Goaltending and Power Play Lead to Victory, Game Recaps, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Standings Tighten, All-Time PP Percentages and More

 

 Anytime you win on the road in the ECHL it is a success. Despite being outplayed the Americans beat Rapid City last night 4-3 in overtime to get back to .500. Goaltending and the power play helped Allen overcome Rapid City's largest shot total of the season. The Americans were outshot 44-21 in regulation including 36-13 in the final two periods. 

 

- Rapid City scored the first goal of the game at the 6:27 mark of the first period. It was only the third time in 17 games this season the Rush scored the first goal. The first two times they went on to win the game. Allen tied the score 1-1 at the 15:59 mark when James Hardie finally got the monkey of his back, scoring his first goal of the season against his former team. While the goal was officially an even strength goal, Hardie scored four seconds after a power play expired, before the Rush player could get back in the play. 

 

- The first period ended with the score tied 1-1. Allen's power play continued to shine in the second period. A penalty at the end of the first period put the Americans on the power play to start the second period. It took just 27 seconds for Spencer Asuchak to score his fifth goal of the season. Rapid City took another penalty a few minutes later and Allen made them pay again. Liam Gorman scored two seconds before the penalty expired to give Allen a 3-1 lead. Despite the Americans scoring the only two goals of the second period, Rapid City out shot Allen 20-8, but goalie Anson Thornton stopped them all.

 

- Allen's 3-1 lead after the second period gave them great odds of winning the game. The Americans had not lost all season when leading after the second period (4-0-0-0) and Rapid City had not won when trailing after the second period (0-8-1-0). It looked like the odds may not hold true as Rapid City overwhelmed Allen early in the third period. By the 7:19 mark the Rush had tied the score while outshooting Allen 10-1. The Americans steadied themselves in the last half of the third period. For the final 12 minutes of the game the shots were even, 4-4. With just one second remaining in the game Rapid City took a minor penalty for playing with a broken stick which carried over to overtime.

 

- It didn't tale long for the Allen power play to burn the Rush for the third time. Spencer Asuchak parked himself in his office, right at the net, and tipped home a shot/pass from Easton Brodzinski. If you watch the video on this goal you can see both the defenseman and goalie thought Brodzinski was shooting, but he put the puck right on Asuchak's stick for the tip in. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Spencer Asuchak (5,6), James Hardie (1) and Liam Gorman (2). Here are the video highlights that includes a lot more than just the goals. Anson Thornton had many grade A saves stopping 41 of 44 shots for a .932 save percentage. https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-rapid-city-rush-nov-29-2024

 

 - Allen's power play has been the difference maker the last two weeks. The Americans have scored at least one power play goal in six of the last seven games and the three last night is the most all season. In the last seven games the Allen power play is 9-21 (42.9%). The power play has been steadily going up the ECHL chart. It is now ranked #3 in the league at 26.1%. 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams with even more details:

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/americans-beat-rapid-city-in-ot
• Rapid City Rush game recap: https://rapidcityrush.com/news/2024/11/game-recap-allen-defeats-rush-in-overtime-despite-season-high-44-shots

 

- The rubber match of this series takes place tonight and the Americans have a chance to come home with four points (.667), three points (.500) or two points (.333). To maintain their place in the standings and keep moving forward the Americans will need to play better tonight. You can't expect the goalie to stop 41 of 44 shots and to score three power play goals again tonight. 

 

- Allen has gone to overtime in four of its last six games, winning two and losing two. Allen's record over the last 10 games is 6-2-2-0. Only Tulsa (7-3-0-0) has a better record in the Mountain Division over the last 10 games. 

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

I swapped messages with assistant coach Brett Ferguson after the game to ask him a few questions. This is what he had to say:

"Special teams and Anson won us the game tonight, no doubt about it."

"We started absorbing the game instead of keeping our foot on the gas with our forecheck that led to our early success. Instead we started to play passive."

"Our forwards weren't getting in on the forecheck which allowed Rapid City to come out to easy."

"Our defensemen weren't able to set proper gaps to handle their speed coming out of their zone. It becomes a domino effect that puts us back on our heels."

"We dug in the last 10 minutes of the game and still managed to get one point and then the bonus point in overtime."

"We have definitely noticed more guys having scoring chances than just the usual suspects. Hardie's lack of scoring thus far wasn't by lack of effort. I think he hit five posts in the last three games. It was just a matter of time and he finally scored."

"We won't know until the morning until we check with the trainer, but I believe everyone will be available tomorrow night."  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Mountain Division results last night saw Allen, Idaho and Kansas City winning. Tulsa, Tahoe, Utah and Rapid City lost. Standings continue to tighten. Here are the standings by point percentage. Penalty minutes are in parenthesis:

• .676 - Tulsa (203)
• .625 - Kansas City (286)
  
• .600 - Tahoe (163)
• .559 - Idaho (231)
• .500 - Allen (176)
  
• .500 - Wichita (149)
• .412 - Rapid City (180)
• .375 - Utah (124)

- The point percentage difference between first and last place in the Mountain Division is less than the other divisions. Here is the list. The top and bottom point percentage is in parenthesis:

• .450 - Central (.700 Fort Wayne to .250 Cincinnati)
• .361 - North (.767 Wheeling to .406 Maine)
• .350 - South (.794 Florida to .444 Atlanta)
• .301 - Mountain (.676 Tulsa to .375 Utah)

 

- Stats worth noting:

• Tulsa is the only remaining team that has not lost when scoring first (9-0-0-0).
• South Carolina has not allowed a power play goal on the road. They have killed 24 straight.
• Adirondack has scored five shorthanded goals in 15 games.
• Orlando has taken 102 minor penalties, Utah has taken 47.
• Indy is #2 in the league in average goals allowed (1.93), but #29 in goals scored (1.79). 

 

- How good is Allen's power play this season? At the current pace it would break the all-time record since Allen joined the ECHL. It will be difficult to maintain this pace all season, but the Americans are off to a great start:

• 26.1% - 2024-25 (thru 15 games)
  
• 20.2% - 2023-24
  
• 23.9% - 2022-23
• 18.5% - 2021-21
• 20.5% - 2020-21
• 18.5% - 2019-20
• 16.7% - 2018-19
• 17.1% - 2017-18
• 24.4% - 2016-17
• 21.1% - 2015-16*
• 21.9% - 2014-15*

 *won Kelly Cup

  

- It is another big night in the ECHL with 13 games on the schedule. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-30

 

 

DID  YOU KNOW: Great offense and great defense! Just four ECHL teams have a goal differential of 1.00 or more (average goals scored minus average goals allowed):

 

South Carolina: 3.94 vs 2.06 (1.88 differential)

Florida: 3.41 vs 1.76 (1.65 differential)

Wheeling: 3.53 vs 2.47 (1.06 differential)

Tulsa: 3.59 vs 2.59 (1.00 differential)

 

 

Here is how the teams rank in average goals scored and average goals allowed:

 

South Carolina: #1 and #3

Florida: #9 and #1

Wheeling: #5 and #6

Tulsa: #4 and #7

 

Allen vs Rapid City Preview, A Case of CRS, Florida on Record Pace, Best Team Save Percentages and More

 

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. As usual I ate way too much. I always get a chuckle from this description of Thanksgiving by comedian Jim Gaffigan: "Thanksgiving, it's like we didn't even try to come up with a tradition. The tradition is we overeat. 'Hey, how about on Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?' 'But we do that everyday.' 'Okay, what if we eat a lot with people that annoy the hell out of us after three hours?"

