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 ninth goal of the season. His nine goals is tied for #4 in the league. Three players have 10 goals. 

- 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).

Allen Wins in Overtime, Game Recaps, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Today's Preview, Standings Tightening, Roster Reduction and More

 

It was another win for the Allen Americans last night as they defeated Utah 3-2 in overtime. Just like the win against Utah on Wednesday, the #1 star of the game was Brayden Watts who scored the game winning goal and the #2 star was goalie Dylan Wells who stopped 45 of 47 shots for a .957 save percentage. 

 

- Last night Watts factored in all three Allen goals. He scored the Americans first goal after Allen fell behind in the opening period. He assisted on Allen's second goal scored by Spencer Asuchak to give the Americans a 2-1 lead. He scored the game winner on the power play at the 6:31 mark of overtime. 

 

- With the win Allen improved its record to 4-5-1-0 and has now won four of the last five games and improved its point percentage from .100 on November 1 to .450 with a chance to get to .500 with a win against Utah tonight.

 

- Special teams played a big part in the overtime period. Allen took a penalty with one second remaining in regulation time which carried over to the overtime period. Allen killed off the 4-on-3 power play thanks to some great saves by Dylan Wells. A couple of minutes later Utah took a penalty and Allen capitalized with the Watts game winner with just 29 seconds remaining in the overtime period. 

 

- The Americans are still last in the league in average goals allowed per game (4.40), but in their last three wins Allen has allowed just five goals (1.67 per game). 

 

- Asuchak's goal last night was his third of the season, all coming in the last three games. He has nine points (3G, 6A) in the last five games. Watts scored his fifth and sixth goals last night. In the last five games he has nine points (5G, 4A).

 

- How big of a turn around has goalie Dylan Wells had. Here are his save percentages in the seven games he has played this season starting with opening night. Last night was his second 45 save win in the last week. He has two of the top four save games in the league this season.

• .784
• .793
• .909
• .957
• .963
• .957

 

- Last night was the tale of two periods. Allen outshot Utah 15 -8 in the first period and Utah turned the tables in second period outshooting the Americans 20-7. The second period has been a problem all season for Allen. The Americans have been outshot 160-80 in the second period and have been outscored 14-5. 

 

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

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/game-recap-americans-beat-utah-3-2-in-overtime
• Utah Grizzlies game recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2024/11/grizz-earn-standings-point-in-3-2-ot-loss-at-allen
• Video Highlights: https://echl.com/videos/utah-grizzlies-vs-allen-americans-nov-15-2024 
   

- Allen has a chance to do something tonight they haven't accomplished since 2021-22. Sweep a three games series at home. The same keys to the game apply as last night which was a bit of a mixed bag:

• Get off to a good start by scoring the first goal.
• Limit the neutral zone turnovers, if there isn't a play to be made, dump the puck.
• Win the 50-50 battles.
  
• Win the special teams battle and take advantage of Utah's penalty kill.
• Keep the shots close.
• Continue the excellent goaltending. 

COACH'S COMMENTS

I had a chance to catch up with coach B.J Adams after the game and ask him a few questions. Here is what he had to say:

Q: How big was your special teams play, especially in the overtime period?

A: I didn't like the way we killed the 5-on-3 when they scored. We weren't setup very well for that  goal structurally. But the kill in overtime was big and then those guys coming thorough on the power play was great.

Q: What was the difference in how the team was playing in the first and second period?

A: We were trying to do too much with the puck in the second period. We gave them the puck too often. Inside the blue line I think we are cheating the game a little bit. We have to be better top of the circle to top of the circle. We took a long shift when we scored, and then the next shift was a long one, there was some icings involved and we couldn't change and they built up some momentum. Tired guys make tired mistakes, so that compounds the problem. That is where you have to simplify the game and know where you are in the game, where to go with pucks and be able to get fresh bodies on the ice. We were fortunate to get out of the period with the score tied.

Q: It seemed like you had a ton of grade A chances but couldn't finish?

A: I would like a few more of those chances. I guess I am being picky as the coach. We have to get more of those second chance pucks in front of the net. We are not getting enough of those. On the flip side we gave up too many second chances to them.

Q: Your thoughts on Dylan Wells winning again while saving 45 of 47 shots?

A: Wells is making the saves he needs to make, but also making saves that are high percentage shots for them that you don't expect to make and that really helps. We just need for him to the make the saves he should make and we we will be fine. We have to clean up some stuff in front of him on rebounds, so the shot totals don't get so high.      

