Allen Suffers Another Big Loss, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comment, Today's Preview, Jersey Auction Results, Playoff Race and More

 

A good start by Allen turned into a blowout as the desperate Idaho Steelheads beat the Americans 7-3. With the win, Idaho closed to within one point of a playoff spot, having one game in hand over fourth-place Wichita.

 

- The first period went well for the Americans despite being outshot 19-10. Allen scored the first goal of the game and scored two goals on its first seven shots. Allen had a 2-1 lead after the first period. 

 

- The wheels came off for Allen in the second period, as has happened all too often this season. The Americans lead the league in second period goals allowed, with 98. The ECHL average for goals allowed in the second period is 70. Idaho tied the score 2-2 just 54 seconds into the second period and then rattled off two more with in 82 seconds (3:16 & 4:38) to make the scored 4-2. The Steelheads added a fourth goal late in the period to take a commanding 5-2 lead into the second intermission. Given Idaho's record when leading after the second period was 24-0-1-0 (.980) with any lead, it was clear the game was over at that point.

 

-  The Steelhead won the third period, outshooting Allen 11-5 and outscoring the Americans 2-1 to make the final score 7-3. It was the 10th time this season Allen has allowed seven or more goals. 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Tyler Burnie (6), Ayden MacDonald (8) and Brayden Watts (18). It was Watt's first goal since February 16. It was Burnie's first goal since joining Allen and MacDonald's second. Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/idaho-steelheads-vs-allen-americans-apr-4-2025 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/04/game-recap-americans-three-game-point-streak-comes-to-an-end
• Idaho Steelheads: https://idahosteelheads.com/news/2025/04/nick-canade-and-patrick-moynihan-score-twice-in-victory-7-3 

 

- Here are some random stats about the game last night  and the five games Allen has played Idaho this season:

• Allen is 0-5-0-0 against Idaho this season.
• Allen was outshot in every period last night.
• Allen's 23 shots last night were the fewest against Idaho this season.
• Idaho's 43 shots last night were the most against Allen this season.
• Allen scored first last night, the only time this season that has happened.
• Allen was 0-1 on the power play last night and is 0-14 against Idaho this season. 
• Allen has been outscored 26-7 in the five games against Idaho.
• Allen has been outshot 197-150 in the five games against Idaho. The Americans have been outshot in every game. 
• Allen's three goals last night was the most against Idaho this season, the other four games were 2,0,0,2.
• The line of Westcott-Kane-Morrison has been on fire.
  
• Jared Westcott has eight points (4G, 4A) in the last six games.
• Noah Kane has eight points (1G, 7A) in the last six games
  
• Brad Morrison has 10 points (2G, 8A) in the last four games. 

- Allen has scored seven goals in five games against Idaho, which makes it clear for Allen to win tonight the game is unlikely to be 5-4. Allen needs to hold Idaho to three or fewer goals and manage to scratch out three or four themselves. A good start like last night is almost a must, but keeping the lead is even more important. A reminder of how Idaho plays with the lead. 

• When scoring first, 24-3-6-1 (.809). 
• Leading after the 1st period, 18-1-2-0 (.905).
• Leading after the 2nd period, 25-0-1-0 (.981).

 

- Special teams weren't much of a factor last night. Up until the scrum with 44 second remaining in the game that resulted in three minor penalties, the referee, Tyler Hascall (#8) had called only three penalties the entire game. Hascall will be the lone referee again tonight. The linesmen will be Daniel Barnes (#76) and Kyle Gaspari (#67). 

 

- I had a chance to talk to coach Ferguson after the game and this captures in a nutshell what happened last night after the Americans took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. "Between the first and second period we talked about where we got our success. It was laying pucks behind their defense, going in and get them back. We were winning races to pucks, we were winning battles for pucks and that is how we got our offensive zone time. Then to start the second period we had four straight rushes when we turned the puck over right inside the blue line and they scored three goals."

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- If you look across the ECHL, teams that score first have a .747 point percentage on a record of 669-187-90-29. The range is from a high (South Carolina) of .930 on a record of 39-2-1-1 to a low (Allen) of .500 on a record of  10-10-5-3. 

- The Mountain Division playoff picture got even tighter last as Tulsa and Idaho won while and Tahoe and Wichita lost. I mention Tahoe as the Knight Monsters have lost three straight and fallen back a bit to the group of three fighting for two playoff spots. Here are spots two thru five by points with games remaining:

• 85 points: Tahoe - Utah on the road, then three games at home against Wichita.
• 82 points: Tulsa - Idaho at home, then three games on the road in Allen.
• 81 points: Wichita - Allen at home, then three games on the road in Tahoe.
• 79 points: Idaho - Allen and Tulsa on the road, then three games at home against Kansas City.  

If my math is correct any of these four teams could finish in second place and any could miss the playoffs. Tonight Tahoe is at Utah and Idaho is at Allen. Tulsa and Wichita are idle and have a big advantage as Allen plays at Wichita tomorrow (2:05 pm) and Idaho plays at Tulsa (3:05 pm).

 

- The Allen Americans auctioned off the game jerseys (black) after the game last night. Not sure if the word got out as it was the smallest crowd I have ever seen for a jersey auction. Here are the results (Thanks, Kristi). The auction included the players black jersey and black helmet (except Biscuit and goalies no helmet). 

• $700 - Duarte
• $600 - Kane
• $550 - Asuchak
  
• $550 - Brassard
• $550 - Richardson
  
• $550 - Fraser 
• $550 - Kulakov
  
• $500 - Matikka
• $500 - Johnson
  
• $500 - Biscuit
• $450 - Watts
• $450 - Powell 
• $400 - Gorman
  
• $400 - Westcott
• $350 - Blaisdell
  
• $350 - Morrison
• $350 - Jacobs 
• $350 - Warmuth
  
• $350 - Burnie
  
• $350 - Van Unen
  
• $350 - Wilson 
• $350 - Perepeluk
  
• $350 - Gavin
• $350 - MacDonald
• $350 - LeDonne
  
• $300 - Isaacson
  
• $300 - Nault
• $275 - Gildon
• $250 - Myskiw
  
• $250 - Thornton

 

- Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky's all time goal total of 894 last night. It is striking how similar their stats are with one big exception. Ovechkin will be the greatest goal scorer of all-time, but Gretzky is the greatest point scorer of all time:

• Both have 894 goals.
• Both have played 20 years.
• Gretzky has 1487 games played, Ovechkin 1486.
• Gretzky has 1963 assists, Ovechkin 724.
• Gretzky has 2857 points, Ovechkin 1618.
• Gretzky's point per game average is 1.92, Ovechkin's is 1.09. 

- South Carolina hasn't lost a game in over a month. The Stingrays have won 13 straight games and can move into the top ten all time if they beat Orlando at home tonight. Still a long way from the all time record of 23 consecutive wins which South Carolina set in 2014-15, going 50 days without losing a game. FYI,  in 2015, South Carolina lost in the Kelly Cup finals in seven games to the Allen Americans.

 

- There are 13 games on tap around the ECHL tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/04/echl-today-april-5

 

DID YOU KNOW: So much for all the young guys, these ECHL veterans are getting it done this season: 

 

Matt Register - The 36 year old, approaching 850 pro games played, three time Kelly Cup champion, three time Defenseman of the Year, leads all ECHL defensemen with 48 assists.

