It is game day for the Allen Americans as they open a three games in three days series against the Idaho Steelheads, the best team in the ECHL. How big of a challenge does Allen face?
- Idaho hasn't lost back to back road games in two seasons.
- Idaho has the best record in the ECHL at 21-5-0-0 (.796).
- Idaho's road record is 10-2-0-0 (.833).
- Allen's regular season record against Idaho since the beginning of the 2022-23 season is 1-12-0-0 and in the one win Allen was outshot 45-19.
- A stats comparison between Allen and Idaho is one-sided as you would expect given the records . Here are some examples:
- Allen scores fewer goals per game: 3.4 vs 4.8
- Allen allows more goals per game: 4.5 vs 3.2
- Allen takes fewer shots per game: 28.9 vs 38.5
- Allen allows more shots per game: 42.0 vs 30.7
- Allen's team plus/minus is -171, Idaho's is +168
- Allen's goal differential is -30 (GF 91, GA 121), Idaho's is +44 (GF 130, GA 86)
- Allen's power play is ranked #3 in the ECHL at 26.7% (27-101). Idaho is even better ranked #1 at 31.3% (31-99). Both teams have matching penalty kill percentages at 78.8%. On a positive note Allen has scored three shorthanded goals this season and all have been against Idaho.
- The Americans practiced last night at 7:45 pm because of ice availability as there was a Sidekicks soccer game on the main ice. Idaho was scheduled to practice at 9:00 pm. There were a lot of players on the ice when you consider Allen now has 30 players on the roster. Four or five of the players on injured reserve were practicing, however, none will be available for the game tonight. Colin Jacobs, who just signed with Allen will be in the lineup tonight wearing #5.
- Allen's home record is 3-7-0-0 but the Americans won back to back home games against Rapid City before the Christmas break, winning 7-2 and 3-2. The goalie play was outstanding in both games. Leevi Meriläinen had a save percentage of .950 in the 7-2 win and Mark Sinclair had a save percentage of .953 in the 3-2 win. I would expect Meriläinen to get the start tonight and Sinclair on Saturday.
- In talking to coach Costello before practice last night about what it will take for Allen to beat Idaho, two points kept coming up. First, Allen needs to be better in getting the puck out of the defensive zone. Idaho is excellent at putting on pressure with its forecheck and the Americans need to move quickly with speed to overcome the pressure. The other key to the game mentioned by Costello is staying out of the penalty box. The stats tell you why staying out of the penalty box is critical. Idaho has a road power play percentage of 41.7% (15-36) and the Steelheads have scored a man advantage goal is 12 of their last 13 games.
- Scoring first is always important but even more so in this series. Idaho is almost unbeatable when it scores first with a record of 14-1-0-1 (.906). Allen is 6-5-0-0 (.545) when scoring first.
- Here is an odd stat related to Allen and Idaho. The Americans are the only team in the league who have not won a game when tied after the first period (0-7) and Idaho is the only team in the league that has not lost a game when tied after the first period (8-0).
- ECHL teams typically do a weekly update that recaps the prior week and previews the coming week. The update also has other good stats and info. Here is the weekly update issued by both teams:
- Allen Americans Weekly Update: https://allenamericans.com/news/2023/12/americans-weekly3
- Idaho Steelheads Weekly Update: https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2023/12/idaho-steelheads-weekly-week-10-122723
- Allen's scoring in the five head to head games against Idaho is spread evenly with no player having more then two goals. Kris Myllari leads in points with five (1G, 4A). Hank Crone joined Allen for its second trip to Idaho and had four points (1G, 3A) in three games. Crone is currently on an eight game point streak with a total of 15 points (3G, 12A).
- The referee scheduled tonight is #28 Rocco Stachowiak. This is his third season as an ECHL referee and he also works in the Western Hockey League. I can only find one game he has worked in Allen in the past. His bio says he has lived in Dallas in the past while working for the NAHL, USHL and SPHL.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Allen's newly signed forward Colin Jacobs has been playing in Europe the last few seasons and has now returned home as he grew up in the DFW area (Coppell). The 6'3" and 215 pound forward was the fourth round draft choice of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2011 NHL draft. Jacobs left Texas to play junior hockey in the Western Hockey League for the Seattle Thunderbirds (4 years) and Prince George Cougars (1 year). Some of his teammates in juniors that have played for Allen include Jacob Doty, Zach Pochiro, Dallas Ehrhardt, Sam Ruopp, Jonathan Parker and Branden Troock.
In his last year in juniors (2012-13) Colin led the Prince George Cougars in points (53), goals (25), assists (28) and was second in PIMS (98). Jacobs turned pro after the 2012-13 season and has played in 46 AHL games (2G, 5A), 236 ECHL games (Elmira, Atlanta, Toledo, Wichita, Kalamazoo and Utah) where he totaled 103 points (42G, 61A) and 414 PIMS. Jacobs spent the last five seasons in Europe (Slovakia, Hungary, Norway, Germany).
Coach Costello signed Jacobs because he was looking for a big, right shot center that was good on faceoffs, had some toughness and could chip in offensively. Jacobs will most likely play a third line center role for the Americans when everyone gets healthy.
When Jacobs was drafted, scouting reports described him as a strong skating center with good jump in his stride, the ability to make plays and could play with an edge. This season in Germany he played in 22 games and led his team in points (30), goals (14) and penalty minutes (56). Here is a highlight video from his time in Germany. There is no audio but look for #23:
Here is an interview with Colin from a few years ago when he got traded from Atlanta to Toledo:
- There are 12 games in the ECHL tonight with all seven Mountain Division teams in action and all will play three games in three nights. In addition to Idaho at Allen, Tulsa is at Utah and Iowa is at Rapid City. Wichita and Kansas City also play 3-in-3 but Friday and Saturday are in Wichita with Sunday in Kansas City. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2023/12/echl-today-dec-29
DID YOU KNOW: Here is the ECHL stats post for the day. Another stat that show just how strong Idaho is at both ends of the ice:
The Prediction Troll presents - Idaho Weekend Slaughter. Instead of posting individual game predictions I though a weekend summary is in order - that way you homer's don't have to respond to three different posts. Weekend Summary: Allen 0-3, Score total 18-7, SOG 117-66 - As my text reads "It's Hockey Time!"
ReplyDeleteWow, this didn't age well...
DeleteWho cares
ReplyDeleteObviously you do...
DeleteYep. I agree. Who cares. Self centered chump
ReplyDeleteLOL! You homers crack me up
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