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Mountain Division could be described as high octane offense with weak defense based on the results thus far this season. Check out these stats:

Four of the top six ECHL teams in average goals per game are in the Mountain Division. Kansas City and Tulsa are tied for #1 (3.91), Idaho is #4 (3.75) and Utah is #6 (3.44).

The bottom three ECHL teams in average goals allowed are in the Mountain Division. Allen is #29 (4.40), Utah is #28 (3.89) and Rapid City is #27 (3.50)

Five of the bottom six teams in average shots allowed per game are in the Mountain Division. Allen is #29 (41.20), Rapid City is #28 (35.50), Idaho is #27 (35.33), Wichita is #26 (34.67) and Utah is #24 (33.44).

 

- Depth scoring continues to be an issue for the Americans. The top line scored all three goals again last night. The four players that have played on the top line this season (Watts, Asuchak, Crnkovic, Brodzinski) have scored 18 of Allen's 23 goals (78%). Other than the first line goal scoring, five players have one goal and the rest of the team doesn't have a goal.  

- The Mountain Division is quickly becoming the tightest division in the league. There are five teams in the ECHL with point percentages above .700. The Mountain Division is the only division without one. The Mountain Division has had some unexpected results in the last week.  

• Idaho has lost three of its last four games including two at home to Rapid City. 
• Kansas City has lost two of its last three and has a home record of 1-2-0-1. 
• Allen has won three of its last four games. 
• Tulsa has won four of its last five games. 
• Rapid City has won three straight after losing nine straight to start the season.
• First year Tahoe has already beaten Idaho twice, Tulsa, Utah and Jacksonville. 
  

 

 

- It all makes for standings that look a lot different than last season when Idaho and Kansas City had from 30 to 51 more points than the rest of the teams. Here are the current standings by point percentage because games played varies from nine to 12. As a comparison the team's point percentage from a week ago is in parenthesis so you can see how the standings have tightened in the last week. A week ago point percentages varied from .813 to .167. Today it varies from .682 to .375.

• .682 - Tulsa (.643)
  
• .682 - Kansas City (.813)
  
• .611 - Tahoe (.700)
  
• .542 - Idaho (.635)
  
• .542 - Wichita (.667)
  
• .500 - Utah (.600)
  
• .450 - Allen (.357)
  
• .375 - Rapid City (.167)

 

 

- It is another busy night in the ECHL with 13 games on tap. Seven of eight Mountain Division teams will be in action (Kansas City is idle). Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-16 

    

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL active rosters must be reduced from a maximum of 21 players to 20 players by tomorrow afternoon (3:00 pm ET). In addition to the 20 players on the active roster, teams can carry:

 

- 2 players on reserve

- 1 player on 3-day injured reserve

- unlimited number of players on 14-day injured reserve

 

Coach Adams will have a decision to make after the game tonight. Will he trade or release a player to get the active roster down to 20 players. So much depends on if Allen gets out of the game tonight without any injuries and what is the status of Mark Duarte, who was injured in the game last night. It is possible Adams could buy some time because of players on injured reserve, but he will eventually have to reduce the size of the roster, so maybe he will decide to do that before the deadline tomorrow. 

  

Allen vs Utah Preview, Allen's Starts Since Joining ECHL, Time to Put Riley Gill in HOF, ECHL Players Leading Team in Points and Plus/Minus

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they take on the Utah Grizzlies tonight (7:10 pm) in the second of a three game series. After playing their best game of the season on Wednesday in the Americans 3-1 win over the Grizzlies, Allen will try and improve on its recent success of winning three of its last four games. 

 

- The game tonight will be the fourth of nine times these teams will face each other in the regular season. After game five tomorrow night Allen will not play Utah again for four months (March 16) Welcome to the ECHL schedule where Allen will play Utah five times in the first 24 days of the season and then goes four months before playing the Grizzlies again. 

 

- Allen is 2-1 in the first three games against Utah, losing 5-1 and then winning 6-4 and 3-1. Each team has scored 10 goals, but Utah has the shot advantage (111-85) despite the Americans outshooting the Grizzlies 37-27 on Wednesday. Allen is 3-10 (30%) on the power play while Utah is 2-14 (14.3%). Based on the head to head games the Americans match up very well against Utah. 

