season, has a record of 48-34-12 with a GAA of 2.76 and a save percentage of .908. After five years in San Jose, Dell is now in the New Jersey Devils organization. 

Weekend Games Postponed, Allen Assigned Five Players by San Jose and More

 

I won't dwell on all of the details as I know I am preaching to the choir to most of you but after four days of cold, snow, no internet, no TV, limited power, a frozen pipe and water rationing I have got internet service back this morning. Thanks to all of you that have reached out after several days of no blog to see if everything was okay.

 

-  Then to add insult to injury the two home games scheduled with Kansas City this weekend have been postponed because of the ongoing winter storm complications. A wise choice to not use the limited electricity and water resources on hockey games. What it means for the Americans is a lot road games with few home games. As the schedule stands now between January 1 and March 14 Allen will have 20 road games and four home games. Allen has 28 home games yet to play if they get in all 36 planned. There will be a heavy dose of home games late in the season. 

 

- To say it has been an eventful week since the last blog post would be a gross understatement. My last post was after game one in Kansas City when I wrote, "In one of the most complete games of the season Allen earned its second road shutout last night by beating the Kansas City Mavericks 3-0. Allen allowed the Mavericks just 16 shots on goal and only two in the third period. 

 

- The very next period, first period of game two, the Americans gave up 23 shots, a league high, were out shot 42-29, gave up two power play goals and lost 4-2. Game three wasn't much better as Allen was out shot 14-4 in the first period and lost the game 31-23. 

 

- If losing back to back games wasn't enough the shorthanded Americans had two more injuries to add to Jesse Mychan who didn't make the trip to Kansas City. Then defensemen Matt Register and Phil Beaulieu, who are under contract with the Iowa Wild were recalled. Iowa played with five defensemen in their lone game last weekend (Saturday) and did Allen a favor by not recalling Register and Beaulieu until after the three games Allen played in Kansas City. Everyone was aware these two defenseman were being recalled after the Kansas City series.

 

- When I talked to coach Martinson on Tuesday his was down to 12 healthy skaters. The good news is yesterday Martinson was able to get five players assigned by San Jose. The plan was to have players assigned on February 22 when San Jose is moving from Tucson, where they had training camp and started the season, back to San Jose. When Allen ended up being short players and in need of help San Jose stepped up by agreeing to assign players early. The Barracuda were in Austin to play the Texas Stars on Tuesday but that game was postponed. These five players are now in Allen and would have been available had the games this weekend not been postponed. Instead they will see their first action with the Americans on the road trip to Greenville (February 25,26,27). The five players assigned by San Jose are forwards Joe Garreffa, Kyle Topping, Krystop Hrabik, Steen Pasichnuk and defenseman Chaz Reddekopp. I will have more details about the players in the blog tomorrow.

- I know coach Martinson was looking forward to and very much wanted to play Kansas City this weekend with a full lineup. One benefit of the postponement is it will allow some injured players to get healthy.

 

- The Americans have already used 31 different players this season and only eight have played 20 or more of Allen's 23 games. Ten players have played 10 or fewer games with the Americans. All teams at the ECHL level deal with changing rosters with loans, call ups and injuries but Allen is in a rough stretch right now. 

 

-  Indy beat Fort Wayne last night 4-1 and continues to be the best team in the ECHL. The Fuel have a record of 16-3-1-0 and their points percentage is .825 which is on record pace. Only one team in ECHL history has finished the regular season with a points percentage above .800. The 2001-02 Louisiana IceGators finished at .806. but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

 

- In the Western Conference Wichita leads with a .711 points percentage followed by Allen (.674) and Utah (.614). The top three are followed by Tulsa (.479). Kansas City (.477), Rapid City (.375) and Fort Wayne (.333). Fort Wayne has only played three games and has a record of 0-1-1-1.

 

- Even with five postponed home games Allen has played more games (23) than any team in the league except Tulsa who has played 24 games.

