Allen Sets Record in 5-1 Win, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Projected 20 Goal Scorers in Allen, Best and Worst List and More

 

The Allen Americans salvaged the series in Tahoe with a 5-1 win over the Knight Monsters yesterday afternoon. After losing the first two games of the series (5-0 & 4-3), the Americans made a statement in game three, dominating Tahoe in record fashion. On the way to their 5-1 victory, Allen set a franchise record with 63 shots on goal. The Americans also eclipsed the highest shot total in the ECHL this season, before yesterday it was 55. Coach Martinson has talked about the importance of winning the final game of three games in three days and four games in five days, something that wasn't happening earlier in the season. Team fitness, playing physically, and playing with speed through the neutral zone are key components to recent success in these situations. As Martinson said after the game yesterday, "Our team is built for series and the playoffs, we are just getting started." 

 

Here is what the stats say about the game and the week:

• Allen scored the first goal after allowing the first goal in games one and two. Allen's record when scoring first improved to 10-1-2-1 (.846). 
• Allen outshot Tahoe in every period by a wide margin: 19-13, 21-7, 23-5 for a total of 63-25.
• Allen led 2-0 after the first and second periods. The Americans' record when leading after the second period remains perfect, 11-0-0-0.
• Every player in the lineup had shots on goal, led by the veterans: McAuley (9), Hargrove (7), Asuchak (6), Crone (5), Watts (5).
• Allen had fewer penalties (7-10) and penalty minutes (22-36) than Tahoe. The Americans scored a power-play goal for the seventh time in the last eight games.
• Allen lost twice in Tahoe, but finished the week 2-2-0-0. 
• Allen scored five goals yesterday; the Americans have scored five or more goals in their last six wins. The Americans average 3.37 goals per game for the season, is ranked #4 in the ECHL. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were: 

• Colby McAuley scored the first goal of the game, his eighth and the last goal of the game, his ninth of the season. Colby has 12 points (5G, 7A) in the last nine games.
• Michael Gildon scored his ninth goal of the season to give Allen a 2-0 lead in the first period.  His goal was the game-winner. Michael has 17 points (9G, 8A) in 30 games, surpassing his production from last season when he had 11 points (6G, 5A) in 37 games.
• Danny Katic scored his 12th goal. Katic's average goals per game is now .60 (12 goals in 20 games). He now has the highest goals-per-game average in the league among players who have played 20+ games. 
• Chase Maxwell scored his second professional goal 
• In addition to the goal scorers, Colton Hargrove and Brad Morrison had two assists.

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams and the video highlights:

• Allen Americans - "Americans Blast Idaho 5-1" - https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/01/game-recap-americans-blast-tahoe-5-1 
• Tahoe Knight Monsters - "Come Monday, It'll be Alright: Allen defeats Tahoe 5-1" - https://knightmonstershockey.com/news 
• Video Highlight: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-tahoe-knight-monsters-jan-4-2026 

 

- Next up for the Americans is yet another 4-in-5, all games against Wichita. The teams will play on Wednesday and Friday in Allen and then travel to Wichita for games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. At least both teams will be in the same boat, but a tough ask for any team. They will play Friday night in Allen, and then get on the bus for the 365-mile trip to Wichita to play Saturday night. 

This will be an important series for both teams as they battle for a playoff spot. They are currently #4 Allen (.550) and #5 Wichita (.534) in the Mountain Division standings. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- It seems like every season, January is a key month in determining the teams that will make the playoffs. This month will be a big indicator of whether Allen can compete with the top three teams in the division or will spend the rest of the season battling with the bottom five teams for the last playoff spot. Here is Allen's record by month. If the Americans can maintain the December pace in January, they will compete with the top three. It will be tough to duplicate December's performance, given that Allen has started the month 1-2-0-0 (.333).    

• 2-2-1-0 (.500) - October
• 4-5-2-0 (.455) - November
• 8-3-0-0 (.727) - December    

 

- It is no surprise that the Western Conference has familiar teams leading the divisions. Kansas City and Toledo met in the Conference Finals last year, with Toledo winning 4-1 and advancing to the Kelly Cup finals, losing 4-1 to Trois Riviéres. It is starting to look like the Mavericks and Walleye will be the class of the conference again this season. They are starting to separate themselves in their respective divisions. Kansas City has won six straight games and is 8-1-0-1 in the last 10 games. The Mavericks have a three-point lead and a game in hand over second-place Idaho. In the Central Division, Toledo has a streak of 10-0-1-0 and has opened up a four-point lead with a game in hand over second-place Fort Wayne. There are still over 40 games remaining in the regular season, so things could change, but odds are Kansas City and Toledo will be in the Kelly Cup final four again in 2026.

 

- Last season, Allen had one player who scored 20+ goals. Mark Duarte had 23. Based on their current pace, how many players are projected to score 20+ goals this season? This projection takes each player's average goals per game thus far this season and multiples it by the remaining 42 games. Based on that criterion, five players will score 20+ goals this season. 

• 37 goals - Danny Katic 
• 29 goals - Brayden Watts
• 26 goals - Harrison Blaisdell
• 23 goals - Colby McAuley 
• 22 goals - Michael Gildon 

Two things will impact this list. First, if players don't play in all 42 remaining games, they could drop off the list. Second, if players not on the list score at a higher pace over the final 42 games, they could reach 20 goals and get added to the list. 

 

- Here is the odd stat of the day. In 2022-23, Allen did not have any players with more than 14 goals and fewer than 33 goals. That's right, goals scored went from 14 to the following:

• 33 goals - Liam Finlay
• 36 goals - Jack Combs
• 39 goals - Colton Hargrove
• 49 goals - Hank Crone

 

DID YOU KNOW: The best and the worst list. Here is the gap between the ECHL’s #1 and #30 teams in the following stats:

Goals Scored Gap - 39 goals

#1 Idaho: 110

#30 Worcester: 71

 

Goals Against Gap - 63 goals

#1 Atlanta: 53

#30 Tulsa: 116

 

Points Gap - 27 points

#1 Wheeling: 45

#30 Iowa: 18

 

PIMS Gap - 313 minutes

#1 South Carolina: 564

#30 Toledo: 251

 

Power Play Percentage Gap - 22.1%

#1 Toledo: 32.2%

#30 Rapid City: 10.1%

 

Penalty Kill Percentage Gap - 16.2%

#1 Greensboro: 87.5%

#30 Rapid City: 71.3%