Thursday, April 10, 2025

Allen Loses 8-1, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Division Race, Worst Allen Losses, Tie Breakers and More

 

The best way to describe Allen's 8-1 loss to Tulsa last night is look at the keys to the game from the blog yesterday and how the Americans performed against those keys. Last night's results are in parenthesis.

- The keys to the games in this series would mirror Allen's performance in its win over Tulsa just eight days ago on on April 1st. If the Americans can match that effort against Tulsa, they will win.

  • Allen scored first - (Nope)
  • Allen led after the first period - (Nope)
  • Allen led after the second period - (Nope)
  • Allen outshot Tulsa - (Nope)
  • Allen won the special teams battle (Nope)
  • Allen got great goaltending (Nope)
  • Allen allowed only two goals (Nope) 


- It was pretty clear it was going to be a long night for the Americans when they accomplished none of the keys to victory when Allen beat Tulsa on April 1. Last night Tulsa scored three goals on 13 shots halfway through the first period and the games was over. The Oilers scored three more goals on their first, fourth and seventh shots of the second period and the route was on. After trailing 6-0 the Americans finally got on the scoreboard at the 7:11 mark of the second period. Ayden MacDonald scored his ninth goal of the season (3rd since joining Allen 8 games ago). Tulsa tacked on two more goals to make the final score 8-1.

 

- Here are some other stats that help explain the loss:

  • Allen had 38 shots on goal, but score just one goal. That is a shooting percentage of 2.6%. The Americans shooting percentage this season is 8.0%, the worst in the league.
  • Allen was 0-5 on the power play and has fallen to #24 in power play percentage (16.6%).
  • Tulsa was 2-5 on the power play.
  • Allen gave up the first goal of the game. Tulsa has scored first six times against the Americans this season and won them all.
  • Tulsa led after the first period, the Oilers record with a first period lead is 20-2-1-1.
  • Allen trailed after the second period, the Americans record when trailing after the second period is 2-39-2-2.

 

- If you want the blow by blow scoring, here are the recaps from both teams:


- Here are the video highlights with all nine goals: https://echl.com/videos/tulsa-oilers-vs-allen-americans-apr-9-2025 


- To his credit, coach Ferguson stopped by after the game to talk to the season ticket holders, something that would not usually happen in the past when the Americans got embarrassed like they did last night. Here is what Ferguson had to say:

"It was a tough one tonight. We got behind the eight ball early. On the first goal our guy missed a pass right on the tape and they put it in the back of our net and then they scored two power play goals and it was 3-0 halfway through the first period."

"Obviously that team is fighting for their playoff  lives right now. Our guys need to realize they are fighting for their careers, they are fighting to play in this league next year, they are fighting to play for this team on Friday. Quite frankly it was very disappointing to watch. I feel sorry for you guys. You pay your hard earned money to watch pro hockey and quite frankly their is probably beer league game going on in the other rink where more effort was given. I want to apologize to you for how we played."

"We were just saying in my office there were two guys that were plus for us tonight. Mark Duarte and Ayden MacDonald. What they have in common is they play hard every single shift. there are others too, but these two players stood out tonight."

"The good news is we have responded before when we have had clunkers and Friday gives us a chance to respond. I am excited to see the fortitude our young men have."

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

-  Former Allen players always seem to come back to bite the Americans on the backside. Last night was an extreme example. The are four former Allen Americans on the Tulsa roster.  Easton Brodzinski (2023-25), Solag Bakich (2023-24), Tyler Poulsen (2017-18 & 2021-22) and Duggie Lagrone (2018-19). Here is what these former Americans accomplished last night:

  • All four had a point and they combined for nine points (4G, 5A).
  • One goal was scored by Bakich and assisted by Poulsen and Lagrone.
  • Poulsen has been a one man wrecking crew against the Americans. Last night he had a hat trick and five points. Tyler has 22 goals this season in 62 games. He has eight goals in 10 games against Allen. In his other 52 games he has 14 goals. That computes to 36% of Poulsen's goals this season coming against the Americans. 

 

 - The Mountain Division race for the playoffs had one team win in regulation (Tulsa), one team win in a shootout (Wichita) and one team lose (Idaho) last night. With two games remaining here are the points

  • 85 points - Wichita
  • 84 points - Tulsa
  • 83 points - Idaho

Tulsa was the only one of the three to win in regulation and now has 30 regulation wins compared to 27 for Wichita and Idaho. That means Tulsa now owns the first tiebreaker (regulation wins) over both Wichita and Idaho which could be the difference maker. 