 

Brandon Hawkins - The 30 year old, with 341 ECHL games played, reigning ECHL MVP, leads the ECHL in points by 12 points. Hawkins has 86 points (36G, 50A).

 

Cam Johnson - The 30 year old, who has won the last 3 Kelly Cups and has played in 264 ECHL games (regular season and playoffs) leads all ECHL goalies in wins (35) and has 11 more than any other goalie. He also leads the league in GAA at 1.91.

 

Allen vs Idaho Series Preview, Future Consideration Trades Explained, AHL Playoff Implications, ECHL Playoffs, ECHL Players Used Up and More

 

Allen's spoiler role continues tonight and Saturday as the Americans take on Idaho. The Steelheads are on the outside looking in at the playoffs, so to say their two games is Allen are must win is not an overstatement. Allen did Idaho a favor by beating Tulsa on Tuesday. Rather than being five points behind fourth place Tulsa, Idaho is only three points behind with a game in hand. Tulsa plays Wichita, the other team in the playoff race, at home tonight.

 

- Idaho has been a tough match up for Allen over the years. Here is Idaho's record against the Americans:

• 4-0-0-0: This season
• 12-4-0-0: Last season (including playoffs)
• 22-9-0-0: Last five seasons (regular season)  

 

- Here are the results of the four games played against Idaho this season:

• 6-2 loss in Allen (New Years Eve) 
• 7-0 loss in Idaho (March 19)
• 1-0 loss in Idaho (March 21)
• 5-2 loss in Idaho (March 22)

Based on the scores above it is clear Allen's path to victory is low scoring games. The Americans will likely have to hold Idaho to two or three goals to have a chance to win in this two game series. Allen scored 16 goals (5.33 per game) last week in Utah, but Utah is last in the league in goals allowed (274). Idaho has allowed 213 goals.

 

- If you look at season long stats Allen scores a goal per game less than Idaho (2.44 vs 3.44) and also allows more goals than the Steelheads (4.09 vs 3.23). The same is true in shots on goal where Allen takes fewer (30.11 vs 33.59) and allows more (37.07 vs 33.75) than Idaho.

 

- As always special teams will play a big role in this two game series. Idaho has one of the best power plays in the league ranked #4 at 22.0%. Allen is ranked #23 at 17.5%. The good news for the Americans is the power play has perked up after a 0-39, 11 game drought. In the last four games the Allen power play is 7-18 (38.9%). To be fair six of the seven power play goals came against Utah, who has the worst penalty kill percentage in the ECHL (70.0%). However, any time you can score six power play goals in a three game series, no matter the opponent, you are doing something right. Also, Allen won the game against Tulsa on Tuesday with a power play goal.
 

 - If either game goes to overtime the advantage goes to Idaho. Allen is 3-8 in overtimes and 0-3 in shootouts for a .214 point percentage. Idaho is 8-8 in overtimes and 2-1 in shootouts for a .526 point percentage.    

 

- It has been feast or famine in the scoring department for Idaho recently. In the Steelheads last nine games here are the goals scored:

• 7 goals - once
• 5 goals - three times
• 2 goals - once
• 1 goal - three times
• 0 goals - once 

 

- Playing with the lead is always a key to Allen's games since the Americans do not do well playing from behind. Idaho has one of the best records in the ECHL when playing with the lead, almost unbeatable. Here is Idaho's record when leading and Allen's record when trailing. Very clear why Allen needs to avoid playing from behind against Idaho.

Idaho  

• When scoring first, 24-3-6-1 (.809). 
• Leading after the 1st period, 18-1-2-0 (.905)
• Leading after the 2nd period, 24-0-1-0 (.980) 

Allen 

• When allowing the first goal, 6-30-3-0 (.192).
• Trailing after the 1st period, 2-27-2-1 (.109).
• Trailing after the 2nd period, 2-35-2-2 (.098). 

- I attended practice yesterday and have to say it was the most players I have seen participating in a practice all season. I estimate there were at least 28 players on the ice. Many are at various stages of recovering from injuries. Based on what I saw at practice I would expect Spencer Asuchak and Mark Duarte will be back in the lineup tonight. Duarte missed the game on Tuesday and Asuchak has been out since February 21. As players come back from injury, coach Ferguson will have some tough decisions to make on roster moves. I will post the full lineup later today on Facebook and X.  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- I have had several questions recently about the impact of future consideration trades on the Americans. It might feel like Allen is going to owe a bunch of players based on all of the roster changes in the last six weeks. The fact is Allen owes two players to other teams and two other teams owe Allen a player.

A couple of things to remember about future consideration trades. First, they don't necessarily mean the futures is for a player. Some of them are for cash. Second, future consideration trades don't have to be completed until June 20. Future consideration trades can be constructed in a variety of ways. A few of them are for a specific player to be named at the end of the season. Here is how most of them work, however, the terms range widely.

• The team owing a player provides a list of players. The number of players on the list is negotiated when the trade is made. It could be as few as two players, but if the player being traded is a high end player the list number could be as high as 15. Sometimes the number on the list increases if the traded player plays more than a certain number of games.  
  
• Goalies and veterans are typically excluded from the list, but that is also negotiated.
• Number of games played by players put on the list is also negotiated, usually 5 or 10. 
• A date for providing the list is also negotiated. Some agreements will say call anytime for the list, some will be at the trade deadline and some will be at the end of the season. 

The bottom line is when a team makes a trade for future considerations all of the details are negotiable and the terms vary widely.

 

- The ECHL regular season ends on April 12, the NHL regular season ends on April 17 and the AHL season doesn't end until April 20. ECHL teams hoping for help from affiliates for the playoffs will have to wait. 23 of the 32 AHL teams make the playoffs and there are five rounds to the Calder Cup champion. Here are the details:

• 1st round is best of three and nine teams receive byes.
• 2nd round (division semifinals) is best of five
• 3rd round (division finals) is best of five.
• 4th round (conference finals) is best of seven.
• 5th round (Calder Cup finals) is best of seven. 
  

 

- 13 of the 23 AHL playoff teams have already been determined. Here they are in points percentage order with their ECHL affiliate in parenthesis. These are the teams that will likely have deep playoff runs and will not be sending help to their ECHL affiliate anytime soon. The ECHL teams marked with an asterisk are currently in playoff positions.

• Laval .708  (Trois Riviéres)*
• Rochester .669  (Jacksonville)*
• Hershey .664  (South Carolina)*
• Colorado .662  (Utah)
• Charlotte .641  (Savannah)
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton .641  (Wheeling)^
• Texas .638  (Idaho)
• Ontario .631  (Greenville)
• Abbotsford .623  (Kalamazoo)
• Providence .608  (Maine)
• Milwaukee .598  (Atlanta)
• Grand Rapids .547 (Toledo)*
• Chicago .538  (none)

 

- 11 of the 16 ECHL playoff teams have been determined with one more (Tahoe) able to clinch a playoff berth tonight. Here are the 11 teams qualified for the playoffs by division in points order. Only one team (Kansas City) has clinched its division championship. Two more (Trois Riviéres and Toledo) can clinch division titles tonight:

North Division

• Trois Riviéres - .712
• Wheeling - .621
• Norfolk - .606

South Division

• South Carolina - .754
• Florida - .731
• Jacksonville - .657
• Orlando - .597

Central Division

• Toledo - .691
• Fort Wayne - .629
• Iowa - .592

Mountain Division

• Kansas City - .709

 

- It is a full schedule tonight in the ECHL with 14 games. Almost all of the games have playoff implications. Teams have between 5-7 games remaining and are quickly running out of time to improve their status. 