 

- One thing that has helped Allen is good starts. The Americans gave up the first goal of the game the first three games of the season, but since then have scored first in six of seven games including all three games against Utah. The Americans have scored first in all three of their wins this season and lost all four games when they gave up the first goal. That first goal will be key tonight. 

 

- How important is playing with the lead for these teams. Neither team has won a game when trailing after the first period (combine record of 0-8-0-0) or the second period (combined record of 0-8-0-0). The key for both teams is not playing from behind.

 

- Allen won the special teams battle on Wednesday by capitalizing on Utah's #29 ranked penalty kill (61.1%). Allen was 1-3 on the power play, but also stayed out of the penalty box, holding Utah scoreless in three power play opportunities. The Americans penalty kill hasn't been great, ranked #23 at 77.5%, but it is 16.4% better than Utah. 

 

- Here are some stats I don't typically include but they show the differences and similarities between Allen and Utah. Here is each team's roster by category:

• NHL/AHL contracted players: Allen (4) - Utah (5)
  
• Veterans: Allen (2) - Utah (1)
  
• Rookies: Allen (10) - Utah (16)
• 14-day IR: Allen (2) - Utah (2)    

 

- The keys to the game are the same as for the win on Wednesday:

• Get off to a good start by scoring the first goal.
• Limit the neutral zone turnovers, if there isn't a play to be made, dump the puck.
• Win the 50-50 battles.
  
• Win the special teams battle and take advantage of Utah's penalty kill.
• Keep the shots close.
• Continue the excellent goaltending. In the last three games Wells and Thornton have combined for a .950 save percentage, stopping 113 of 119 shots.
  

 

- It will be a two referee game tonight so players will have to watch the stuff that goes on behind the play when there is only one referee. The referees will be #42 Ryan Siegel and #23 Marc-Olivier Phaneuf.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There has been a lot of discussion about how the Americans started this season compared to past seasons. So I dug into the files to get the Americans record after nine games for each season since joining the ECHL. How the season finished is in parenthesis:

• 3-5-1-0: 2024-25 (?????)
  
• 3-6-0-0: 2023-24 (lost in first round)
  
• 4-4-1-0: 2022-23 (lost in second round)
  
• 2-5-2-0: 2021-22 (lost in first round)
  
• 6-3-0-0: 2020-21 (lost in second round)
  
• 7-2-0-0: 2019-20 (playoffs cancelled)
  
• 3-5-0-1: 2018-19 (missed playoffs)
  
• 4-3-2-0: 2017-18 (lost in first round)
  
• 4-5-0-0: 2016-17 (lost in second round)
  
• 6-3-0-0: 2015-16 (won Kelly Cup)
  
• 6-3-0-0: 2014-15 (won Kelly Cup)

- The ECHL announced its 2025 Hall of Fame inductees this week and one of them was a goalie. Dave Gagnon, who played in the league from 1990 to 2001, had a stellar career earning two championships with Hampton Roads (1991) and Toledo (1994) and was named Playoff MVP both times.. By my count there are now seven goalies in the ECHL Hall of Fame. A fan asked me how do Riley Gill's stats compare to the other goalies in the Hall of Fame and I have to say very favorably. Riley's career was cut short because of injury so he doesn't have some of the longevity regular season stats as others, but when it comes to playoffs, Riley is at the top of the list. Only one goalie in the Hall of Fame has more championships than the three Gill won. Nick Vittucci, who the ECHL Goalie of the Year Award is named after, has five championship rings, four as a player. Here are some of Riley's all-time career stats.

Regular Season

• #2 - Most 30 win seasons (2)
  
• #3 - Career shutouts (21)
  
• #8 - Career wins (147)

Playoffs

• #1 - Playoff wins (53)
• #1 - Playoff games (90)
• #2 - Playoff minutes (5095)

Other Accomplishments

• Kelly Cup Champion - 2013, 2015, 2016
• Kelly Cup MVP - 2013
• ECHL Best Save Percentage (.935) - 2016-17
• ECHL Goaltender of the Year - 2017
• ECHL 1st All-Star Team - 2017

 

There is no set criteria for selection to the Hall of Fame. Some of the goalies went on to careers in the NHL, some had coaching careers in the ECHL and elsewhere after their playing days which could be a factor. Whatever the criteria is, as I have said before, its time to put Riley in the Hall of Fame. I have heard some say he is too young and it takes time, but Riley is turning 40 on January 1st and several of the goalies in the Hall of Fame were selected in their late 30's and early 40's. With the 2026 All-Star game scheduled for Allen, which will include the Hall of Fame ceremony, what a better time to put Riley Gill in the Hall of Fame. Git-R-Done!

