Allen vs Tahoe Series Preview Including AHL and NHL Experience, ECHL Shot Leaders and More

 The Allen Americans begin a three game series in Tahoe tonight that will be a challenge for both teams and the Allen fans for different reasons:

- Tahoe is fighting to make the playoffs first and finish in second place in the division which comes with home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. From second to fifth place in the division is separated by only five points. Tahoe could just as easily finish in second place or miss the playoffs. Here are the current standings which show how tight it is. Only three of these teams will make the playoffs:

• 66 points - Tulsa
• 65 points - Wichita
• 64 points - Tahoe
• 61 points - Idaho 

 

- Allen is just trying to stop the bleeding and break the longest losing streak in franchise history. The Americans have lost 10 straight since defeating Rapid City at home in overtime (3-2) on February 1. Ironically Allen hasn't won since (0-9-0-1) and Rapid City hasn't lost since (10-0-0-0), both setting franchise records in the process. 

- In Allen's last two series (Worcester & Kansas City) the games have been close. However, the Americans have developed a pattern of falling behind in the first period, working hard to comeback put falling short. How bad have the first periods been for the Americans? In the last six games they have scored two goals in the first period (both in the same game) and trailed after the first period in five of the six games. Allen has been outscored 12-2 in the first period. In the final two periods Allen outscored Worcester and Kansas City 13-9. If the Americans can get off to a good start in Tahoe they will have a good chance to come away with points.

 

- The challenge for Allen fans will be to stay awake, especially for the game tonight. Tahoe is in the Pacific time zone so start times in Allen will be:

• 9:30 pm - Friday
• 9:00 pm - Saturday
• 5:00 pm - Sunday

If you watch the entire game tonight you won't get to sleep until well after midnight. Since I get up at 4:00 am I will not see most of the game live. I will watch the replay tomorrow morning before I write the blog. 

 

- It it is hard to remember, but Allen played Tahoe twice at home early in the season. On December 3 Allen lost 4-3 in overtime and the next night lost 4-3 in regulation time. Allen was outshot 71-56, and was 1-7 (14.3%) on the power play. Tahoe was 2-6 (33.3%) on the power play. It is impossible to compare Allen's lineup from December to the one that will play Tahoe tonight. 11 of the 20 players that played in the December games for the Americans are either no longer with the team or are injured. 

 

- Here is how Allen and Tahoe rank in some key stats this season:

• Ave. goals scored: Allen #24 (2.50) - Tahoe #5 (3.62)
• Ave. goals allowed: Allen #28 (4.19) - Tahoe #20 (3.36)
• Ave. shots for: Allen #20 (20.83) - Tahoe #7 (32.23)
• Ave shots allowed: Allen #29 (38.46) - Tahoe #18 (31.19) 
  
• Power play percentage: Allen #17 (19.1%) - Tahoe #7 (21.1%)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen #16 (80.0%) - Tahoe #11 (82.6%) 

It is no surprise given where Allen and Tahoe are in the standings that Allen is ranked lower then Tahoe in every stat above. Allen scores over a goal per game less (1.12) than Tahoe and allows almost a goal per game more (0.83) than Tahoe. 

 

- Over the last 10 games Tahoe's record is 5-4-1-0 compared to Allen's 0-9-0-1. Both teams played top ECHL teams on the road last week. Allen lost three games in Kansas City (3-2, 6-3, 2-1). Tahoe played in Florida, losing the first two games (4-2 & 4-1) before winning game three (6-2). 

 

- Special teams as always will play a key role in this series and as usual it will be important for Allen to stay out if the penalty box. Tahoe is the least penalized team in the league with 478 penalty minutes compared to 649 penalty minutes for Allen. Tahoe has taken 184 minor penalties, Allen 232.  

 

- Allen has scored first in just one game during this 10 game losing streak and the Americans lost that game 9-2. Allen's record when scoring first is still the worst in the ECHL, 7-9-4-2 (.455). Tahoe's record when scoring first is 20-7-1-0 (.732). If Allen gives up the first goal of the game in this series there is a 75% chance Tahoe wins the game.

 

- It is generally bad news when Allen has to play from behind, but even more so in this series. Tahoe is one of the best teams in the the league playing with the lead. The Knight Monsters record with a first period lead is 17-1-0-0 and with a second period lead is 21-0-2-0. It will be very difficult for the Americans to overcome those odds.  

 

- Every healthy Allen player is on the trip to Tahoe including all three goalies. Anson Thornton is on the trip and just coming back from an injury. His availability for the weekend is still day to day. Cole Fraser will miss the first two games of the series serving the final two games of the three game suspension he got in Kansas City last week. With the two hour time difference I won't get the lineup for the game tonight until later this afternoon. I will post the lineup on Facebook and X. 

 

- None of the players that stayed home on the 14-day IR are close to returning to the lineup. The players on 14-day IR are Spencer Asuchak, Brian Chambers, Will Gavin and Kenny Johnson. 

 

- The referee tonight, in a one referee game, is #25 David Lilly. From my records the only other time he has worked Allen games this season was the two games against Tahoe back in December. He was part of a two man crew who called eight penalties in one game and nine in the other.     

 

OTHER COMMENTS 

- Tahoe has lost five games in regulation time at home all season. The Knight Monsters also have two overtime losses and one shootout loss at home. No other Western Conference team has fewer home losses than Tahoe. Considering Tahoe has more home games remaining than any other team in the division (13), that could be a difference maker in the battle for second place.

 

- Allen and Tahoe are two of the more experienced ECHL teams with over 2500 ECHL games played. Three players Spencer Asuchak, Anthony Collins and Logan Nelson have played in 500+ ECHL games. Tahoe has a big advantage in AHL games played (725-282), driven a lot by the fact that forward Luke 
Adams has played in 342 AHL games. 

Allen has 15 players with AHL experience, five with more than 20+ games played:

• 64 - Spencer Asuchak
• 63 - Dylan Wells
• 46 - Colin Jacobs
• 36 - Patrick Polino
• 28 - Miko Matikka

Tahoe has 14 players with AHL experience, eight with 20+ plus games plauyed.

• 342 - Luke Adams
• 87 - Patrick Newell
• 84 - Jake McGrew
• 43 - Jett Jones
• 40 - Isaiah Saville
• 37 - Troy Loggins
• 30 - Isaac Johnson
• 23 - Jesper Vikman

  Each team has one player with NHL experience. Allen goalie Dylan Wells has one NHL game (Chicago). Tahoe's captain, Luke Adams, has 90 games of NHL experience (Buffalo & Columbus).  

- It is a full slate of games in the ECHL tonight with all eight Mountain Division teams in action within the division:

• Allen at Tahoe
• Utah at Kansas City
• Idaho at Rapid City
• Tulsa at Wichita

Will the lower ranked teams be spoilers or the higher ranked teams solidify their place in the standings in the fight for the second seed in the division. Here is the ECHL Today with previews on all 14 games: https://echl.com/news/2025/02/echl-today-feb-28

 

- If you have FloHockey and want to catch what should be a great game, checkout South Carolina at Florida. These are the top two teams in the South Division and two of the four teams in the ECHL with point percentages above .700. Even better, this game should be over by the time the Allen game starts. 

 

- The ECHL season is getting to crunch time very quickly. Games remaining vary from 15 to 22 with many teams playing three times this weekend. It won't be long before the top teams will start clinching playoff spots.  

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about shot leaders. Allen's leaders are Mark Duarte with 135 shots and 13.3% shooting percentage and Brayden Watts with 121 shots and 14.1% shooting percentage. Notice Sloan Stanick, Tahoe's leading scorer is #2 in the league in shots:

 

Here are the ECHL leaders in shots including shooting percentage in parenthesis. Just five players have more than 168 shots:

 

261: Brandon Hawkins, Toledo (11.5%)

 

187: Sloan Stanick, Tahoe (11.2%)

 

185: Anthony Repaci, Worcester (12.4%)

 

184: Anthony Callin, Worcester (8.7%)

 

183: Cade Borchardt, Kansas City (16.9%)

 

 

- Last season Brandon Hawkins led the ECHL with 346 shots. He had 74 more shots than the #2 in shots. At his current pace Hawkins will have an even wider gap this season.

  

It is a Positive News Only Day and a Bunch This "N That

 

Wasn't planning on a blog this morning, but came across so much good news yesterday decided to write a good news only blog this morning. Not sure how long it will be, but here goes.