• Mountain Division - four points separates the 3rd place (Wichita), 4th place (Tulsa) and 5th place (Idaho).
• Central Division - Three points separates 4th place (Indy), 5th place Bloomington) and 6th place (Kalamazoo).
• South Division - All four playoff teams have been determined.
• North Division - One point separates 4th place (Reading) and 5th place (Worcester).

Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/04/echl-today-april-4   

 

- Here is my ECHL Stats post from Wednesday morning about players with the highest percentage of their team’s goals in 2024-25. FYI, Allen's leaders are Mark Duarte (13.2%) and Spencer Asuchak (11.2%):

 

16.2% - Brandon Hawkins, Toledo

15.6% - Cade Borchardt, Kansas City

15.6% - Eddie Matsushima, Bloomington

14.7% - Devon Paliani, Savannah

14.6% - Lincoln Griffin, Cincinnati*

14.0% - Chas Sharpe, Cincinnati*

 

*Griffin and Sharpe have accounted for 47 of Cincinnati’s 164 goals this season. Sharpe leads all ECHL defensemen with 23 goals, eight more goals than #2 in goals.

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about players used in the ECHL. Allen has used 48 players thus far and could reach 50 by the end of the season. Since the Americans joined the ECHL in 2014-15 they have reached 50 players used only once. In 2020-21, which was the COVID year when only 14 teams played, Allen used 52 players. 

 

With 10 days remaining in the ECHL season the total number of players used by all teams is 1070, already surpassing the 2023-24 total of 1062. With teams signing more college/junior players every day the total this season could reach over 1100 players used.

 

The number of players used ranges from 62 (Bloomington) to 36 (Trois Rivières, Jacksonville, Atlanta).

Allen Wins 3-2, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Europe Playoff Update, FPHL (Martinson) Showdown, ECHL Attendance Since 2018-19 and More

 

Over 2000 school kids provided the energy and their cheering (screaming) helped propel the Allen Americans to a 3-2 win over the Tulsa Oilers yesterday. Yes, hockey at 10:30 am on a Tuesday was one of the most entertaining games of the season.

 

- It was one of the most complete games of the season for the Americans. Here are some examples:

• Allen scored the first goal just 52 seconds after the opening puck drop and never trailed the entire game.
• Allen took a 2-0 lead at the 6:45 mark of the first period.
• Allen led 2-1 after the first period.
• Allen outshot Tulsa 15-0 to start the second period. Tulsa got its first shot with 3:13 left in the period.
• Despite the big shot advantage in the second period (17-5) there was no scoring.
• Allen led 2-1 after the second period.
  
• Tulsa tied the score in the third period, but Allen answered back three minutes later with the game winner.
• The game winner was scored on the power play.
• Allen outshot Tulsa 40-37. The first time in nine games this season the Americans have outshot Tulsa. It was just the third time in the last 24 games against Tulsa the Americans had more shots.
• Cole Fraser, who hadn't played in the last five games, stuck up for his teammate with a scrap toward the end of the second period and the crowd (kids) went wild.
• Luke Richardson stopped 35 of 37 shots for a .946 save percentage.
  
• Allen snapped a five game losing streak against Tulsa.
  
• Allen snapped a 10 game home losing streak.    

 

- The Americans have been playing good hockey for a while now. They are a bigger, stronger team and tougher to play against with the additions coach Ferguson has made since becoming the coach. It is nice to see the team get rewarded the last few games. Allen is now on a three game point streak. It may not sound like much, but it is only the second time in four month the Americans have had a three game point streak.

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Jared Wescott (7, 8) and Noah Kane (2). Brad Morrison assisted on all three Allen goals. Morrison has nine points (2G, 7A) in the last three games. With a goal and an assist Noah Kane extended his point streak to five game (1G, 7A). Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/tulsa-oilers-vs-allen-americans-apr-1-2025 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/04/americans-extend-point-streak-with-3-2-win-over-tulsa 
• Tulsa Oilers: https://tulsaoilers.com/news/2025/04/slow-start-special-teams-hamper-oilers-at-americans 

OTHER COMMENTS 

- Coach Ferguson talks about the race to three goals as a key to winning. In 13 of its 16 wins this season Allen allowed two or fewer goals. The score of the other three wins was 5-3, 4-3 in OT, and 6-4.  

 

- It seems like it always happens that former Allen players score against the Americans. Allen alums Tyler Poulsen and Solag Bakich had Tulsa's goals yesterday. Poulsen has five goals in nine games against Allen. In his other 50 games this season he has 13 goals. If Poulsen scored goals at the rate he scores against Allen he would have 33 goals in his 59 games played this season. Over a full 72 game season it would be 40 goals.

 

- The game yesterday was a big loss for the Oilers. Tulsa has a three point lead over Idaho for the last playoff spot and trails Wichita by one point for third place. Idaho has a game in hand over both of them. Here are the maximum points for each team if they win their remaining games.

• 91 points - Wichita, 5 games remaining, Tulsa (A), Allen (H), Tahoe 3 times (A)
• 90 points - Tulsa, 5 games remaining, Wichita (H), Idaho (H), Allen 3 times (A)
• 89 points - Idaho , 6 games remaining, Allen 2 times (A), Tulsa (A), Kansas City 3 times (H)

How big of an impact will Allen have on which two teams make the playoffs? If you add the games remaining for Wichita, Tulsa and Idaho the total is 16 games. Six of the 16 games (38%) are against Allen. The Americans will have a big say on who makes the playoffs. 

 

 

- Next up for Allen are the final two games of the season against Idaho on Friday and Saturday. It will be a challenge for Allen to keep its point streak alive. The Americans are 0-4 against the Steelheads this season, have been shutout twice and been outscored 19-4. 

 

 

 

- If you follow the FPHL where Steve Martinson is the coach of the Athens Rock Lobsters, you know Martinson's team, a first year team, is having a great season. There are two conferences in the FPHL with seven teams in each. Athens leads the Continental Conference and Binghamton, NY leads the Empire Conference. The two teams play each other tonight and tomorrow night in Athens and it should be quite the contest. These teams are not only the best in their conference, they lead their conference in penalty minutes. Athens is 8-2-0-0 in the last 10 games, Binghamton is 9-1-0-0. 

 

 

- The top league in Germany (DEL) and one of the best leagues in Europe, is in the middle of the playoffs with the semifinals just starting.

• Alex Breton (2018-20) and Sam Ruopp (2020-21) play for ERC Ingolstadt, who is the #1 seed and has advanced to the semifinals.
• Les Lancaster (2019-20) and Konrad Abeltshauser (2014-15) play for EHC Munchen, but they lost in the quarterfinals.

