Allen vs Kansas City Series Resumes Tonight, Game Preview, Roster Update, Overseas Deadline Today and More

 

 It is game day for the Allen Americans as they are in Kansas City to finish their five game series against the Mavericks with games tonight and Wednesday (7:05 CST start times). This will not be the end of the season series with the Mavericks. Four of Allen's final 11 regular season games are against the Mavericks. 

- The Americans will be without Branden Troock, who did not make the road trip. With just 10 forwards available and Allen struggling to score goals, I am sure general manager Steve Martinson is on the phone looking for some help.

 

 - Darian Skeoch is with the team but must sit out the games in Kansas City serving a two game suspension. Skeoch will play in the final game of the road trip on Friday in Wichita. Including Skeoch, there are seven defensemen on the trip so Americans are in good shape at the blueline.

 

- It is expected Luke Peressini will get the start in goal tonight and Frank Marotte tomorrow but that is always subject to change. In Peressini's two starts for Allen since joining the team, he had save percentages of .946 and .955. Marotte's only start since returning from the AHL was last Thursday against Kansas City and his save percentage was .967.  Both goalies are playing well and that needs to continue this week.

 

- The Americans won two of the three games against Kansas City last week but the Mavericks have a 4-1-1-0 record against Allen this season. 

- The three games in Allen were very close. One was 4-3 in overtime and the other two were 2-1 games plus an empty net goal in each. The cumulative totals for the three games show how close they were:

• Goals - Allen 8, Kansas City 7
• Shots - Allen 91, Kansas City 94
• Power Play - Allen 1-14, Kansas City 2-16
• PIMS - Allen 23 infractions/71 minutes, Kansas City 21 infractions/56 minutes

- If you compare averages per game, Allen scores more than Kansas City (3.2 vs 3.0) but also allows more goals (3.5 vs 3.3). The Americans take fewer shots (28.3 vs 32.8) and allow more shots (34.9 vs 31.3) than Kansas City. 

 

- Both teams have struggled scoring goals recently. Allen scored just one goal in three of its last six games. Kansas City has scored one or two goals in five of its last eight games. 

- The lack of scoring has carried over to the power play. In the penalty filled game last Friday both teams were 1-8 on the power play. In the three games, Allen was 1-14 (7.1%) and Kansas City was 2-16 (12.5%) on the power play. 

- Here are some keys to the two games in Kansas City:

• Good starts, the team that has scored first has won five of the six games this season.
• Take more shots, the team with the most shots has won five of six games this season.
• Play with a lead, Allen is 7-0-1-1 with a second period lead, Kansas City is 11-0-2-0.
• Win the special teams battle, the Americans have just one power play goal in the last five games against Kansas City.

 

 

- The referee scheduled tonight is Tyler Hascall (#8). Allen has had him three times this season. The number of power plays (combined) in the three games was seven, four and seven. Allen had no minor penalties in one of the games (against Rapid City) and just two minor penalties in another (against Newfoundland). The game tonight could be quite different from the game on Friday when Allen and Kansas City each had eight power play opportunities plus the Mavericks had a penalty shot. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- If the Americans lose tonight they will be back to a .500 points percentage and fall to sixth place in the Mountain Division standings, behind Kansas City. If the Americans win, their points percentage will improve to .523 and they will close the points percentage gap to fourth place Rapid City (.542) and third place Tulsa (.556). 

- There are just three ECHL games on the schedule tonight. In addition to Allen at Kansas City, Greenville is at South Carolina and Adirondack is at Trois Riviéres. 

- Finishing first in the division gives teams home ice advantage for the first two rounds of the Kelly Cup playoffs. Here are the top two teams in each division:

• North Division: Reading (.667), Newfoundland (.625)
• South Division: Jacksonville (.640), Florida (.598)
• Central Division: Toledo (.726), Wheeling (.580)
• Mountain Division: Utah (.649), Idaho (.606)

- The Mountain Division title will likely come down to the last 10 days of the season. Utah and Idaho always play each other a lot at the end of the season and this year is no different. The last five games of the season for both teams are against each other with three of the five in Idaho. 

- Games outside the Mountain Division will have a bigger impact this season than in the past. Here are couple of examples from the last six weeks of the season:

• Allen - at Cincinnati (3 games), at Toldeo (3 games) and Iowa at home (3 games).
• Idaho - Worcester at home (3 games), at Toledo (3 games), at Florida (3 games), at Kalamazoo (1 game).
• Utah has the most favorable schedule down the stretch. The Grizzlies play all games within the division after February 21. They will have six games against Kansas City, six against Rapid City, seven against Idaho and three against Tulsa.  
  

DID YOU KNOW:  Hopes of your favorite Allen player returning from overseas officially dies today. To be eligible to play in the ECHL this season, overseas players must return by today (February 15) at 3:00 p.m. EST.