 

 

- There are 12 games on the ECHL schedule tonight with seven of eight Mountain Division teams in action (Rapid City is idle). Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-15

DID YOU KNOW: Stumbled across this stat early this morning looking for something to post on my ECHL stats page. Asuchak, Crone and Hargrove are all off to great starts this season:

 

 

Seven ECHL players are leading their team in both points and plus/minus:

 

Hank Crone, Idaho (16 pts. +9)

Cade Borchardt, Kansas City (13 pts. +10)

Brady Fleurent, Norfolk (12 pts +7)

Spencer Asuchak, Allen (10 pts. +5)

Colton Hargrove, Florida (9 pts. +10)

Brett Budgell, Bloomington (6 pts. +4)

Brandon Saigeon, Indy (5 pts. +3)

School Game Day Success, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Division Standings and More

 

The Allen Americans won their first home game of the season in style yesterday morning, beating the Utah Grizzlies 3-1 with more the 3000 screaming kids in attendance. It was a great atmosphere for the Americans to play their best game of the season. How good did the team play? Let me count the ways:

• The one goal allowed was the fewest Allen has allowed all season.
• Allen outshot their opponent (37-27) for the first time all season.
• Allen's 37 shots was the most all season.
• The 26 shots allowed was the fewest all season by seven shots.
• At one point in the first period (from 6:52 to 19:56) Allen outshot Utah 12-0.
• Allen stayed out of the penalty box and won the special teams battle going 1-3 on the power play and 0-3 on the penalty kill. 
• Goalie Dylan Well's save percentage of .963 was the best for Allen all season. 

 

- Allen outshot Utah 14-8 in the first period but neither team was able to score. The first goal of the game didn't come until 11:21 of the second period on an Allen power play. Spencer Asuchak was in his office (right at the goal mouth) and deflected a shot from Easton Brodzinski into the net for his second goal in three games. Allen took the 1-0 lead into the second intermission which was a good sign since neither team had lost a game when leading after the second period or won a game when trailing after the second period.

 

- Allen's 1-0 lead held up until 12:46 of the third period when Utah's captain, Gianni Fairbrother put in a rebound. Fairbrother has been a one man wrecking crew against the Americans. He has four goals all season and they have all been in the three games against Allen. The Americans will need to give him special attention this weekend.

 

- Just when it was starting to look like the game was headed to overtime Brayden Watts took a pass from Spencer Asuchak, got in front of the defensemen and scored the game winner, his fourth goal of the season. 

 

- Utah pulled their goalie early (17:35) but the Allen defense was outstanding. The best sequence of the entire game happened with about a minute remaining. Utah was putting on the pressure but could not get the puck to the net. Forward  Mark Duarte put his body on the line and blocked three shots and you could tell by the way he got up each time they really hurt. When there was a stoppage with 13 seconds remaining and Duarte went to the bench, all of his teammates were acknowledging his effort. At that point Utah took a timeout and with the rest, coach Adams put Duarte back on the ice along with Asuchak and Brodzinski for the final 13 seconds of the game. It became a storybook ending as the guy that put his body on the line three times for his team, scored an empty net goal with seconds remaining. The goal was Mark Duarte's first point of the season.  

 

- Here are the video highlights with all of the goals plus some great saves, a fight and one of Duarte's blocked shots at the end of the game: https://echl.com/videos/utah-grizzlies-vs-allen-americans-nov-13-2024 

 

- If you want to read the Utah take on the game here is its recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2024/11/grizz-fall-3-1-in-road-trip-opener

 

- With all of the positives from the win against Utah the Americans are still struggling to get depth scoring. Four players (Asuchak, Brodzinski, Crnkovic, Watts) have 15 of 20 (75%) of Allen's goals and 20 of 28 (71%) of Allen's assists. Other than these four players, no other player has more than one goal. 

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

I had a chance to talk to coach Adams after the game and here is what he had to say:

"It was finally nice to get a win at home. It was a good all around game for us. We had some moments a couple times in the third period but we found a way and battled through it."