 

 

- The EIHL in Great Britain has tons of former ECHL players including many Allen Americans. The regular season is just concluding and eight teams will make the playoffs. The EIHL has a soccer style playoff that happen very quickly. The first round is a two game, home and home series with total goals as the tiebreaker if the teams split. The four teams that advance finish the playoffs on one weekend (April 19 & 20). The two teams that lose on Saturday play for third and fourth place on Sunday. The two teams that win on Saturday play for the championship on Sunday. The team that wins the championship will have played a grand total of four games in the playoffs. Here are some of the former Allen players playing in the EIHL this season. Will keep you posted as the playoffs get underway.

 

• Scott Conway
• Tim Doherty 
• Daniel Leavens
• Dominic Cormier  
• Liam Finlay
• Rylan Schwartz
• Terrance Amorosa  
• Kameron Kielly
• Travis Brown
• Colton Saucerman
• Dallas Ehrhardt
• Jordan Stallard 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL average attendance with high and low teams since 2018-19:

 

2024-25

4966 Average: 9269 (Jacksonville) - 1555 (Iowa)

 

2023-24

4981 Average: 8768 (Jacksonville) - 2015 (Iowa)

 

2022-23

4566 Average: 7751 (Fort Wayne) - 1782 (Iowa)

 

2021-22

3935 Average: 7358 (Toledo) - 1681 (Wheeling)

 

2020-21 (COVID restricted)

2275 Average: 3493 (Florida) - 987 (Wheeling)

 

2019-20

4327 Average: 8090 (Toledo) - 2267 (Wheeling)

 

2018-19

4445 Average: 7932 (Fort Wayne) - 2265 (Wheeling)

 

Allen vs Tulsa Preview, Today's Lineup, Gorman and Duarte Out, Coach's Keys, Allen's Role in Playoff Race, ECHL Rookie Goalie Leaders and More

 

It is April 1 and Allen will be playing the Tulsa Oilers at 10:30 this morning and it is not an April Fools hoax, even though many come to mind. For those of you that are gullible, beware as you go through the day that you don't get fooled.

 

- The Americans are at home for the rest of the season with the exception of a game in Wichita on Sunday. The schedule this week sounds like an April Fools practical joke, but unfortunately it is not. Here is the schedule for the week:

• Tuesday - Tulsa at home (10:30 am start)
• Friday - Idaho at home (7:10 pm start)
• Saturday - Idaho at home (7:10 pm start) 
• Sunday - Wichita on the road (2:05 pm start)

The team will drive all night after the game on Saturday for the afternoon game in Wichita on Sunday. It sounds bad, but it is even worse. Wichita plays in Tulsa on Friday, but is off on Saturday.

 

- Next week the long and difficult season finally comes to an end with three games against Tulsa on Wednesday (9th), Friday (11th) and Saturday (12th). As odd as it may sound the series will have meaning for both teams. Tulsa is in a battle with Wichita and Idaho for two playoff spots and Allen will definitely have a chance to play the spoiler. More importantly the Americans are trying to avoid the record books for fewest home wins in a single season. The Americans have six home wins with six home games remaining so the question is where in the 6-12 range will they finish. Here is the current record book listing for fewest home wins in a season:

• 5 - Greenville Grrrowl (2003-04)
• 8 - Las Vegas Wranglers (2013-14)
• 8 - Stockton Thunder (2005-06)
• 8 - Texas Wildcatters (2004-05
• 8 - Victoria Salmon Kings (2004-05)
• 9 - Evansville Icemen (2014-15)
• 9 - Johnstown Chiefs (2009-10)
• 9 - Greensboro Generals 2001-02)

The Americans will have to win four of the remaining six home games to stay off of this list. 

 

- Allen has not fared well against Tulsa this season. The game this morning will be the ninth of 12 games against the Oilers this season. In the first eight games Tulsa is 7-1-0-0 against Allen. The Americans lone win was in Tulsa. Here are the cumulative stats:

• Tulsa has outscored Allen 36-20, including two shutouts both in Allen.
• Tulsa has outshot Allen 334 to 221. Average per game is 41.75 vs 27.62.
• Tulsa has scored first in five of the eight games and won them all.
• Allen is 5-25 (20.0%) on the power play.
• Tulsa is 4-24 (16.7%) on the power play.

 

- Allen comes into the game this morning on a two game points streak and a record over the last 10 games of 1-8-0-1. Tulsa has won its last two games after losing five straight. Tulsa  is 5-5-0-0 over the last 10 games. 

 

- You always hear how tough these morning games are for players, but in realty they are used to taking the ice at 10:30 in the morning, as that is the typical practice time at home. While game day routines are disrupted it is common place to be at the rink and on the ice at 10:30 am.

 

- Allen's top four scorers against Tulsa this season are Kyle Crnkovic, Brayden Watts, Mark Duarte and Easton Brodzinski. Only Watts will be in the game today.

 

- In a case of former players coming back to bite their former team, no better example than Tyler Poulsen who leads Tulsa in points against Allen with nine (4G, 5A) in eight games. Tyler has 25% of his goals for the season and 26% of his points for the season against the Americans. Tulsa's third leading scorer against Allen (8 points in 8 games) is another Allen alum, defenseman, Duggie Lagrone.

 

- As always special teams will be a key to the game this morning. Allen was 4-7 on the power play in Utah in game one and 2-5 in game three to break a long streak of 11 games (0-39) without a power play goal. Allen was 6-13 (46.2%) in the series against Utah last week. It will be a big boost if Allen can score a power play goal today.  

- Playing with the lead, as always, will be key in the game. Tulsa has the fourth best record in the ECHL when scoring the first goal, 24-4-2-1 (.823). Neither of these teams play well from behind. Here are the records when trailing after the first and second period:

Trailing after the first period

• 2-27-2-1 (.109) - Allen
• 4-14-1-1 (.250) - Tulsa

Trailing after the second period

• 2-35-2-2 (.098) - Allen
• 4-14-2-0 (.250) - Tulsa

 

- Here is Allen's lineup. Mark Duarte and Liam Gorman, who were injured in the last game in Utah are out. Brayden Watts is back in the lineup after missing the Utah series with an illness. Allen will go with seven defensemen as Cole Fraser returns. Newly signed goalie, Dylan Myskiw, will be the backup:

Forwards

#25 Westcott - #86 Kane - #44 Morrison

#92 Watts - #17 Jacobs - #91 Matikka

#24 Blaisdell - #14 Burnie - #9 MacDonald - 

#16 Gildon                         #70 Perepeluk

 

Defense 

#5 Wilson - #2 Warmuth

#55 Johnson - #3 Powell

#23 Brassard - #82 Fraser

#57 LeDonne

 

Goalies

#33 Richardson

#1 Myskiw (backup)

 

 

 

- Here are coach Ferguson's thoughts on the game this morning:

 

"Tulsa is fighting to hang on to their playoff spot in the standing, so they will be motivated."

 

"Tulsa just works hard and finishes every check. They protect the house very well in their zone so it will be a challenge to get to their net.

 

"We will have to match Tulsa's intensity and we have to win the battle of our blue paint."

 

"They use the back of the net a lot and try to bring pucks into our house and load bodies at the net."