 

DID YOU KNOW: After two losses to Kansas City last weekend the Americans points percentage dipped to .674, the lowest since early in the season. A good time to remember when Allen won its second Kelly Cup the regular season points percentage was .618.  Here is Allen's regular season points percentage for each season since joining the ECHL:

.710   2019-20
.389   2018-19
.542   2017-18
.722   2016-17
.618   2015-16*
.736   2014-15*

*won Kelly Cup championship           

Allen Wins First of Five Against Kansas City, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Martinson Interview, Rematch Preview and Penalty Shot History

 

In one of the most complete games of the season Allen earned its second road shutout last night by beating the Kansas City Mavericks 3-0 before a crowd of  2169 at Cable Dahmer Arena. Allen allowed the Mavericks just 16 shots on goal and only two in the third period.  The 16 shots allowed is the second fewest in the ECHL this season. Allen also holds the top spot in shots allowed in a game which was against Wichita on January 1 when the Americans gave up just 12 shots. The two shots the Americans gave up in the third period is #2 in the league this season. The #1 spot was in the same game against Wichita on January 1st when the Americans gave up one third period shot. 

- Allen out shot Kansas City in every period, they scored a goal in every period, the penalty kill was perfect (0-2), the goaltending was excellent and the power play generated a lot of shots even though they didn't score.

- It was a great night for the defensemen as they were a big part of the shutout and scored all three Allen goals. The Americans were led by Les Lancaster who scored the first goal of the game on a rare 2-on-1 defensemen rush with Turner Ottenbreit. Nolan Kneen scored his fourth goal of the season in the second period to give Allen a 2-0 lead at the second intermission. Lancaster scored his second goal of the game and fifth of the season on another rare play in the third period, a penalty shot. It was the eighth penalty shot of the season in the ECHL and just the third successful one. Allen has two of the three penalty shot goals this season, Spencer Asuchak has the other one.

 

- Jake Paterson had to make just 16 saves to earn his second shutout of the season but stopped some grade A shots. Jake improved his record to 4-1-1-0 and now has the #2 GAA in the ECHL (1.79) and the #2 save percentage (.939). Not a bad effort considering Paterson was not going to start the game until the designated starter, Justin Kaplemaster, was injured when he was hit by a puck at the pregame skate. Coach Martinson told me Justin assured him he could play through the soreness but was not 100% so Martinson opted to go with Paterson. The plan is for Kapelmaster to play on Monday. 

 

- With his two goals last night Les Lancaster is now #1 in the ECHL in goals scored by defensemen with five. Nolan Kneen, who scored his fourth goal of the season is tied for #2 in the ECHL. Matt Register didn't have a point last night but his 17 points is tied for #1 in the ECHL. A talented group of offensive defensemen but just as important, they are a big part of the Americans having the #3 ranked team in average goals allowed at 2.38. Register and Turner Ottenbreit are both in the top ten in plus/minus for defensemen.  

 

- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/media/game-recap/americans-blank-kansas-city-behind-jake-patersons-16-saves/

  

- Here are the video highlights and the post game interview with Steve Martinson. If you have any problems you can finds these videos at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4skvqPU3CGKx-vRDPCD4tA

 

  

- The Americans are back at it this afternoon (4:05 CST) for game two of five straight against the Mavericks. Jake Paterson will get the start with Justin Kapelmaster dinged up but even if he is okay to play Martinson typically gives his goalies the next start after a shutout. Jesse Mychan didn't make the trip and Allen added forward Jared Bethune yesterday but the Americans are playing with eight defensemen and just nine forwards. Using three lines wouldn't be a problem normally but with three games in less than 45 hours Martinson will use a couple of defensemen up front at times to try and keep everyone fresh.

- Obviously Allen scored first last night as they have in their last two games, both wins. The Americans record when they score first is now 12-1-0-0. When they don't score first Allen's record is 3-4-1-0. Another good start is key tonight.

 

- The one area where there is room for improvement is on the power play. Prior to last night, when one Kansas City player took 12 penalty minutes, the Mavericks were the least penalized team in the ECHL. They are ranked #13 now averaging 11.35 PIM per game. The Americans went scoreless last night and haven't had a power play goal in their last four games. Allen looked good on a couple of their power plays against the Mavericks with three shots on goal but could not cash in. They may not get a lot of power play chances in the game tonight but it would sure help to convert on one or two. Coach Martinson is giving a lot of players power play time and you can expect more of that in the game today.