"It was a great team win, similar to the win we had in Utah last Saturday. On the game winning goal the defensemen got the puck out, Asuchak mad a great pass and Watty (Brayden Watts)  did what Watty does."

"With 13 seconds left we were talking about whether to put Duarte back out there because he was pretty tired and had blocked a lot of shots. We were deciding if he could could he get through the final 13 seconds. Utah called a time out which really helped us get some rest. We wanted Ass (Asuchak) to take the draw for sure and you need the commitment to block shots so we put Duarte back out there. The decision had nothing to do with getting anyone an empty net goal. It was all about who can get the pucks, who can skate, who is strong on the puck and it was not let's get Duarte a goal. It was great it worked out that way and he was very deserving of that goal the way he played today."

"Wells is doing what he does. He had a couple of blips when he first came down but he is just being him now and that is what he needs to do." 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Mountain Division continues to see some unexpected results. The two teams at the bottom of the standings (Allen and Rapid City) won yesterday while Idaho and Tulsa lost. The Mountain Division is now the only division without a team with a points percentage above .700. And who would have guessed at this point of the season the top team in the division by points percentage would be the upstart Tahoe Knight Monsters and Idaho would be in fifth place. Here are the current standings in points percentage order:

• .688 - Tahoe
• .682 - Kansas City
• .650 - Tulsa
• .591 - Wichita
• .545 - Idaho
• .500 - Utah
• .389 - Allen
• .318 - Rapid City

Allen has now won three of its last four games and improved its points percentage from .100 after a 5-1 loss to Utah on November 1 to .389 after a 3-1 win over Utah on November 13.

 

- Allen's power play has four power play goals this season and three of them are against Utah. This could be key to the two weekend games against the Grizzlies who are 7-18 (61.1%) on the penalty kill.

- With the ECHL having one year player contracts and the variability of players being assigned by NHL/AHL affiliates, significant improvement can take place from season to season. Here are three examples:

• Savannah finished outside of the playoffs last season with a .472 points percentage. This season the Ghost Pirates points percentage is .630.
• Iowa finished last in the Central Division in 2023-24 with a points percentage of .431. This season the Heartlanders are at .611.
• Last season Wichita finished last in the Mountain Division. This season they are tied for second in points and have a .591 points percentage.
  

 

- No ECHL team made a more conscious decision to get tougher this season than the Kelly Cup runner-up Kansas City Mavericks. Last season the Mavericks had 688 penalty minutes, the second fewest in the league. This season Kansas City leads the league with 215 penalty minutes and at its current pace will finish the season with over 1400 penalty minutes. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Stick taps to ECHL defenses yesterday. Eight games and the winning teams allowed a total of just 13 goals, an average of 1.63 goals per game. That is better than any team defense in the league. Here are the top 10 ECHL teams in average goals allowed per game:

 

1.67: Florida*

1.75: Indy

2.00: Adirondack*

2.22: Kalamazoo

2.25: South Carolina*

2.56: Worcester

2.56: Bloomington

2.56: Tulsa*

2.70: Toledo*

2.75: Trois Rivières 

 

*Teams with points percentage above .650.

  

Allen vs Utah Preview, Roster Update, ECHL Points Per Game Leaders, Comment Questions Answered, Active Rosters Reduce to 20 on Sunday and More

With an early start tomorrow (10:30 am) for the School Day game against Utah I am doing the game/series preview a day early. Hopefully the morning game tomorrow will turn out better than Allen's other morning game this season. On opening day in Tulsa, early morning was not kind to the Americans as they were defeated by the Oilers 8-2.

- The good news for fans is the last time the Americans played Utah (10 days ago) it was on the road and Allen came away with a 6-4 victory. That was the game Allen was 2-3 on the power play and Easton Brodzinski had a hat trick. 

- Despite being shutout 4-0 by Tulsa on Saturday and still looking for its first home win of the season the Americans have won two of their last three games while Utah has lost two of its last three games. Here is a stats comparison between Allen and Utah:

• Goals scored average: 2.13 Allen - 4.00 Utah
• Goals allowed average: 5.13 Allen - 4.14 Utah
• Shots for average: 24.00 Allen - 34.17 Utah
• Shots against average: 42.15 Allen - 32.29 Utah
• Power play percentage: 12.0% Allen - 18.2% Utah
• Penalty kill percentage: 75.7%% Allen - 60.0% Utah

 

- What stands out from the stats above?

