Allen vs Utah Series Preview, Americans' All-Time PPG Leaders, ECHL Rookie Numbers Increasing and More

 

The Allen Americans are caught between the most optimistic point of view that they can catch Idaho for second place and the most pessimistic view that Tahoe can overtake Allen for second place. Here are the facts: 

• Allen trails Idaho by 11 points (82-71) and has two games in hand over the Steelheads. Idaho's maximum points are 100. Allen's maximum points are 93. That means if Allen wins all of its remaining games, Idaho would have to go 7-3 to finish in second place. More realistically, if Idaho has a record of 4-5 over its last nine games, the Americans would have to go 10-1 over their last 11 games to overtake the Steelheads. Bottom line is second place is mathematically possible for Allen, but almost impossible. Idaho started a 3-game home series against South Carolina last night with a 6-1 win. Next week, they will play a three-game series against Kansas City at home. Allen plays two games against Utah this week and three games against Greensboro at home next week. It’s a big if, but if Idaho gets swept and Allen sweeps the next five games, it will be game on for second place.
• Allen leads Tahoe by four points (71-67) and has a game in hand. Allen's maximum points are 93, Tahoe's are 87. The teams play twice (April 10 & 11) in Allen, and that series could determine which team finishes third and plays Idaho and which team finishes fourth and plays Kansas City. If it all comes down to the last games of the season (April 18), Allen plays Kansas City at home, and Tahoe plays Rapid City on the road. If Allen plays .500 hockey in its last 11 games, Tahoe will have to go 8-2 to pass the Americans for third place.   

 

- My own view is the same as I have been saying for several weeks. The Mountain Division playoff seedings will not change:

• #1 - Kansas City
• #2 - Idaho
• #3 - Allen
• #4 - Tahoe  

 

- The Americans can't be thinking about the standings as they play Utah tonight and then again on Sunday. Utah is out of the playoff race, and Allen needs a sweep. The teams have played eight times this season, and the Grizzlies' record against the Americans is 3-4-1-0. The last time Allen visited Utah (February 20 & 21), the teams split two games, with both decided in overtime.

 

 - Here are some comparison stats between Allen and Utah:

• Allen's record is 33-23-5-0, Utah's is 24-30-8-1 
• Allen is 6-4-0-0 over the last 10 games, Utah is 4-4-1-1
• Allen is 15-14-3-0 on the road, Utah is 7-15-5-0 at home.
• Allen's goal differential is +29 (212-183), Utah's is -22 (202-224).
• Allen's team plus/minus is +56, Utah's is -146.
• Allen's team save percentage is .914, Utah's is .887.

 

-  Here is the more traditional statistical comparison between the two teams. The league rank is in parentheses: 

• Goals scored average: Allen 3.48 (#4) - Utah 3.21 (#8)
• Goals allowed average: Allen 3.00 (#14) - Utah 3.56 (#27)
• Shots for average: Allen 33.49 (#2) - Utah 31.37 (#12)
• Shots against average: Allen 34.70 (#27) - Utah 31.33 (#21)
• Power play percentage: Allen 20.6% (#10) - Utah 20.8% (#7)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen 83.8% (#9) - Utah 79.1% (#22).

 

- The oddest stat above is Utah's home record of 7-15-5-0 (.352). The Grizzlies have the league's worst home record. On the road, Utah's record is 17-15-3-1 (.528). Go figure.

 

- As always, special teams will play a big role in this series. Allen was 3-6 on the power play in the 7-1 win in South Carolina on Sunday. Hopefully, the Americans can keep that going. Here are a couple of ways to look at the stats other than overall percentages:

• PP% home vs road: Allen 24.6% (#2) on the road, Utah 20.2% at home (#13).
• PK%  home vs road: Allen 79.3% (#18) on the road, Utah 81.6% (#16) at home. 
• PP% head to head: Allen 11.5% (3-26), Utah 10.7% (3-28). 
• PK% head to head: Allen 89.3% (3-28), Utah 88.5% (3-26) 

Utah is one of the least penalized teams in the league, ranked #28, averaging 9.76 minutes per game. Allen is ranked #9, averaging 13.25 minutes per game. In the eight games played this season, the teams have combined for fewer than 14 penalty minutes six times. There will be two referees working the game tonight, Kurtis Pare (#55) and David Lilly (#25). By my records, Allen hasn't had either of these referees work a game this season.

 

- Since the last trip to Utah resulted in two overtime games, here are the stats for both teams. Advantage Allen:

• Allen is 3-5 in overtime and 3-0 in shootouts, for a points percentage of .556.
• Utah is 2-8 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts, for a .182 points percentage. 

