For the second straight Kelly Cup playoffs the Allen Americans season has come to an unceremonious end at the hands of the Idaho Steelheads. The final score yesterday was 5-3 which gave Idaho a 4-1 series win and a spot in the Mountain Division finals against Kansas City.
- The loss yesterday was similar to the loss on Saturday. In both games Idaho scored first, Allen responded quickly and the Steelheads won the second period 2-0 to put the game away. Ironically Allen outshot Idaho 37-32 yesterday, the first time in the 16 times these teams have met this season the Americans have had the edge in shots.
- I won't bore you with the blow by blow details, but when you give up the first goal of the game to a team with a record of 37-3-1-2 when scoring first it is not a good sign. When you trail 3-1 after the second period to a team with a record of 39-1-1-0 when leading after the second period your fate is pretty much sealed.
- If you are interested in the goal by goal details here is the game recap issued by the Idaho Steelheads: https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2024/04/steelheads-advance-to-second-round-defeating-americans-in-five-games
- Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/idaho-steelheads-vs-allen-americans-april-28-2024-game-5
- A lot of factors contributed to Allen losing this series 4-1:
- In the Americans one win they gave up one goal, in the four losses they gave up 21 goals (5.25 per game average).
- Allen didn't score a power play goal in the last four games of this series.
- After Allen's 5-1 win on Friday the Americans never had the lead in the final two games.
- Idaho's top scorers all out performed their regular season points per game average, it was just the opposite for Allen.
- The bottom line is Idaho has been a better team than Allen the last two seasons and by a wide margin. It is not just in the playoffs where the Steelheads have excelled, eliminating Allen 4-1 both years. The Americans overall combined record against Idaho, regular season and playoffs in 2022-23 and 2024-24 was 5-23-1-0 (.189). The goal differential was -59.
- The poor ending against Idaho should not take away from what the Americans were able to accomplish under some trying circumstances this season. As I mentioned yesterday there were only 61 games played in Allen by players assigned by its affiliate, Ottawa/Belleville. Here is a breakdown of the 61 games by position:
- 42 games - Goalies
- 15 games - Forwards
- 4 games - Defensemen
61 games played from affiliate assigned players is a pittance compared to other ECHL teams. Seven teams in the league had over 400 games played by affiliate players and another three had over 300.
- The Allen Americans used 48 different players this season. When Colton Hargrove went down with a season ending injury on November 22 he was the 11th player on the injured reserve list. I haven't computed total games Allen lost to injury this season but top players Hargrove, Crone, Finlay and Gagnon missed a total of 160 games.
- Given the lack of help from Ottawa/Belleville and the numerous injuries, Chad Costello had to remake the lineup a couple of times during the season season. With a great end of season run, Allen finished third in the Mountain Division and made the playoffs.
- Allen, Idaho and Kansas City are the only Mountain Division teams that have made the playoffs in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. As a reminder here is how the three teems were seeded in the playoffs in 2023 and 2024:
- 2024
- #1 - Kansas City
- #2 - Idaho
- #3 - Allen
- 2013
- #1 - Idaho
- #2 - Allen
- #3 - Kansas City
- If Allen is going to compete for the top spot in the division the team has to find an affiliate that will be more supportive. There is so much more to a great affiliate relationship than the number of players provided even though that is very important. It has to be a two way relationship that includes information sharing, training camp spots, player development and mutual respect. It sounds simple but building a relationship is not easy.
- I had a chance a talk to Allen Americans owner, Myles Jack, after the game and came away with two thoughts. First, being a professional athlete he understands the obstacles the Americans faced this season and is pleased with the team's performance given those obstacles. Secondly, he is committed to helping Chad Costello overcome those obstacles. It is easy to forget Myles didn't buy the team until September and his learning curve was interrupted when he went back to the NFL, signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of November. I would describe Myles Jack as a players' owner who will be very supportive in helping Chad Costello close the gap to compete for the top spot in the Mountain Division in 2024-25.