• The game should be a high scoring affair even though Allen has been shut out in three of its four home games this season. The reason there should be a lot of goals is the games pits the #29 ranked team (Allen) and the #28 ranked team (Utah) in the ECHL is goals allowed.
• Allen's power play has struggled (ranked #24), but two of its three power play goals all season were against Utah which has the worst penalty kill percentage in the league by 15%. 
• Allen's shot differential (shots for minus shots against) is -18.2 compared to Utah's +1.9 The Americans can't expect to win if the get outshot by 20 shots against Utah.

 - Allen has been outshot in all seven of its games this season, the only team in the league that has been outshot in every game. Utah, on the other hand, has different results. The Grizzlies are 3-1 when outshooting opponents and 1-2 when getting outshot. Shot totals will be a deciding factor in this series. 

- Good starts and playing with the lead is always important, but even more so with these teams. Utah hasn't lost a game when leading after the first or second period and hasn't won a game when losing after the first or second period. Almost the same for the Americans who are 2-0-1-0 when leading after the first period, 2-0-0-0 when leading after the second period, 0-5-0-0 when trailing after the first period and 0-5-0-0 when trailing after the second period. It is clear Allen doesn't want to be playing from behind.

 

- If you are looking for players to watch in this morning game was well as in this three game series, the player for Utah is #24 Gianni Fairbrother. He scored a goal in both games against Allen and totaled four points (3G, 1A). Utah's leading scorer, Neil Shea, who had a goal in the five games he played with the Grizzlies, including the two against Allen, is no longer with the team having been recalled to Colorado (AHL). For Allen the leading scorers in the two games against Utah were Brodzinski (3G, 0A) and Watts (1G, 2A). 

 

- There could be changes when transactions come out this afternoon but here is an update on the Allen roster:

Goalies 

• #33 Marco Costantini - Reserve
  
• #35 Anson Thornton*
  
• #39 Dylan Wells*

Defensemen

• #91 Ayo Adeniye - 14-day IR
  
• #3 Ryan Gagnon 
• #66 Artyum Kulakov 
• #55 Andrew Nielsen 
• #44 Nolan Orzeck 
• #21 Mike Van Unen 
• #2 Quinn Warmuth 
• #5 Hudson Wilson
  

Forwards

• #26 Spencer Asuchak
• #42 Robbie Baillergeon
  
• #24 Harrison Blaisdell
  
• #22 Easton Brodzinski 
• #16 Kyle Crnkovic*
• #8 Mark Duarte 
• #10Will Gavin* - 14-day IR
  
• #17 Riley Ginnell 
• #84 Liam Gorman 
• #14 Brayden Guy
• #86 James Hardie
• #70 Dakota Seamen - Reserve
  
• #11 Rylan Van Unen - 3-day IR
  
• #92 Brayden Watts 

*NHL/AHL contracted players

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 - Here are some news, notes and stats in the Allen Americans Weekly issued by the team: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/americans-weekly-update-11-11-2024

 

- The next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving will be key for ECHL teams that have been struggling. History shows teams more than five points out of a playoff spot at Thanksgiving rarely make the playoffs. Right now there are three teams more than five points out of a playoff spot. Cincinnati in the Central Division plus Allen and Rapid City in the Mountain Division. Allen will play six games before Thanksgiving; three at home against Utah, a home and home against Tulsa and a game in Rapid City in an effort to close the gap for the fourth playoff spot.  

 

 - There are three games on the ECHL schedule tonight. Kalamazoo is at Cincinnati, Fort Wayne at Wheeling and Iowa at Kansas City. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-12  

- There are 18 ECHL players with 10 or more points this season. Of the18 players there are six averaging 1.40 or more points per game. Notice they all come from the Western Conference and four of the six are from the Mountain Division.

• 1.70 - Brandon Hawkins (Toledo)
• 1.60 - Hank Crone (Idaho)
• 1.60 - Michal Stinil (Wichita)
• 1.50 - Kyle Mayhew (Fort Wayne)
• 1.44 - Sasha Pastujov (Tulsa)
• 1.40 - Ty Pelton-Byce (Idaho 

- I put this together for ECHL Stats about how teams have done as new franchises. 

Tahoe is off to a great start in the first seven games of its franchise. How does it compare to the first seven games in the history of these recently added franchises?

