The Allen Americans are about to embark on a tough stretch of nine games in 18 days. It starts with three home games against Utah this week, followed by roads trips to Cincinnati, Fort Wayne and Idaho. Allen will be missing some key pieces. Forward Stephen Baylis was added to the injured reserve list yesterday, joining Spencer Asuchak and Justin Young and Mikael Robidoux, who is suspended, will not play again until December. Here is a look at what Allen is facing in this nine game stretch.
- Utah - three games (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) against a talented team. The Grizzlies record is 4-3-0-0 but they have played five of seven games on the road. Utah Arrives in Allen on a two game winning streak, having won in Kansas City last Friday and Saturday. In its last game, Utah beat the Mavericks 7-3 and were 5-6 on the power play.
- Cincinnati - two games (November 16, 18) against what many say is the toughest place to play on the road. The Cyclones are off to a great start (5-0-0-1). Cincinnati is scoring 4.00 goals per game and allowing 1.67. They are also #1 in penalty minutes averaging 23.83 per game.
- Fort Wayne - one game (November 19) where Allen will have to travel from Cincinnati (200 miles) after the game to Fort Wayne. The Komets don't play on the 18th. This is a game the Americans should win. Fort Wayne is off to a bad start with a record of 1-3-1-1 and allow more goals per game (5.75) than any team in the league.
- Idaho - three road games (November 23, 25, 26) against the current Mountain Division leader with a record of 6-1-0-0. The Americans will have their hands full going against the best defensive team in the league. The Steelheads allow an average of just 1.57 goals per game and score an average of 4.14 goals per game.
- If you look at current points percentage and league rank for the four upcoming opponents the challenge is apparent.
- .917: Cincinnati (3rd)
- .857: Idaho (4th)
- .517: Utah (13th)
- .400: ALLEN (18th)
- .333: Fort Wayne (22nd)
- As the Americans head into this nine game stretch they need to continue outplaying their opponents. As coach Costello said after the game in Wichita last Friday, "We have been the better team in all of our games, but we need to translate that into results." If Allen doesn't get the results the rest of November they will be on the outside looking in for the playoffs. A good start with three home games this week is essential. Going by practice yesterday, the team is full of energy and ready to go. Practices are fast paced and the team is working on areas of systems and structure to improve execution.
- Five games into the season here are the stats leaders for Allen
- Points
- 6: Jack Combs
- 5: Colton Saucerman
- 5: Liam Finlay
- Goals
- 3: Combs
- 2: Saucerman, Hank Crone, Colton Hargrove, Zach Pochiro
- Assists
- 4: Finlay
- 3: Combs, Saucerman
- Plus/Minus
- +4: Kris Myllari
- +3: Nick Albano, Crone, Finlay, Hargrove, Pochiro
- PIMS
- 22: Jackson Leppard
- 19: Mikael Robidoux
- 12: Nico Blachman, Pochiro
- Points Per Game
- 1.20: Jack Combs
- 1.00: Finlay, Saucerman, Spencer Asuchak
- Shots
- 18: Pochiro
- 17: Crone
- 16: Hargrove, Saucerman
- Shooting Percentage (min. 7 shots)
- 20.0%: Combs
- 14.3%: Finlay
- 12.5%: Saucerman, Hargrove
- Save Percentage
- .904: Logan Flodell
- .882: Luke Peressini
OTHER COMMENTS
- Talk about drama for an early morning game (9:00 am CST) between Norfolk and Worcester. The Railers are 8-0 and if they win today will set the all-time ECHL record for wins to start a season. The Admirals are 1-7 and yesterday replaced head coach Rod Taylor with assistant coach Jeff Carr. Some good story lines no matter the out come of this game.
- Three weeks into the ECHL season and three teams have still not lost a game in regulation, two of them from the North Division. If you look at the ECHL daily report, the stats say these teams have staying power for the long run.
- 8-0-0-0 - Worcester
- 7-0-1-0: Newfoundland
- 5-0-0-1: Cincinnati
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