Martinson Post Game Comments - 2/4/13

2-1 Shoot Out Loss, Is The Glass Half Full or Half Empty

If you are a glass half full type of person the headline from last night is "Americans In First Place, Extend Lead To Two Points" but if you look at the glass half empty the headline would include the following numbers:

 1 - the number of shoot out goals we have scored in the last 14 attempts (Schaafsma last night)
 3 - the number of shoot out games we have lost in the last week
 6 - the number of overtime games we have lost in a row
 8 - the number of home games we have lost in a row
 11 - the number of games we have lost in a row
 30 - the number of days since our last victory

As the guys from ESPN football would say: COME ON MAN

I have to give coach Martinson credit as it would be easy to send someone else to the after game press conference as we have certainly seen assistant coaches or players show up in the past after tough losses. Martinson is always there, he gives his analysis of the game, takes all of the questions and is open and honest with his answers. I know as fans we don't always agree with the answers but that is the nature of sports. I find it amazing we are still in first place.

 I don't think most people are pleased with anything at this point but that comes with losing so hopefully things get worked out soon. Enough rambling by me, here are the coaches comments after the game:

- Defensively I thought we were good in the first period but we are not generating much offense.

- In the third period we had a lot of turnovers at the blue line, we didn't get the puck in deep, we didn't make them go the full 200 feet to eat up the clock.

- It is frustrating getting down to the last couple of minutes and then having the game come down to a 6 on 4 power play.

- We were better defensively tonight but we weren't good offensively. We keep finding different ways to lose. The biggest thing in the third period was losing battles for the puck. Fort Worth has some of the smaller guys on defense but they were winning the battles for the puck.

- I expect Pineault and Lukin to play by the weekend which will give us more speed, experience, and leadership . We need to get back to blue collar hockey.

- I thought Hendrikx made some good plays but I have been concentrating on the forwards so I can not say much.

- I thought we fore checked better tonight but some of our player changes  caused a problem.

- I am still spending time on the phone, shaking the bushes, as we may need to sign another scorer.

- We worked on shoot outs yesterday and it looks like we need to continue to work on them based on the results. Howes and Skinner were a our best shoot out guys and we have missed them.

Bruce Graham - Where Are They Now

London, Whitney, Harper & Bruce Graham

Bruce Is The Americans All Time Leader In Goals Scored With 91

When you talk Allen Americans all time greats all you have to do is look at career offensive statistics to get your answer. Bruce Graham is the all time leader in goals, assists, points, power play goals, game winning goals and plus/minus. I get lots of requests for an update on how Bruce is doing  so I wanted to feature him along with his wife, Whitney, and their two daughters (Harper just turned two & London who is about to be one) in this months, "Where Are They Now" feature. Thanks to Bruce and Whitney for taking the time to answer some questions about their lives since leaving North Texas after last season.

Bruce is playing for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) in Great Britain. It is a ten team league with four teams including Nottingham based in England, four teams from Scotland, and one each from Wales and Northern Ireland. Nottingham is currently in first place with a record of 30-8. Bruce has 50 points (28 goals & 22 assists) in 43 games which is second on the team. Bruce started out slow as he had only one goal in the first eight games but he had a great December with 11 goals in 12 games. He has had six goals in the last five games including a hat trick Saturday night.

Whitney, tell us a little about your summer? 
We went back home to Moncton, New Brunswick. Moncton is a small city (138,000 in the metro area) but growing rapidly. We actually  just bought a house at the end of last season.  It is so nice to finally have a place to call home since we move around so much.  We weren't able to move in as soon as we made the long trek home from Allen so we had to live out of suitcases for a couple weeks.  I feel like we are always on some kind of  reality show with hidden cameras.  When we got home the first week was bitterly cold, it was awful since we had just been lounging by the pool in Allen the week before.  The past summer I didn't work and stayed home with the girls.  In the past I had served at a steakhouse that I have worked at every summer for 4 years. Bruce usually spends a lot of time training for the next season and then works odd jobs here and there.  

Bruce, how did you end up in Nottingham?
I know the coach, Cory Nielson, who is from New Brunswick and had been in contact 
with Cory for 2 or 3 years.  It is something Whitney and I always talked about as we really wanted to experience hockey in Europe.  We figured with the girls being so young it would be a good time to experience hockey and life in a different culture.   

How have Harper and London adapted? Has it been difficult having young ones in a new place?
It not only took a while for the girls to adjust but it also took us a long time too.  After being in Allen for 3 years in a row, that kind of became home for us.  We loved it there so much and continue to miss it on a daily basis.  When we first got to Nottingham, it just seemed as though nothing could go right.  The girls got sick, we got sick, the girls got our colds and it was just a vicious cycle. It lasted for about 6 weeks until things finally started falling into place.  We actually weren't able to get our own internet here until October 31. That was literally 2 months without it. Luckily our neighbors kindly gave us their connection  and we were able to get internet in  one room of our place.  That was the saving grace as we were able to Skype with family and friends.   