 

 

 

- The game will be a one referee game (Tyler Hascall #8). Hascall has worked three Allen games by himself and three with a partner. In the six games he has worked, penalties have totaled between 6-10 per game, with an average of  eight per game. The linesmen will be Trent Williams (#48) and Aaron Schaat (#51).

 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 

- There are three games on the ECHL schedule today, In addition to Tulsa at Allen, Fort Wayne is at Kalamazoo and Toledo is at Indy. The Allen game is the only day game. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/04/echl-today-april-1 

- It was a rough day for former Allen players yesterday as three of them were released:

• Dakota Seaman was released by Indy.
• Rylan Van Unen was released by Savannah.
• Stanislav Demin was released by Tahoe.

 

 

- If you are tracking transactions you have been seeing a lot of players just finishing their college/junior careers signing with ECHL teams. Over 50 players have signed in the last two weeks, mostly from Division 1 colleges in the US. When the ECHL weekly roster comes out later today the number of rookies on rosters will definitely be higher.

 

 

 

-  Here is a reminder of just how close the battle for the Mountain Division playoffs is between Wichita, Tulsa and Idaho. Here are the current points for the three teams with their remaining schedule, including home (H) and away (A) games:

• 81 points: Wichita -  Tulsa (A), Allen (H), Tahoe 3 times (A)
• 80 points: Tulsa -  Allen (A), Wichita (H), Idaho (H), Allen 3 times (A)
• 77 points: Idaho - Allen 2 times (A), Tulsa (A), Kansas City 3 times (H)

All of Allen's remaining seven games are against these three teams, so the Americans will play a big part in who make the playoffs, whether the Americans win or lose against these teams. Allen plays Tulsa four times, Idaho twice and Wichita once.

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about rookie goaltenders. Allen rookie Luke Richardson has six wins and a save percentage of .904:

 

ECHL rookie goalies with the most wins this season, with save percentage. All are from the Western Conference:

 

21 - Ben Kraws, Idaho, .911

21 - Victor Ostman, Kansas City, .903

20 - Brett Brochu, Fort Wayne, .924

19 - Carter Gylander, Toledo, .906

18 - Connor Ungar, Fort Wayne, .903

Not For the Purists, Allen Loses 7-6 in a Shootout, Game Recaps, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, The Week Ahead, Playoff Race, Players Used by ECHL Teams

 

It was not a game for the hockey purists, but Allen's 7-6 shootout loss to Utah last night had a little bit of everything and was entertaining and exciting to the end. There were lots of ups and downs for both teams. If you want the goal by goal nuts and bolts checkout these game recaps from both teams:
 

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/03/americans-earn-a-point-in-7-6-shootout-loss-to-utah 
• Utah Grizzlies game recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2025/03/grizz-win-7-6-shootout-thriller-on-retro-night 

 

- Here is my take on one of the strangest games of the season:

• Allen scored first at 4:06 of the opening period on Mark Duarte's 21st goal of the season. It was a good sign since the team that scored first had won the last nine Allen games. 
• Allen took a 2-0 lead at the 7:38 mark of the first period on Ayden MacDonald's seventh goal of the season, first since joining Allen three games ago.
• Just when you thought this game could be a repeat of Friday night when Allen scored two early goals and never looked back, Utah fought back. 
• Seven seconds after Allen took the 2-0 lead, former Allen defenseman, Josh Thrower fought Allen's Reid Perepeluk in an effort to change momentum.
• It seemed to work as the Grizzlies scored three unanswered goals in just three and a half minutes to take a 3-2 lead. It could have been four unanswered goals, because Utah also had a goal that was ruled good initially but was overturned for goalie interference.
• Trailing 3-2 after the first period was a reminder moment, The Americans record when trailing after the first period is not good, 2-27-2-1 (.113).
• The second period was worst than the first period. The teams combined five more goals scored on a just 18 shots on goal. Allen tied the score 3-3 on Jared Westcott's sixth goal of the season (3rd in Allen). Utah again scored three unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead. This time it took the Grizzlies longer to score the three straight goals (4:58). Allen scratched back one goal on the power play with one minute remaining in the period. Brad Morrison's scored his fifth goal of the season (2nd since joining Allen seven games ago). 
• Disallowed goal number two came in the second period. It appeared Allen had scored, but the referee ruled Hudson Wilson and Matt Araujo were going to be fighting and were engaged so he blew his whistle. If you look at the replay it sure looks like the goal was scored before the referee blew his whistle. 
  
• The second period ended with Allen trailing 6-4 and the alarm bells went off again. Allen's record when trailing after the second period is 2-35-2-2 (.098) and Utah's record when leading after the second period is 15-1-1-1 (.889).
• Statistics be damned as the Americans dominated the third period outshooting Utah 18-9 and outscoring the Grizzlies 2-0 to tie the scored 6-6 and send it to overtime. Goals by Michael Gildon, his sixth of the season, but first in Allen and Quinn Warmuth's (6) power play goal led the way.
• A third goal was disallowed which was costly to Allen. The referee ruled he blew his whistle before the Allen goal was scored because the goalie covered the puck. Replay shows clearly that never happened, but the inadvertent whistle cancelled the goal.
  
• Overtime was a wild affair. Both teams had numerous chance to win the game. There was a total of 15 shots in the overtime period. Allen had eight shots and Utah had seven, which was more shots than the Grizzlies had in the entire second period (6). 
• The shootout went four rounds before Utah ended Allen's hopes for a series win.
• Allen had 50 shots in the game, the highest total of the season and outshot Utah 50-45. However, outshooting an opponent is not the key to victory for the Americans. Allen has outshot its opponents just 13 times all season and has a record of 2-9-0-2 (.231).
• Not sure if it was great power plays or poor penalty kill by both teams. Allen was 2-5 on the power play (40.0%) and Utah was 2-6 (33.3%). That converts to a penalty kill percentage of  66.7% for Allen and 60.0% for Utah.
• Allen's save percentage was .864, Utah's was .880.
• Allen's shootout record this season now stands at 0-3. The Americans are 1-10 in shootout attempts.

 

- To recap the above, the game was definitely entertaining with both teams coming back multiple times. There were 95 shots on goal, 13 goals scored, two fights, 15 overtime shots and a four round shootout. The game would grade out very high on the entertainment scale but very low on the quality hockey scale. At this point of the season, with the two worst teams in the ECHL playing, the entertainment scale is much more important than the quality hockey scale.

 

- Here are the video highlights, all 10 minutes worth.  Unfortunately the highlights do not include the two Allen goals that were disallowed: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-utah-grizzlies-mar-29-2025  

 

- Here are coach Ferguson's post game comments to me late last night. Considering the team had a very early wake up call this morning (I heard 2:30 or 3:00 am) to catch their flight home, taking the time to answer all of my questions is much appreciated. With the game going to a shootout and not ending until 11:20 pm Allen time and the storms passing through Collin County after midnight, my 4:00 am wake up call came way too early this morning. Here are coach Ferguson's comments:

"I loved the way our group competed tonight."

"We had a good start with Mark Duarte staying hot, scoring his 21st goal of the year to get us going." 

"After we took the 2-0 lead we had a four minute lull where we let the emotions get the best of us and took a couple of undisciplined penalties and they took the lead."