 

- Allen just made a trade with Cincinnati for rookie forward Noah Kane who started the season in Finland where he had 18 points (7G, 11A) in 28 games before signing with Cincinnati at the end of January. Here is a story about Noah and his more famous cousin (Patrick Kane) a local television station did when Noah was attending college at Mercyhurst University.

 

  

- In his two years as the coach of the Allen Americans, Chad Costello defied the odds by taking a last place team in December to the playoffs. I will never forget literally eating crow chili after predicting there was no way Allen would make the playoffs. Could he do this again in Rapid City? The Rush beat Idaho at home last night 4-3 in overtime. Rapid City has now won 10 straight games. The last time the Rush lost a game was in Allen on February 1st.  After that game Rapid was dead last in the Mountain Division with a .389 point percentage and I once again predicted there was no way the Rush would make the playoffs (Allen and Utah also) feeling very confident there was no crow chili in my future. 

After its win last night Rapid City has reached the .500 mark (22-22-5-3). It is still unlikely Rapid City can make the playoffs. The Rush have 20 games remaining, have 52 points, and will have to pass both Idaho (61 points) and Tahoe (64 points) to make the playoffs. No matter how it ends up it has been amazing turn around. How good have Costello's teams been this time of year. If you combine his best stretches around this time the last three seasons his record was 26-8-0-0 (.765).    

- Easton Brodzinski was loaned by Tulsa to its AHL affiliate, San Diego, on Tuesday and was in the Gulls lineup last night. All he did was score his first AHL goal and was selected as the #2 star of the game. Easton's younger brother Bryce, plays for Greenville (ECHL) and has 17 goals. His older brother, Jonny, plays for the NHL New York Rangers and has six goals in 27 games. Allen fans will remember another Brodzinski brother, Mike, who is retired. Mike played in 289 ECHL games and 64 AHL games, including 23 with Allen. Mike was the only defensemen of the brothers. FYI, here are their ages:

• 31 - Jonny
• 29 - Mike
• 28 - Easton
• 24 - Bryce 

 Easton's goal is at the 2:15 mark of this highlight package:

 

- Another former Allen player, Jakov Novak, (2022-23) just got recalled to the AHL Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the Trois Riviéres Lions. Jakov leads the Lions in points with 46 (20G, 26A) in 39 games. He is under contract with Laval, was recalled on Monday and played in his first AHL game of the season last night. Jakov had an assist in Laval's win over the Toronto Marlies.

 

- Mikael Robidoux was traded from Greenville to Bloomington yesterday. He only played 83 games for Allen, but is #4 on the all-time PIMS list with 366 minutes. He cracks the top five in all-time in average penalty minutes per game (PIMPG). Of Allen's all time time top 20 in penalty minutes five averaged more than four  penalty minutes per game. Here are those five players who brought a special and important set of skills to the Americans and much entertainment to the fans.

• 5.4 PIMPG - Brett Lyon
• 4.7 PIMPG - Garrett Klotz
• 4.6 PIMPG - Derek Mathers
• 4.4 PIMPG - Mikael Robidoux
• 4.3 PIMPG - Kip Brennan 

- Here is your odd stat of the day. Kansas City beat Utah at home last night 8-3 and only three players scored goals for the Mavericks. Damien Giroux and Max Andreev both had hat tricks and David Cotton scored two goals. It was just the second time this season (Orlando the other) two players from the same team had hat tricks in a game.

 

- The two best records in the ECHL over the last 10 games come from the Mountain Division:

• 10-0-0-0 - Rapid City
• 8-1-0-1 - Kansas City

 

- Which ECHL teams have favorable and unfavorable schedules remaining? Wichita has just six home games remaining, Indy has 14. Tahoe has just six away games remaining, Savannah has 15. 

- Blake Bennett (Rapid City) was named ECHL Player of the Week on Tuesday. Since returning from Europe he has played in 17 games and tallied 25 points (14G, 11A) which is a points per game average of 1.47. At that pace, if he had played all season for Rapid City, his projected point count would be 106 (59G, 47A).   

- The most successful former Allen player in Europe this season is Justin Kirsh. If you don't remember Justin you are probably not alone. He signed with Allen in 2012-13 after completing his junior career in the WHL. He played in no regular season games, but five games in the playoffs and had one goal and two assists to help Allen win its first championship. In 2013-14 he went to to college. Justin has been playing in Germany for many years and this season is playing in the third level league for the Hanover Scorpions.

• He is second in the league in scoring with 62 points (30G, 32A) in 43 games.
• His team is in second place in the 12 team league.   

 

- I put this together yesterday. Florida seems to be well situated for yet another run at a Kelly Cup. You can see Florida's formula in the stats below. The Everblades typically get key NHL/AHL contracted players assigned, but not too many. They don't have a lot of rookies and always have the maximum four veterans. Having only one player on the 14-day IR is also a big help. Any of these teams could win the Kelly Cup this season:

Comparing rosters of the ECHL division leaders (Trois Rivières, Florida, Toledo, Kansas City):

 

NHL/AHL contracted players

10: KC

6: FLA

4: TR

4: TOL

 

Rookies

10: TR

8: TOL

7: KC

6: FLA

 

Veterans

4: FLA

4: TOL

2: TR

1: KC

 

Players on 14-day IR

4: TOL

1: FLA

1: KC

1: TR

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about overtimes. Allen has been involved in 12 overtime games this season ranking #12 in most overtime games. The most ever was 21 (see below):

OVERTIMES

 

ECHL teams with most overtimes this season:

 

22 - Orlando

18 - Idaho

16 - Jacksonville

16 - Iowa

16 - Tulsa

 

 

Most overtimes last 15 seasons: 

 

26 - Greenville (2020-21)

25 - Adirondack (2023-24)

22 - Colorado & Utah (2017-18)

22 - Utah & Wheeling (2012-13)

22 - Elmira (2011-12)

21 - Allen (2019-20)

21 - Rapid City (2018-19)

21 - Indy (2014-15)

21 - Ontario (2013-14)

Allen Loses 2-1, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Best of the Rest Stats, Remaining Schedule, ECHL Attendance, ECHL Scoring, Les Lancaster Update

 

Yes, Allen played better in the 2-1 loss to Kansas City last night, but the pattern was all too familiar. The Americans fell behind in the first period and spend the rest of the game playing catch up. Friday night the Mavericks scored on their first and second shots of the game. Last night is was the first and fourth shot. Allen was out shot 20-5 and outscored 2-0 in the first period. The Americans made a valiant effort to comeback in the third period, outshooting Kansas City 17-9 and outscoring them 1-0, but it was too little, too late.

 

- Stats and facts:

• With a 2-0 lead after the first period, Kansas City improved its record when leading after the first period to 22-0-0-0.
• Allen finished the season series with Kansas City with a record of 1-9-0-0.
• The team that scored the first goal won all 10 games.
• Both teams were scoreless on the power play last night. Allen 0-2, KC 0-3.
• Allen's record over the last 10 games dropped to 0-9-0-0.
• KC's record over the last 10 games improved to 8-1-1-0.

 

- No doubt the two best players on the ice last night were the two goalies. Luke Richardson stopped 36 of 38 shots for a .947 save percentage. Jack LaFontaine led the Mavericks to victory stopping 26 of 27 shots for a save percentage of .963. It wasn't just the number of shots the goalies saved, it was the quality of the shots. Check out these highlights which show all of the goals including Allen's only goal by Mark Duarte. It was his 18th of the season, tying him for the team lead with Spencer Asuchak. The highlights also show many great saves by both goalies: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-feb-22-2025    

 

- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans with more game details: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/02/americans-sweot-by-kc 

- Here is what coach Ferguson had to say after the loss. 

"Credit to Kansas City, they came out firing and jumped on us right out of the gate."

"There is no quit on this team. The guys pressed hard in the third period and credit to their goalie for making a big glove save on Crnkovic at the end."

"Richardson kept us in the game keeping it at 2-0 for the last 53 minutes."

"We will get back to work on Monday."

