It is game day for the Allen Americans with long time rival Wichita in town for a single game. It will be the sixth of nine games against Wichita this season. The Americans have a record of 4-1 against the Thunder and in the odd stat of the day the road team has won all five of the previous games.
- The Americans got some good news yesterday as forward Tarun Fizer was loaned to Allen by the Belleville Senators. Fizer played four games for Allen in mid January and had three points (2G, 1A). Adding Fizer to the lineup tonight is very timely given the Americans have two forwards (Easton Brodzinski, Johnny Walker) missing tonight serving suspensions from the game on Saturday. Being in the lineup tonight will also qualify Fizer for the ECHL playoffs which requires five ECHL games played.
- Here are the stats from the five head to head games between Allen and Wichita:
- Allen's record against Tulsa is 4-0 on the road and 0-1 at home.
- Allen has a big edge in goals, 22-13.
- Wichita has a big edge in shots, 180-143.
- Allen's power play is 3-23 (13.0%).
- Wichita's power play is 5-11 (45.5%).
- If you compare overall stats the teams are relatively close:
- Allen scores more goals per game (3.4 vs 2.9)
- Both team allow an average of 4.1 goals per game, the worst average in the league. If you break it down further Wichita is ranked #27 (4.13) and Allen is ranked #28 (4.15).
- Wichita has a slight edge in shots for per game (30.0 vs 29.8).
- Allen gives up more shots per game (40.4 vs 36.3).
- Wichita has the better power play percentage (23.5% vs 21.8%).
- Allen has the better penalty kill percentage (77.6% vs 76.3).
- The game tonight is critical to Allen for several reasons:
- After the poor performance on Saturday Allen needs to get back on the winning track.
- Allen has to beat the teams they are expected to beat. Playing the last place team in the league in points (35 points) at home fits that bill.
- Allen is missing two suspended players (Brodzinski & Walker) and Hank Crone was just place on injured reserve. Can Allen overcome these obstacles?
- Wichita has had several roster changes this week including losing its top scorer (Peter Bates) who is headed to Europe. Here is a recap of the players coming and going from Wichita that will impact the game tonight. https://wichitathunder.com/news/2024/02/wichita-announces-several-transactions
- The keys to winning tonight are no surprise.
- Allen does much better playing with the lead than from behind. A good start will be key for both teams. The team that scored first won four of the five previous games.
- Allen needs to stay out of the penalty box after giving up a season high four power play goals on Saturday. Wichita has a 45.5% power play percentage in the head to head games against Allen this season. Allen has to win the special teams battle tonight.
- Allen needs to keep the shots on goal close. The Americans have won games against Wichita this season when they were outshot 39-19 and 41-26. However, that is not a formula for success.
- Defensemen have played a key role in the head to head games against Wichita. Both teams will be without their leading scorers (Hank Crone & Peter Bates). Allen's leading scorers in the five head to head games against Wichita after Crone are defensemen Nolan Orzeck (6 points - 2G,4A) and Kris Myllari (5 points - 1G, 4A). Add Eric Williams' four points (2G, 2A) and you can look for the defensemen to play a role offensively tonight.
- Tonight is one of the nine home games during the season when the two referee system will be used. The referees assigned are Tyler Hascall (#8) and Evan Reddick (#21). Players need to adapt to the stick penalties behind the play.
- It is a light Wednesday night in the ECHL with only four games on the schedule. Allen has a chance to gain ground in the race for the playoffs. The only other Mountain Division game tonight is Idaho at Rapid City. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/02/echl-today-feb-14
OTHER COMMENTS
- If you have been tracking Allen's affiliates (Ottawa & Belleville) you have noticed they now have five healthy goalies with three in Belleville. You have to expect a goalie will be assigned to Allen soon. In the past that goalie has been Leevi Meriläinen.
- Here is the Allen Americans Weekly which reviews last week, looks ahead to this week and covers the team leaders: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/02/americans-weekly2
- I keep hearing Liam Finlay is feeling much better as he trains back at home. From my reporting you could see him return to Allen in the very near future to continue his training. That would provide a big lift for the Americans. If you look at the big four from last season and compute average goals per game, Finlay was second among the group. Here are the average goals per game last season for the big four with total goals in parenthesis:
- .710 - Hank Crone (49 goals)
- .611 - Liam Finlay (33 goals)
- .609 - Colton Hargrove (39 goals)
- .514 - Jack Combs (36 goals)
- Hank Crone - Chicago Wolves (AHL)
- Tarun Fizer - Belleville Senators (AHL)
- Bennett MacArthur - Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
- Blake Murray - Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
- Mark Sinclair - Belleville Senators (AHL)
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