If you follow ECHL hockey you know roster numbers go from feast to famine many times over the course of a season. Salary Caps and team budgets don't provide much wiggle room when it comes to the number of players on the roster so there seems to be a cycle of too many players one week and not enough players the next week. One week a team can lose players to the AHL and have a couple of players injured and they are shorthanded. The next week players are assigned by the AHL and players come back from injury and all of a sudden a team has too many players. It means coaches are always either recruiting players because they are shorthanded or trading/releasing players because they exceed the roster limits. It is the reason why general managers like Steve Martinson are so critical to team success.
- Needless to say this week has been a famine week. It started on Monday when Allen lost four players from San Jose who were not only recalled but assigned to another ECHL team. Martinson was obviously frustrated because the plan was for San Jose to have several San Jose players in Allen for the playoffs including some that would be high draft pick prospects.
- In addition to the recalls, add injuries to Dyson Stevenson, Jake Paterson, Samuel Laberge, Nolan Kneen and Colby McAuley and Martinson went from too many players to not enough players in a couple of days. Laberge is the only one of the injured players that could possibly be in the lineup tonight and he will be a game day decision.
- There are other players playing hurt and could be out of the lineup depending on how they feel today. Allen recently added Frank DiChiara and Scott Conway who played their first games on Wednesday. An additional player will be added today and it could be more.
- It was a disappointing overtime loss to Tulsa on Wednesday but the Americans played well and most would agree Allen out skated the Oilers in the game. Allen had the better chances but could not finish on enough of its grade A opportunities. After being out shot badly last weekend in Utah the Americans held Tulsa, the #1 team in the ECHL in average shots per game, under its average.
- Allen scored first on Wednesday and had leads after the first and second period. If they accomplish that again tonight they will win.
- Special teams will be key and that is where Allen needs to improve tonight. Tulsa scored its first goal on Wednesday on a power play with 59 seconds left in the second period and it changed the momentum in the game. The Americans had a power play late in the third period with the score tied 2-2 and couldn't capitalize. Allen needs to switch the script to be successful tonight.
- The referee scheduled for the game is Nolan Bloyer (#31) who was the referee on Wednesday. He called just five minor penalties in the game. One of the linesmen will be Daniel Barnes (#76) who played pro hockey and spent time with Fort Worth, Denver and St. Charles in the CHL days and also played 12 games for the Allen Americans.
OTHER COMMENTS
- There is a full slate of games in the ECHL tonight with all 14 teams in action. Rapid City is in last place in the Western Conference but has won five straight games. The Rush host Utah at home for two games this weekend before traveling to Allen for three games next week. The team Allen is chasing in the standings, Wichita is in Wheeling for three games this weekend.
- Because of COVID protocols affecting the Iowa Wild their games tonight and tomorrow night against the Rockford IceHogs have been rescheduled for Sunday and Monday.
DID YOU KNOW: Since the beginning of last season the Allen Americans have had 22 games end in overtime with a record of 14-8. I went back to look at those 22 games to see who was on the ice when the winning or losing goal was scored. It may seem like just a few players take part in 3-on-3 overtimes but in the 22 overtime games since the beginning of the 2019-20 season 25 different players were on the ice when the winning/losing goal was scored. Here are the players with the best plus/minus in overtimes. The range goes from +4 to -2. In parenthesis is the player's overtime record, i.e. the number of games they were on the ice for the winning goal and the losing goal:
+4: Spencer Asuchak (5-1)
+4: Stepan Falkovsky (4-0)
+3: Tyler Sheehy (3-0)
+3: Gabe Gagne (3-0)
+3: Alex Breton (5-2)
+3: Jared VanWormer (4-1)
+3: Alex Guptill (3-0)
Odd that San Jose pulled their players from Allen and send them to Orlando. I'm sure there MUST be more to the story there??
ReplyDeleteI was just about to say the same thing. I understand the players being called up but 'assigned to other ECHL teams'...what happened there. We just lost four good players.
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DeleteCharles JacobsonMarch 20, 2021 at 9:19 AM
ReplyDeleteWas told by a buddy of mine who reps ECHL players that San Jose finally reached their breaking point with Americans ownership/management and pulled their players.
It’s absolutely that. I asked three local businesses that currently or used to partner with the Americans and they said that the new management is real hard to work with and is burning bridges left and right, and that management says the owner Jack won’t pay the bills.
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