I wanted to start this morning by adding my congratulations to Hank Crone (ECHL Player of the Month) and Liam Finlay (ECHL Rookie of the Month) for being honored for their great play in the month of February. It is very rare two players from the same team get these honors. It is even more rare two players from the same household receive these honors. Liam and Hank are best friends who live in a house along with three other players. They are also roommates on the road. The have been best friends since they played together at the University of Denver in 2019-20. They were line mates in Denver playing a similar style of hockey.
- After Hank signed in Allen this is how he described his pitch to Liam, "He was my best friend at Denver, and I talked to him this summer about playing together for a coach that values our type of game. I gave his name to Costello and told him I think Liam would be a no-brainer in this league to help us out. It has worked out pretty good so far."
- If you haven't seen the press releases, here they are:
Crone is Player of the Month: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2023/3/allen-crone-named-warrior-hockey-echl-player-of-the-month
Finlay is Rookie of the Month: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2023/3/allen-finlay-named-howies-hockey-tape-echl-rookie-of-the-month
- Here is video from ECHL Week with comments from coach Costello, Hank Crone, Liam Finlay and Luke Peressini:
- I asked Hank about the two best friends both being recognized, and he said, "It's really cool to be recognized for any type of league award and the fact that we both got one at the same time was even cooler. We were great friends in Denver and that has continued in Allen. We decided to go to Uncle Julio's for lunch the day we found out. For us that was a big deal. haha"
- Coach Costello also shared his thoughts, "Liam and Hank have been great for us all year. Both of them are great players and great teammates. We are all very proud and happy for them."
- If the ECHL had an award for "Best Four Players of the Month" all four would come from the Allen Americans. It is worth revisiting what Crone, Finlay, Combs and Hargrove accomplished in the 12 games the team played in February.
- 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 a 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).
- All four players did something unique and special in February:
- Hank Crone - Averaged 2.00 points per game.
- Colton Hargrove - Averaged 1.08 goals per game.
- Jack Combs - Scored in all 12 games.
- Liam Finlay - Scored three game winning goals to extend his record to seven game winning goals in Allen's last 13 wins (54%).
- Any team would be thrilled to have even one player average 1.83 points per game, let alone four. This group of four players averaged 3.33 goals and 4.00 assists per game for the entire month of February.
- I will have a complete preview tomorrow for the two-game series against Rapid City on Saturday and Sunday. Here are a few overview stats.
Allen has lost eight straight home games against Rapid City which includes three playoff games. The last time Allen beat Rapid City at the CUTX Event Center was a 4-0 shutout on June 5, 2021.
If you look at the last five years between these teams Allen's record is 23-15-0-0. The record at home is 12-8-0-0 and in Rapid City is 11-7-0-0.
Since the beginning of January Allen's record is 17-8-0-0 (.680). Rapid City's record since the beginning of January is 9-11-1-0 (.452)
OTHER COMMENTS
- If you track AHL transactions you noticed Belleville had a defensemen, Jacob Larsson, returned on loan from Ottawa yesterday. Xavier Bernard was recalled to Belleville from Allen on February 16 and has played in just one game. There are a lot of rosters changes taking place with the NHL trade deadline this afternoon and the AHL trade deadline next Friday. After it all shakes out, you wonder if Bernard is still with Belleville, and not playing, could he end up back in Allen. This is one of those wait and see transactions.
- Allen and Rapid City are idle tonight but there are 11 games on the schedule. Five Mountain Division teams are in action. Utah is at Wichita, Idaho is at Kansas City and Tulsa visits Kalamazoo. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2023/3/echl-today-march-3
DID YOU KNOW: Here is another stat where Chad Costello is dominant.
In the last 15 years just eight times players have scored 40+ power play points in a single season. The last time was in 2016-17. Here are the eight times ECHL players have scored 40+ power play points in a single season since 2008-09:
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