It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they will leave for Utah early this evening where the team will take on the Grizzlies tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. All games will start at 8:10 pm CST. Utah will also be traveling today after a grueling east coast swing that saw the Grizzlies play in Greenville on Wednesday, Savannah on Friday and Orlando on Sunday and Monday. Utah finished the four games with a record of 3-0-1-0 with the one loss coming last night. The Grizzlies lost to Orlando 6-5 in overtime. Allen could catch a tired Utah team tomorrow night.
- The big news yesterday was Allen acquiring power forward Stefan Fournier in a trade with Wichita. Allen traded Gavin Gould, who was acquired in a trade with South Carolina (for Jackson Leppard) a month ago. Gould played 13 games for Allen and had eight points (1G, 7A). This could end up being a good trade for both teams. Allen has gotten roughed up some the last two series against Fort Wayne and Florida. Adding a 6'4" 220 pound power forward to the third line in place of 5' 8" 155 pound forward should fix that. It could also be a great opportunity for Gould in Wichita. With Allen's roster he was not going to crack the top two lines. If Gould gets top six time for the Thunder, which is likely, he has shown he can produce as he did in Allen last season when he scored 26 points in 23 games.
- Here is the press release from the Allen Americans announcing the trade: https://allenamericans.com/media/americans-acquire-forward-stefan-fournier-from-wichita/
- Stefan Fournier is a 30-year-old, 10-year professional who has bounced around between the ECHL, AHL and Europe. Allen will be his 14th team. Fournier has spent parts of five seasons in Wichita starting in 2018-19. Since 2018-19 he is #1 in goals (79), #2 in games played (188), #2 in points (145), #3 in assists (66), and #2 in penalty minutes (250) for Wichita. Here are Fournier's stats by league:
- ECHL - 268 games, 176 points (96G, 80A) and 481 PIMS
- AHL - 142 games, 23 points (11G, 12A) and 340 PIMS
- Europe - 15 games, (5G, 6A) and 128 PIMS
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| Stefan Fournier |
- Here is a video interview with Stefan Fournier from a month ago when he was in Cardiff which will give you an idea of what makes him tick: https://youtu.be/gzqiVNBxGqY
- Utah lost last night in overtime and gained one point on Allen. Both teams have played 49 games, Allen has 49 points to Utah's 47. The three games this week will likely decide which team occupies the fourth playoff spot after Saturday night. Kansas City is in third place with 50 points and is on the road for three games against Florida. If the Mavericks get swept by the Everblades both Utah and Allen could jump Kansas City and be in third and fourth place by week's end. Like I said yesterday, Allen is currently in fourth place and just as close to second place as last place (7 points) in the division. Allen needs to meet the goal coach Costello set six weeks ago of winning two of every three games. If the Americans can come away from Utah will four points, they will be guaranteed of no worse than fourth place.
- Despite Allen's great play the last two months the Americans still have a negative goal differential. The Americans have scored 169 goals and allowed 180 for a -11 goal differential. Compare that to the top of the Mountain Division, Idaho has scored a league leading 202 goals and allowed a league leading 107 goals for a hard to believe goal differential of +95.
- The Americans have had 34 hat tricks since joining the ECHL in 2014-15. Allen has four hat tricks this season, two each by Liam Finlay and Colton Hargrove. They join a select group of Allen players with multiple hat tricks in a single season since the Americans joined the ECHL. At the top of the list is Bryan Moore, the only Allen player with three hat tricks in a season (2016-17). Players with two hat tricks in a season:
- Liam Finlay (2022-23)
- Colton Hargrove (2022-23)
- Branden Troock (2021-22)
- Greger Hanson (2016-17)
- Jack Combs (2014-15)
Another exclusive club is defensemen with a hat trick. Allen has had three, Les Lancaster (2020-21), Alex Breton (2018-19) and Konrad Abeltshauser (2014-15).
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about third period comebacks. Allen has comeback in the third period to win three times this season on a record of 3-21-0-0. That is a points percentage of .125 when trailing after the second period.
Barry, if Cardiff (different league)was the last team Fournier played for, why did we have to trade with Wichita? Fournier was suspended by Wichita in December. Then he went to Cardiff and they parted ways because of some breach of contract dispute. Is it because Wichita still owned his rights or did Cardiff have to deal him back to Wichita before trading to us?
ReplyDeleteEither way it sounds complicated and it’s pretty awesome that Costello jumped on this so quick after hearing that he left Cardiff.
I think this is a fantastic addition and exactly what we need. Fournier was one of those guys in Wichita that I didn’t like. But just like Dickman, I’ve always said, if he played for us, he would be one of my favorites. Now that he plays for us I’m predicting that he will become a fan favorite really quick. He is very physical and big, like you said. If Costello decides to leave our first two lines as-is, then we just bolstered our third line big time. Will be interested to see where Costello uses him. Either way, great addition and good luck to Gould.
Oh, and I can’t wait for the next Wichita game. Fournier is going to smash some people on the forecheck. -Bobby 226
The reason Wichita suspended Fournier when he went to Europe was to retain his ECHL rights. That is why Allen had to trade for him.
ReplyDeleteI have to comment on this trade. I would be more concerned on trading for a great defense man. Seems like the team has scoring potential without the trade but yet we give up alot of goals & shots during the game. Just my observation.
ReplyDeleteDo you have an example of a great defenseman we should trade for? And what exactly makes a great defenseman?
DeleteThat's a question for the coach to answer.
ReplyDelete