 

- How tough is Allen's schedule after playing three games against Kansas City on the road. The Americans will play three games on the road in Tahoe next week and then come home for three games against Jacksonville. All three of these teams have point percentage above .600. There are just three ECHL teams that have won eight of their last 10 games. Two of them are Kansas City and Jacksonville with identical 8-1-1-0 records. FYI, the third team is Rapid City.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- In the race for the "Best of the Rest" a lot has happened in the last three weeks. At the beginning of February the point percentages were:

• .405 - Allen
• .402 - Utah
• .381 - Rapid City

Today the point percentages are:

• .480 - Rapid City 
• ,402 - Utah
• .337 - Allen

Point percentage change since February 1st:

• -.068 Allen
• Even Utah
• +.099 Rapid City

Record since February 1st: 

• 8-0-1-0: Rapid City
• 4-5-1-1: Utah
• 1-9-0-1: Allen 

You can see there can be a lot of change in a short period of time. With just 20 games remaining it will take a big effort for Allen to avoid last place. 

  

- Here are the point percentages for the teams Allen will play in the last 20 games, with games remaining in parenthesis:

• .654 - Jacksonville (3H, 0A)
• .625 - Wichita (0H, 1A)
  
• .615 - Tahoe (0H, 3A)
• .615 - Tulsa (4H, 0A)
  
• .588 - Idaho (2H, 3A)
• .402 - Utah (1H, 3A)

 None of these games will be easy. With the exception of Utah they are all good teams fighting for playoff spots. And against Utah all three remaining games are on the road. I think it is fair to say Allen will be the underdog in all 20 remaining games. A huge challenge for the Americans.

 

-  If you look at the goals for and against in the Mountain Division you can see why the Americans have struggled. Allen has scored the division low of 130 goals. That is 62 fewer goals than the team with the most goals scored (192 - Tahoe). Allen has also allowed the most goals in the division with 218. That is 92 more goals allowed than the team with the fewest goals allowed (126 - Kansas City). 

- The ECHL drew 83,326 fans last night. The average attendance for the 13 games played was 6410. The season average is up to 4923 and growing. The league has a good chance of surpassing last year's average of 4981 and could reach 5000 if there are a lot of tight playoff battles down the stretch.

 

- There are 78 players with 15+ goals thus far this season. I was surprised when putting the ECHL Stats post (see below) together this morning that neither Hank Crone or Colton Hargrove were on the list. Crone has 13 goals and Hargrove 10. What they do have in common is a bunch of assists. Crone leads Idaho with 49 points (13G, 36A). Hargrove leads Florida with 24 assists.

 

- Tommy Daniels mentioned former Allen defenseman Les Lancaster on his broadcast last night talking about high scoring Allen defenseman from the past. In 2020-21 Lancaster had 64 points (26G, 38A). He was #4 among all players in points and #7 in goals. Not bad for a defenseman. His 26 goals was twice as many as any other defenseman. Les was in Finland for a couple of years and is now playing in Germany. He plays in the top league in Germany (DEL) which is considered one of the top leagues in Europe. Lancaster has 15 points (3G, 12A) in 43 games which is second on the team among defenseman. His team, EHC Munchen, is in fourth place in the 14 team DEL. The playoffs will start on March 9. It is crazy when you think Lancaster had 26 goals in a season for Allen and total goals scored by all Allen defensemen this season is 16.

 

- It is a busy Sunday afternoon around the ECHL with nine games on the schedule. I will be watching the Rapid City at Utah game to see if the Rush can extend its nine game point streak, which is the longest point streak in the league right now. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/02/echl-today-feb-23  

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about the league's 15, 20 and 30 goals scorers. Allen's top goal scorers are Asuchak (18), Duarte (18) and Watts (17).

 

There are 78 ECHL players with 15+ goals. Here is the total for each team:

6: *TAH

5: *NOR, *TOL, *TR, *WIC

4: *KC, ORL, *SC

3: ALN, CIN, *FLA, IDH, *IA, *TUL, WOR

2: ADK, GVL, IND, MNE, SAV, *WHL

1: ATL, BLM, *FW, *JAX, RC, REA, UTA

0: KAL

 

*.600+ point percentage teams

 

 

 

- There are 20 ECHL players with 20+ goals. Here is a breakdown by team:

 

3: IDH, WIC

2: NOR, TAH, TOL

1: BLM, KC, ORL, RC, SAV, SC, WHL, WOR

 

 

 

- There are 2 ECHL players with 30+ goals:

 

31 - Cade Borchardt, KC

30 - Brandon Hawkins, TOL

 

Allen Sets Loss Record, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Tonight's Preview, All Time Allen Losing Streaks, Worst ECHL Teams and More

 

Once again the Allen Americans followed the same script last night in a 6-3 loss to Kansas City. Fall behind early (3-0), scratch back to get close (4-2) and lose the game. Last night was worse than normal. The Mavericks scored on their first, second and sixth shots of the game to take a 3-0 lead and the game was over.  

 

- You knew Allen was in trouble when Kansas City took is 3-0 lead into the first intermission. The Mavericks record when leading after the first period is a perfect 21-0-0-0. Here are some other facts and stats from the game:

• Kansas City scored the first goal of the game on the first shot of the game just 23 seconds after the opening puck drop. 
• Kansas City scored the second goal of the game on the third shot of the game (Mavericks 2nd) at the 3:13 mark of the first period.
• Allen's goals were scored by Miko Matikka, his first as a pro on the power play, Colin Jacobs (7) on the power play and Hudson Wilson (3) shorthanded.
  
• Allen scored no goals 5-on-5. 
• Allen was outshot 40-32, the ninth time in nine games against KC they have been outshot.
• Kansas City scored first for the eighth time in nine games against Allen. The team scoring first has won every game.
• Allen's record against KC this season is now 1-8-0-0. The game tonight is the final time these teams will play this season.
• Allen won the special teams battle going 2-3 on the power play. KC was 1-6 and gave up a shorthanded goal. 
• Allen took seven penalties for 25 minutes, KC five penalties for 13 minutes.
• Allen's goals allowed average in the nine games against KC is 4.89. KC's goals allowed average in the nine games against Allen is 2.00. 

- It won't get any easier for Allen to come away with a win tonight:

• Allen will be without leading goal scorer Spencer Asuchak, who was injured last night when he crashed hard into the end boards.
• Cole Fraser received a match penalty in the third period for an illegal check to the head. The rule cited for the match penalty (48.5) states, "The referee at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgement, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent with an illegal check to the head. This penalty doesn't come with an automatic suspension, but there is little doubt a suspension is forthcoming, how long is the question.
• Kansas City will get back Daniel Amesbury tonight after he served a one game suspension for a game misconduct (aggressor) penalty in the game on Wednesday. He leads the ECHL in average penalty minutes per game (5.29).
• Kansas City will also get back Max Andreev tonight. He was suspended for two games and missed the first two games of this series. Andreev leads the Mavericks in assists (30) and is second in points (42).  

 

- If you watched the game last night you could see there was a lot of animosity at the end of the game and I would say there will be a lot of carryover into the game tonight. Add Daniel Amesbury into the mix, the fact that tonight will be the last time these teams will plat this season, it could be one of those get revenge games. The referee will be the same as the first two games and he will likely need to get the game under control early. 

 

- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans and the video highlights:

• Game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/02/americans-fall-to-kc-6-3 
• Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-feb-21-2025
  

 

 COACH'S COMMENTS

- I had a chance to touch base with coach Ferguson late last night. His last text to me was 1:27 AM. Lot's of work for the coach coming out of the game. Here is what he had to say:

"Spencer will be out tomorrow with an upper body injury. We will know more in the morning, obviously hoping for the best."

"We let another one get away from us early, clawed our was back in the third period to make it 4-2 with a great chance to make it 4-3 and their goalie makes a big save on Duarte."

"Then we spent the final eight minutes of the game shorthanded. Not helpful."

"We got 20 shots from our defensemen tonight which was great.". 

"We need to find a way to score 5-on-5, win the blue paint areas and score on the flurries around the net created by the initial shot."

"We will see what shakes out with the injuries and suspensions and I will get you a lineup tomorrow afternoon."   

KEYS TO THE GAME

- Not going to come up with a new list of keys to the game tonight, which begins early (6:05 pm). Here is a repeat of the keys from yesterday which all still all apply:

Coach Ferguson

"Tonight we need to be relentless without the puck, trying to get it back. We call it being on the hunt. This includes on the forecheck as well as the backcheck,"

"Our power play needs to get going again and get its mojo back. We switched up the units last game, and saw some positive strides."

"We can't trade chances with them as they are a highly potent offensive team. We need to control the middle of the ice defensively and manage the puck offensively. No silly turnovers."