- I don't have much to add for a preview of the game tonight between Allen and Rapid City more than the series preview in the blog on Wednesday.(https://allenamericansblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/allen-vs-rapid-city-series-preview.html). I will share that I had a case of CRS (can't remember sh*t) late yesterday afternoon while dealing with my food hangover. Some how I decided to ask coach Ferguson to send me the lineup card for the evening. He kindly refrained from calling me a "dipsh*t and merely responded "no game tonight" which was highly embarrassing to say the least. 

- The keys to the game tonight will be the usual:

• Score first - Allen scored first on Wednesday but still lost
  
• Don't play from behind
• A lead after the first or second period is huge
• Keep the shots close - Allen was outshot 35-21 on Wednesday
  
• Win the special teams battle
• Get good goaltending - The question of the day will be whether Marco Costantini will get the start in goal. I assume he will get his first start of the season tonight or tomorrow night. 

- One thing to watch for tonight is whether the Americans can improve on getting the puck into their offensive zone. Coach Ferguson had this to say after the loss on Wednesday:

"We struggled to break the puck out of our own zone, starting with the first pass from the defensemen and continuing up the wall with too many lost board battles."

"The struggles with getting the puck to our offensive zone resulted in too much time in our own end defending and more pucks on our net."

 

- Allen's special teams have been rock solid recently but the power play was blanked on Wednesday (0-2) and gave up a shorthanded goal. The penalty kill was 0-4.The Americans need to win the special teams battle tonight.

 

- Rapid City was able to shutdown Allen's big four (Asuchak, Brodzinski, Crnkovic, Watts) on Wednesday. How important is this group to team success? Here are the stats by percentage of the team totals with numbers is parenthesis. Here is what the big four have contributed:

• 100% of power play goals (9 of 9)
• 82% of power play assists (14 of 17)
  
• 72% of all goals (26 of 36)
• 65% of all assists (35 of 54)

I don't think this group has gone back to back games without scoring all season, so no doubt they will be a factor in the game tonight.

 

- Allen's leading goal scorers the last four games do not come from the top line. Easton Brodzinski has four goals and Brayden Guy has three.

- Here is the game preview with lots of detail issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/game-day-preview-americans-look-to-even-the-series

- The referees tonight are the same as Wednesday. The referees will be #6 John Linder and #54 Scott Allan. They pretty much let the players play on Wednesday. Allen had two power play opportunities and Rapid City had four. Most of the penalties were stick penalties.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There are 13 games on the ECHL schedule tonight with all eight Mountain Division teams in action. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-29

 

- Connor Ingram, the Utah HC goalie that was injured that resulted in Dylan Wells being recalled to Tucson was expected to be available today. However, according to reports he will not play this weekend and is expected to return on December 2. 

- Florida beat Fort Wayne last night on the road 5-4 in overtime. The Everblades have won eight of their last nine games and are the only ECHL team with a points percentage above .800. Florida's current point percentage of .813 would rank second all-time behind Idaho who set the record of .826 in 2022-23.

- Three ECHL teams remain undefeated when scoring first. Tulsa has scored first in 56% of its games and has a record of 9-0-0-0. Florida has scored first in 50% of its games and has a record of 8-0-0-0. Rapid City has scored first in just 13% of its game (2 of 16) and is 2-0-0-0 when scoring first.

DID YOU KNOW:

DID YOU KNOW: Is defense and goaltending better in 2024-25? Last season only nine ECHL teams had save percentages of .900 or more. Thus far this season there are 17 and five of them are above .920. The team’s current point percentage is in parenthesis:

 

.932 - Florida (.813)

.928 - South Carolina (.719)

.926 - Trois Rivières (.714)

.925 - Indy (.500)

.924 - Bloomington (.531)

 

Happy Thanksgiving, Shorty and Last Second Goal Spells Defeat, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Standings Shuffle and More

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you get to spend the day with friends and/or family. Since my mother and daughter both chose nursing as a profession, I know full well there are plenty of first responders, health care workers, service workers and many others (like the Allen Americans team) that won't be with family today. Luckily, my daughter is off today so we can be together, but that also means she will be working on Christmas day. I am the cook in my family and go back to the staples I grew up with for the most part. Turkey, stuffing (has to be in the turkey), mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes (roasted, no marshmallows). I have dropped the canned cranberries from my youth (jelly type) and the pumpkin pie is store bought. I make a 20 pound turkey to provide plenty of leftovers and will start making turkey stew shortly after the meal by boiling all the bones with plenty of meat remaining to get that wonderful broth. Tomorrow I will finish the stew adding all kinds of vegetables, including a favorite from my youth, the under appreciated rutabaga, haha. When it is all done tomorrow afternoon I will have 30-40 individuals containers of turkey stew in the freezer. 

 

- Enough about Thanksgiving traditions, the Allen Americans spoiled their turkey day last night losing to Rapid City 2-1 in the opening game of a three game series. The Rush shut down Allen's big four and the team had trouble generating offense. Allen's lone goal was scored by Brayden Guy in the first period. It was his third goal of the season, all coming in the last four games. 

 

- Allen scored the first goal of the game and held a 1-0 lead after the first period, both good signs. Allen's record when scoring first has dropped to 4-2-1-0. It was Allen's first regulation loss when leading after the first period (3-1-2-0) and it was Rapid City's first win of the season when trailing after the first period (1-5-0-1).

 

- A loss is a loss but the loss last night was extra painful. Rapid City's first goal, the only goal of the second period to tie the score 1-1 was scored shorthanded. The power play has been a strength for the Americans recently. They only had two opportunities last night and were 0-2 but the shorthanded goal was a killer. It was Allen's second shorthanded goal allowed this season. The Americans have yet to score a shorthanded goal. The penalty kill was excellent in the game (0-4). 

 

- The second half of the game was scoreless until Rapid City put a rebound into an open net with just 19 seconds remaining in the game to send the Rush fans home with a well deserved come from behind victory. The last half of the game was not as close as the one goal Allen allowed at the 19:41 mark of the third period. Allen struggled getting the puck out of its own zone, was out shot 27-14 over the final two periods and goalie Anson Thornton was the only reason the score was close. It was another game Thornton took a loss after keeping the Americans in the game, stopping 33 of 35 shots for a .943 save percentage. 

 

- With the loss Allen has fallen below the .500 mark (.464). The team will take the day off today before resuming the series tomorrow night. They team will gather for a Thanksgiving meal together and I heard they will be well fed.  

