Thank You, Thank You, Thank You - A Season to Forget

 

It seemed like it took forever for this season to come to an end once it was clear Allen was going to finish in last place in the ECHL. Now that the season is over the players will disperse quickly and this team will be gone. While some will return next season, some will retire, some will go to Europe and some will not be invited back, the team I wrote about almost every morning, talked to at practice and watched every game will no longer exist. 

 

- This morning the team will start the year end process of exit interviews, exit physicals, locker stall/equipment clean out and travel home logistics. By midweek players will already be heading for home.

 

- The day has arrived for the blog to say goodbye to the 2024-25 season and go into the summer hiatus. Today I am taking my proofreader (aka, wife Nancy) on a small ship (50 passenger) adventure starting in Malta and cruising up the eastern coast of Italy. One year ago when I wrote my thank you blog the title was "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You - A Work in Progress." Little did I know what would transpire from the end of last season to the end of this season. I think the best title the year is, "A Season to Forget."    

 

- There are so many people to thank for helping with the blog. It is quite an undertaking to write about the team almost everyday during the season and it does indeed take a village to make it all possible. It seems like as the years go by more and more blog readers help me out with information, ideas for stories, ask questions and let me know they appreciate the work I do. It is hard to put into words my appreciation whether you read the blog every day or are a casual fan that stumbles across my daily musings. It has been my pleasure to meet many of you and your words of encouragement in person, comments at the end of each blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, message boards, in email and texts have been very satisfying and inspiring. Thanks to you, the readers!

 

- Thanks to Brett Ferguson and his staff (Jordan Dutton, Jeff Fink, Matt Miletich) for always taking the time to talk to me, share information, educate me and answer my text messages at all hours of the day. A special thanks to coach Ferguson for allowing me to stop by his office after every game and every practice to ask questions and talk about the team. It is his openness and trust that has allowed the blog to have information you can't find anywhere else. Thanks also to the players who have never said no to a single request I have made of them for a chat, an interview or a question. 

 

- A special thanks to team president Jonny Mydra for his support this season. He reaches out all of the time to share information and helps publicize the blog. Jonny both seeks and listens to feedback. He is available early in the morning when I am writing the blog and late at night when I am planning the blog. It is nice to know the president of the team supports and reads the blog and lets me know it is appreciated. 

 

- .As most everyone knows the blog is a labor of love for me, not a business. The only reason for its existence is to share stats and information about the Allen Americans with an insider's perspective. Providing information that is hard to get elsewhere. From a meager start in 2012, the blog has reached 2,976,778 unique page views as of this morning. Looking forward to the 3,000,000 milestone which will happen during the off season. The blog reaches people all over the US and Canada as well as the hockey hotbeds in Europe. It proves fans of the Allen Americans are all over the world.

 

- Tommy Daniels deserves the credit or blame for the blog as I had never given it a thought until he encouraged me to write about the team because I attended so many practices. Tommy has been a great help over the years. I spent the first period on Saturday chatting with Tommy and Maurice Fitzgerald on their broadcast about the season and the past. We reminisced about the championship years and how lucky we have been to be involved in this team.

 

- When I started the blog the intended audience was Allen fans where I live, a resort style active adult retirement community called Heritage Ranch. It was an inauspicious beginning and it is obvious when looking back I had no idea what I was doing. I thought you might get a laugh from blog #1 and #2. FYI, yes I was that close to a pride of lions on a safari in Zimbabwe!

Blog #1 - Welcome to the Heritage Ranch Allen Americans Fan Club blog. This is a work in progress and hopefully both the content and design will improve over time. I wanted to get the site going as training camp gets underway. It was great to see all of the returning and new players at camp today along with Stars players Ericksson, Fistric, Daley, Robidas, & Bachman. Nice to see Jarret Lukin finally wearing his favorite number #32, so long #40 & #7.

Blog #2 - The Lions  are Ready for Hockey After a Lazy Summer

 

 

 - During the off season I will still publish a blog on an as needed basis as new information becomes available. I also have a bucket list of stories to choose from when I get the itch to write over the summer. Everything from the obstacles Allen faced this season, the story of affiliations, it's time to put Riley Gill and Chad Costello in the ECHL Hall of Fame, meet the CUTX Event Center staff and many more.

 

- If you are on Facebook or Twitter, you can see whenever there is a new post on the blog by liking my page on Facebook at "Allen Americans Blog" or following me on X/Twitter at @allenamericans1.  If you are not on social media, make sure you bookmark Allen Americans Blog and check in periodically. You can also check the Allen Americans website where all of the blogs are posted under the "Team News and Information tab.

 

DID YOU KNOW: I always end the last blog of the season with this list. Lots of memories good and bad when you look at the games on this list. When you consider only one team has the pleasure of winning the last game of the season, Allen fans are fortunate to have had that experience four times and they all happened at home. Here is the date of the last game played in each season of the Allen Americans  franchise along with the results.

• May 4, 2010: 4-3 loss at Rapid City in the CHL Presidents' Cup finals
• May 8, 2011: 5-3 loss at Bossier-Shreveport in the CHL Berry Conference finals
• April 10, 2012: 4-2 loss at Texas Brahmas in the CHL Berry Conference semi-finals 
• *May 11, 2013: 4-3 OT home win over Wichita in the CHL Presidents' Cup finals*
• *May 10, 2014: 5-2 home win over Denver in the CHL Presidents' Cup finals*
• *June 14, 2015: 6-1 home win over South Carolina in the Kelly Cup finals*
• *June 9, 2016: 4-2  home win over Wheeling Nailers in the Kelly Cup finals*
  
• May 9, 2017: 4-3  home loss to Colorado, Mountain Division finals
• April 25, 2018: 4-1 loss at Idaho, Mountain Division semi-finals
• April 6, 2019: 4-1 loss at Wichita, out of playoffs
• March 7, 2020: 4-2 home loss to Tulsa, no playoffs, season canceled
• June 22, 2021: 3-2 OT loss at Fort Wayne, Western Conference finals
• April 30, 2022: 6-3 home loss to Rapid City, Mountain Division semi-finals
• May 14, 2023: 6-0 loss at Idaho, Mountain Division finals
• April 28, 2024: 5-3 home loss to Idaho, Mountain Division semi-finals
• April 12, 2025: 7-2 home loss to Tulsa, out of playoffs 

*Championship seasons