 

Maurice Fitzgerald

I asked Maurice, color analyst on the Americans home broadcasts, to share his keys for the remaining two games against Kansas City. Here are Maurice's keys:

"Allen must play a solid 60 minutes at both ends of the ice. Defense needs to execute faster breakouts and forwards need to work hard to be available for the passes."

"The defense needs to maintain better gaps and not stand there watching the puck. They need to challenge the puck carrier and get a body on them. We have seen the defense giving up too much time and space and then sweep checking the puck." 

"Scoring needs to come from more than one line or one player. Everyone needs to be contributing."

"The Americans need to capitalize on the power play which has been squandered far to often lately." (FYI, the Allen power play is 1-10 the last three games against Kansas City) ."

"If Allen doesn't score with the extra man, they can build momentum to score immediately following the power play. With sustained pressure in the offensive zone, they have a greater chance of capitalizing on a tired penalty kill unit unable to get a change, if the Americans can keep them out there longer."   

 

Barry Janssen

"The only thing I would add to coach Ferguson and Maurice's keys is get off to a good start, right from the opening puck drop and don't play from behind. Don't forget Kansas City has scored first in eight of the nine games against Allen and won them all. The Mavericks are literally unbeatable if they lead after the first period (21-0-0-0)."

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The shorthanded goal Allen scored was only the second one surrendered by Kansas City all season. Allen has allowed six shorthanded goals. Both teams are at the tail end of the shorthanded goals scored list. The shorty last night was Allen's third of the season. The Mavericks have scored just two. 

• Rapid City and Jacksonville lead the ECHL in shorthanded goals scored with nine. 
• Maine has scored just one shorthanded goal.
• Atlanta has given up just one shorthanded goal all season.
• Greenville has given up a league leading 13 goals. 

The loss last night was Allen's ninth straight, the second longest losing streak in the ECHL this season. How does Allen's nine game losing streak compare to the Americans losing streaks of the past. Here is the longest losing steak in each season since Allen joined the ECHL in 2014-15:

• 9 games: 2024-25 (still ongoing)
• 6 games: 2023-24
• 7 games: 2022-23
• 4 games: 2021-22
• 3 games: 2020-21
• 3 games: 2019-20
• 8 games: 2018-19
• 6 games: 2017-18
• 4 games: 2016-17
• 4 games: 2015-16
• 2 games: 2014-15  

In addition to Allen's current nine game losing streak the Americans previously had losing streaks of eight, seven and five games.  

 

 

 

- Here are the "Best of the Rest" standings with each team's record over the last 10 games in parenthesis:

• .469 - Rapid City (7-2-1-0)
• .410 - Utah (4-4-1-1)
• .343 - Allen (1-8-1-0)
  

- Former Allen defenseman Dalton Skelly (2022-24) has signed with the Rapid City Rush. The Rush were down to five defensemen after three defensemen were called up or loaned to AHL teams. Skelly has been playing in the SPHL this season and is the second leading scorer among all defensemen with 29 points (10G, 19A) in 39 games.

 

 

 

- Defenseman Matt Register (Idaho), who started his pro career with the Allen Americans in 2011-12 in the Central Hockey League days, played in ECHL game 661 last night, the most ECHL games ever played by a defenseman. The sure fire ECHL Hall Famer has three Kelly Cup championships (one with Allen) and has been ECHL Defenseman of the Year three times. He has been named to the ECHL All-Star team nine times. The 36 year old is still performing at a high level this season. Among all ECHL defensemen, Matt is #1 in assists (37), #2 in points (42) and he hasn't missed a game all season.

 

 

- Another busy night in the ECHL with 13 games on the schedule. All eight Mountain Division teams play the same team as last. Here are the games with the winner last night marked with an asterisk. Three road teams won:

• Allen at *Kansas City
• *Wichita at Idaho
• *Rapid City at Utah
• *Tulsa at Wheeling
• Tahoe at *Florida

Here is the ECHL Today with previews of all 13 games: https://echl.com/news/2025/02/echl-today-feb-22    

 

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is not pleasant if you are an Allen's Americans fan. Allen is on the worst team list twice. This season, which could change, and in 2018-19:

 

The worst team in the ECHL this season is Allen (.343). Here is the point percentage for the last place team the last 10 seasons: 

 

.347 - Atlanta, 2023-24

.326 - Norfolk, 2022-23

.408 - Adirondack, 2021-22

.375 - Wheeling, 2020-21

.300 - Norfolk, 2019-20

.389 - Allen & Greenville, 2018-19

.382 - Quad City, 2017-18

.292 - Elmira, 2016-17

.340 - Wichita, 2015-16

.271 - Evansville, 2014-15

 

- The lowest point percentage all time was .227 by the Roanoke Valley Rampage in 1992-93. 

 

- Evansville’s .271 in 2014-15 is #5 all time.

 

Allen vs Kansas City Preview, Keys to the Game, If Playoffs Started Today, PIMPG Leaders and More

 

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they take on the Kansas City Mavericks for the ninth time this season. Their 10th and final matchup will be on Saturday. Here are the stats from the eight head-to-head games thus far:

• Allen's record against KC is 1-7-0-0 
• Allen has scored first in one of the eight games.
• Allen has been outscored 38-15
• Allen has been outshot 313-181
• Allen is 4-28 (14.3%) on the power play
• KC is 9-37 (24.3%) on the power play
• Allen has taken 50 penalties for 141 minutes
• KC has taken 36 penalties for 98 penalty minutes 

- I write a lot about the need for Allen to get a good start and not play from behind. These stats show why that is so important. Records when leading or trailing after the first or second period: 

       ALLEN

• 5-2-3-2:  leading after 1st period
• 10-1-2-1: leading after the 2nd period
• 2-20-2-0:  trailing after the 1st period
• 2-25-2-1:  trailing after the 2nd period

       KANSAS CITY

• 20-0-0-0: leading after the 1st period
• 22-1-2-0: leading after the 2nd period
• 0-8-3-0: trailing after the 1st period
• 2-10-2-1: trailing after the 2nd period 

 

- A reminder about scoring the first goal tonight. Allen has the worst record in the ECHL when its scores first. The Americans are the only team with a points percentage below .500 when scoring first. Allen's record is 7-9-4-2 (.455). Kansas City, on the other hand, has the second best record in the ECHL when it scores first. The Mavericks record is 24-3-1-1 (.862). It will likely be a long night for the Americans if they surrender the first goal tonight. They have done it seven times this season against Kansas City and lost all seven games.

 

- Kansas City's Daniel Amesbury has been suspended for the game tonight. He received a game misconduct penalty in the game on Wednesday for aggressor in a fight he tried to start with J.C. Brassard. He received a one game suspension for his actions and will sit out the game tonight. Amesbury leads the league in major penalties (9) despite playing in only 24 games. He is averaging 5.29 penalty minutes per game. The highest in the ECHL for players with over 20 games played. 

- Here are the leading scorers for both teams in the head-to-head games:

       ALLEN

• Brayden Watts - 8 points (4G, 4A) in eight games
• J.C. Brassard - 5 points (1G, 4A) in six games
• Kyle Crnkovic - 3 points (2G, 1A) in eight games
• Mark Duarte - 3 points (1G, 2A) in eight games 

      KANSAS CITY

• Cade Borchardt - 13 points (6G, 7A) in eight games
• Max Andreev - 13 points (3G, 10A) in seven games
• Damien Giroux - 12 points (5G, 7A) in eight games
• Cam Morrison - 9 points (5G, 4A) in 8 games 

 

- Allen has the current longest winless streak in the ECHL at eight games. It is tied for the fourth longest winless streak all season. If the Americans lose tonight they will be tied for the second longest winless streak this season. The top spot is a long way off. From November 20 to December 18 Utah didn't win a game. The Grizzlies has a 14 game winless streak.

 

- One referee will work the game tonight. Chazz Knoche (33) who worked the game on Wednesday. will work the game tonight. On Wednesday he called a total of 12 penalties, seven on Allen and five on Kansas City. The penalties resulted in eight power play opportunities. Kansas City was 0-5 and Allen was 0-3. He also called a game misconduct penalty on Daniel Amesbury for which the league suspended Amesbury for the game tonight.  

KEYS TO THE GAME

Coach Ferguson

"Tonight we need to be relentless without the puck, trying to get it back. We call it being on the hunt. This includes on the forecheck as well as the backcheck,"

"Our power play needs to get going again and get its mojo back. We switched up the units last game, and saw some positive strides."

