Allen vs Tulsa Series Preview, Americans Sign Defenseman Ty Prefontaine - Player Profile, Allen's Top Special Teams and More

 

The Allen Americans begin a three-game series against last-place Tulsa tonight. The teams will play in Allen again on Friday and then travel to Tulsa for game three on Saturday. Don't let Tulsa's last place fool you. The Americans have played Tulsa three times this season and have yet to win a game. Here are the results of the three games: 

• November 7: 4-1 loss in Tulsa
• November 9: 4-3 overtime loss in Tulsa (Brayden Watts scored all 3 goals)
• November 15: 4-2 loss in Allen 

 

- The common denominator in the three losses was Tulsa's NHL contracted goalie, Vyacheslav Buteyets, who won all three games against Allen, stopping 87 of 92 shots for a .946 save percentage. Buteyets was recalled to the San Diego Gulls after the game against Allen on November 15. Tulsa lost nine straight games after he was recalled. Buteyets spent a month away from Tulsa and is one of those rare players who have played in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL this season. He made his NHL debut with the Anaheim Ducks on December 3, but had a rough night (9.00 GAA, .769 save percentage). Buteyets was just assigned to Tulsa on Saturday and won his first start, beating Tahoe 3-2. He has won his last five starts for Tulsa, and you can expect the Americans will see a lot of him in this series. 

 

- Here are some comparison stats between Allen and Tulsa:

• Allen is 6-4-0-0 over the last 10 games, Tulsa is 2-8-0-0.
• Allen is 5-4-1-0 at home, Tulsa is 4-5-0-0 on the road.
• Allen's goal differential is -3 (67-70), Tulsa's is -22 (58-80).
• Allen's team plus/minus is -24, Tulsa's is -91.
• Allen's team save percentage is .914, Tulsa's is .900.

 

- Here is the more traditional statistical comparison between the two teams.

• Goals scored average: Allen (3.0) - Tulsa (2.6)
• Goals allowed average: Allen (3.2) - Tulsa (3.6)
• Shots for average: Allen (31.7) - Tulsa (32.6)
• Shots against average: Allen (37.2) - Tulsa (36.5)
• Power play percentage: Allen (13.8%) - Tulsa (20.0%)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen (89.0%) - Tulsa (78.8%)

 

- Special teams are always a big key to any series, but the contrast between Allen and Tulsa is striking when you look at the stats above. Allen has the ECHL's #1-ranked penalty kill; Tulsa's is ranked #24. The power play stats are the opposite. Tulsa is ranked #8, while Allen is ranked #25. In their three head-to-head matchups, Allen was 0-13 on the power play, Tulsa was 1-9. Both teams will have power play opportunities in this series. Allen is ranked #6 in penalty minutes (325) and has taken 105 minor penalties. Tulsa is ranked #7 in penalty minutes (314) and has taken 97 minor penalties. Tulsa actually has more five-minute major penalties than Allen (12-9). 

 

- Both teams are below average when scoring first. They have identical records, scoring first in only 9 of 22 games (41%). Allen's record when scoring first is 6-1-2-0 (.778). Tulsa's record when scoring first is 6-3-0-0 (.667). With that said, scoring first will be another key in this series. The odds say the team that scores first will win two of the three games.

 

- This series will likely come down to goalie play. I assume Marco Costantini and Vyacheslav Buteyets will play two, if not all three of the games. Two outstanding goalies with almost identical save percentages, .926 and .930. Marco has won four straight games with save percentages of .929, 917, 1.000, and .978. Buteyets has won five straight games with save percentages of .933, .971, .920, .939, and .941. It could be quite the show tonight. 

 

Ty Prefontaine

- Allen signed defenseman Ty Prefontaine yesterday. - He is a 26-year-old,  6''3", 210-pound, left-shot defenseman from Saskatoon, SASK. He played his junior hockey in the Western Hockey League and just graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a double degree in Education and Kinesiology.

 In 255 WHL games, Ty had 70 points (10G, 60A) and 193 penalty minutes. During his college career, he played 108 games, tallying 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) and 134 penalty minutes.   

What kind of player is Prefontaine? He was the captain of his junior team (Lethbridge Hurricanes) in his final WHL season (2019-20) and led the team in plus/minus with a +43. The next highest was +28. He had 28 points (3G, 25A) and 45 penalty minutes. In his last full season in college (2024-25), he wore an "A" and was second on the team in plus/minus at +19. Steve Martinson's quote to me, "Prefontaine is big, strong, and tough. To me, he is like the prototypical shutdown defenseman." 

Prefontaine is a rookie as a professional, but he has played five years of junior hockey and five years of college hockey. He is four years older than Sedley and Anania. This signing reminds me of Allen's 2016 championship team, when two seasoned college guys who had played in the OHL (Jordan Rowley and Thomas Carr) signed late in the regular season and were key players in shutting down Wheeling's top line. Ty could end up being that same type of player, a shutdown defenseman against the opponent's top line. 

Here is an interview with Ty from last season, which talks about his hockey and his education. You get a good understanding of what the Allen Americans are getting with Ty Prefontaine. 

 

 

- Prefontaine will not be in Allen's lineup tonight. Martinson's roster does not have any extra players with Murray on loan to the AHL and Ty not in the lineup. If there are no other changes today, Allen could still have a full contingent of 18 skaters tonight.

 

- Tulsa has been riddled with injuries this season. As of yesterday, the Oilers had nine players on the 14-day injured reserve, which includes four NHL/AHL contracted players. Tulsa should still have at least five contracted players in the lineup tonight. 

 

- The game tonight will be a one-referee game. Tyler Spott (#32) will be the referee. The linesmen will be Aaron Schacht (#51) and Michael Miggins (#47).

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There are 10 games on the ECHL schedule tonight. Six Mountain Division teams will be in action. Here is the ECHL today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/12/echl-today-dec-17     

 

-  The Allen Americans currently have the #1 penalty kill percentage in the ECHL. I went back to see if the Americans have ever finished a season as the #1 team, either on the power play or penalty kill. It has happened just once. Here are the seasons the Americans finished in the top five since joining the ECHL in 2014-15:

• 2022-23: #4 PP - #5 PK
• 2020-21: #2 PP
• 2016-17: #3 PP - #5 PK
• 2015-16: #1 PP - #3 PK

FYI, in 2016, on the way to their second  Kelly Cup, Allen also had the #1 power play in the playoffs at 27.2%. The Americans scored 80 goals in 24 playoff games, and 35% of them (28) were scored on the power play.

 

DID YOU KNOW: One way to judge the overall strength of each ECHL division is to look at the points percentages of the bottom three non-playoff teams. 

 

NORTH

.500 Worcester

.386 Greensboro

.304 Norfolk

 

SOUTH

.500 Jacksonville

.452 Savannah

.364 Orlando 

 

CENTRAL

.457 Indy

.432 Kalamazoo

.391 Iowa 

 

MOUNTAIN

.500 Rapid City

.458 Utah

.409 Tulsa

 

FYI, the last time a team with a points percentage below .500 made the Kelly Cup playoffs was in 2023-24. Two Mountain Division teams, Allen (.486) and Tulsa (.479), made the playoffs. Both teams lost in the first round of the playoffs. Tulsa lost 4-0 to Kansas City, and Allen lost 4-1 to Idaho.