Allen Assigned Forward Blake Murray, Roster Update, Recent Stats a Mixed Bag, Upcoming Schedule, New Helmet Rule, Glass Seats for Sale and More

 

  I am back from the hinterlands of North Dakota after another old timers late season pheasant hunting trip. Needless to say when you are pushing 80 any hunting trip is a great joy but my hunting buddy and I had a great trip and we are planning to do it again next year.

 

- A lot has happened since my last blog post so wanted to do a recap of where the Allen Americans stand from a roster standpoint and statistically.

• After the devastating blow of losing captain Colton Hargrove to injury, the Americans lost Matt Marcinew to Europe. Marcinew was Allen's leading scorer with 21 points (8G, 13A) in 18 games. He signed in the second level (DEL2) league in Germany. While he will make more money in Europe it is not like the salaries in the top league (DEL) in Germany. The regular season finishes on March 3 compared to April 14 in Allen. Marcinew signed with the Krefeld Pinguine, a team in 10th place in the 14 team league. Allen retains his ECHL rights, but remember players that want to return from Europe must do so by February 15 to be eligible to play in the ECHL. Doubt that will happen.
  
• Allen got some help from Belleville. Goalie Leevi Meriläinen played two games in Allen before returning to Belleville and defenseman Donovan Sebrango was assigned on December 4 and played the three games in Utah. Sebrango was assigned to Allen at the beginning of the season and scored the Americans first goal of 2023-24 on opening night in Idaho. He returned to Belleville after one game to be treated for an injury. 
• Allen signed free agent Gavin Gould last week to shore up the shortage of forwards after Marcinew departed. It is Gould's third stint in Allen. He was an all-star for the Americans in 2021-22 when he had 26 points (9G, 17A) in 23 games before suffering a season ending knee injury. Gould started last season with South Carolina and was acquired by Allen in a trade (for Jackson Leppard) when coach Costello was revamping the lineup in January after the Americans slow start. Gould played 13 games and had eight points (1G, 7A) before being traded to Wichita at the end of February for Stefan Fournier. 
• Today the Carolina Hurricanes assigned forward Blake Murray to the Allen Americans. Murray was a sixth round draft choice by Carolina in the 2019 NHL draft. The 22 year old, 6'2" and 187 pound left shot forward had been assigned to the Florida Everblades where he had five points (1G, 4A) in 10 games. Murray turned pro in 2020-21. He played his junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Sudbury Wolves where he totaled 166 points (86G, 80A) in 186 games over three seasons. Here is a video from 2019 when Blake was playing junior hockey in Sudbury that is a intro to the new Allen player.

 

- It has been a mixed bag from a stats point recently, but the most important stat is wins and losses. Allen lost two of three games in Utah and has lost three of the last four games. The Americans record over the last 10 games is 4-5-1-0. Here some other stats from the recent games:

• Allen has allowed fewer then 40 shots in the last four games (39, 33, 34, 30) which is vast improvement.
• The fewer shots allowed has not translated to fewer goals allowed (7, 3, 5, 4). Allen is ranked #28 in the ECHL in average goals allowed (4.62) which is 0.62 goals per game more than the #27 ranked team and 2.07 more goals per game than the #1 ranked team (Norfolk).
•  Special teams have been a bright spot. In the three games in Utah the Americans were 33.3% (3-9) on the power play and 91.7% (1-12) on the penalty kill. 
• Allen has reduced shots allowed to under 40 per game the last four games, but the Americans have outshot their opponent in just three of 21 games this season. Allen is the only team in the league that has not won a game when outshooting an opponent.
•  Allen has scored the first goal of the game 48% of the time (10 of 21) with a record of  5-4-1-0 and points percentage of .550 which is way below the ECHL average points percentage of .745. Allen's record when scoring first is much better than the 52% of the time (11-21) when the Americans give up the first goal of the game. That record is 2-9-0-0 which is a points percentage of a mere .182.  

- The Americans have couple of days in Allen before they head back out on the road for three games in Kansas City on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. After a blistering start to the season (12-2-0-0) the Mavericks has cooled off some with a record of 5-4-1-0 over the last 10 games. Kansas City just played three games against Idaho at home and went 1-1-1-0. The Mavericks will be looking to get back on track against Allen. I do not expect any of the players on injured reserve will make the trip to Kansas City. 

 

- After the trip to Kansas City the Americans will spend from December 17 to January 23 at home with the exception of a three game in three days trip to Wichita (January 5, 6, 7). Even though Allen has a worse home record (1-6-0-0) than road record (6-7-1-0) this extended time at home with 11 games at the CUTX Event Center will be a great opportunity for the Americans. 

 

- The Western Conference standings look very different by division. Every team in the Central Division has a .500+  points percentage while three teams in the Mountain Division are below .500. Games played in the Mountain Division ranges from 19 (Utah) to 25 (Wichita). Here are the standings (by points percentage):

• .795 - Idaho
• .717 - Kansas City
• .614 - Tulsa
• .452 - Rapid City
• .440 - Wichita
• .421 - Utah
• .357 - Allen
  

- Here is the points percentage in the four division for the team that is currently in fourth place and final playoff spot for the respective division:

• .543: Newfoundland, North Division
• .571: Jacksonville, South Division
• .525: Cincinnati, Indy, Fort Wayne tied, Central Division
• .452: Wichita, Mountain Division  

 

DID YOU KNOW: 2023-24 New Helmet Rule #9.6:

 

A subtle change to the helmet rule this season could see more players opt to pick up their helmet when it comes off during play instead of heading to the bench.

 

A player whose helmet comes off during play will be assessed a minor penalty unless he immediately (a) exits the playing surface or (b) puts the helmet back on (chin strap may be unfastened if helmet on player’s head). 

 

The old rule required the player to fastened his helmet before continuing play.

- Sitting on the glass at a hockey game is an unique experience especially if you have never done it. Here is your chance. I will be missing the home games in January so if you are interested in sitting on the glass, my two seats are available for the following games. The seats are in the end of the rink Allen is on offense twice. There is plenty of leg room and only two seats in the row so nobody will be going in or out. The seats are in Section 101, Row A, Seats 1 & 2. These tickets would normally sell for $60+ each, but I will sell for them $30 each. If interested email me at janssenfamily@msn.com. First come first serve. Games available are.

• January 3 vs Tulsa (Wednesday, 7:10)
• January 10 vs Utah (Wednesday, 7:10)
• January 12 vs Utah (Friday, 7:10)
• January 13 vs Utah (Saturday, 4:10)
• January 15 vs Tulsa  (Monday, 1:10)

Note the game times vary and remember all tickets are digital so I will send them to your email and you will have to claim them and load them to your phone. Email me with any questions.