 

- I posted this stat a month ago, but with a seven goal loss last night wanted to update. This stat captures just how bad the 2024-25 season has been for the Allen Americans. In the 16 year history of the Allen Americans franchise, prior to this season, the team had lost a game by six or more goals just eight times. That is eight loses of six or more goals in 15 seasons. With two games remaining in the 2024-25 it has happened eight times. Allen has now lost the same number of games this season by six or more goals than in the entire history of the franchise. Let that sink in. Here is the list of all-time worst losses (6 or more goals) in chronological order:

  • 8-1: Tulsa - 4/9/25 (home)
  • 7-0: Idaho - 3/20/25 (away)
  • 9-1: Jacksonville - 3/6/25 (home)
  • 9-2: Wichita - 2/8/25 (home)
  • 8-2: Fort Wayne - 12/14/24 (away)
  • 6-0: Indy - 12/13/24 (away)
  • 9-0: Kansas City - 10/26/24 (home)
  • 8-2: Tulsa - 10/24/24 (away)
  • 6-0: Tulsa - 3/10/24 (home)
  • 6-0: Atlanta - 10/29/23 (home)
  • 8-1: Kansas City - 1/8/22 (home)
  • 8-2: Rapid City - 12/3/22 (home)
  • 7-0: Wichita - 10/23/21 (home)
  • 9-3: Kansas City - 3/18/19 (home)
  • 6-0: Kansas City - 3/6/19 (home)
  • 8-1: Colorado - 11/14/15 (home)

 

 - The Allen Americans will not have an Ironman this season for only the second time in team history. Playing in all 72 regular season games is an amazing accomplishment. The Americans have had two players that played in all 72 games for three straight seasons, a real rarity. Kris Myllari didn't miss a game from 2021-24 and Chad Costello didn't miss a game (regular season or playoffs) from 2014-17. Chad played in a total of 276 straight games over those three season (216 regular season, 60 playoff games).

 

   

DID YOU KNOW: It is the final weekend of the ECHL regular season and four playoff teams (25%) still need to be decided. Time to review the top tiebreakers:
 
1. Regulation wins
2. Regulation + OT wins
3. Goal differential
 
 
THE PLAYOFFS 
 
North Division - 3 qualified
Trios Rivières
Norfolk
Wheeling
Between Worcester and Reading for 4th spot
 
South Division - 4 qualified
South Carolina
Florida
Jacksonville
Orlando 
 
Central Division - 3 qualified
Toledo
Fort Wayne
Iowa
Indy hasn’t clinched but will get the 4th spot
 
Mountain Division - 2 qualified
Kansas City
Tahoe
Wichita, Tulsa and Idaho, separated by two points, are battling for the final two spots.

35 comments:

  1. Costello 💪🏻

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The interim coach of a team that is out of the playoffs. He’s the savior.

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    2. please stop beating me

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  2. It feels like you have written more blogs this year citing the worst losses in team history than there have been blogs about wins. Train wreck doesn't cover how bad this season has been

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    Replies
    1. And yet people renewed Season
      Tickets. Whole team ownership, management, and sth fan base is just dumb money at this point.

      C'mon the announcer everyone liked walked away...anyone holding on at this point is delusional.

      Be a fan. I am. Stopped stm seats a year ago. Still wear my hats, shirts, hoodies around town, even for worst team in league with the worst owners ever.

      But I'm not giving them another dime. Free tickets at Stars Center or kids schools save me thousands. Probably the last season anyway, bottom of league teams don't last, which is what Joe wanted all along.

      Allen hockey is all but over, congratulations Joe, Echl, and the Jack's. Truely brought a culture of winning to Allen. And yet yall the absolute worst thing to ever happen to Allen.

      Delete
    2. A lot of the newbies need to be educated on all levels!

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  3. Here is my protected list:
    1. Duarte
    2.
    3.
    4.
    5.

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    Replies
    1. Agree. I’m hoping he gets to go to an AHL camp and then get signed. He's a fantastic player and his work ethic is off the charts.

      Delete
    2. Kane
      Morrison
      Brassard

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    3. I'd protect 7.
      Duarte
      Brassard
      Kane
      Gorman
      Wilson
      Westcott
      Kulakov

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    4. I would protect Duarte, and Fraser ( getting healthier will be much better next season),

      Delete
  4. Poulsen vomited after his 2nd goal and still came out and got a hat trick right after. Kinda sad when you let a sick player wreck you.

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  5. "Allen has now lost the same number of games this season by six or more goals than in the entire history of the franchise."
    And yet we still have people claiming Ferguson ought to be head coach next season....

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    Replies
    1. This wasn’t his team that he picked, there was a guy name BJ Adan’s, I see that’s hard for you to understand.
      This was still the plan from the beginning by Joe Ernst and sadly he was successful.