 

- Here is a game recap and the video highlights with all the goals plus many great saves by both goalies:

• Rapid City Rush game recap: https://rapidcityrush.com/news/2024/11/game-recap-janickes-last-minute-stunner-downs-allen-2-1  
• Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-rapid-city-rush-nov-27-2024
  

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

I touched base with assistant coach Brett Ferguson after the game. Here is what he had to say:

"We struggled to break the puck out of our own zone, starting with the first pass from the defensemen and continuing up the wall with too many lost board battles."

"The struggles with getting the puck to our offensive zone resulted in too much time in our own end defending and more pucks on our net."

"Our penalty kill was solid, big time blocked shots, hard clears and timely saves by Thornton."

"Our power play had looks and some grade A chances and an opportunity to win the game late but could not capitalize."

"Shorthanded goals are always a risk, especially against a good penalty kill like Rapid has."

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There were more losers than winners in the Mountain Division last night because a couple of teams played outside the division. The winners were Tulsa, Rapid City and Tahoe. The losers were Allen, Wichita, Kansas City, Idaho and Utah. Here are the current standings with points in parenthesis. Games played varies from 18 (Wichita) to 14 (Tahoe & Allen).

• .719 - Tulsa (23)
• .643 - Tahoe (18)
• .625 - Kansas City (20)
• .531 - Idaho (17)
• .528 - Wichita (19)
• .464 - Allen (13)
• .406 - Rapid City (13)
• 367 - Utah (11)

- The standings don't reflect who is playing the best hockey in the Mountain Division. Here are the points earned in the last 10 games by each team with record in parenthesis. The top (Tulsa) and bottom (Utah) have distanced themselves from the pack over the last 10 games:

• 16 points - Tulsa (8-2-0-0)
• 13 points - Tahoe (6-3-0-1)
  
• 12 points - Allen (5-3-2-0)
• 11 points - Rapid City (5-4-0-1)
• 11 points - Kansas City (5-4-1-0)
• 9 points - Idaho (4-5-1-0)
• 7 points - Wichita (3-6-1-0)
• 3 points - Utah (2-7-1-0) 

- There is one game on the ECHL schedule today as Florida is at Fort Wayne in a cross division game between two top teams. If you have FloHockey tune in to watch former Allen players Colton Hargrove (leads Florida in assists, 11) and Kris Myllari who is second among defensemen in points per game. Tough guy Kyle Neuber who won a Kelly Cup with Allen in 2016 and three more with Florida could also be in the lineup. All three players are veterans and Florida is the only team in the league with five. Since a team can only have four veterans on the active roster, one veteran has to be on injured reserve at all times. Right now that player is Myllari who is on the 3-day IR.

 

DID YOU KNOW: I found the stats in the ECHL Stats post very interesting. Allen is on the fewest list once. FYI, the Americans have three NHL/AHL contracted players (one is on injured reserve), 12 rookies and one veteran:

 

ECHL teams with the most and fewest NHL/AHL contracted players, rookies and veterans with point percentage in parenthesis. While there is no perfect pattern, in general the more successful teams have more NHL/AHL contracted players, fewer rookies and more veterans. However, there are plenty of exceptions.

 

NHL/AHL contracted players:

Most

14: SAV (.563)

13: SC (.719)

12: WHL (.750)

 

Fewest

1: ATL (.412)

3: ALN (.464)

3: IA (.567)

3: ORL (.472)

3: IDH (.531)

 

 

ROOKIES

Most

16: BLM (.531)

15: ADK (.536)

15: UTA (.367)

 

Fewest

5: JAX (.571)

6: FLA (.800)

 

 

VETERANS

Most

5: FLA (.800)

4: IDH (.531)

4: ORL (.472)

4: TOL (.719)

 

Fewest

0: ADK (.536)

0: BLM (.531)

0: IA (.567)

0: MNE (.400)

0: SAV (.563)

Allen vs Rapid City Series Preview, Sebrango Gets NHL Call, ECHL Best Goalies, ECHL vs AHL Attendance and More

 

The Allen Americans are in Rapid City for a three game series starting tonight (8:05 Allen time). If you look at the standings you might conclude it is a great opportunity for the Americans to gain ground playing the last place team in the Mountain Division with a lowly .367 point percentage. The facts say this will be a hard fought series between two teams that have been playing good hockey after poor starts to the season. Allen lost its first five games of the season but is currently on a five game point streak (3-0-2-0). Rapid City lost its first nine games of the season but has a record of 4-2-0-0 over it last six games with a win over Kansas City and a three game sweep in Idaho. 

 

- Allen will play Rapid City eight times this season. After the three game series that starts tonight these teams will play five straight times, two away followed by three at home, at the end of January. Last season Allen split six games against Rapid City (3-3-0-0).

- One thing working in Allen's favor is Rapid City has the worst home record in the ECHL (1-4-0-2) while the Americans have a losing record at home (2-3-3-0) but a winning record on the road (5-2-3-0). 

- Here is how Allen and Rapid City rank is some key stats this season:

• Ave. goals scored: Allen #19 (2.69) - Rapid City #24 (2.40)
• Ave. goals allowed: Allen #29 (4.23) - Rapid City #26 (3.47)
• Ave. shots for: Allen #24 (27.62) - Rapid City #10 (31.47)
• Ave shots allowed: Allen #29 (41.92) - Rapid City #26 (34.87) 
  
• Power play percentage: Allen #5 (23.1%) - Rapid City #13 (19.1%)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen #22 (78.0%) - Rapid City #7 (86.0%) 

 

-  One of the reasons both of these team have had better results recently is they are allowing an average of 2.8 goals per game, a big improvement over their season long averages that rank the at the bottom of the league rankings.

- Special teams as always will be a big key to this series. Historically Allen and Rapid City have been high penalty minute teams, but not this season. Allen averages 11.38 (#19) penalty minutes per game and Rapid City averages 10.40 (#23). If you compare Rapid City's home special teams percentage to Allen's road percentages the Rush have the edge on the power play (33.3% vs 23.5%) and Allen has the edge on the penalty kill (87.0% vs 81.8%). Maybe the most important power play stat for Allen is it has at least one power play each in the last five games for a total of 6-14 (42.8%).  

 

- Rapid City is undefeated when its scores first, but the Rush have scored first in just two of 15 games (13%) which is the lowest in the league. Allen has scored first in six of 13 games (46%) with a record of 4-1-1-0. Scoring first will be a big key along with playing with the lead. Neither Allen or Rapid City have won a game all season if it trailed after the first period or second period.

- Both of these teams give up a lot of shots, especially Allen who is last in the league allowing over 40 shots per game. The best way to reduce shots is having more offensive zone time. I noticed the coaches working hard on that in practice this week with drills designed to hang onto more pucks in the offensive zone. The drills emphasized puck protection and engagement. 