 

- Scoring first records. Advantage Allen:

• Allen has scored first in 44% of its games. with a record of 22-2-3-0 (.870), which is #2 in the ECHL.
• Utah has scored first in 48% of its games, with a record of 18-9-3-0 (.650), which is ranked #22 in the ECHL.  

 

 

- Here are the keys to the series from a preview earlier in the season. They all still apply:

• Speed through the neutral zone.
• Win the special teams battle.
• Keep the physicality at a high level.
• Pucks and bodies to the net.
• Balanced scoring
• Forecheck
• Offensive zone pressure  

The bottom line is Allen can and should win these two games. 

 

ROSTER UPDATE

Here is the latest info I have on the players not with the team:

• Spencer Asuchak - has been skating and is expected to play next week against Greensboro.
• Hank Crone - will miss the Utah series and the Greensboro series.
• Chase Maxwell - will miss the Utah Series and Greensboro series.
• Braidan Simmons-Fischer will not return from his loan to Iowa this week.
• Divyane Apollon has returned to his FPHL team (Pee Dee).
• Nitika Susuyev has returned to Springfield (AHL) and is not expected to return to Allen.  

 

Here are the recently added players who are with the team in Utah:

• Sam Sedley returned from his loan to Belleville
• Maxim Barashev was loaned to Allen by Tucson (AHL) for the South Carolina series.
• Coach Martinson has signed Jax Dubois - 22 years old, 6'4", 205 pound. right shot center who just finished his season with the University of New Brunswick.

 

- If my numbers are correct, Allen will have 10 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies for tonight's game. If all goes as planned, a player or players will be added before the game on Sunday. That is one advantage of playing on Thursday and then not until Sunday. If you are wondering about the scheduling conflicts at the Maverik Center. Friday night is a Turnpike Troubadours, Wild America Tour concert, and Saturday is the Dinastia Tour by Peso Pluma and Friends.       

 

 Here is the lineup tonight. Jackson Decker moves from the blue-line to forward. Dubois will wear #44, and Parsons starts in goal.

Forwards

11 Barbashyov - 7 Hargrove - 92 McAuley 

9 Katic - 91 Gildon - 29 Watts

77 Sillinger - 18 Blaisdell - 14 Gursoy  

21 Decker - 44 Dubois

 

Defense 

8 Prefontaine - 23 Sedley 

86 Anania - 22 Costantini

25 LeDonne - 2 Warmuth 

 

Goalies

31 Parsons 

33 Costantini (backup)

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Have you ever had a conversation about the best scorer in the history of the Allen Americans? Chad Costello's name is clearly #1 whenever you look at per-game stats. He averaged over an assist per game in his 282-game Allen career. I decided to take a look at Allen players with the best career points per game average. Here are the seven players who have averaged more than a point per game in their Allen career, all household names. I set the minimum games played at 100 games. Here are the results: 

• 1.50 - Chad Costello
• 1.31 - Jack Combs
• 1.28 - Bruce Graham
• 1.25 - Hank Crone
• 1.15 - Greger Hanson
• 1.09 - Colton Hargrove
• 1.07 - Colton Yellow-Horn 

 

-  If you are looking for players to watch tonight for Utah, keep an eye on #26, Danny Dzhaniyev. The diminutive (5'5" - 155 lbs) rookie leads Utah in points (63), assists (40), and shots (254). He is the favorite to be the ECHL Rookie of the Year; he has 11 more points and five more assists than any other rookie. His 254 shots lead the entire ECHL. Dzhaniyev also leads Utah in the head-to-head games against Allen (1G, 6A). The other player to watch is #23 Reed Lebster, who is #3 in the league in goals (30). 

 

- Allen's leading scorers in the eight games against Utah are:

• Points - Watts (7)
• Assists - Sedley (6)
• Goals - McAuley & Gildon (4) 

  

 

DID YOU KNOW: As college players finish their collegiate careers and sign with ECHL teams, the rookie numbers have increased for most teams. Close to 50 have signed in the last six weeks. Here are the rookie numbers for each team as of the beginning of this week:

 

18: CIN

17: UTA

15: **GSO, IDH

14: IND, **IA, JAX, WOR

13: TR, **TUL

12: BLM, GVL, NOR, WHL*

11: KAL, MNE, ORL, SC

10: ADK, ATL, KC*, REA, TAH, WIC

9: ALN, RC

8: TOL*

7: SAV

5: FW

4: FLA*

 

*Division leaders

**Teams below .400 points percentage