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    2. Sorry but look at the transactions. Ferguson made more changes than BJ did. And he lost twice as many games as BJ did. He doesn't get a pass either. Sorry if that's hard for you to understand

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    3. Yep! Can't fix a team mid-season, Just ask Chad Costello

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    4. Costello 💪🏻🤣

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    5. Way to go Chad!!

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  6. Love how Ferguson blames the players and apologizes for their lack of effort. Basically calling them beer leaguers.How about take responsibility for yourself and how all year you were unable to have them game ready. No systems and no adjustments made. Hard for players to commit to an intern coach like him. No free pass. Cannot be Allen’s coach next year. Nobody will come here to play for him. Please find an experienced coach that can help rebuild.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m not sure that’s overly accurate.
      I’m not inside the locker room, but I hear he has the support of the players and they believe in him.
      There are systematic failures at all levels in the BJ era.
      The foundation was eroded by firing Costello. BJ created his own foundation and base of players that simply didn’t work.
      Yes I’m a Costello supporter, but Rapid City didn’t have the headaches we had in Allen. BJ was a total p*ick to everyone. Burt wasn’t.

      Ferguson deserves a season, I think he will get it. That being said, the opportunity to prove himself will be the season start through Dec 31. If results don’t happen, he’ll be fired like BJ.

      I could be wrong, but Ferguson has player support and he has a lot of fans internally. Just sayin…..

      My vote is for Costello, but he will be Rapid’s next HC/GM 🤫

      Delete
    2. Yep - another year of shitty hockey is exactly what is needed in Allen Mr Bean is not the answer

      Delete
  7. Not sure of the players you have heard from. I have heard the opposite. Ferguson also got rid of some of our skilled players and made decisions that drastically impacted the quality on the ice. Assistant coach at best. Even that’s a stretch. As a fan, he might seem to be nice guy but unfortunately does not have the knowledge to build and coach a winning team. Can’t afford to have another year like this year. Saying, give him a chance and if it doesn’t work, then fire him is exactly what we can’t have happen. We need to be competitive from the start which requires an experienced coach who can recruit and put systems in place. Sorry once again, but Ferguson is not the guy. Showed nothing to deserve it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m not the guy above, but you mean players that either had attitude, wanted to play on a winning team, or who had results that were bad when compared to others on the team (not just plus/minus, but more complex and detailed stats)?

      FACT: Kamerin Nault won’t ever be playing in an Americans jersey ever again after his shenanigans last night. Take that to the bank.

      Delete
    2. This team is loaded with players that would be struggling to hold down SPHL jobs coached by a guy with no business coaching - why is that so hard to see?

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    3. One persons view………………

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    4. Make that two!

      Delete
  8. I have never coached and no offense to Ferguson but I could coach as many games and luck into a handful of wins.

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    Replies
    1. Paul, I’d love to see you on the bench and what you could do, the problem is your talk is that of a hundred others that think things are easy and the ability to get results is as simple as showing up.
      Mathematically, I’d agree to a degree.
      Why not pound on the players whose numbers are pathetic.
      Watts has fallen off a cliff in the second half of the season.
      Imagine if Duarte didn’t miss games, we had support from Tucson, Gavin wasn’t injured, Watts played like he did the first half.

      I’m sorry, but it’s not all on Ferguson.

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    2. I doubt any of you jokers have even spoken to Ferguson. Maybe take a moment and speak to him and understand him, his knowledge of the game and his persona. Judging from a distance is weak.

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    3. VOTE WITH YOUR FEETApril 11, 2025 at 10:10 AM

      I had a boss that would tell whiny employees to “Vote with your feet!” as he pointed towards the exit.
      Nobody is forced to buy season tickets! Walking away shows your “vote against” how the Allen Americans Hockey Club is currently being operated. Renewing your season tickets shows your “vote for” and support of how the Allen Americans Hockey Club is currently being operated.
      Americans Hockey Fans, the decision has always been yours! Continue paying for a shit show -or- Vote with your feet!

      Delete
    4. It's a SPECTATOR sport - I don't need to have the guy over for dinner to conclude he can't coach

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    5. Who said dinner joker?

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    6. Breaking bread with someone is an ideal way of getting to know them.

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  9. Be upset with the team, with ownership, with the season. That's all fine. Make all the comments you want. Guys don't attack each other on this blog. Everyone is welcome to their own opinions. It is not the fault of any frustrated fan so don't take it out on each other

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  10. The bottom line goal for next year should be a winning coach and GM recruiting top players into a system that works at this level. All the glitz and fan fair! does not matter. With a winner everything else will fall into place.

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