"We can't trade chances with them as they are a highly potent offensive team. We need to control the middle of the ice defensively and manage the puck offensively. No silly turnovers."

 

Maurice Fitzgerald

I asked Maurice, color analyst on the Americans home broadcasts, to share his keys for the remaining two games against Kansas City. Here are Maurice's keys:

"Allen must play a solid 60 minutes at both ends of the ice. Defense needs to execute faster breakouts and forwards need to work hard to be available for the passes."

"The defense needs to maintain better gaps and not stand there watching the puck. They need to challenge the puck carrier and get a body on them. We have seen the defense giving up too much time and space and then sweep checking the puck." 

"Scoring needs to come from more than one line or one player. Everyone needs to be contributing."

"The Americans need to capitalize on the power play which has been squandered far to often lately." (FYI, the Allen power play is 1-10 the last three games against Kansas City) ."

"If Allen doesn't score with the extra man, they can build momentum to score immediately following the power play. With sustained pressure in the offensive zone, they have a greater chance of capitalizing on a tired penalty kill unit unable to get a change, if the Americans can keep them out there longer."   

- The only thing I would add to coach Ferguson and Maurice's keys is get off to a good start, right from the opening puck drop and don't play from behind. The stats above show playing from behind will not end well for the Americans.

 

LINEUP TONIGHT

- There will be a different backup goalie for the next two games. Coach Ferguson has signed Garrett Johnson from the Watertown Wolves of the (FPHL) Federal League. That is the pro league below the SPHL. The FPHL is the league Steve Martinson is coaching in this season (Athens Rock Lobsters). In limited duty in Watertown, Johnson had a 1.82 GAA and .952 save percentage. Don't look for him to play this weekend, but a better choice if Richardson should get hurt than a local EBUG. Here is the lineup for tonight:

Forwards

#92 Watts-#26 Asuchak-#16 Crnkovic

#84 Gorman-#8 Duarte-#91 Matikka

#14 Guy-#89 Polino-#24 Blaisdell

#11 Nault-#17 Jacobs-#9 Isaacson

 

Defense

#5 Wilson-#23 Brassard

#21 Van Unen-#82 Fraser

#3 Powell-#2 Warmuth

 

Goalie

#33 Richardson

#1 Johnson (backup)

OTHER COMMENTS

- I am sure most of you watched Canada beat USA 3-2 in overtime last night in the 4 Nations Faceoff. Hard to believe you could leave the best player on the planet all alone in the slot with that much space. McDavid won a faceoff, took a shot, circled back to the slot and buried the game winner. With 13 Americans and 11 Canadians on the Allen Americans roster you know a lot of money changed hands last night. 

- There is about 25% remaining in the ECHL regular season and crunch time has arrived as teams still holdout hope of making the playoffs or qualifying for home ice advantage in the first round. In the Mountain Division three teams (Tahoe, Tulsa, Wichita) are tied for second place with 62 points. Idaho is in fifth place with 48 points put has a game in hand over Wichita and Tulsa and two over Tahoe. Every series is critical. There are 13 games on the ECHL schedule with all eight Mountain Division teams in action:

• Allen at Kansas City
• Wichita at Idaho
• Rapid City at Utah
• Tulsa at Wheeling
• Tahoe at Florida

Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/02/echl-today-feb-21 

 

- If the playoffs started today here are the 13 teams that would miss the playoffs. Included is where each team placed in their division last season. Remember, fourth place and above makes the playoffs.

• Reading - 7th
• Maine - 3rd
• Adirondack- 1st
• Atlanta - 7th
• Savannah - 6th
• Greenville - 1st
• Bloomington - New franchise
  
• Cincinnati - 6th
• Kalamazoo - 4th
• Idaho - 2nd
  
• Rapid City - 6th
• Utah - 5th
• Allen - 3rd

There is quite a mix when you look at the 13 teams not making the playoffs this season if the playoffs started to day. Six of the 13 teams made the playoffs last season. Adirondack and Greenville have gone from 1st place last season to last place this season. Six teams missed the playoffs in both seasons. 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about average penalty minutes per game (PIMPG). Nick Isaacson leads Allen this season with an average of 2.17 minutes per game. Here are Allen's leaders the past seven seasons. Some tough and memorable guys on this list.

• 4.52 - Jonny Walker (2023-24)
• 4.52 - Mikael Robidoux (2022-23)
• 2.60 - Darian Skeoch (2021-22)
• 2.08 - Zane Franklin (2020-21)
• 2.33 - Cole Fraser (2019-20)
• 7.42 - Curt Gogal (2018-19)
• 3.82 - Bryan Moore (2017-18)
• 4.64 - Derek Mathers (2016-17
  

ECHL leaders in average penalty minutes per game (PIMPG), minimum 20 games played:

 

5.29 - Daniel Amesbury, KC

4.95 - Yanick Turcotte, FW

4.44 - Nico Blachman, IA

3.88 - Justin Nachbaur, SC

 

 

- All time PIMPG records are from the 1990’s. Top five range from 10.9 to 9.7 minutes per game..

 

 

- ECHL PIMPG leaders the last five seasons:

 

5.74 - Mark Liwiski, NOR (2023-24)

6.16 - Nico Blachman, ALN, SAV, NOR (2022-23)

6.14 - Mikael Robidoux, KC (2021-22)

4.96 - Arvin Atwal, FLA (2020-21)

5.10 - Yanick Turcotte, WOR (2019-20)\

Allen Loses 3-2, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, 4th Line Magic, Point Percentage Difference Since December 1, Roster Makeup and More

 

Allen lost 3-2 last night in Kansas City. It was the Americans seventh loss in eight games against the Mavericks this season. The loss also matched Allen's longest losing streak of the season (eight games). Kansas City scored first and kept the streak alive, the team that has scored first has won all eight games these teams have played this season. Unfortunately Allen has scored first just once. 

 

- Once again the Americans fell behind and couldn't catch up. Allen trailed 1-0 after the first period which was a death knell for the Americans. The Mavericks haven't lost a game all season when they have had the lead after the first period. A perfect 20-0-0-0.  

 

- Things didn't get any better for the Americans in the second period. Kansas City took a 3-0 lead midway through the period before Allen finally got on the scoreboard. Nick Isaacson scored his first goal since joining the Americans.  

- Allen scored the only goal of the third period to cut the score to 3-2. Isaacson scored his second goal of the night early in the period (4:52). Allen had plenty of time to get the equalizer which included two power play opportunities, but came up short. Kansas City's stellar defense was the difference in the game. The Mavericks have the #3 ranked defense in the ECHL giving up an average of 2.49 goals per game. If you look at the last 12 Kansas City games, they have a record of 10-1-1-0 (.875) and have allowed just 19 goals for a goals per game average of 1.58. Allen will have to score more than two goals if it expects to win on Friday and Saturday.

 

- If you are looking for positives from the game last night there are a few:

• After gave up eight power play goals (3,2,3) in the last three games against KC. The Allen penalty kill was perfect last night (0-6).
• Allen allowed fewer shots (34) than its average against KC (39).
• Allen took more shots (28) than its average against KC (22).
• Nick Isaacson scored both of Allen's goals. His first goals for Allen.

 

-  Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans which includes post game comments from coach Ferguson: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/02/americans-lose-a-tight-battle-with-kc 

- Here are the video highlights. Notice Kansas City's second goal was from the goal line in the corner. The Mavericks third goal was on a shot headed way wide that went off an Allen skate into the net. https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-feb-19-2025

 

COACH FERGUSON'S COMMENTS

- I asked coach Ferguson for his thoughts on the game:

"We were off to a good start on the road, but when they scored the first goal we took our foot off the gas for a bit."

"Richardson held us in the game, bouncing back after a couple of unlucky goals."

"We found ourselves chasing the game again after they scored one goal from a bad angle and one off our defenseman's skate that was going three feet wide."

"Good on Isaacson going to the net and getting rewarded."

"In the third period our forecheck took over and we got pucks back, controlled a lot of the play, but never could get the equalizer."

"The guys fought hard to battle back, we need to end up on the other side of these one goal games." 