 

- 22 players made the trip to Rapid City. Players that stayed home are Will Gavin* (14-day IR), Nolan Orzeck (14-day IR) and Dakota Seaman* (3-day IR). The rookies are marked with an asterisk. Notice the inexperience at the blue line with four of the six defensemen being rookies:

Goalies 

• #33 Marco Costantini
• #35 Anson Thornton* 

Defensemen

• #91 Ayo Adeniye*
  
• #3 Ryan Gagnon 
• #66 Artyum Kulakov 
• #21 Mike Van Unen*
  
• #2 Quinn Warmuth*
  
• #5 Hudson Wilson*
  

Forwards

• #26 Spencer Asuchak
• #42 Robbie Baillergeon
  
• #24 Harrison Blaisdell*
  
• #22 Easton Brodzinski 
• #28 Brian Chambers*
  
• #16 Kyle Crnkovic
• #8 Mark Duarte 
• #17 Riley Ginnell 
• #84 Liam Gorman*
  
• #14 Brayden Guy
• #86 James Hardie
• #82 Ryan Mahshie*
  
• #11 Rylan Van Unen*
• #92 Brayden Watts 

 

- Allen has four players on this trip that have 13+ points and the rest of the players have no more than two points. Rapid City, on the other hand, has no player with more than 11 points, but has 14 players with three or more points and 10 players with six or more points. If Rapid City can defend Allen's big four the Rush will be a difficult foe. If the Americans can get some depth scoring they will be tough to beat. 

- Chaz Smedsrud (#24) has played in 11 games since being traded by Allen to Rapid City. He has averaged 1.00 points per game and is already tied for the team lead in points with 11 (4G, 7A). Seems like whenever former players play against Allen they find a way to score. 

 

- Mark Duarte and Riley Ginnell will be making their first return to Rapid City after playing for the Rush last season. I talked to both of them after practice on Monday and they told me they are looking forward to the trip. They still have friends on the team and in Rapid City. Both would like nothing better then to score against their old team. James Hardie also played in Rapid City last, but was traded to Allen in at the end of  March. He made a trip back to Rapid City late in the season and had a goal and two assists against his old team. 

 

- I will post the lineup later in the day, but you would have to assume Anson Thornton will get the start tonight and Marco Costantini will play at some point in this series. 

 

- Here the series preview issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/game-day-preview-americans-open-a-three-game-series-in-rapid-city 

 

- The game tonight will be a two referee game. The referees will be #6 John Linder and #54 Scott Allan. Linder was the referee for six Allen games last year and there were an average of nine penalties in those six games. Both referees are also AHL referees. 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Defenseman Donovan Sebrango, who played four games for Allen last season was just called up to the Ottawa Senators from the Belleville Senators. If you recall, Sebrango scored the first goal of the season in Allen's opening night 5-2 win in Idaho last season. That was the same game goalie Leevi Merilainen won the game for Allen despite the Americans being outshot 45-19. The list of players that have played in Allen and then went on to the NHL is very short. Turns out there were two of them in the opening night lineup in Idaho last season. Hopefully Donovan will get in a game soon. The injured player Sebrango is replacing was placed on long term injured reserve yesterday.

 

- You may have seen the video of Allen's NHL affiliate, Utah HC, having to walk to the arena in Toronto    because the traffic was so bad. One player in the video mentioned it was a first having to walk to the arena. It is not unusual in the ECHL and has been a frequent occurrence in Allen over the years when visiting teams stay at the Hampton Inn. I asked Tommy Daniels some of the places the team typically walks from the hotel to the rink. The list includes Kansas City, Idaho, Tulsa, Rapid City, Fort Wayne, Reading and Adirondack. Just another way NHL players are treated differently than ECHL players. Also, NHL payers squeak by on $132 per day per diem when traveling while ECHL players scrape by on $53 per day.

 

 - There are 12 games around the ECHL tonight, very busy for a Wednesday. There are some great matchups. The top team in the Central Division, Toledo, is at Wheeling to take on the top team in the North Division. The top two teams in the Mountain Division, Tulsa and Kansas City, play in Tulsa. Here are all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-27   

 

- Five ECHL goalies have a save percentage higher than .940 and a GAA below 2.00 (minimum 240 minutes played). None from the Mountain Division whose teams rank #6, #12, #13, #15, #17, #26, #28 and #29 in goals allowed: 

.951 & 1.62: Luke Cavallin, Trois Rivières

.944 & 1.67: *Seth Eisele, South Carolina

.944 & 1.99: *Alexis Gravel, Orlando

.941 & 1.33: Cam Johnson, Florida

.941 & 1.66: Mark Sinclair, Bloomington 

 

*Rookies

 

DID YOU KNOW: Comparing ECHL and AHL attendance:

Five ECHL teams have average attendance above 7000 which is higher than 23 of 32 AHL teams. Jacksonville, Toledo and Fort Wayne would all be top five in AHL attendance. Here are the top five teams in attendance in both leagues:

 

ECHL (Average 4679)

9125 - Jacksonville

8074 - Fort Wayne

7964 - Toledo

7485 - Savannah

7072 - Cincinnati 

 

AHL (Average 5522)

10513 - Chicago

9494 - Cleveland

9441 - Laval

9190 - Hershey

7856 - Coachella Valley

 

- Lowest ECHL attendance is 1090 (Iowa).

- Lowest AHL attendance is 1977(San Jose).

 

 

Tulsa Flips the Script, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Allen Shots Allowed Rank Over Time, Interdivisional Play Results and More

 

The Allen extended its points streak to five games in a 5-4 overtime loss to Tulsa at the CUTX Event Center last night. The game was the opposite of Allen's win in Tulsa Thursday night. The Americans had three shots in the first 36 seconds of the game and came so close to scoring before Tulsa got possession and took the puck down the ice and scored 59 seconds into the game. The Americans fell behind 2-0 at the 6:17 mark of the first period and Allen was chasing the game the rest of the night.

 

- Easton Brodzinski scored a power play goal late in the period (17:55), after Tulsa was assessed a match penalty for a check to the head. Tulsa led 2-1 at the end of the opening frame. Allen outshot Tulsa 13-8 in the period but the Americans gave up the first goal for the seventh time in 13 games. Allen's record when giving up the first goal is 1-4-2-0 and when trailing after the first period the Americans record is 0-5-1-0, so it was clear the odds were against them.

 

- Allen still had half of the five minute major penalty remaining at the start of the second period and was able to tie the score 2-2 with its second power play goal. Brayden Watts was the goal scorer tallying his eighth goal of the season.

 

- It didn't take long for Tulsa to respond after Allen tied the score 2-2. The Oilers scored twice in 64 seconds to regain their two goal lead. What a difference a day makes. Thursday night Tulsa managed one goal on 46 shots. Last night it took the Oilers just 11 shots to scored their first four goals. Before the period ended Allen was able to close the gap to 4-3 on Spencer Asuchak's tip in goal, his fourth of the season. Once again Allen was fighting an uphill battle trailing 4-3 after the second period. Prior to last night Tulsa was 7-0-0-0 with a second period lead.

 

- It was fitting that the only goal of the third period, which tied the score 4-4, was scored by defenseman Artyom Kulakov. He was the subject of the match penalty for a check to the head in the first period and had to be help off to the locker room. The goal was Kulakov's second of the season. The goal was just the third scored by a defenseman all season. Warmuth had the other one on Thursday night. 

