It was a familiar refrain as the Allen Americans lost 5-1 in Tulsa last night before a crowd of 5342 at the BOK Center. Here are the facts:
- Allen gave up five or more goals for the fifth straight game. The Americans are ranked #28 in goals allowed, giving up an average of 5.33 goals per game. That is over half a goal per game (.66 to be exact) than any other team in the league.
- Allen allowed Tulsa 49 shots, the highest total of the season and sixth straight game giving up 40+ shots (45, 42, 42, 40, 48, 49). Allen is ranked #28 in average shots allowed (44.50) which is eight more shots per game than any other team in the league and 18 more shots than the top teams.
- Allen lost the special teams battle going 0-2 on the power play and 2-6 on the penalty kill. Allen is now ranked #22 on the power play (13.0%) and #21 on the penalty kill (76.7%).
- Tulsa scored two goals in the first period and two goals in the second period before Allen got on the scoreboard at the 7:04 mark of the third period. Colton Hargrove scored his third goal in four games.
- The Americans had to play shorthanded with just nine forwards which didn't help. Liam Finlay was not feeling well and sat out for both games in Tulsa. Philippe Daoust was reassigned back to Belleville by Ottawa yesterday. Daoust flew to Springfield, MA to meet the team and was in the lineup last night. He had an assist in the game and was +1 in Belleville's 6-3 loss to Springfield.
- Allen is now down to one assigned player (Mark Sinclair) from the Ottawa organization, the fewest assigned players of any team in the ECHL. It has to be frustrating for coach Costello when you consider 18 of 28 ECHL teams have seven or more NHL/AHL contracted players assigned.
- I get the question all of the time why Ottawa isn't more helpful in sending players to Allen. It is not a matter of the Senators not wanting to help. The problem is they don't sign enough players. They have already assigned six players to the Americans this season, but injuries and in one case a personal issue has reduced the six players to one.
The problem is Ottawa doesn't sign enough players which is more of a budget issue than a desire to help Allen. Here is an example that explains why some teams help the ECHL more than others. While Ottawa is at one end of the spectrum in helping its ECHL affiliate, Toronto is at the other. Here are the number of players by position when you combine the numbers on the AHL roster and those assigned to the ECHL. Remember there are no limits on the number of players on an AHL roster.
- Total Forwards
- 16 - Belleville (16 in Belleville. 0 in Allen)
- 23 -Toronto (18 with Marlies, 6 in Newfoundland)
- Total Defensemen
- 7 - Belleville (7 in Belleville, 0 in Allen)
- 12 - Toronto (10 with Marlies, 2 in Newfoundland)
- Total Goalies
- 4 - Belleville (3 in Belleville, 1 in Allen)
- 6 - Toronto (4 with Marlies 2 in Newfoundland)
When you add all the numbers together Toronto has 41 players on its AHL roster and assigned to Newfoundland. Ottawa has 27 players on its AHL roster and assigned to Allen. With so many fewer players under contract you can see why the impact of injuries at the NHL/AHL level is a big problem in Allen getting players assigned.
The unanswered question is what impact will the change of ownership in Ottawa have on the total number of players signed. If the number of prospects signed increases it would translate to more players being assigned to the Americans.
- Here are the game recaps issued by both teams:
- It is out of the frying pan into the fire for the Americans who find themselves all alone in last place in the Mountain Division. Next up for Allen is four games against Kansas City, who is closing in on the all-time record for wins to start the season. The Mavericks are 7-0 with a chance to make it 8-0 at home tonight against Rapid City. If Kansas City can win tonight the Mavericks will have a chance to tie the all-time record of 9-0 when they host Allen on Tuesday morning (10:35 am). After the game on Tuesday the Americans and Kansas City will travel to Allen where they will play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Four games next week against the best team in the ECHL will be a big challenge for the Americans. The four game series will pit the best defensive team in the league against the worst defensive team in the league. Allen's 5.33 goals allowed per game is 3.33 more goals per game allowed than Kansas City who leads the league giving up just 2.00 goals per game.
- Here are the Mountain Division standings based on point percentage to account for the variance in games played:
- 1.000 - Kansas City
- .833 - Idaho
- .500 - Utah
- .438 - Wichita
- .417 - Tulsa
- .417 - Rapid City
- .333 - Allen
- Atlanta won last night to improve its record to 6-0 and remain the only other ECHL team that is undefeated. The Gladiators have the #1 offense in the league averaging 5.60 goals per game and the #4 defense allowing 2.40 goals per game. Kansas City's approach is a little different. The Mavericks have the #1 defense in the ECHL allowing a paltry 2.00 goals per game and the #8 offense, scoring 3.71 goals per game.
- I am frequently asked for an update on Hank Crone and whether he might be back in Allen. Hank played the first two games of the season for Chicago (AHL) and has not played since. He has been a healthy scratch the last five games and Chicago is now on a four game losing streak. The Wolves play tonight in Tuscon and then don't play again for a week. A young player like Crone needs to play to develop. If Chicago isn't going to play Hank, why don't they send the reigning ECHL and 3ICE MVP to Allen to get some playing time?
- It seems that change will likely happen quickly in mandating neck protection at all levels of hockey in the USA after the tragic death of Adam Johnson, who was slashed in the neck by a skate. Johnson played for the Nottingham Panthers in the EIHL. The incident happened when Nottingham was playing on the road in Sheffield. Several former Allen players currently play for the Shefield Steelers including Colton Saucerman, Brett Neumann and Kameron Keilly. I am sure witnessing a tragic death like that shakes you to the core.
DID YOU KNOW: Here is the ECHL Stats post for the day. Unfortunately Allen's defensive struggles has the Americans at the bottom of this list:
Goal differential (goals for minus goals allowed) is a good proxy for quality teams. Here is the goal differential for all 28 ECHL teams. There are 12 teams with a positive goal differential and 16 teams with a negative goal differential:
Best Goal Differentials
+16 ATL
+12 KC
+10 TR
+9 TOL
+6 SC
+4 NOR, WHL
+3 JAX
+2 GVL
+1 FLA, IND
Worst Goal Differentials
-12 ALN
-10 REA
-9 WIC
-7 IA
-6 KAL
-5 WOR, MNE, SAV
-4 NFL, ORL
-3 ADK, RC
-2 FW, TUL
-1 CIN, UTA
Thanks for the explanation on assignments from Ottawa for those who didn't know. Based on last year's results, I'm sure Costy will find the right recipe to success for the team. He just needs time. It's still too early in the season.
ReplyDeleteTime??? Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away and that is usually when you know the fate for playoff positioning. Or at least a good barometer for which teams might qualify. As in last season, Allen defied the odds but I doubt you can count on that two consecutive years. There needs to be a sense of urgency now and carry that for balance of season. Time is not on Allen’s side.
ReplyDeleteYes, panic should set in the first week in November, less than 10% through the new season.That is not very smart.
DeleteI agree but we know that history says positioning at Thanksgiving is a good indicator of was Ho will make playoffs. You have to be in it for the long haul but you can’t keep digging deep holes and expecting to overcome the same bad habits/trends
ReplyDelete