 

- Another key in the game today is controlling Kansas City's top line. The line, led by Brodie Reid, who is leading the ECHL with 24 points, had a couple of excellent opportunities last night but Jake Paterson made great stops. The top line has almost half of the Mavericks goals this season  (23 of 47). It is not reasonable to expect to hold this top line off the scoreboard completely but minimizing their damage will be key.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Wichita beat Utah 4-2 on the road last night, Rapid City beat Tulsa 2-0 at home and Fort Wayne lost in Wheeling 4-3 in overtime. Here are the Western Conference standings by points percentage:

.750 - Wichita

.738 - Allen

.595 - Utah

.500 - Fort Wayne

.479 - Tulsa

.425 - Kansas City

.375 - Rapid City

 

- After just 12 shutouts in the first two months of the ECHL season there were three last night. In addition to Jake Paterson's 3-0 shutout against Kansas City, Michael Lackey of Orlando shutout Greenville 5-0 and Adam Carlson of Rapid City shutout Tulsa 2-0. A good night for the goalies. 

 

- San Jose Barracuda lost to Texas 5-3 last night with all three players that were in Allen to start the season dressed for the game. Zach Sawchenko was the backup goalie, Joe Garreffa had no points and two shots. Jake McGrew scored his is first AHL goal. 

 

- Iowa played short with just five defensemen in its game last night. Allen has eight defensmen on the roster including two (Register and Beaulieu) under contract with the Wild. If Iowa is down to five healthy defensemen they have to be thinking about recalling a couple of defensemen from Allen. Iowa doesn't play again until Saturday.  

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen has 25% of the penalty shots awarded in the ECHL this season and 67% of the successful penalty shots. Here are the Allen players that have had penalty shots since the Americans joined the ECHL. Prior to this season Allen had converted on three of 14 (21%) of their penalty shots. Successful penalty shots are marked with an asterisk:

2020-21 - *Spencer Asuchak, *Les Lancaster

2019-20 - Alex Breton

2018-19 - *Zach Pochiro, *Alex Breton, Adam Miller

2017-18 - Zach Hall, Zach Hall, Jonathan Lessard

2016-17 - Spencer Asuchak, *Zach Hall

2015-16 - J.P. LaFontaine, Spencer Asuchak

2014-15 - Jack Combs, Jamie Schaafsma, Gary Steffes

 

   

Allen vs Kansas City Preview Plus News and Notes

 

It is gameday for the Allen Americans as they are in Kansas City where they will play the Mavericks tonight (7:05 CST), Sunday (4:05 CST) and Monday (1:05 CST). Allen then returns home to play the Mavericks twice more (February 19 & 20). 

 

- Allen and Kansas City have played just once this season but have 10 more games to play (5 home, 5 away). On January 23 in Kansas City the Americans beat the Mavericks 2-1 with Conner Bleackley scoring both Allen goals. 

 

 - Allen's record is 14-5-1-0 with a point percentage of .725 which is #2 in the Western Conference. Kansas City's record is 7-9-2-1 with a points percentage of .447 which is #6 in the Western Conference. The Americans are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 games but have lost three of their last five games. Allen beat Utah 2-1 in a shootout in their last game. The Mavericks are 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 games and have lost three straight. They lost to Utah 3-2 in their last game. Allen's record in Kansas City over the last five seasons is 9-10-1-0.

 

-  When you compare Allen's road and Kansas City's home special teams stats a small advantage goes to the Americans. On the power play Allen is 9-44 (20.5%) and Kansas City is 6-34 (17.6%). On the penalty kill Allen is 6-38 (84.2%) and Kansas City is 5-28 (82.1%). 

- If you look at recent performance the Allen special teams have not performed well. The Americans have allowed a power play goal in seven of their last eight games. The penalty kill percentage over that time is just 70.8%. The Americans have not scored a power play goal in the last three games.

- Coach Martinson has added a forward to the roster as the Americans are very thin up front and will be missing a forward this weekend. Martinson has been rotating goalies each game so Justin Kapelmaster will get the start in goal tonight.

 

- If any of the games this weekend go extra time, advantage Allen. The Americans are 3-1 and the Mavericks are 2-3 in overtime/shootout games.  