 

- Allen had the only goal of the third period, but Tulsa dominated by outshooting the Americans 15-7. The Oilers also controlled the overtime period, outshooting Allen 5-1. However, Allen's one shot early in overtime was a breakaway opportunity.

 

- To Allen's credit the Americans fought back from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits and found a way to get the game to overtime. It is always disappointing when you don't get the extra point in overtime, especially with a breakaway opportunity, but Allen earned three of four points against Tulsa after earning five of six against Utah. 

 

- With two more power play goals last night it makes five straight games with a power play goal. In the last five games Allen is 6-14 (42.8%). Overall Allen's power play is now at 23.1% which is ranked #6 in the league. The penalty kill was 0-3 last night including two big kills after Allen had tied the score in the third period. In the last five games the penalty kill was 2-13 (84.6%). As important as the penalty kill has been in the last five games, it is even more impressive the Americans have only allowed 13 power play opportunities in the last five games, an average of 2.6 per game. 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams plus the video highlights:

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/game-recap-americans-extend-point-streak-to-five-games
• Tulsa Oilers game recap: https://tulsaoilers.com/news/2024/11/oilers-beat-red-hot-americans-in-overtime
• Video Highlights: https://echl.com/videos/tulsa-oilers-vs-allen-americans-nov-22-2024  

COACH'S COMMENTS

I had a chance to catch up with coach Adam's after the game. This is what he had to say:

"I thought we were playing well in the first period despite the goal count. We had a great first shift and came close to scoring. They got control and came into our zone and we rush a breakout we didn't need to rush and that forced a bad pass. Their shot hits our guys stick, hits the goalie and goes over and we are down 1-0 and then they go up 2-0 before we get a big power play goal to make the score 2-1 at the end of the period."

"I liked our game even when we were down 2-0. We were getting opportunities and hit several posts. Then we got one power play goal and then a second to tie the score 2-2 early in the second period. They came back with a push and scored a couple of goals. There was never an ounce of doubt on our bench, there was a calmness on the bench and the guys just kept working. The game was going back and forth a little bit, but I thought we held up well considering how young we were on the back end tonight."

"Our special teams were good again with two power play goals and the penalty was big in the third period. A couple guys were out there a long time but they found a way to hold the puck and get it out of the zone and get a change and that was huge."

"It was a good game overall, we hit three or four posts and had chances to win the game. I am happy with the way we played. Games can go either way when you get to overtime. Points are key and we got three of four this week after earning five of six last week. I will take that result every weekend. We need to keep putting points in the bank, that is all we can do."   

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- It was quite a night for Spencer Asuchak. It was his birthday, he was honored before the game for hitting recent milestones of 600 pro games and 400 pro points. Then he celebrated with a goal in the game. Spencer has played 623 games for the Allen Americans (regular season and playoffs). That is 276 more games than second place Chad Costello (347 games played).

 

- Next up for Allen is a three game series in Rapid City next Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The series may look like an easy opportunity to get points against the last place team in the division, but it would be a big mistake to overlook the Rush. After losing its first nine games of the season Rapid City has won four of the last five games and they have been impressive wins. One against Kansas City followed by a sweep of the Grizzlies in Idaho. The Rush are in the process of playing Idaho five straight time. Last night Idaho beat Rapid City 6-5 and they will play again tonight. The bottom line is despite Rapid City's .393 points percentage the series next week will be a tough one.  

 

- There has been a lot of comments and discussion about the high number of shots Allen has allowed this season. I saw one comment recently that was reminding everyone Allen has always allowed at lot of shots and is usually at or close to the bottom of the list. I decided to go into the archives and see where the Americans ranked in average shots allowed in each season since joining the ECHL. Here are the results which show Allen's rank and the number of teams in the league each season:

• 29 of 29: 2024-25
• 27 of 27: 2023-24
• 26 of 28: 2022-23
• 26 of 27: 2021-22
• 8 of 14: 2020-21
• 22 of 26: 2019-20
• 26 of 27: 2018-19
• 23 of 27: 2017-18
• 22 of 27: 2016-17
• 18 of 28: 2015-16
• 11 of 28 2014-15 

 

- Here are the updated Mountain Division standings with goal differential in parenthesis. Goal differential is a good proxy for defining the better teams:

• .679 - Tulsa (+14)
• .667 - Tahoe (+6)
  
• .643 - Kansas City (+8)
• .559 - Wichita (+6)
• .536 - Idaho (+7)
  
• .500 - Allen (-20)
  
• .423 - Utah (-11)
  
• .393 - Rapid City (-13)

If you look at the goal differentials you can see there is a pretty big difference between the top five teams and the bottom three. 

 

- Brayden Watts has scored in four straight home games with a total of five goals. That is the longest home goal scoring streak in the ECHL this season. 

 

- Allen's big four (Asuchak, Brodzinski, Crnkovic, Watts) continue to carry the team offensively. Last night the group had three of the four goals and six of the eight assists. The group now has 26 of Allen's 35 goals (74%), 35 of 53 assists (66%) and 61 of 88 points (69%).   
 

 

- Only one ECHL team has a current longer point streak than the Americans five game points streak (3-0-2-0), The Wheeling Nailers have a seven game point streak (6-0-1-0). 

 

- There are 11 games on the schedule tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-23 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about how each ECHL team has performed performed when playing teams outside the division. Allen has not played any teams outside the Mountain Division yet. That will change next month when the Americans visit two Central Division teams, Indy and Fort Wayne. In addition, Allen will play three home games against Worcester (North Division) in February and three home games against Jacksonville (South Division) in early March. 

    

How have ECHL divisions fared against each other? Two divisions are above .500 and two below. Here are the overall records and point percentages with a breakdown. The North and Mountain divisions have not played any games against each other yet.

 

South: 13-4-0-0 (.765)

6-0-0-0 vs North

2-3-0-0 vs Mountain

5-1-0-0 vs Central

 

Central: 12-11-2-1 (.519)

4-5-0-1 vs North

1-4-1-0 vs South

7-2-1-0 vs Mountain

 

Mountain: 6-7-1-1 (.467)

3-1-1-0 vs South

3-6-0-1 vs Central

DNP vs North

 

North: 6-10-0-0 (.375)

0-6-0-0 vs South

6-4-0-0 vs Central

DNP vs Mountain

     

Allen Beats Tulsa 4-1, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Nielsen Traded, Depth Scoring, Division Standings and More

 

From a 0-4-1-0 (.100) record at the beginning of the month the Allen Americans reached .500 last night and they did it in style beating the division's top team, Tulsa, on the road, by a score of 4-1. The Americans record over their last seven games is 5-1-1-0 and Allen's overall record is now 5-5-2-0. 