 

Savannah: 5-1-1-0 (.786)

Tahoe: 4-2-1-0 (.643)

Bloomington: 2-4-0-2 (.429)

Trois Rivières: 3-4-0-0 (.429)

Iowa: 1-5-1-0 (.214)

 

Tahoe is currently third in the Mountain Division (by points percentage) and Bloomington is fifth in the Central Division but it is very early in the season. Will they make the playoffs? 

 

Here is how the others finished in their first season:

- Savannah finished sixth in the South Division and missed the playoffs.

- Iowa finished last in the Central Division and missed the playoffs.

- Trois Rivières finished second in the North Division and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

 

 

Here are a couple of examples of teams that did very well in their first ECHL season, but didn't meet the criteria for the list above.

- The Newfoundland Growlers are no longer an ECHL franchise but when they started in 2018-19 were 4-3-0-0 in the first seven games, won their division and went on to win the Kelly Cup.

- Allen was an existing franchise in another league (CHL) but a new ECHL franchise in 2014-15. The Americans were 4-3-0-0 in the first seven games, won their division and went on to win the Kelly Cup.

 

 

 

QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMENTS

 

Questions continue to arise in the comments section of the blog. While many are ones I would never ask management to answer publicly and no team would ever agree to publicly answer, I picked out some of the questions I thought I could get answered and paid a visit to team president, Jonny Mydra. He wanted me to reiterate if you have any questions (on any topic) to and I quote, "email me and I promise I will respond, and even take phone calls or get lunch at Kelly's if you want." My sense is to continually comment in the blog about your concerns is not a very effective way to effect change. If the team president is willing to talk to you about any concerns you have, give him a chance. My personal experience is he is open, honest, not defensive, listens and is prompt in getting back to you. And to answer one of your questions/comments, the team nor any of the employees have ever asked me to change anything related to the blog. Maybe the fact that I am a volunteer gives me the latitude to run the blog as I see fit. Here are Jonny's answers to my questions:   

 

Q: Does the team have any interest or desire, or have you had any discussions with anyone about relocating this franchise in the immediate or long term future?

A: Relocating the team has never been mentioned to me by Myles, LJ, Zawyer or REV or anyone at the league office. Our lease with the City of Allen ends after the 2026-27 season, but I would project we agree to a new long-term lease extension before that one ends.

 

Q: Is there an out clause in the lease with the City of Allen if you don's achieve a certain number of wins, concession sales or the like?

A: No

 

Q: Are you personally committed to the franchise and its future?

A: My goal, just like the players, is to move up to the NHL one day. I have no interest in leaving Allen or the Americans for another minor league job, even in the AHL. I have  had a few opportunities come up in the NHL, but I don't want to leave unless it is the right position. Ownership is supportive of me going to the NHL if it is a big step forward in my career, but that is really the only reason I would leave.

 

Q: Serious question, why get rid of the Red Kingdom song? That was a great song. I'd think there is room also for the new "Come Together" song. Just a miss if you ask me? Kudos to Hallie Stuekrath who put the Red Kingdom mix together. Was awesome last season, bring it back.

A: Thanks for the shoutout to Hallie. We have heard the feedback about the Red Kingdom song, and she is going to reincorporate it more often. The Come Together video will be the intro video until around early January when we will probably introduce a new one. We like to keep it fresh. 

 

 

- The other question/comment that comes up all of the time relates to the role of  Zawyer and REV Entertainment. Because it is a work in progress a lot of the details and decisions are made each week. I have had a lot of discussions with many different people and there is no clear answers to many of the questions. As everyone knows the goal is to have REV take over from Zawyer. Right now Zawyer is still involved in all aspects of the business and hockey sides of the organization. Some categories are happening faster than others. I have been told the last two categories that Zawyer will have any say over is hockey operations and merchandising, but even they are beginning to fizzle out. What does seem set in stone is by the end of the season Zawyer will have no involvement in the Allen Americans at all.     

 

DID YOU KNOW: For the 1st month of the ECHL season the weekly salary cap is increased from $14,600 to $15,130 and teams can carry an extra player (21 instead of 20) on the active roster. That ends on Sunday (3:00 pm ET). Look for transactions to increase this week as teams meet this deadline. Some teams won’t have an issue because of players on injured reserve, but some teams will have to trade or release a player to get the active roster down to 20.   

What does the mean for Allen? It remains to be seen, but with three players on injured reserve, and two on reserve, the Americans active roster by my count is already at 20 players.