- As always the first goal will be key. Allen scored first and won the game when these teams played in January. Their combined record when scoring first is 17-2-0-1. 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Fort Wayne opened its season last night with a 3-2 shootout loss in Wheeling. The other game of interest was Wichita winning 3-2 in a shootout in Utah. Former Allen forward, J.C. Campagna, playing in his first game for Wichita was the second player out for the Thunder in the shootout and he converted. With the win Wichita took over the Western Conference lead with a points percentage of .735.

 

- There are six games in the ECHL tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of all of them:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/2/echl-today-feb-13  

- Orlando is the only team (excluding Fort Wayne who hasn't scored a first goal) remaining that has not lost when scoring first. The Solar Bears have scored the first goal in just six of their 18 games and won them all. 

DID YOU KNOW: The best record when scoring first the last five seasons:

2019-20: 7-0-0-1  Newfoundland

2018-19: 26-4-2-0  Orlando

2017-18: 36-3-2-1  Toledo

2016-17: 35-2-0-1  Colorado

2015-16: 35-4-2-2  South Carolina

Getaway Day, Baby It's Cold Outside, Team Leaders, Stats, Martinson's Win Total and More

 

 It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they head to Kansas City (475 miles) where they will play the Mavericks on Saturday (7:05 CST), Sunday (4:05 CST) and Monday (1:05 CST). Allen then returns home to play the Mavericks twice more (February 19 & 20). The team will not practice today before they leave with departure scheduled for 11:00 am.

 

- The Allen roster is down to 20 players with two goalies, eight defensemen and 10 forwards but that includes forward Colby McAuley who is on injured reserve. Not much room for injury or illness with so few players. As I mentioned yesterday there is no doubt Steve Martinson has been on the phone trying to add a player or two on what is a very lean roster. 

 

- Weather conditions are as bad in Allen as the team will experience in Kansas City. Over the next few days Allen could see 4-7 inches of snow with some estimates even higher and the temperature could go below zero (-1). In Kansas City the forecast is more like two inches of snow with -8 the low before the Americans get out of town. Here is what is in store for the hometowns of some of the players over the next few days. Temperatures are in Fahrenheit and are not windchill temps. Some wind chills will reach -50:

-34: Zane Franklin, Marwayne, Alberta

-27: Dyson Stevenson, Shaunavon, Saskatchewan

-27: Turner Ottenbreit, Yorkton, Saskatchewan

-27: Ben Carroll & Colby McAuley, Sherwood Park, Alberta

-22: Conner Bleackley, High River, Alberta

-21 - Phil Beaulieu, Duluth, Minnesota 

For the guys from British Columbia (Asuchak & Kneen) it will be warmer at home than it will be in Allen. Monday night could see -1 in Allen while it will be 22 at home. The player you should really feel sorry for is goalie Justin Kapelmaster as in his hometown the lowest temp the next few days will be 71. Justin hails from Coral Springs, Florida. 

 

- Not a lot of new info to cover today as you can tell by the weather information. Haven't covered Allen's individual stats for a while so here are the leaders and ECHL rank (in parenthesis) for some of the major categories:

Points - 20, Corey Mackin (#3)

Goals - 10, Jesse Mychan (#3)

Assists - 15, Matt Register (#2)

Penalty Minutes - 48, Zane Franklin (#4)

Minor Penalties - 14, Zane Franklin (#1)

Shots - 83, Jesse Mychan (#2)

Defensemen Points - 17, Matt Register (#1)

Defensemen Goals - 3, Les Lancaster & Nolan Kneen (#3)

Defensemen Shots - 51, Matt Register (#1)

Rookie Points - 13, Joe Garreffa (#4)

GAA - 2.14, Jake Paterson (#3)

Save Percentage - .933, Jake Paterson (#3)  

 

- There are some ECHL stats that seem out of whack in this pandemic season with half of the teams not playing. The one that seems really strange is hat tricks. There have been 122 games played thus far with just one hat trick. The lone hat trick was scored on January 2 by Felix Robert of Wheeling who scored the Nailers first three goals against Indy. Wheeling ended up losing the game 5-4 in overtime. The single hat trick in 122 games is less than 1%. In the shortened 2019-20 season there were 72 hat tricks in 797 games which is 9% of the games with a hat trick.