 

- With the exception of shots (Allen was outshot 46-23), the Americans hit every key to the game you could imagine:

• Easton Brodzinski score the first goal of the game just 98 seconds after the opening puck drop. Allen is now 4-1-1-0 when scoring first.
• Allen built a 2-0 lead with 57 second remaining in the first period. A power play goal by Kyle Crnkovic setup by a faceoff win by Spencer Asuchak and perfect pass from Brayden Watts. 
• Allen won the special teams battle by staying out of the penalty box, taking just two minor penalties and killing them both. The Americans power play was 1-3, scoring a power play goal for the fourth straight games. Allen's power play percentage is now ranked #9 in the league at 20.6%.
• Allen led 2-0 at the end of the first period and improved its record to 3-0-2-0 with a first period lead. Tulsa's record when trailing after the first period dropped to 0-4-0-0.
• There was no scoring in the second period which was a big win for Allen. The Americans have been outscored 17-6 in the second period and Tulsa has outscored its opponents 22-12 in the second period.
• Allen took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission which was close to a lock. The Americans record with a second period lead is now 4-0-0-0 and Tulsa's record when trailing after the second period is a perfect 0-4-0-0. 
• Allen's goalie play was outstanding as Anson Thornton earned his first win of the season by stopping 45 of 46 shots for a .978 save percentage.
   

- Things got tight in the third period when Tulsa scored to cut the score to 2-1. At that point the game could have gone either way. Luckily it went Allen's way as rookie defenseman Quinn Warmuth, playing in just his fourth pro game, scored an unassisted goal to give Allen back its two goal lead, 3-1. I had a chance to talk to Warmuth during training camp. What impressed me about him is he came to training camp as a tryout player with no backup plan. Making the team as a tryout player is a long shot so most tryout players have a deal in the SPHL before they arrive. Quinn was all in on making the Americans. This is what he said to me at the time,  "Right now my complete focus is on making this roster and doing everything I can by showing up everyday looking to win the day. Right now that is were my focus is at. I am looking to do everything I can that is going to get me in the lineup and keep me on the roster." It is nice to see a young man with a positive attitude like that have success.   

- Easton Brodzinski finished the scoring with an empty net goal with 10 seconds remaining in the game. It was his second goal of the night and team leading eighth of the season.

- Even though the Americans were in control of the game from beginning to end the shot differential of -23 won't typically lead to a win. I say that but the facts prove me wrong. Six times in the ECHL this season a team has had 45 or more saves in a game. Allen owns three of the six and the odd stat is Allen won all three games. With that said, you don't want to make a living having to make 45 saves to win a game. The big question is who gets the start in goal tonight. Coach Adams I am sure is assessing who will get the start tonight and has said he won't play Costantini until he is ready. Marco has had only one practice this week and hasn't played a game for Allen in seven months. He may need more time having just returned to the team. I will post the lineup later today on social media.

 

- If you want to see Tulsa's take on the game here is the Oilers game recap: https://tulsaoilers.com/news/2024/11/oilers-fall-despite-doubling-americans-in-shots

 

- Here are the video highlights with all of the goals: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-tulsa-oilers-nov-21-2024

 

- The Americans did a lot right last night, but will have a challenge on their hands to win again tonight. The Americans had to travel back to Allen after the game last night on a passenger bus while Tulsa slept in their own beds and will travel to Allen this afternoon. Tulsa will be fired up to get a win tonight as they have not lost back to back games in regulation all season. Having doubled up Allen in shots, I am sure they believe they can win tonight. Allen needs to get off to a good start, avoid playing from behind, win the special teams battle and get another good goalie performance.  

COACH'S COMMENTS

- I had a chance to swap messages with coach Adams after the game last night and ask a few questions. Here is what he had to say:

"I am not sure the shot total was accurate, but as I have said before I am more concerned in where we give up the shots than the total."

"The power play has been really good recently and it has helped us win games. Hats off to the power play guys and coach Ferguson (he runs the PP) who have done a really good job."

"We want to limit the goals against and giving up just one tonight was great. Thornton played really well and in the third period I thought our players were very committed to managing the puck and not allowing them easy ice. We had a really good string of shifts after they scored. We didn't allow them to build momentum and it actually swung or way."

"I would like for us to build off our third period and continue to play that way tomorrow night. We were able to get everyone involved and had great shift times."

 

 

  OTHER COMMENTS

- The big news yesterday was Allen trading defenseman Andrew Nielsen to Orlando for forward Brian Chambers. Orlando then flipped Nielsen to Worcester. It was a little surprising to me the Americans would trade one of their two veterans on a team with so many rookies (11). Nielsen has more AHL games played (258) than the rest of the roster combined (96) by almost triple. On the other hand he had not scored a goal and had the worst plus/minus on the team at -14. The trade does create a surplus of forwards on the roster. There are now 16 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies on the roster. I would have to guess there are more roster moves coming.

- While Allen has gotten a little more depth scoring recently the point totalsd tell a story that continues to show scoring is concentrated with four players. Watts (16 points), Crnkovic (13 points), Asuchak (12 points) and Brodzinski (11 points) account for almost 70%  of Allen's points. The rest of the current roster has one player with three points, six with two points, four with one point and the rest with no points. Despite Allen's recent success its is hard to see the team winning consistently with all the scoring concentrated in four players. Even in 2022-23 when Allen had four players dominate the scoring; Crone (105 points), Combs (95 points), Hargrove (85 points) and Finlay (70 points), they only accounted for 50% of the total points. 

- The ECHL seems to be tightening more everyday. The Mountain Division now has the lowest number #1 team of any division (.654). It is the only division without a .700 team. The Mountain Division has the highest point percentage of any last place team (.423). The other three division's last place teams are at .208, .357 and .385. Here are the Mountain Division standings by points percentage. Listing by points doesn't work because Tahoe has played 11 games while Wichita has played 16 games. The team's ECHL point percentage rank is in parenthesis:

• .654 - Tulsa (tied for #7)
  
• .654 - Kansas City (tied for #7)
• .636 - Tahoe (tied for #11)
  
• .531 - Wichita (16th)
  
• .500 - Allen (tied for #17)
  
• .500 - Idaho (tied for #17)
  
• .458 - Utah (tied for #20)
  
• .423 - Rapid City (#23)

- There are 10 games on the ECHL schedule tonight with all eight Mountain Division teams in action. In addition to Tulsa at Allen, Utah is at Wichita, Idaho at Rapid City and Kansas City is at Tahoe. Chance for more tightening of the standings for sure. Here is the ECHL Today with previews of all 10 games plus a list of all-time assist leaders. Defenseman Matt Register is moving up the list: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-tulsa-oilers-nov-21-2024

 

 DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is very interesting. FYI, Allen is at .500 today and after the same 12 games last season had a points percentage of .250.

What a difference a year makes. About a year ago at this point in the season five teams had a point percentages above .800. This season there are none. This season only five teams have a points percentage above .700.

2023-24

.900 - Trois Rivières

.889 - Atlanta

.846 - Kansas City

.818 - Idaho

.818 - Greenville

 

2024-25

.792 - South Carolina

.769 - Florida

.750 - Fort Wayne

.731 - Toledo

.708 - Wheeling

Costantini Returns, Allen vs Tulsa Preview, Mountain Division Standings Tighten, NHL/AHL Players Assigned, 8 Players Involved in 40% of Team's Goals and More

 

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they head to Tulsa to take on the Oilers (7:05 pm). Tulsa is the only location where Allen can do same day travel for a game. The Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for same day travel to stand alone games if the distance is fewer than 325 miles. Tulsa is 235 miles from Allen. Next closest location is Wichita, 370 miles from Allen. It means the Americans will get on a passenger bus early this afternoon, drive to Tulsa, play the game, head back to Allen right after the game and play Tulsa at home tomorrow night. 