Bruce, are you used to living a long way from home yet? What do you guys do when you have time off, if you have any?
We are definitely use to living so far from home. This would be the 8th year/season we've been away.  Whitney usually is able to go home once every year to visit our families but with two kids now, she was unable to travel home.  When I do get some time off we usually just try to find something kid-friendly to entertain the girls.  We go to a lot of parks and take a lot of walks. We seem to get a little bit of 'cabin-fever' if we sit at home all day. 

How do you find hockey different there versus the CHL? Does they style of play fit you better?
The caliber is very similar to the CHL or the ECHL.  The one big difference I found was the size of the ice surface (rinks in Europe are Olympic size which are about 13 feet wider).  I was actually looking forward to playing on the different size ice and thought it would be an advantage for me but I found it harder to play and took me a while to adjust to the different size.  Now that I've played 5 months on the Olympic size ice I really enjoy it and find I have more time to make plays and use my body to protect the puck.   

Are you pleased with your point production (50 points in 43 games) and have you stayed healthy?
 I had an extremely slow start which was so frustrating.  Late November I finally got the feel of it and have been having a good season since. Health-wise I have had a good season just a few bumps and bruises.  

Looks like the team is doing great and the league championship playoffs will be held in Nottingham. I know when I read about how the playoffs work it was a little confusing. Can you clarify?
Whitney - I still don't understand it.
Bruce - There are 3 titles during the season.  The main title is the league championship.  The challenge cup is a tournament that is basically spread throughout the season. Play-offs are a max of 4 games with the semi final and final game being a single game elimination.  It set up like professional soccer in England.

Have you had many family or friend visits?
Bruce - My parents visited us for 2 weeks at the end of November.  It was so nice to have them here.  The kids were so excited to have Grandma & Grampy visit!  We were also just as excited and it gave us a few nights out with the team.  Unfortunately we haven't had any other visitors but luckily we are able to Skype with all our family who aren't able to make the trip!

Any funny stories about the girls, language, customs you could share?
Whitney - If we started telling funny stories about the girls we would keep you way to long. They are so entertaining and keep us on our toes every single minute.  They sure know how to put a smile on our faces.  
When we first moved here we didn't think understanding England English would be any different.  The first week here I think when we spoke to people it just kind of went in one ear and out the other. We found they spoke fast and their terms and saying are different.  One of the wives asked me "Do the girls get on?".  The look I gave her she must have known I had no clue what she meant.  What she meant was "Do the girls get along?".  The other one that we noticed was "You alright?" which means " How are you doing?"  but when people respond they say "You alright?" ..... I still don't get it!
Bruce - Whitney things England English is hard to understand, try Scotland. haha

What were some of the challenges of moving from Allen to Nottingham?
Bruce - Driving on the wrong side of the road, the wrong side of the car and where people park just about anywhere. We also found moving away from Allen hard after being there for 3 years.  We were comfortable, we knew the area, we had friends all around and the weather was perfect! 
 
What do you miss about the North Texas Area & the Allen Americans?
Bruce- Brio, Mooyah, Cowboy Chicken, Chipotle, Paradise Cafe, Blue Fish.  We've definitely saved money from not eating out.  The restaurants there are unreal.  I miss the friendships with the guys since we were there for 3 years.  We met some great people while we played in Allen.  Whitney misses drive-thru Starbucks, Target and the great people she met! 
 
Anything else you would like to share or any message for your friends here in Texas?
Bruce - We hope to make a trip back to Allen to visit our very supportive adoptive family the McClures.  We speak to them on a weekly basis and miss them very much!   Also, good luck to the team, looks like this is their year!   

I am sure everyone joins me in wishing Bruce, Whitney and the family good luck the rest of the season in England. They sure are missed in Allen as it was always fun seeing the little ones at the AEC. And with the current slump the team is enduring wouldn't it be nice to have those 30-35 goals per year in the line up.


 


 



 

Notes From Practice - 2/4/13

Had a chance to spend some time at practice today and there were a couple of items of interest:

- Jamie Schaafsma has been called up by the Houston Aeros but should be back for Tuesday game.

- Trevor Hendrikx was skating with the team today so I assume he will be in the line up tomorrow night.

- Jarret Lukin was skating with the team but was wearing the green jersey that I think indicates "do not hit" so I would assume he is not ready yet for game conditions.

- Trevor Hendrikx was wearing number "7"at practice. I know numbers are assigned by seniority but I would guess there is usually some wheeling and dealing when new players arrive.  Being a rookie didn't give Garrett Clarke much leverage. Garrett was wearing number "51" at practice. I know from the interview I did with Garrett earlier in the year that the number "7" had no special meaning as it was the number he was assigned when he arrived.

- Talked to Adam Pineault who is rehabbing his injury and he hopes to be in the line up by the weekend. I think that is best case scenario as his injury is such that you don't want to come back too early and aggravate it again.

- I just caught the end of practice but saw lots of specialty team work. Martinson, Matvichuk & Ludwig were all on the ice and working  x's & o's.

- Shoot out practice was the last part of practice and it looked like it was serious and fun at the same time. Given the fact that we were 0-9 in the two shoot outs this past week it was probably time well spent.

- Have finished the Bruce Graham, "Where Are They Now" article and will post it later this afternoon.