 

- There have been 12 shutouts in 122 games which is 9.8%. In the shortened 2019-20 season there were 92 shutouts in 797 games which is 11.5%. 

- The final comparison between last season and thus far this season is penalty shots. So far this season there have been seven penalty shots in 122 games which is 5.7%. Two of the seven penalty shots have been successful (one by Spencer Asuchak). The penalty shot success rate is 28.6%. Last season there were 39 penalty shots in 797 games which is 4.9%. Of the 39 penalty shots 11 were successful for a success rate of 28.2%. 

- When you look at the three stats, penalty shots and shutouts are close percentagewise from last season to this season. However, hat tricks are way down. Maybe they will catch up as the season progresses or maybe there is something else going on. Part of the reason for so few hat tricks this season could be the delayed start of the AHL that meant a lot of good goalies start the season in the ECHL who are now on AHL rosters. 

 

- There are four games on tap in the ECHL tonight. If you are scoreboard watching the game to keep an eye on is Wichita at Utah, the two teams right behind Allen in the standings. These teams will also play each other on Saturday and Sunday. The other game of interest is Fort Wayne finally starting their season as they will be in Wheeling. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview on all of the games tonight:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/2/echl-today-feb-12 tonight.  

 

- I sure don't have the answer to what advantage Fort Wayne may have in playing so few games (50 vs 72) compared to the rest of the teams in the league. You would think playing a grinding style like the Komets would benefit by a shorter season. On the other hand they need to play well right from the get go as there is not as much time to sort things out if they get off to a poor start. Also, the advantage of fewer games is offset by a more condensed schedule. The first month of their season Fort Wayne plays only two teams. The best team in the league, Indy, with a points percentage of .806 they play five times. The worst team in the league, Wheeling, with a points percentage of .333 they play nine times. Still seems strange they play only six of their 50 games against opponents in their own conference and those six games don't happen until the last two weeks of the season. As coach Martinson always says, all you can worry about is beating the team your are facing and if you beat them all you will win the championship. Good advice rather than carping about all the things you think are unfair.

DID YOU KNOW: Steve Martinson's regular season record since joining the Allen Americans in 2012-13 is a lofty 330-184-35-25 which is a winning percentage of .627. Martinson now has 1057 wins, second most all time. He trails all time leader Scotty Bowman by 187 wins and don't count Martinson out in catching Bowman.  

  

 

A Deep Dive on the 2020-21 Allen Americans Schedule, How Travel Has Changed from the Big Red Days, Fort Wayne in Western Conference in Name Only

 

The ECHL final schedule was published yesterday. It is a little late since the Americans have already played 28% of their games but I thought it would be worthwhile to do the annual "deep dive" on the Americans schedule. It is probably more information than you would ever want to know about the schedule but it will give you many different views of what coach Martinson and the team have been dealing with and will be dealing with in 2020-21.


- From a travel standpoint the Americans will make two more trips to Rapid City and two more trips to to Utah. They have been to each place once already. Allen will have just three games with opponents outside the Western Conference when they visit Greenville later this month (February 25, 26, 27). 

- Below is a complete list of Allen's 72 games by opponent. Teams with an asterisk are Western Conference foes.
                                                                                       

 18 games - Utah (8 home 10 away)*                
 16 games - Rapid City (7 home 9 away)*            
 13 games - Tulsa (8 home 5 away)*                      
 11 games - Wichita (8 home 3 away)*
 11 games - Kansas City (5 home 6 away)*
 3 games - Greenville (0 home, 3 away)                      


- Note the emphasis on conference play. Allen will play 96% of their games (69 of 72) against Western Conference foes. It is noteworthy and disappointing the Americans play just six different teams (only five at home) compared to 12 or 13 different teams the last three seasons. 

 

- Given the pandemic it is a surprise that Allen is playing Tulsa and Wichita fewer times than normal while playing Utah and Rapid City more times than normal. Playing one team (Utah) 18 times is an all time record by far. 

