The Allen Americans lost a heartbreaker in Tahoe last night by a score of 4-3. The game was back-and-forth from beginning to end. Tahoe scored first just 85 seconds after the opening puck drop. Allen scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead. Then it was Tahoe's turn to score two goals to take a 3-2 lead. Allen tied the score 3-3 with less than five minutes remaining in the game, and as time wound down, it looked like it was headed to overtime. That is when the heartbreak happened. Allen iced the puck with 22 seconds remaining, lost the faceoff, and Tahoe scored the game-winner with 13 seconds remaining to make the final score 4-3.
- I asked Coach Martinson to breakdown the last 22 seconds of the game, and this was his response:
"We had full possession of the puck and time, and we iced the puck. Doesn't look like there was any communication."
"We lose the faceoff, and our center doesn't stay with his guy, which allows a 2-on-1 against the "D" behind the net. Our "D" falls, and they have us 2-on-1 down low. In that situation, the forwards need to quickly collapse and not do the "I got my guy."
"We have scored one even-strength goal in two games (one goal was scored right after a PP expired)."
"The reality is their top players are killing us. Hopefully, their top line is getting tired."
"One of our lines is -4 in two games with zero goals. I am going to move some guys around."
- When I was in a mortar platoon in Vietnam, we used to always say close only counts in mortars, darts, and horseshoes. Allen came close last night and played well, but Coach Martinson is not a big believer in moral victories.
- Here are some things that did go right for Allen:
- Despite giving up the first goal of the game, Allen outshot Tahoe 15-9 in the first period and tied the score 1-1 on Harrison Blaisdell's 11 goal of the season. It was a power play goal.
- Allen outshot Tahoe 45-36 for the game.
- Allen took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period on Danny Katic's 11th goal of the season. Katic is averaging .58 goals per game, the second-best goals per game average in the league (minimum 10 goals). His 1.21 points per game average is #5 in the league (minimum 15 games).
- Tahoe took a 3-2 lead with goals late in the second period (18:38) and early in the third period (8:50), but Allen fought back to tie the score 3-3 at the 15:43 mark of the third period. Brayden Watts scored his team-leading 12th goal of the season.
- Allen scored a power play goal (1-6) and allowed none (0-4) to win the special teams battle.
- Here are the game recaps from both teams and the video highlights:
Allen American - "Late Goal Sinks Americans"- https://allenamericans.com/news/2026/01/game-recap-late-goal-sinks-americans
Tahoe Knight Monsters - "No Change in Attitudes as Tahoe Wins Thriller" - https://knightmonstershockey.com/news/2026/01/no-changes-in-attitudes-as-tahoe-wins-thriller-on-opening-night-of-margaritaville-weekend
Video Highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-tahoe-knight-monsters-jan-3-2026
- Game three of the series will be this afternoon at 5:00 pm CST. A chance for Allen to salvage one game from the weekend. If Allen loses today, it will fall back to one game above .500 and out of a playoff position, behind Wichita, which is idle today. Remember, Allen will play Wichita four times in five days (2 home, 2 away) next week.
- I won't reiterate all the keys to the game that have been included in the last two days, but Allen needs to get off to a good start. The Americans conceded the first goal early in the first two games of this series. That can't happen today. The game today is the fourth in five days for the Americans, with the last three at altitude. This is one of those games that will over skill is a big factor.
- Gursoy and Katic switch lines
- Anthony Costantini in, Decker out
- Marco Costantini starts in goal
OTHER COMMENTS
- There has been a lot of discussion about the impact of the elevation in Tahoe. I decided to do some research on the topic using ChatGPT. There is roughly 20% less oxygen available to the muscles and organs in Tahoe compared to sea level. That doesn't mean the air has less oxygen by makeup, just fewer oxygen molecules per breath because the air is "thinner." Muscles tire faster, and recovery between shifts is slower.
My next question was what the elevation is for ECHL cities? I queried the city in which each team plays. This is not specific to the rink location, and some cities have various elevations. With that caveat, I found the list interesting, so I thought maybe you would too. I grew up always hearing Denver as the Mile High City. Now I know Tahoe plays in Stateline, NV., and is much higher than a mile (5280 feet). Here is the entire list in elevation order, by feet above sea level:
- 6283 - Tahoe
- 4304 - Utah
- 3202 - Rapid City
- 2723 - Idaho
- 1299 - Wichita
- 1096 - Atlanta
- 1033 - Kansas City
- 965 - Greenville
- 897 - Greensboro
- 797 - Bloomington
- 784 - Kalamazoo
- 766 - Fort Wayne
- 764 - Adirondack
- 719 - Indy
- 686 - Wheeling
- 682 - Iowa
- 656 - ALLEN
- 636 - Tulsa
- 614 - Toledo
- 482 - Cincinnati
- 479 - Worcester
- 300 - Reading
- 125 - Trois Riviéres
- 112 - Orlando
- 62 - Maine
- 49 - Savannah
- 39 - South Carolina
- 13 - Florida
- 7 - Norfolk
- 3 - Jacksonville
- It is a light schedule in the ECHL today with only six games. Just four Mountain Division teams are in action. In addition to Allen at Tahoe, Kansas City is in Tulsa. Here are all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2026/01/echl-today-jan-4
- Going into this series, Allen looked to be in great shape. The Americans had won seven of their last 10 games, and Tahoe had lost seven of its last 10 games. On top of that, Tahoe's leading scorer was just called up to the AHL. That hasn't made much difference in the outcome of the first two games. What has helped Tahoe is the return of an NHL-contracted forward, Trent Swick (#76), from 14-day injured reserve. He has been back for three games and scored a goal in all three. Martinson mentioned above that the Tahoe top line has killed the Americans. Here are their stats for the first two games:
- #76 Swick - 3 points (2G, 1A)
- #25 Bailey - 6 points (3G, 3A)
- #65 Paliani - 3 points (2G, 1A)
- Andre Anania and Sam Sedley are two of the best young defensemen in the ECHL. Both had assists last night (Anania had 2). They are #5 and #16 in assists among all defensemen. Sedley is #2 among defensemen in power play assists (19). With the addition of Ty Prefontaine, Coach Martinson has split these high-scoring defenders to put more firepower over two pairs of defensemen.
- Several times this season, the top three teams in the Mountain Division looked to be pulling away from the bottom five, and it is happening again. There is now an eight-point gap, and it has grown this weekend. If Allen loses to Tahoe this afternoon, the gap will grow to 10 points, which will be hard to make up.
DID YOU KNOW: How are the final four Kelly Cup teams from 2024-25 faring in 2025-26? Three of the four finalists lead their division. Who makes the final four again this season? Talk about some consistent contenders that are always in the playoff mix!
Nice win boys!
ReplyDeleteShould have been 2 winds, but we'll take it.
Outshot Tahoe massively.
*wins
DeleteThat was painful last night but great turn around tonight.
Delete