 

- This home and home series against Tulsa will be a good test for the Americans. Allen has a record of 4-1-1-0 over the last six games. The one regulation loss was a 4-0 shutout by Tulsa. Allen's four wins have been against Utah who is 1-3-1-0 over its last five games and Wichita whose record over its last seven games is 1-5-1-0. Meanwhile Tulsa's record over the last six games is 5-1-0-0.

 

- Before going into the game preview I want to share my reporting on what happened with the Allen three goalies this week. It all started on Sunday, which was the day ECHL teams had to reduce their active rosters from 21 to 20 players. Coach Adams made the decision to release goalie Marco Costantini. This was done knowing full well with two contract goalies, one would get recalled whenever there was an injury in Tucson or Utah. The motivation for releasing Marco was simply to give him an opportunity to play. Three goalies is not a good long term proposition with two contract goalies. It meant Marco was not getting in any games, but even in practice the contract goalies get more reps. I have seen comments about why didn't Allen trade Marco instead of releasing him. It goes without saying that all ECHL teams try to trade players before they are released. The facts are no other ECHL team needed a goalie, so there were no takers for a trade. 

As many predicted because they have seen it in the past, as soon as a goalie is released a contract goalie gets recalled. Tuesday Allen got the call from Tucson that it was recalling Dylan Wells because of the trickle down effect of Utah's top goalie, Connor Ingram, being injured. 

The timing for Allen could not have worked out better and frankly the Americans were lucky. Costantini had cleared waivers and was a free agent. I have seen comments Marco had left Allen, however, I was told he was still in Allen and re-signed with the Americans immediately. I do know he was at practice yesterday and will travel with the team to Tulsa today. 

 

- In the two head to head games against Tulsa the stats are very one-sided.

• Allen lost 8-2 in Tulsa on October 24.
• Allen lost 4-0 in Allen on November 9.
• Allen was outscored 12-2.
• Allen was out shot 83-49.
  
• Allen gave up the first goal in both games.
• Allen was 1-9 (11.1%) on the power play.
• Tulsa was 3-8 (37.5%) on the power play.

- Here is how Allen and Tulsa rank in the ECHL in key stats:

• Ave. goals scored: Allen #21 (2.45) - Tulsa #2 (3.92)
• Ave. goals allowed: Allen #29 (4.45) - Tulsa #8 (2.58)
• Ave. shot for: Allen #23 (27.55) - Tulsa #5 (24.25)
• Ave shots allowed: Allen #29 (41.45) - Tulsa #12 (28.25) 
  
• Power play percentage: Allen #12 (19.4%) - Tulsa #6 (23.8%)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen #24 (75.6%) - Tulsa #10 (84.4%)
   

- It is very clear what the challenge is for Allen in these two games against Tulsa. The Oilers score 1.47 goals per game more than Allen and allow 1.87 fewer goals per game than the Americans. Tulsa is undefeated when it scores first (6-0), Allen is 1-4-1-0 when giving up the first goal. Allen's team shooting percentage is 8.9%, Tulsa's is 11.2%. Allen's team save percentage is .893, Tulsa's is .909.

 

- Goalie play will be key in the two games against Tulsa. Dylan Wells had carried the load in the Americans recent resurgence. Allen has won four games, all with Wells in goal. He won his last four starts with an average save percentage of .945. Matching that effort will be tough for Anson Thornton whose record is 0-3-1-1 with a .892 save percentage and Marco Costantini who hasn't played in a game since last April.   

- As always a good start will be a big key in this series and Allen cannot play from behind. Tulsa's record when leading after the first and second period is 10-0-1-0 and is 0-6-0-0 when trailing after the first and second period. Allen needs to play with the lead.

 

- Based on the stats the second period will tell the tale in the games against Tulsa. Allen is the worst second period team in the league being outscored 17-6. Tulsa is the best second period team in the league outscoring its opponents 22-12. 

- Special teams favor Tulsa, but the good news is the Americans scored a power play goal in their last three games. Prior to the last three games Allen had power play goals in just two of eight games. The Americans must beware of the shorthanded goal. Tulsa is one of the best in the league scoring three shorthanded goals thus far and allowing none. 

- Allen has been outshot in 10 of its 11 games this season. The Americans don't have to outshoot Tulsa to win but they have to keep the shots close. They were outshot by 14 and 20 shots in the first to games against Tulsa. That must improve if Allen expects to win.  

OTHER COMMENTS

- In games last night Tahoe continued its great play beating Kansas City 4-1 and Wichita broke its six game losing streak by beating Utah at home 5-2. The Mountain Division standings continue to tighten. Here are the standings (by point percentage) with current streak in parenthesis:

• .708 - Tulsa (2-0-0-0)
• .654 - Kansas City (0-1-0-0)
• .636 - Tahoe (1-0-0-1)
• .500 - Wichita (1-0-0-0)
• .500 - Idaho (0-2-1-0)
• .500 - Utah (0-1-0-0)
• .455 - Allen (2-0-1-0)
• .423 - Rapid City (4-0-0-1)

 

-  Had the chance to talk to Steve Martinson on Tuesday and his team (Athens Rock Lobsters) is off to a great start. Athens is 9-1 thus far and has outscored its opponents 44-22. And this was all accomplished on the road. The Rock Lobsters have one more road game before they will play their first home game in their brand new arena. Martinson is looking for his 11th championship having won 10 of 25 chances in the past. He won a championship in his first season in San Diego where he won a total of five and his first season in Allen where he won a total of four. He could do it again in Athens.

 

- There are just eight ECHL players that have been involved in over 40% of their team’s goals either by scoring the goal or having an assist. The fact that there are three Americans on this list tells you how much the Americans rely on the top line:

55.6% - Brayden Watts, ALN

50.0% - Matthew Sop, IA

44.4% - Kyle Crnkovic, ALN

43.5% - Brandon Hawkins, TOL

42.6% - Michal Stinil, WIC

42.1% - Anthony Repaci, WOR

40.9% - Cody Sylvester, ATL

40.7% - Spencer Asuchak, ALN

 

- There are just three games on the ECHL schedule tonight, two of them in the Mountain Division. In addition to Allen at Tulsa, Utah is at Wichita. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-21

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here is the ECHL Stats post (accurate as of yesterday morning) which shows NHL/AHL contracted players. With Wells called up and Will Gavin on 14-day injured reserve the American have just two contract players in the lineup, Anson Thornton and Kyle Crnkovic:

NHL/AHL contracted players assigned to each ECHL team. Asterisks are teams with .600+ point percentage:

 

12: *SAV, *SC

11: *KC

9: *WHL, WIC, REA

8: GVL, KAL, RC

7: *TAH, *ADK, IND

6: BLM, *TR, *TUL, *FLA, CIN

5: *FW, *JAX, MNE, ORL, NOR

4: *IDH, IA, *TOL, UTA, WOR

3: ALN

2: ATL

 

The total number of NHL/AHL contracted players assigned to ECHL teams has increased slightly in the last two weeks from 180 to 187.