 

- Allen does not play again in Wichita but will play the Thunder five more times at the Allen Event Center, April 20, 30, May 1,2 and June 2. The three games at the end of April and beginning of May are makeup games for postponed games in January. 

 

- Here is a breakdown of the schedule by month.

 December - 6 games (5 home, 1 away)

January - 10 games (0 home, 10 away)

February - 12 games (5 home, 7 away)

March - 11 games (6 home, 5 away)

April - 15 games (12 home, 3 away)

May - 15 games (5 home 10 away)

June - 3 games (3 home, 0 away)

 

- Allen's worst month is behind them as they spent the entire month of January on the road. April and May will be a long grind with 30 games in 59 days.  

- With the exception of one trip for three games in Rapid City (April 14,16,17) the Americans will be at home for 50 days between March 22 and May 6. The longest road trip remaining on the schedule is the last half of May when the Americans play nine straight road games. 

- One of the many things the team looks at when the schedule comes out is how many times they have to play three games back to back to back. Three games in three days is stressful especially if there is travel involved. Players are more prone to injuries in these situations. In 2018-19 three-in-three happened eight times. In the shortened 2019-20 Allen was scheduled to play three games in three days seven times. In 2020-21 Allen will play three-in-three eight times. Between now and the end of the season the Americans have five:

 Dec. 31, Jan. 1,2  - Wichita (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (A)
 January 29, 30, 31 - Utah (A), Utah (A), Utah (A)
 February 13, 14, 15 - Kansas City (A), Kansas City (A), Kansas City (A)
 March 12, 13, 14 - Utah (A), Utah (A), Utah (A)
 April 1, 2, 3 - Utah (H), Utah (H), Utah (H)
 April 23, 24, 25 - Utah (H), Utah (H), Utah (H)
 May 7, 8, 9 - Tulsa (A), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H)

 May 28, 29, 30 - Rapid City (A), Rapid City (A), Rapid City (A) 

- Allen has a few times where they play the same team four or five games in a row. It starts this weekend as the Americans will play Kansas City five straight (3 away, 2 home). Between March 3-14 Allen plays Utah four straight (1 home 3 away) and follow Utah with four straight against Tulsa (2 home. 2 away). Allen plays Tulsa four straight again between May 5-9 (3 home, 1 away). Allen's final four straight against the same team comes on May 19 when the Americans play the Grizzlies four times in five days in Utah.

 

- Here is the current point percentage for the six teams on Allen's schedule. The number of times Allen plays each team is in parenthesis:

.725 - ALLEN

.719 - Wichita (11 games)

.632 - Utah (18 games)

.605 - Greenville (3 times)

.452 - Tulsa (13 games)

.447 - Kansas City (11 games)

.381 - Rapid City (16 games) 

- Here is the press release issued by the Allen Americans with more details on the final phase of the schedule including a link to the schedule: https://allenamericans.com/news/general/americans-announce-final-phase-of-the-regular-season-schedule/

 

- Here is the ECHL press release on the final phase of the schedule which includes a calendar where you can see the schedule for all teams: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/2/echl-announces-remainder-of-2020-21-schedule

 

 - It is disappointing that Fort Wayne, who was added to the seven team Western Conference and is about to start play, is not on Allen's schedule. As a matter of fact, Fort Wayne only plays six of their 50 games within the Western Conference, three each against Wichita and Utah. Fort Wayne gets a break by only playing 50 games instead of 72, but they play 88% of their 50 games outside the Western Conference. If you were a conspiracy theorist you would really go nuts because the league has scheduled Fort Wayne to play the worst team in the league (Wheeling) with a points percentage of .333 a whopping 19 times. That's 38% of the Komet's 50 game schedule. C'MON MAN!
 



DID YOU KNOW: Travel has certainly gotten easier for the Americans from the days of "Big Red" when the team bused everywhere. Now the team flies everywhere except Wichita, Tulsa and Kansas City. The only bus trips the Americans will make the remainder of the season are two trips each to Tulsa and Kansas City. 

A far cry from the past as I pulled this out of the archives:  During the 2015-16 season the Allen Americans were scheduled to travel 30,000 miles to their 36 road games with 22,000 miles being on the bus. They flew on the 8,000 mile round trip to Alaska.