OTHER COMMENTS
- As much as Allen fans wanted the Americans to win against Idaho it is fitting the two best teams in the Mountain Division will compete for the division championship. Kansas City and Idaho are not only the best teams in the division, they are arguable the best two teams in the ECHL and certainly in the top three. It should be an excellent series to watch and the winner will be battled tested for the conference finals. The series opens in Kansas City on May 4.
- Three first round series are still being contested. All four Western Conference division finals teams have been determined (Kansas City, Idaho, Toledo, Wheeling) but only one in the Eastern Conference (Norfolk). The final three teams will be decided no later than Wednesday.
- The ECHL summer meetings will take place in Las Vegas June 25-27 and typically some news related to teams, rules etc. are discussed. The Board of Governors meet during the week and that is where the news typically comes from. Here is the ECHL news release on the meeting. https://echl.com/news/2024/04/2024-echl-hockey-summer-meetings-presented-by-fevo-are-june-25-27-in-las-vegas
- There was a lot of discussion about the attendance figures I posted yesterday. FYI, as long as I have been writing the blog the official attendance reported to the ECHL has been the number of tickets issued (sold plus free tickets) not the number of people in the arena. The turnstile count (number of tickets scanned) is always lower because some tickets that are sold or given away are not used, especially for corporate accounts.
Barry, appreciate you and what you do.
ReplyDeleteThe attendance formula makes little sense.
Why aren't we sold out every game if printing a ticket records as "attendance".
Not to conflate the situation, the argument or the numbers, but attendance is bums in seats or people in the building. The only exception to that rule should possibly be season ticket holders that have say 5 seats in a family and only scan 3 on entry ... that may be OK to count for 5 as its a "sold" seat.
Is there really a benefit to "playing" with the numbers?
Again, Thank You for what you do.
Hey Barry. Thanks for your diligence this season like every season. We all get more information from your blogs than anywhere else. I agree with your assessment on affiliation, Miles Jack’s attitude, and the benefit of having a former pro athlete as an owner and basically every other point you made. Agree, agree agree agree. bye see you in a few months.
ReplyDelete-Bobby 226
Another good year with the posts Barry - you are absolutely the best in the league. Your comments about affiliation are not only bold but spot on. Have a great offseaon
ReplyDeleteThe blaming of the affiliate is a lazy one. Ultimately it's on Chad and Tommy to develop the relationship with Belleville and make it so they WANT to send guys down. Its not a one way street where we the AHL team needs to serve the Americans. Any affiliate is only going to send players down if they are being coached well once they get to the ECHL and there is good communication. Apparently Chad and upper management almost never even spoke to the folks in Ottawa or Belleville. That's on them. Team needs to be better Barry, you can't just blame the affiliate like you always do.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments, you seem like you’re in the know.
DeleteI’m curious from my perspective (a fan), I wonder if Chad/Gens and co. realized the better ROI to the Americans, which is their obligation, was to recruit via alternate methods, namely Hardie, MacArthur, Kielly etc. Levi was not around for the second half of the season, Sinclair was (thankfully), but it’s two way traffic.
A great affiliate uses the ECHL team to make their team better. If the communication was non existent (your general assumption), then that’s clearly on both.
Perhaps Chad/Gens/Allen Front office made the decision during the season that it would be the last with Belleville.
A general consensus from Allen fans is that that’s ok, and we think it would be good to move on.
Perhaps a better ECHL affiliate may help Belleville more…
Lazy? Facts are the facts. As outlined in the blog recently, the help from Belleville has been subpar and at the low end vs. other ECHL teams.
DeleteAs commented above, communication is a two way street.
With any luck, a change in affiliate is made in the off season.
Marlies?
Love the blogs, great information! Thank you for all you do Barry!
ReplyDeleteThank you Barry! Look forward to the latest news and information!!!
ReplyDeleteBellville sucks and is one of the worst affiliates I’ve ever seen. Let find one that we can both help each other out. Hope Belleville losses its next 2 games. POS they are
ReplyDeleteThanks Barry for your insight into the inner workings of the Americans. Go RED!
ReplyDelete