"We were never out of the fight and knew we were the better team 5-on-5. We clawed our way back from the 6-3 deficit. All of the shots shows our tenacity."

"We were down to nine forwards by the end of the game and were running on fumes. It was a great comeback in the third period. Both teams good chances in overtime. Utah won the skills competition to collect the two points."

"Duarte and Gorman didn't finish game. Westcott missed the last seven minutes of regulation and some of the overtime as well. We will know more about them on Monday."

"I will be bringing in a college goalie, who just finished his collegiate career, to help us for the rest of the season."

"We are excited to get back on home ice, in front of our fans, after two long weeks away."

 

- Next week will be another busy week for the Americans. The good news is six of their last seven games are at home. Here is the schedule for next week:

• Tuesday - Tulsa at home (10:30 am start)
• Friday - Idaho at home (7:10 pm start)
• Saturday - Idaho at home (7:10 pm start) 
• Sunday - Wichita on the road (2:05 pm start)

The team will drive all night after the game on Saturday for the afternoon game in Wichita on Sunday. It sounds bad, but it is even worse. Wichita plays in Tulsa on Friday, but is off on Saturday.

 

- After last night's results the Mountain Division playoff race is more clear with team's having six or seven games remaining. Yes, if one team wins out and another loses all of its games, things could change. Realistically, this is where it ends up. Kansas City and Tahoe will be the top two seeds which comes with home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Rapid City, Utah and Allen miss the playoffs. That leaves the three teams in the middle to battle for two playoff berths. Here are the current points for the three teams with their remaining schedule, including home (H) and away (A) games:

• 79 points: Wichita -  Iowa (A), Tulsa (A), Allen (H), Tahoe 3 times (A)
• 78 points: Tulsa - Rapid City (H), Allen (A), Wichita (H), Idaho (H), Allen 3 times (A)
• 75 points: Idaho - Tahoe (A), Allen 2 times (A), Tulsa (A), Kansas City 3 times (H)

Who has the best schedule? Tulsa would get the nod as the Oilers have four of seven games against Allen. Yes, they are on the road, but Allen has won six games at home all season. Wichita has the toughest schedule. The Thunder only have six games left and five of the six are on the road. If it all comes down to the final series of the season, which it likely will, here is how each team finishes. Wichita is at Tahoe for three games, Tulsa is at Allen for three games and Idaho is at home against Kansas City for three games.

 

-  The Mountain Division could end up with a team missing the playoffs despite having 80+ points. Quite a contrast in the Mountain Division last season when Tulsa made the playoffs with 69 points and a .479 point percentage and Allen made the playoffs with 70 points and a .486 point percentage. In the South Division, South Carolina missed the playoffs with 85 points and a .590 point percentage. 

 

- There are only six games on the ECHL schedule today with all afternoon starts. Five Mountain Division teams will be in action:

• Idaho at Tahoe
• Rapid City at Tulsa
• Wichita at Iowa

Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews and an explanation how Wheeling, Iowa and Tahoe can clinch playoff berths today: https://echl.com/news/2025/03/echl-today-march-30

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about the number of players each team has used this season. Allen is in the middle of the pack with 47 players used. Of the teams that have used 50 or more players, none are ranked higher than fourth in their division standings and most will not make the playoffs.

 

Players used by ECHL teams this season ranges from 61 to 35. Notice all of the division leaders are at the bottom of this list and have used fewer than 40 players:

 

61: BLM

56: REA

53: ADK

52: IND

51: UTA

50: MNE, ORL

47: ALN, WHL

46: FW, GVL, WOR

44: IDH, NOR

43: IA

42: CIN, KAL, TAH

41: SAV

39: *KC*, RC

38: FLA, *SC*, *TOL*, TUL

36: ATL, WIC

35: JAX, *TR*

 

*Division Leaders

 

Losing Streak Snapped in Role Reversal, Game Recap, Coach's Comments, Rubber Game Preview, Playoff Teams, Empty Net Goals and More

 

The Allen Americans snapped their eight game losing streak with a 5-2 win over Utah last night. The Americans flipped the script on what has happened to them so many times this season. Here are some examples:

• Allen scored the first goal of the game on the first shot of the game 15 seconds after puck drop.
• Allen took a 2-0 lead before the first period was halfway over and never looked back. 
• Allen led 3-0 after the first period and the game was over. 
• Utah's record when trailing after the first period is 3-25-4-0.
  
• Utah never got closer than two goals once Allen had a 2-0 lead. 
• Allen led 4-1 after the second period.
• Allen's record when leading after the second period is 12-1-3-1.
  
• Utah's record when trailing after the second period is 1-30-2-0.
• Allen's three goal margin of victory is the widest all season (tied).

 

- The entire night was setup by Brad Morrison's first goal since joining the Americans six games ago. He fought off three defenders to get Allen on the scoreboard 15 seconds into the game. Allen had given up the first goal in every game of its eight game losing streak. Scoring first last night was huge.   

- Scoring three first period goals is unheard of for the Americans. It did happen one other time this season. In Allen's first win of the season on November 2nd the Americans scored three first period goals on the way to a 6-4 win over Utah. That was only time Allen scored six goals in a game this season, and it happened on the road. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Brad Morrison (4), Miko Matikka (5), Mark Duarte (20), Reid Perepeluk (1) and Liam Gorman (6). J.C. Brassard had two assist. Here are the game recaps from both teams:

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/03/game-recap-americans-end-losing-streak-with-a-big-win-in-utah 
• Utah Grizzlies game recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2025/03/lamaster-scores-first-pro-goal-in-5-2-loss 

- Luke Richardson was outstanding in goal saving 32 of 34 shots for a .941 save percentage. Richardson will have to carry the load for Allen the rest of the season. Anson Thornton was injured on Wednesday (lower body) and has been placed on 14-day injured reserve. No one is saying officially Thornton is out for the season. He will be eligible to come off IR for the last two games of the season on April 11 and 12, however, there is no doubt he is gone for the season. My guess is coach Ferguson will sign a goalie that is just finishing his college/junior career to backup Richardson for the final seven games of the season. 

 

- Here is what coach Ferguson had to say after the win last night:

"It was nice to jump out to a lead for once, especially so early in the game. We ran a little faceoff play to start the game. Morrison saw some open ice and entered the zone and made a great play on that goal."

"We emphasized pucks to the net of the rush tonight and three of our goals came off the rush. The other 5-on-5 goal was the result of a great forecheck, which has been a strength of ours in this series. Perepeluk was in a good spot, used the defenseman as a screen and put it home."

"We did a great job at the end of the game killing a couple of penalties and Richardson stood tall all night."

"They had some push back in the second period as expected, but we stood our ground. It was a great effort by our group."  

- Allen will have a chance to win a series tonight for just the second time in four months. The only series win for the Americans since last November was the sweep against Rapid City at the end of January. A win tonight will also give Allen a season series win against Utah. Allen is 4-3-1-0 against the Grizzlies.

 

- More of the same from last night is the recipe for success tonight. A good start, play with the lead, commitment to defense, good goaltending and staying out of the penalty box will lead to another win. Easier said than done. 