 

 OTHER COMMENTS

- If Allen players are in a goal scoring slump they should ask coach Ferguson to put them on the fourth line. Check out these stats:

• The fourth line goal scoring barrage started with Harrison Blaisdell. He had one goal in 28 games and then rattled of goals in three straight games (February 7, 8, 12),
• Blaisdell's fourth line teammate Liam Gorman, kept the streak going in the next game on February 14. Gorman had three goals in his first 43 games for Allen. He scored two of Allen's three goals last Friday.
• Kamerin Nault was the fourth line hero the next game on February 15. He had no goals in his first six game since being recently acquired, but scored the first two goals of the game last Saturday.
  
• Nick Isaacson was put on the fourth line last night and the magic continued. All he did was score Allen's only two goals. Isaacson had no goals in the 23 games he has played for Allen prior to last night. 
• The fourth line has something special going on when it comes to goal scoring. Three multiple goal games and a three goals in three games streak. All this happened in the last seven games. Nine of Allen's 16 goals (56%) in the last seven games were scored by the fourth line.
  
• Gorman was promoted to the #1 line last night and Blaisdell was promoted to the #3 line and neither one scored. They might ask to go back on the fourth line where all the goal scoring happens. (Just kidding).     

- Other than a three game sweep of Rapid City at the end of January the Americans haven't won a game since January 8. Since January 8, Allen has had a seven game losing streak and an eight game losing streak wrapped around the three wins against Rapid City. The Allen record is even worse if you go back to the beginning of December. Here are the details:

• 8 game losing streak
• 1 win
  
• 5 game losing streak
• 2 wins
• 7 game losing streak
• 3 wins
• 8 game losing streak

 

- You add it all together and the Americans record since December 1st is 6-22-4-2 (.264). At the end of November here were the Mountain Division point percentages:

• .694 - Tulsa 
• .632 - Kansas City 
• .583 - Idaho 
• .563 - Tahoe
• .531 - Allen
• .500 - Wichita
  
• .389 - Rapid City
• .353 - Utah

Here are the point percentages today:

• .707 - Kansas City
• .620 - Wichita
• .620 - Tulsa
• .608 - Tahoe
• .592 - Idaho
• .458 - Rapid City
• .418 - Utah
• .350 - Allen

Here is the point percentage difference from December 1 until today:

• +.120: Wichita
• +.075: Kansas City
• +.069: Rapid City 
• +.065: Utah
  
• +.045: Tahoe
  
• +.009: Idaho
  
• -.074: Tulsa   
• -.181: Allen 

You can see Allen has lost more ground in point percentage since December 1st than any other Mountain Division team and it isn't close. Six of the eight teams have a better point percentage today than on December 1st. 

- Probably not much outdoors activity for the team's off day today with a high temperature of 10 degrees. I heard a lot of the players will be watching the Canada vs USA game tonight at a Sport's bar right next to the hotel. Would assume some of their per diem money will be on the line. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post today is about the number of NHL/AHL contracted players and rookies on ECHL rosters. With Dylan Well recalled to Tucson, Allen has four contracted players on the roster but two of them (Thornton, Gavin) are on injured reserve. Allen has 10 rookies on the roster. How does this compare to Allen's opponent, Kansas City last night? Kansas City had eight contracted players dress for the game last night (two goalies) and will get a ninth back on Saturday when Max Andreev returns from suspension. He is second on the team in points (42) and first in assists (30). Kansas City has nine rookies on its roster. 

ECHL teams with the most and fewest NHL/AHL contracted players and rookies. Numbers include players on reserve and injured reserve:

 

Most NHL/AHL Contracted Players

12: SAV

11: CIN, GVL, SC

 

Fewest NHL/AHL Contracted Players

1: WOR

2: IDH

3: TUL

 

Most Rookies

19: ADK

15: CIN

 

Fewest Rookies

5: FLA

6: FW, KAL, ORL

Allen vs Kansas City Series Preview, Overtime Stats, Best of the Rest, 40 Goal Scorers, Games Remaining, ECHL Defensemen Used and More

 

Allen is going to have its hands full tonight taking on the Kansas City Mavericks in the first of a three game series. Kansas City is the best team in the Mountain Division, the hottest team in the ECHL (9-1-1-0) and owns a record of 6-1-0-0 against Allen this season.  

The stats don't lie and they tell a pretty bleak story and it started from the beginning of the season and it has never stopped:

• In Allen's home opening weekend Kansas City shutout the Americans 4-0 and 9-0.
• Allen scores one goal per game less than KC (2.5 vs 3.5).
• Allen allows 1.7 goals more per game than KC (4.2 vs 2.5).
• Allen takes 5.1 fewer shots per game than KC (28.8 vs 33.9).
• Allen allows 12.4 more shots per game than KC (38.5 vs 26.1).
• Allen's road record is 7-12-3-1 (.391). 
• KC's home record is 12-5-2-1 (.675).
• Allen has lost seven straight games while being outscored 39-14.
• KC is 9-1-1-0 in its last 11 games, allowing and average of 1.55 goals per game.
• Allen's road PP% is 19.7%. KC's home PP% is 25.4%.
• Allen's road PK% is 78.2%. KC's road PK% is 79.7%
• Allen's record when scoring 1st is 7-9-4-2 (.455), KC's is 23-3-1-1 (.857) 

 

- It is hard to look at the stats above and see how Allen can get a victory tonight. However, anything can happen on a given night in the ECHL. After all, Allen's lone win against the Mavericks this season came on the road on January 4. It was a strange game as the American won 5-2 and scored their five goals on just 18 shots. Brayden Watts had a pure hat trick scoring the first three goals of the game. It took a Herculean effort by goalie Luke Richardson who face 48 shots and had a .952 save percentage. He will need another Herculean effort tonight for the Americans to win.

 

- I swapped messages with coach Ferguson yesterday as the team was about to arrive in Kansas City in snow and cold. FYI,. the high today will be 9 and the low tonight -10 and that isn't wind chill. You can expect several line changes and position changes when the lineup comes out later today. 

- The typical keys to the game apply to this series. Get a good start, don't play from behind, avoid neutral zone turnovers, keep the front of the net clear, keep the shots close, get good goaltending and win the special teams battle. Penalty kill will be particularly important. In the last four times Allen played Kansas City the Mavericks were 8-17 (47%) on the power play. Can't let Kansas City score two or three power play goals and expect to win.   

 

- Luke Richardson will be in goal tonight and will likely play all three games against the Mavericks. Dylan Wells was recalled by Tucson yesterday, so Allen will use an EBUG tonight. Not sure what the goalie situation will be for Friday and Saturday. Anson Thornton is on 3-day injured reserve and could be cleared, coach Ferguson could find a free agent goalie, a SPHL goalie or he could go with an EBUG.  

 

- Here are Allen's top scorers in their last 10 games played:

9 points, (6G, 3A), Asuchak 

8 points (2G, 6A), Crnkovic

6 points (2G, 4A), Gorman

6 points (2G, 4A), Watts

5 points (1G, 4A), Kulakov

5 points (3G, 2A), Blaisdell

5 points (2G, 3A), Duarte

5 points (0G, 5A), Brassard

 

 

- Allen will likely see plenty of Kansas City goalie Jack LaFontaine in this series. He was just named the ECHL Goalie of the Week for last week. He was 3-0 with a GAA of 0.96 and a .962 save percentage. He saved 76 of the 79 shots he faced.

 

 

- There will be one referee working the game tonight, #33 Chazz Knoche. When you consider in the last three head to head games Allen and Kansas City combined penalties assessed were 19, 13 and 9, you can expect double digit penalties tonight.

OTHER COMMENTS

- If you look at leaguewide overtime stats some teams are involved in a lot. Orlando leads the league with 20 of 54 games (37%) going to overtime. Idaho is second with 16 of 49 games (33%) going to overtime. The best overtime team is Fort Wayne. The Komets have been involved in only eight overtimes with two going to a shootout. Fort Wayne is 4-2 in overtimes and 2-0 in shootouts for a league best .750 point percentage. The worst overtime team is Cincinnati who is 1-7 (.125) in overtimes. Here are the stats for Allen and Kansas City.

• Allen - 12 of 49 games (24%) have gone to overtime. Allen's record is 3-7 in overtime and 0-2 in shootouts for a points percentage of .250.
• Kansas City - 10 of 48 games (21%) have gone to overtime. Its record is 3-4 in overtimes and 2-1 in shootouts for a points percentage of .500.

