It will likely be a slow week for Allen news as the Americans will not play until Saturday. The team will take today off and then start getting ready for two games against Rapid City this weekend. You never know when roster moves can take place, but it is worth noting the ECHL trade deadline is just a couple of weeks away (March 16) and players are starting to finish their college and junior careers. So, you will see many of them turn pro and move into the NHL, AHL and ECHL over the next few weeks. Several ECHL teams have signed these players to amateur contracts in the past week and this will pick up quickly as college playoffs eliminate more teams.
- It has been a month since I took a look at the Allen stats leaders (current players). The month of February was a big month for many players. With 72% of the season in the books here are the Allen stats leaders. The ECHL rank is in parenthesis:
- Points
- 72: Hank Crone (1st)
- 71: Jack Combs (2nd)
- 58: Colton Hargrove (8th)
- Goals
- 31: Hank Crone (1st)
- 30: Jack Combs (2nd)
- 30: Colton Hargrove (2nd)
- Assists
- 41: Hank Crone (3rd)
- 41: Jack Combs (3rd)
- 31: Liam Finlay (21st)
- Average Points Per Game (min. 40 games)
- 1.47: Hank Crone (2nd)
- 1.39: Liam Finlay (3rd)
- 1.37: Jack Combs (4th)
- Plus/Minus
- +7: Chad Butcher (136th)
- +5: Liam Finlay (168th)
- +3: Grant Hebert (213th)
- PIMS
- 143: Mikael Robidoux (3rd)
- 66: Colton Hargrove (56th)
- 65: Ryan Gagnon (59th)
- Ave. Penalty Minutes Per Game (min. 18 games)
- 5.72: Mikael Robidoux (1st)
- 3.06: Colby McAuley (13th)
- 1.43: Colton Hargrove (91st)
- Shots
- 182: Colton Hargrove (8th)
- 169: Hank Crone (13th)
- 150: Jack Combs (21st)
- Shooting Percentage (min. 75 shots)
- 23.6%: Liam Finlay
- 20.0%: Jack Combs
- 18.3%: Hank Crone
- Save Percentage
- .915: Chase Perry
- .892: Luke Peressini
- GAA
- 3.09: Chase Perry
- 3.66: Luke Peressini
- A couple of things standout when you look at the stats above. The "Four Sure Gang" dominates the offensive categories and all four had a great February (12 games).
- Jack Combs scored in all 12 games for a total of 21 points (8G, 13A)
- Colton Hargrove scored in 11 games for a total of 22 points (13G, 9A)
- Hank Crone scored in 11 games for a total of 24 points (11G, 13A)
- Liam Finlay scored in 11 games for a total of 21 points (8G, 13A)
- You add it all together and the "Four Sure Gang" had a total of 88 points (40G, 48A) in the 12 games in February. That is group average of 1.83 points per game. Allen scored a total of 63 goals in the month a February. These four players scored 64% of them (40).
- Another stat worth noting is what I call the Ironman stat. It is underappreciated how key it is to have players that never miss a game. In the history of the Allen franchise there are only 15 players in the Ironman Club. With 20 games remaining, three players have played in all 52 games thus far, Kris Myllari (was an Ironman last season). Jack Combs and Ryan Gagnon.
- Here is how the team ranks in some key stats.
- #8: Ave. goals scored (3.58)
- #22: Ave. goals allowed (3.71)
- #22: Ave. shots for (30.71)
- #25: Ave. shots against: (34.81)
- #3: Power play percentage (23.7%)
- #12: Penalty kill percentage (81.3%)
- #2: Ave. penalty minutes (18.25)
- #19: Team save percentage (.893)
- How much have these stats changed over the last couple of months? Here are the same stats from December 27th:
- #21: Ave. goals scored (2.88)
- #24: Ave. goals allowed (3.67)
- #23: Ave. shots for (29.42)
- #25: Ave, shots against: (35.04)
- #11: Power play percentage (21.0%)
- #11: Penalty kill percentage (82.6%)
- #3: Ave. penalty minutes (16.58)
- #17: Team save percentage (.895)
- If you compare current stats with December 27th the big change is on offense. The defensive stats are all about the same, but there has been a big improvement in goals scored and power play percentage.
- Plus/minus and goal differential have improved over the last month but are still well below the top teams in the league. Plus/minus was -109 a month ago, today it is -97. Goal differential was -23 (123 goals for, 146 goals against) a month ago. today it is -7 (186 goals for, 193 against). A positive goal differential is a must over the final 20 games of the season.
- The most important stat over the last two months is won/loss. Here is what the Mountain Division standings looked like on December 27th. I have added the team's current points percentage and the difference in parenthesis:
- .870 - Idaho (.817, down .053)
- .643 - Wichita (.528, down .115)
- .500 - Kansas City (.520, up .020)
- .483 - Rapid City (.421, down .061)
- .423 - Utah (.471, up .048)
- .420 - Tulsa (.440, up .020)
- .340 - Allen (.510, up (.170)
It is clear Allen has gained much more ground over the last two months than any other team in the division. If Allen can repeat that success in March, the Americans can realistically end the month in second place. It won't be easy with the March schedule. Allen opens and closes the month with two games against Rapid City. The Americans will play Idaho five times in March. In Idaho on the 10th and 11th and in Allen on the 22, 24, 25. In between all of the Idaho games Allen plays Utah three times at home. March will be a critical month for all of the Mountain Division teams with the exception of Idaho. The other six teams could be in second place or last place by the end of March.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Allen has a light week with just two games so could lose some ground to Kansas City who plays five games this week which seems like cruel and unusual punishment for any team. The Mavericks play Wichita at home tonight, at Iowa tomorrow night, and then three games at home against Idaho on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- Five ECHL goalies have 3+ shutouts this season and the strange stat of the day is Toledo and Idaho both have two goalies on the list. Here are the goalies with 3+ shutouts:
- 4 - John Lethemon, Toledo
- 3 - Sebastian Cossa, Toledo
- 3 - *Jake Kupsky, Idaho
- 3 - Rémi Poirier, Idaho
- 3 - Mark Sinclair, Cincinnati
*Kupsky had three shutouts in seven games for Idaho at the beginning of the season and has been in the AHL (Abbotsford) ever since. He is currently injured.
DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about team save percentages. As stated above Allen's team save percentage is ranked #19 at .893.
No comments:
Post a Comment