- The referee will be the same tonight as the first two games. After calling 19 penalties in game one he called only four last night. Would expect there will be more than four penalties tonight, but he will still let the players decide the game.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Allen doesn't have much to play for the rest of the season other than pride and jobs for next season in Allen or elsewhere. The Americans could still avoid having the worst record in the league but it would take a big turnaround. The bottom three teams are Allen (40 points), Utah (50 points) and Adirondack (51 points. If Allen wins its last eight games it would have 56 points. Any combination of Allen losses or wins by Utah and Adirondack that totals six points assures the Americans last place. However, there are a few other stats Allen can escape last place if they win a few games down the stretch. It would be small victories, but something to shoot for. Here are some examples:

• Allen is #29 in goals scored (152), just behind Indy (153).
• Allen is #28 in goals allowed (264), just ahead of Utah (268).
• Allen is #29 average goals scored (2.38), just behind Indy (2.39).
• Allen is #29 in average goals allowed (4.13), just behind Utah (4.13)
• Allen is #29 in average shots allowed (37.88), just behind Wichita (35.95).  

 

- In the race for the playoffs in the Mountain Division, Tahoe beat Idaho last night and has opened up a six point lead for second place. Tahoe is on an 8-0-1-0 streak and looking like it will be the #2 seed behind Kansas City. It looks more and more like the race will come down to Wichita (79 points), Tulsa (76 points) and Idaho (73 points) battling for two playoff berths. Rapid City is lurking in sixth place with 67 points. Tulsa has lost five straight and is at home against Rapid City tonight and Sunday afternoon. As usual in the division the final playoff team will not be decided until the last two games of the season.

 

- Hank Crone played his first game for Norfolk last night since being traded by Idaho. All he did was lead Norfolk with three points (1G, 2A). It looks like Norfolk will be the #2 or #3 seed in the North Division. Crone's former team, Idaho, is in a fight to make the playoffs.

 

- Kansas City clinched a playoff spot last night with its 3-0 win over Wichita. Orlando and Tahoe have a chance to punch their tickets to the playoffs tonight. Orlando clinches if Atlanta loses and Tahoe clinches if it beats Idaho in regulation time. Here are the teams that have qualified for the playoffs. Seven of the 16 teams have been decided. Here is the list in point percentage order by division:

South Division

• .750 - South Carolina 
• .727 - Florida
• .652 - Jacksonville

North Division

• .714 - Trois Riviéres

Central Division

• .705 - Toledo
• .633 - Fort Wayne

Mountain Division

• .700 - Kansas City

 

- Last season two teams (Allen and Tulsa) made the Kelly Cup playoffs with a losing season and Maine qualified with a record of exactly .500. This season it looks like every playoff team will have a winning record. The only division that is close is the Central. Bloomington and Indy are tied for fourth place with .500 point percentages. You would expect whichever team makes it to the playoffs will have to play better than .500 hockey down the stretch. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Today's ECHL Stats post is about empty net goals. Allen has scored eight empty net goals and avoided the list below with Liam Gorman's empty net goal last night. The other empty net goals were scored by Mark Duarte (2), Easton Brodzinski (2), Spencer Asuchak (1), J.C. Brassard (1) and Kyle Crnkovic (1).

 

Brady Fleurent (Norfolk) and Jay Dickman (Wichita) lead the ECHL with seven empty net goals. Six entire teams have seven or fewer empty net goals. Here is the list:

 

3 - Greenville

3 - Idaho

7 - Fort Wayne

7 - Indy

7 - Maine

7 - Worcester

 

- Here are the teams that lead the ECHL in empty net goals:

17 - Norfolk

17 - South Carolina

15 - Florida

15 - Savannah

Allen vs Utah Preview, ECHL Most and Fewest Penalty Minutes and More

 

It is game two of the three game series against Utah tonight as the Americans try to find a way to snap their eight game losing streak. Allen has won just one game since February 2. The Americans accomplished the win by playing great defense in a 4-1 victory in Tahoe. In the loss to Utah on Wednesday the Americans scored five goals, just the fourth time all season they have scored that many goals, but Allen gave up six goals in defeat.

 

- The challenge tonight for Allen will be twofold. Keep the offense going and improve the defense. Prior to Wednesday, Allen had scored an average of 1.60 goals per game over the last 20 games. How did the Americans all of a sudden breakout with five goals? Allen did it on the power play. After going 0-39 in its previous 11 games the Americans were 4-7 (57.1%) on Wednesday. The four power play goals is tied for the most in a game in the ECHL this season. Yes it was accomplished against the worst penalty kill team in the league (70.1%), but Allen is not going to score four power play goals tonight. Where Allen must improve is on even strength hockey. Allen won the power play game 4-2, but Utah won the even strength game 4-1. 

 

- If you accept it is unlikely Allen will be unable to match its five goals scored on Wednesday, the key tonight is defense. In its last eight games Allen has allowed 9,4,3,3,7,1,5,6 goals. That is an average of 4.75 goals per game, but includes three games the Americans held their opponent to three or fewer goals. Allen limited Jacksonville and Utah to three goals and Idaho to one goal. The key tonight is whether Allen can limit Utah to three or fewer goals while scoring three or more themselves. 

 

- To be successful tonight Allen has to get off to a better start which won't be hard given Utah scored on the first two shots of the game on Wednesday. Allen trailed 2-0 before fans were settled in their seats. A good start means the Americans score the first goal of the game. Something they haven't done in the last eight games. By no means does scoring first mean victory for the Americans given they have by far the worst record in the league at 8-9-5-1 (.479) when scoring first, but that is a whole lot better than when Allen gives up the first goal, 6-30-3-0 (.200). 

 

- I will have the lineup later today, but would assume Brayden Watts will be back in the lineup and Miko Matikka will see if he can go after the morning skate. When there is illness around a locker room you just never know what the lineup could look like. Goalie Anson Thornton is out with an injury, so Allen will go with an EBUG tonight and tomorrow night. The team did not practice yesterday after a tough game on Wednesday and back-to-back games coming up. They had a team stretch yesterday, played some soccer and got treatments with the trainer.

 

- Allen's top four leading scorers against Utah this season may all be missing in the game tonight. Brayden Watts (9 points in six games) is likely to be in the lineup after missing the game on Wednesday. Kyle Crnkovic (8 points in 5 games) and Easton Brodzinski (six points in five games) have been traded. Spencer Asuchak (5 points in 5 games) is injured.  

 

- The referee tonight, #9 Hunter Mottinger, is the same referee that worked the game on Wednesday. He called a total of 16 penalties in the three Allen games he worked earlier in the season. He called 19 penalties on Wednesday including an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with less than eight minutes left in the game, which led to the game winning goal. From my experience referees usually let those type of penalties go late in the game with the score tied. Hopefully, the game tonight will be closer to the five or six penalties than the 19 penalties and it will be more of letting the players decide the game. It also means players will have to avoid all of the stick penalties that plagued the game on Wednesday.  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Rapid City kept its long shot playoff hopes alive with a big 3-2 win in Tulsa last night. Rapid City was outshot 57-31 in the game. It was in losing cause, but the 57 shots by Tulsa was an ECHL high this season. The Oilers also had a season high of 29 shots in the second period.