 

- Remaining home games and road games vary quite a bit in the Mountain Division. With three teams (Tahoe, Wichita, Tulsa) currently tied for second place with identical 62 points and .620 point percentage home vs road games could be a big factor. Here are the home and road games remaining.

Home Games Remaining

• 16 - Kansas City
• 13 - Tahoe
• 12 - Rapid City
• 10 - Utah
• 10 - Allen
• 9 - Tulsa
• 6 - Wichita

Road Games Remaining

• 16 - Wichita
• 13 - Allen
• 13 - Idaho
• 13 - Tulsa
• 13 - Utah
• 12 - Rapid City
• 9 - Tahoe
• 8 - Kansas City

 

- "Best of the Rest" 

• .458 - Rapid City (44 points)
• .418 - Utah (41 points)
• .357 - Allen (35 points)

Rapid City plays in Utah Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

 

- Here are the ECHL leaders in goals. If they play in all remaining games at their current pace the potential total is in parenthesis. Will anyone reach 40 goals? I added the ECHL 40 goal scorers over the last 10 years. No surprise three of the seven 40 goal scorers were with the Allen Americans.

 

29 - Brandon Hawkins, TOL (42)

28 - Cade Borchardt, KC (43)

25 - Tyler Spezia, TOL (36)

25 - Kyler Kupka, SC (38)

24 - Simon Pinard, TAH (36)

 

Most recent ECHL 40 goal scorers:

40 - Brandon Hawkins, TOL, 2023-24

49 - Hank Crone, ALN, 2022-23

41 - Michael Joly, Colorado, 2017-18

41 - David Pacan, Brampton, 2016-17

41 - Brendan O’Donnell, FLA, 2016-17

44 - Gary Steffes, ALN, 2014-15

41 - Chad Costello, ALN, 2014-15

- It is a light Wednesday night in the ECHL tonight with eight games on the schedule. Other than Allen at Kansas City the only Mountain Division team in action is Tahoe at Florida. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/02/echl-today-feb-19 

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL has used 296 defensemen this far this season ranging from 9 to 19. Here is the number used by each team:

 

19: REA

16: MNE, ORL,TAH, UTA

14: ADK, JAX, WOR

13: BLM, IND, KAL, WHL

12: ALN, *FLA, FW, IDH, SC

11: RC, *TOL, TUL

10: ATL, CIN, IA, NOR, SAV

9: GVL, *KC, *TR, WIC

 

*Division Leaders

Allen Swept, Game Recap, Video Highlights, KC Up Next, Overseas Deadline has Former Players on the Move, Best of the Rest Stats and More

 

It was rinse and repeat on Sunday afternoon as the Allen Americans were swept by the Worcester Railers. Just like the loss on Friday night a bad first period doomed the Americans. Allen was outshot in the first period 16-4 and outscored 3-0. Even though Allen was the better team in the final two periods, outshooting the Railers 33-18 the Americans could manage just one goal to make the final score 3-1. 

- Allen did not score even strength in the game. The Americans one goal was scored by Brayden Watts on the power play, his 17th goal of the season. Allen has now lost seven straight games and been outscored 39-14. That computes to giving up an average of 5.6 goals per game while scoring an average of 2.7 goals per game. Not a formula for success.

 

- It will be out of the frying pan into the fire this week as the Americans head to Kansas City for games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The team will leave at midnight tonight and bus to Kansas City, arrive early Tuesday morning, grab breakfast and head to the rink for a 10:00 am practice and then have the rest of the day off. The Americans record against Kansas City is 1-5-0-0 and they have been outscored in the six games 29-11. If there is good news the one Allen win came in Kansas City. I will have a complete series preview on Wednesday.

 

- Here is the game recap from Worcester with all of the details and the video highlights:

• Worcester Railers game recap: https://railershc.com/news/2025/02/railers-sweep-americans-with-3-1-finale-win
• Video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/worcester-railers-vs-allen-americans-feb-16-2025
  

 

- Coach Ferguson met with season ticket holders after the game. Props to the coach who meets with the season ticket holders after every home game unless there is an on ice event after a game that requires the use of the room. Here is what he had to say:

"We all saw the story out there, we came out flat. I don't know what it is. It seems like the last few games home ice advantage has gone right out the window. Getting out shot 16-4 in the first period is not a recipe for success."

"The guys tried to battle back in the 2nd and 3rd period with a 33-18 shot advantage. We are not hear for little victories, but the fight was still in the players."

"We were a desperate trying to score in the third period. What we need is that type of desperation from the opening puck drop."

"Before the game yesterday I told the guys to go to a different coffee shop, drive a different way to the rink, if you ride with a buddy hop in with another buddy, if you play soccer before the game don't play soccer, if you don't play soccer before the game play soccer, try something different. Today before the game the guys were feeling good and we say all the right things, but the fact is there is another team out there when the puck drops and we have to be ready."

"In the first period our forwards weren't working back for our defensemen to give them outlets, so our defensemen were just trying to throw pucks up the wall and they would be picked off and head right back at us." 

"We need our best players to be our best players this week in Kansas City." 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Allen is falling further and further behind in the "Best of the Rest" race. Here are the standings with each team's schedule this week in parenthesis:

• .458 - Rapid City (at Utah Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
• ,417 - Utah (Rapid City at home Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
• .357 - Allen (at Kansas City Wednesday, Friday and Saturday)

 

- Here are the "Best of the Rest" records the last 10 games:

• 7-2-1-0 Rapid City
• 4-3-1-2 Utah
• 3-6-0-1 Allen

 

- Several former Allen Americans are heading to Europe or returning from Europe just before the deadline (see DID YOU KNOW below):

• Grant Hebert (F) - left his team in England (Manchester Storm ) and has signed with the Norfolk Admirals. He had 35 points (14G, 21A) in 32 games in Manchester. His team is in ninth place in a 10 team league and out of playoff contention. He joins Norfolk who is ranked #9 of the 29 ECHL teams and will be in the playoffs.
• Andrew Nielson (D) - He played 10 games in Allen earlier this season and has played the last 30 games in Utah. The defenseman had 23 points (4G, 19A) for the Grizzlies. He just got in under the deadline and has signed with a team in the second best league in Sweden. Utah will not make the playoffs. His team (Sodertalje) in Sweden will, is currently in fourth place in a 14 team league.
• Jame Hardie (F) - He started this season in Allen and was traded to Wheeling. He just signed with a team (Blue Devils Weiden) in the DEL2, the second best league in Germany. His team is currently in seventh place in a 14 team league. His team should make the playoffs.
• Mark Sinclair (G) - played with Allen last season and had a .907 save percentage in 27 games. He signed with Bloomington this season and had a .929 save percentage in 21 games. Bloomington is fighting for a playoff spot, but has a losing record. Sinclair just signed with a team (HPK) in the top league in Finland (Liiga) which is considered one of the best leagues in Europe. His team is currently in 10th place in the 16 team league. The top 12 teams make the playoffs.    

 

- How bad is Allen's record? Allen is on a seven game losing streak and has lost 14 of its last 17 games. If you go back to the beginning of December the Americans record is 6-21-4-2 (.273). Allen's overall record is 13-27-7-2 (.357). The only other season that comes even close to Allen's .357 point percentage is 2018-19 when the Americans finished the season with a record of 25-41-4-2 (.389), the worst in the ECHL. Allen will need 12 wins in their remaining 23 games to match the 25 wins in 2018-19. How quickly can bad seasons turnaround. Just one season later (2019-20) Allen had a record of 40-14-6-2 (.710), the third best record in the ECHL.  

DID YOU KNOW: 12 ECHL players have moved to and from Europe just in the last week. The latest include:

 

Grant Hebert - to Norfolk from England

Andrew Nielsen - from Utah to Sweden

James Hardie - from Wheeling to Germany

Will Riedell - from Savannah to Germany

Ryan Foss - from Scotland to Idaho

 

It all ends today:

February 17 - Overseas Deadline (3 p.m. ET) & IIHF Transfer Deadline (6 p.m. ET).

Another Heartbreaking Loss, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Post Game Comments, Today's Preview, Division Standings and More

 

The Allen Americans found yet another way to lose a game with a with a 4-3 shootout loss to Worcester last night. It was Allen's sixth straight loss and 12th loss in the last 15 games. The three wins were a sweep of  Rapid City.

 

- I do not remember the last time the Americans hit every key to a game except the final score. Check this list out which shows the odds Worcester overcame to win the game.