Allen Loses 5-4 in Overtime, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Points Earned Stat, Scoring First Stats and More

 

The Utah Grizzlies flipped the script on Allen last night with an overtime power play goal to beat the Americans 5-4. Allen won in overtime Friday night on a power play. While it was disappointing to not get the extra point last night after the Americans came back to tie the score 4-4 in the third period, the series against Utah was very successful with Allen capturing five of a possible six points. The Americans improved their record to 4-5-2-0 with a points percentage of .455. Allen is one win away from being tied for fifth place in the division in points percentage (.500) and two wins away from a playoff spot (.550). 

- The Americans had to come from behind several times last night. Utah scored first just 58 seconds after the opening puck drop. Utah captain, Gianni Fairbrother scored the goal. He leads all ECHL defensemen in goals with five in just 10 games. All five of his goals have been against the Americans.

 

- Despite giving up the first goal Allen fought back in the first period taking a 2-1 lead on goals by Brayden Guy, his first of the season, and Brayden Watts, his team leading seventh goal of the season. The second period has been Allen's poorest most of the season and it proved to be the case again last night. The Americans started the period with a 2-1 lead and finished the period trailing 4-3. Utah won the second period 3-1. Allen has now been outscored in the second period 17-6 and outshot 173-92. Utah tied the score 2-2 just 84 seconds into the period and took a 3-2 lead a few minutes later. Allen managed to comeback and tie the score 3-3 on Brayden Guy's second goal of the game but late in the period Utah scored again to take 4-3 lead into the second intermission. 

 

- Allen scored a power play goal on its only power play opportunity of the game at the 8:37 mark of the third period. Easton Brodzinski scored his sixth goal of the season to tie the score 4-4. It was the only goal of the third period. 

 

- Utah had the advantage in overtime outshooting the Americans 4-2 in the first four minutes and then Allen took a high sticking penalty. It was all Utah once the 4-on-3 power play started. Allen was never able to clear the puck as Anson Thornton made a couple of big saves and several shots were blocked. The Grizzlies finally scored the game winner at the 5:38 mark of overtime.

 

- Here is the game recap from the Utah Grizzlies: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2024/11/daschke-delivers-ot-game-winner   

 

- The Americans finally got the depth scoring that has been talked about so much lately. The first line had a goal (Watts), the second line had a goal from Bordzinski though it was on the first power play unit, and the third line had two goals from Brayden Guy. In one game, Guy went from a tie for last on the team in goals to fifth on the team in goals.

 

- Here are the video highlights with all of the goals: https://echl.com/videos/utah-grizzlies-vs-allen-americans-nov-16-2024

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

- Coach B.J. Adams met with season ticket holders after the game. This is what he had to say:

"Obviously it is disappointing to go to overtime tonight and lose on a power play. Selfishly, we wanted six points in this series."

"Any time you get five of six points it is a good week no matter how you look at it. I thought we took some strides as a team again this week."

"Our mentality all year, with the players on this team, is to not give up and keep playing no matter the situation. We faced some adversity early in the year. Hopefully that has given us a little more sandpaper as a group and what we have gone through builds into our character and team identity.

"I am not sure yet if I will make a roster move tomorrow as the active roster decreases fro 21 to 20 players. There are always some irons in the fire and we will see what happens. I don't have anything concrete either way."

"I don't know when I will name a captain. I am still getting to know the guys. It is important to have the right person when you hand out the "C". We have a lot of guys that are leaders in the locker room, whether the have a "C", an "A" or no letter. It is not a massive concern for me and I don't think it is for the players either."

"I am not sure when you might see Costantini in a game. I will give Marco all of the credit in the world. He is in a tough position and he has handled it extremely well. We have had a few conversations and he has been nothing but great. It is what it is when you have an affiliation and get sent two goalies."

"I have been waiting for depth scoring and it was nice for Guy to get two goals tonight. Our guys have proven in the past they can score goals. When players join new teams they want to perform well and score goals. You worry if they don't get chances, but they are getting chances. It is coming for a lot of those guys." 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Here are the points earned by each Mountain Division team in its last six games (maximum is 12 points):

• 10 points - Tulsa
  
• 9 points - Allen
• 9 points - Rapid City
• 7 points - Tahoe 
• 7 points - Utah
  
• 7 points - Kansas City
  
• 5 points - Idaho
• 3 points - Wichita

- Florida beat Greenville 8-0 last night and scored all eight goal in the first two periods. The Everblades at one point in the game scored three straight shorthanded goals. The all-time record for shorthanded goals in one game is four which has been accomplished six times, most recently by Utah vs Rapid City (May 4, 2021). The last time before last night a team had three shorthanded goals in a game was in Allen on October 29, 2023. The Americans were shutout by the Atlanta Gladiator 6-0, who scored all six of their goals on special teams, Atlanta had three shorthanded goals and three power play goals.

 

- The Mountain Division has the most penalized team in the league and the least penalized team in the league. Kansas City is #1 with 215 penalty minutes, an average of 19.55 per game. Utah is #29 with 70 penalty minutes, an average of 7.00 per game. Allen is in the middle of the pack with 138 penalty minutes, an average of 12.55 per game.

 

- Five ECHL teams have a points percentage above .725. Here is the list:

• .818 - Florida*
• .813 - Adirondack*
• .773 - South Carolina
• .731 - Toledo*
• .727 - Fort Wayne

*Final four teams in the 2024 Kelly Cup playoffs.
 

  

- There are eight games on the ECHL schedule today, most start around 3.00 pm local time with the latest having a 5:00 pm puck drop. The only Mountain Division game is Wichita at Kansas City. Home ice hasn't been an advantage for Kansas City. The Mavericks record at home is 1-2-0-1 while their road record is 6-3-0-1. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-17

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here is the ECHL Stats post from today about scoring first stats. FYI, Allen has scored first in five of 11 game (45%) and has a record when scoring first of 3-1-1-0 (.700)

ECHL teams that score 1st win 75% of the time (by points). Here is how many games some teams have scored 1st of total games played with their record in those games. Four teams have not lost when scoring first but the number of times they have scored first varies:

South Carolina p: 8 of 11 (7-0-1-0)

Florida: 6 of 11 (6-0-0-0)

Tulsa: 6 of 12 (6-0-0-0)

Savannah: 5 of 12 (5-0-0-0)

Rapid City: 2 of 13 (2-0-0-0)

Norfolk: 8 of 13 (2-3-3-0)

Cincinnati: 3 of 11: (0-2-1-0)

 

- Team with the highest percentage of scoring first:

82% - Iowa, 9 of 11 games (7-2-0-0).

 

- Team with the lowest percentage of scoring first:

15% - Rapid City, 2 of 13 games (2-0-0-0).

 

- South Carolina has earned the most points when scoring first (15 points) and Cincinnati has earned the fewest (1).