The teams play again on Saturday and Sunday. Rapid City has eight games remaining. After the two games this weekend against Tulsa, the Rush travel to Kansas City for three games next week. Rapid City trails fifth place Idaho by six points and fourth place Tulsa by nine points. 

- Here are the top and bottom ECHL teams in penalty minutes:

Most penalty minutes (900 or more PIMS)

• 1231 - South Carolina
• 1078 - Iowa
• 1000 - Florida
• 993 - Adirondack
• 971 - Worcester
• 938 - Norfolk
• 924 - Jacksonville

Fewest penalty minutes (660 or fewer PIMS)

• 555 - Tahoe
• 613 - Kalamazoo
• 622 - Atlanta
• 641 - Reading
  
• 642 - Wichita
• 650 - Rapid City
• 660 - Utah 

Notice there are no Mountain Divisions teams on the most penalty minutes list and all but one team is from the Eastern Conference. However, four of  the teams on the fewest penalty minutes list are from the Mountain Division. Oh how times have changed! 

- There are 12 games on the ECHL schedule tonight with two teams (Kansas City and Fort Wayne) having a chance to qualify for the playoffs if everything falls their way. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews and playoff details:https://echl.com/news/2025/03/echl-today-march-28 

DID YOU KNOW: With 6-10 games (depending on team) remaining in the ECHL regular season here is the question. Is this season a throwback to the Colorado and Allen Mountain Division, Kelly Cup, rivalry days? Allen and Colorado won four straight Kelly Cups (2015-2018) and were very skilled and very physical teams.

 

In 2024-25 South Carolina is the #1 ECHL team in points (97) and the #1 team in penalty minutes (1231). It’s South Division rival, Florida, is #2 in the ECHL points (96) and #3 in penalty minutes (1000).

These are two standout teams as the playoffs approach, but only one can make it to the Kelly Cup finals.

 

FYI, the only one other ECHL team that has 90 points is Toledo (91) and the only one other team has 1000 penalty minutes is Iowa (1078).

A Different Way to Lose, Game Recap, Coach's Comments, ECHL Rookie Numbers Rising, Critical Playoff Dates and More

 

The results were the same, but Allen got to its eighth straight loss and 20th loss in the last 21 games in a much different fashion last night. The Americans lost 6-5 to Utah in a game with six power-play goals, 13 opportunities, and 19 penalties.

 

- It was a typical start for the Americans as they gave up two goals in the first 105 seconds of the game. Utah took a 2-0 lead, scoring on the first two shots of the game. Every time a team has taken an early multiple-goal lead in the last 20 games, it was game over. Not last night as the Americans battled back with two goals of their own to tie the score 2-2 by the end of the period. Jared Westcott scored a power-play goal, his fifth goal of the season (2nd in Allen), and Jay Powell also scored his second goal since joining Allen.

 

-  Allen took the lead 3-2 early in the second period (4:37) on a Quinn Warmuth power-play goal, his fifth of the season. It was the first time in 22 periods (7+ games) that Allen had a lead in a game. The lead didn't last long as Utah scored twice to take a 4-3 lead, but that lead evaporated in the last minute of the period. Mark Duarte scored on Allen's third power play goal of the game to tie the score 4-4 going into the second intermission. It was Duarte's team leading 19th goal of the season. 

 

- Allen took the lead 5-4 just 46 seconds into the third period on yet another power-play goal. J.C. Brassard scored his fifth goal of the season and the third goal of the night by a defenseman. Once again, the Allen lead didn't last long. Just 22 seconds after the Brassard goal the Grizzlies got the tying goal again to make the score 5-5. The game-winner came, fittingly, on the sixth power-play goal of the game. Utah took the 6-5 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. Allen had a 5-1 shot advantage in the last eight minutes but could not score the equalizer. 

 

- Here are the game recaps and video highlights:

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/03/game-recap-americans-score-four-power-play-goals-but-lose-6-5 
• Utah Grizzlies game recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2025/03/grizzlies-win-6-5-thriller-at-maverik-center 

- Here are some stats from the game, both good and bad:

• Allen ended its 0-39, 11 game power play drought going 4-7 last night.
• In one game, Allen raised its power play percentage from 15.5% to 16.9%.
• Allen came back from 2-0 and 4-3 deficits in the game to take the lead.
• Allen scored five goals for the first time since January 8 and just the third time all season.
• Allen allowed six goals; it was the seventh time in the last 21 games giving up 6 or more goals.
• Allen held its own on shots, Utah had a 32-31 advantage. 
• Allen gave up the first goal of the game for the eighth straight game.
• Allen was playing without forwards Brayden Watts (sick) and Miko Matikka (injured). Both could return for the game on Friday.

 

- I swapped messages with coach Ferguson after the game. This is what he had to say:

"You score five goals, and you expect to win."

"It was a tough call on the game-winner. You would hope the referee wouldn't decide a 5-5 game with under 10 minutes left in the game. But they are human too."   

"I liked our effort tonight after being down 2-0 on the first two shots of the game. The guys clawed back to take the lead a couple of times. It was good to see that resilience in our group."

"We need to hang on to those leads. It is a big weekend ahead of us. Excited to see our response." 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There were a couple of important Mountain Division games last night with playoff impact. Wichita beat #1 Kansas City on the road 3-2 while Idaho lost to Tahoe 5-1 on the road. The other team in the playoff mix, Tulsa, plays Rapid City at home tonight. It is the only ECHL game being played tonight. Here are the Mountain Division standings with games remaining in parenthesis:

• 89 points - Kansas City (8)
• 83 points - Tahoe (8)
• 79 points - Wichita (8)
• 76 points - Tulsa (9)
• 73 points - Idaho (9)
• 65 points - Rapid City (9)
• 50 points - Utah (7)
• 38 points - Allen (9)

 

- Most and fewest wins this season show just how poorly Allen has played even compared to other poor-performing teams:

FEWEST WINS

• 14 - Allen
• 21 - Utah
• 22 - Adirondack
• 23 - Greenville
• 25 - Cincinnati 

MOST WINS

• 46 - South Carolina
• 44 - Florida
• 42 - Kansas City
• 41 - Toledo
• 41 - Trois Riviéres

 

-  It is hard to have a wider gap than this. Both teams could make the record book this season for most and fewest home wins. South Carolina's home point percentage is .857. Allen's home point percentage is .283.

 

- The end of the ECHL season is coming fast, especially for the teams that will not make the playoffs. The upcoming critical dates:

• April 11 - Last day to place players on waivers
• April 13 - Last day of the regular season
• April 14 - Playoff rosters due
• April 16 - Playoffs begin

 

DID YOU KNOW: As teams add amateurs, the number of rookies on ECHL rosters is increasing. These are rookie numbers by team as of Tuesday.

 

16: ADK, BLM, CIN, GVL, SAV, UTA

15: ALN, REA, WHL, WOR

14: IA

13: IND, *KC*, MNE, RC

11: TUL, WIC

10: KAL, NOR, *TAH*, *TOL*, *TR*

9: *SC*

8: ATL, IDH, ORL

7: *FLA*, *FW*

6: *JAX*

 

*Top eight ECHL teams by points and point percentage. Likely Kelly Cup champion will come from this group. Notice the top teams skew toward the bottom part of this list.