• Allen scored the first goal of the game. Across the ECHL the team that scores first wins over 70% of the time.
• Allen led 2-0 after the first period. Worcester's record when trailing after the first period was 6-12-0-1 (.342).
• Allen led after the second period 3-1. Worcester's record when trailing after the second period was 5-18-1-0 (.229).
• Allen gives up an average of 39 shots a game, but allowed the Railers only 32 (regular time).
• Allen averages 29 shots per game, but took 31 (regular time).
• Allen won the special teams battle scoring one power play goal to none for Worcester.
• Allen stayed out of the penalty box, four infractions (8 minutes), compared to Worcester with nine infractions (18 minutes).
• Allen had six power play opportunities, Worcester just one. 

 

- If your team met all of the keys above it would mean victory almost 100% of the time, but it was not the case last night. Worcester tied the game 3-3 after pulling the goalie and puck luck was not on Allen's side. A shot from the outside hit an Allen player's butt, dropped down in the blue paint for an easy tap in by Worcester to send the game to overtime. 

 

- Neither team could score in overtime, though both had good chance saved by the goalies. In the shootout, the first five skater didn't score, but the sixth won the game for the Railers. It was a gut punch loss for sure, especially the they way Allen lost that game. FYI, Allen has been in two shootouts this season, lost them both and the Americans are still looking for their first shootout goal (0-6).

 

- The line of  Nault-Gorman-Blaisdell led the team again last night in energy and scoring. Kamerin Nault had two goals after Liam Gorman had two on Friday night. During this six game losing streak Allen forwards have totaled 12 goals and seven of them (60%) have been scored by this line. They used to be referred to as the fourth line. They have been Allen's #1 line during this losing streak. They are now called the "Gold Line" because they wear gold practice jerseys, but they have certainly been golden lately.

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Kamerin Nault (2,3) and Brayden Guy (11). Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/worcester-railers-vs-allen-americans-feb-15-2025

 

- Here are game recaps from both teams:

Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/02/game-recap-americans-fall-in-a-shootout-4-3 

Worcester Railers: https://railershc.com/news/2025/02/railers-stun-americans-with-4-3-comeback-win 

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

- Coach Ferguson brought Kamerin Nault to the standing room only post game season ticket holder meeting. Here is what they had to say: 

"Obviously the effort was great tonight from the guys. I felt like we continued the momentum we built last night and the two early goals were great.".....Ferguson

"I wish our power play (1-6) could have gotten another one as that would have put the game away.".....Ferguson

"We let them claw back on a couple of  unfortunate pinball goals in the third period that ended up in the back of our net. The 6-on-5 goal goes right off our guy's butt and lays right there for them to finish. That is usually how those 6-on-5 goals happen.".....Ferguson

"With the goalie stick delay I thought I would make the longest game in the world go even longer. There is a quirky rule that requires the goalie to have white tape on the knob of his stick. They had just scored so I thought it was an opportunity to stop their momentum. I  pointed that out the rule to the referee. Then he pulled out his rule book and said our goalies tape on the knob wasn't thick enough. That whole delay is on me, sorry you will miss the 10 o'clock news tonight. I didn't see that backfiring on me like it did. I could feel they were coming on strong so was just trying to kill a little bit of their momentum. I saw Darryl Sutter use that rule in the playoffs one time and it has always stuck with me. Our equipment guy, Matt, has a job during warmups, and that is to look at the other guys knobs.".....Ferguson 

"Me just getting to Allen and trying to get accustomed to everything and trying to get my legs back under me has been my focus. Our line talks about keeping the game simple. I know it has been trying season. We have to find a way to dig our way out of this and keep the game fun. It is a privilege to play this game and in our room we have done a lot of good things since I have been here and it is a tight knit group. It seems like anything that can go wrong has gone wrong for us. But everything is fixable and you just need to get the first one and get cranking and those bounces will start going our way.".....Nault

"Blades and Gorms are two young guys. I have played for seven years and I have always believed in playing the game as hard as you can, playing it honest and in the right way. It is nice to have these young legs on my line. They buzz around out there pretty good. It give me a couple of shifts where I can be the third guy high, so that is always nice.".....Nault

       

TODAY'S PREVIEW

-  If the Americans play this afternoon like they did last night they will win the game. It will be a tall task to duplicate the game from last night but a good start will be an imperative. And if Allen has six power plays today, they need more than one goal. 

 

- Here is the game preview issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/news/2025/02/game-day-preview-final-game-this-afternoon-against-worcester     

 

- Here is the lineup for the final game against Worcester (2:10 pm start). Some fresh legs in the lineup (Westcott, Van Unen) and changes to the top two lines:

Forwards

#16 Crnkovic-#26 Asuchak-#8 Duarte

#92 Watts-#89 Polino-#91 Matikka

#25 Westcott -#17 Jacobs-#14 Guy

#11 Nault-#84 Gorman-#24 Blaisdell

 

Defensemen

#5 Wilson-#82 Fraser

#66 Kulakov- #2 Warmuth

#21 Van Unen- #23 Brassard

 

Goalies

#39 Wells

#33 Richardson (Backup)

 

 

- It is back to one referee for the game today. Sam Heidemann (#22) worked the game by himself on Friday, worked with another referee last night and will be back by himself this afternoon. There were four penalties on Friday and 13 last night. Heidemann could have his hands full this afternoon. 

 

If you watched the game last night you saw the referee overrule a too many men on the ice call made by one of the linesmen. Seems like the linesman saw six Worcester players on the ice and blew his whistle, forgetting the Railers had pulled the goalie and could have six skaters on the ice. The sad thing about the incorrect whistle is Mark Duarte had the puck inside the red line in the middle of the ice with an open shot into the empty net just as the whistle sounds. What would have been a sure empty net goal didn't happen.  Then Worcester scored the extra attacker goal shortly after the center ice puck drop after the overruled call. Bad luck again! Luckily that linesman will not be working the game today. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- It was another one-sided police vs fire game that preceded the Allen Americans game. I heard folks talking about the lopsided 9-0 shutout. They probably forget last year the police won 11-0. Over the years one or two dominate players make a big difference in the game. Players that played junior hockey in the past can skate right by most of the players on these teams. A few years ago the fire department had several of these junior players and dominated, but they eventually moved back north where they were from. Now the police department has several of these former junior players and is dominating. 

 

- It was quite the sight walking past all of the players from both teams that weren't playing sitting on the second level all in a row on the stools at the end of the rink. They were paying no attention to the game on the ice. They were all watching the USA vs Canada game on iPhones, sometimes three guys to one iPhone. I found out later how the game started and that was what was holding their attention.

- In the "Best of the Rest" race Utah and Rapid City both won last night and put Allen even further behind. Utah beat Idaho 6-5 in overtime and Rapid City had to come from behind to beat Maine 6-4. It was Rapid City's sixth straight win and seventh straight game with a point (6-0-1-0). That is the longest streak in the ECHL right now withe the exception of Kansas City (9-0-1-0). Here are the Mountain Division standings by point percentage with each team's ECHL point percentage rank in parenthesis:

• .713 - Kansas City (3rd)
• .633 - Tahoe (8th)
• .612 - Wichita (11th)
• .612 - Tulsa (11th)
• .583 - Idaho (14th)
• .458 - Rapid City (22nd)
• .417 - Utah (26th)
• .365 - Allen (29th)

 

- While Allen has lost Utah and Rapid City in the under .400 club, they have added Maine (.394) and Adirondack (380). All three of these teams made the playoffs last season. 

 

- Both of the Eastern Conference division champions last season, Adirondack (North) and Greenville (South) are in last place this season. Going from first to worst is never a pleasant experience for teams or fans.  

DID YOU KNOW: I was looking at the results of the games last night and they were quite striking. Turned them into the ECHL Stats post today:

It was an amazing, exciting and competitive night around the ECHL last night. 14 games seen by 73,479 fans. Let me count the ways:

 

- Wichita beat Tahoe 9-7. The 16 total goals is the highest of the season. Previous high was 14.

 

- Kansas City beat Tulsa 1-0 in a shootout. When no goals are scored in regulation time both goalies are credited with a shutout.

 

- 50% of the 14 games went extra time. 3 were decided in overtime and 4 went to a shootout.

 

- Of the 14 games, 10 were decided by 1 goal, 3 were decided by 2 goals and 1 was decided by 3 goals. Can’t get much closer games than that.