- Hope to interview Adam Pineault on Tommy Daniels radio broadcast between periods tomorrow night. Bring your radio to the game or listen at home on KLAK 97.5. This is an on line broadcast for those that are not aware. We will hear first hand about Adam's NHL draft day (Bobby Orr was his agent), his call up to the NHL, playing in the Czech Republic, and his wife's battle with leukemia.

Post Game Comments and Musings - 2/3/13

Grantham Called Up By Houston - photo by SceneByKimberley

The frustration continued last night as the Americans once again let a lead slip away before a large enthusiastic crowd (5003) at the Allen Event Center. They could not hold a 2-0 lead and lost in a shoot out by a score of 3-2. The Americans suffered their sixth straight home loss on Military Appreciation Night.

There was no post game press conference as the camouflage jerseys worn by the players were auctioned off right after the game.

Here are some of my thoughts, observations, and current stats:

- It was announced during the post game auction  that Ryley Grantham has been called up by the Houston Aeros. He did not play in the game as he was serving a one game suspension for an incident in the game on Friday.

- Jamie Schaafsma has quietly moved into second place on the team in goals scored as he got his fifteenth last night. He leads the team in shots (128) and game winning goals (5).

- The iron men on the team are Bootland, Maiani, Schaafsma and Deitsch as they are the only players that have played in all 41 games.

- I didn't pay close attention to the jersey auction so I may have this wrong but the Darryl Bootland jersey seemed to garner the most noise/bidding. It went for something like $850.

- I wish I could have told the guy bidding up the Garrett Clarke jersey that he was bidding against Garrett's mom who was here visiting and wanted his jersey.

- Had a chance to meet and briefly talk to Monique Pineault after the game last night and what an impressive young lady she is. She is feeling great and all of the reports on her health have been very encouraging. If you haven't read the the player profile on Adam, Monique, and their dog Shadow that I posted on January 11th please read it as it is a great love story as well as a hockey story.

- Saw an article in Scientific American that looked the the odds of winning a hockey game when scoring the first goal. It depends on how far  into the game the first goal is scored but but even if the first goal is scored within the the first five minutes of the game the odds of winning the game goes to 70%. All the more frustrating given the Americans have scored the first goal in the last three games.

- Scott Howes who was on a PTO (Professional Try Out) contract with Springfield which has a 25 game limit was signed to a SPC (Standard Players Contract) on Thursday. Congrats to Scotty.

- Brett Skinner played in his second game for Grand Rapids last night. The Griffins won both games. They play again Wednesday and we should know after that game whether his call up will be extended.

- Colton Yellow Horn had two more goals Friday night and now has 36 on the year. He continues to lead the ECHL in goals and has 10 more goals than his nearest competitor.

- Thanks to Tommy Daniels for inviting me to be part of his radio broadcast as a between periods guest on Friday and Saturday to talk about the blog. Please share with your friends who are Americans fans our web site (allenamericansblog.blogspot.com) and also our twitter handle (@allenamericans1)

- I know I have mentioned this in the past but wanted to mention it again. It is great to listen to the radio broadcast inside the Allen Event Center while watching the game. Give it a try and I am sure you will agree with me that it enhances the game experience. Just tune your radio to 97.5 KLAK.

- Will be working on the "Where Are They Now Story" on Bruce & Whitney Graham today and will post it tomorrow morning.

Rapid City Scores Winning Shoot Out Goal on Military Appreciation Night - Photo by chlphotos.com

Martinson Post Game Comments & Other Thoughts - 2/1/13

Brennan Traded To Arizona photo by SceneByKimberly.com

At the risk of sounding like a homer, which I am, I wanted to start out my post this morning with my uninformed take on what I see and hear happening around the rink the past few games. I know the current streak is unprecedented in the short history of the Americans franchise so these losses, especially at home, are tough to take. But let's not forget we are still in first place, we were all excited about the influence of the new minority ownership group a couple on months ago, this team was unbeatable when everyone was healthy, Steve Martinson has won six championships in 16 years of coaching and has only missed the playoffs once in his coaching career and this team was built for the playoffs. Now is the time to show support, patience, and understanding that the team is shorthanded right now, they are not standing pat and this will get turned around. The on ice group (Martinson, Matvichuk, Kudwig, Belfour) is working hard and when we get our key players back along with the recent additions everything will be fine.

Here are some of the comments Coach Martinson made after the game last night:

- We are back in the same place again losing a one goal game, having a lead and taking a bad penalty, we are short players and take a five minute penalty, as the game went on we got tired and couldn't generate enough scoring chances.

- Hopefully we won't get any suspensions from tonight's game (Grantham or Deitsch)

- We are not playing good enough to take bad penalties. We want to be a physical team without taking penalties. Normally if a player keeps taking bad penalties I will take away ice time but with us short handed right now that is not possible.

- Trevor Hendrikx was signed today and will be in Allen on Tuesday. Trevor played 45 games for Allen last year and was playing for Bakersfield in the ECHL this year.

- I would hope by next week we will get Pineault and Lukin back and we will have more flexibility on who gets ice time.

- Kip Brennan was traded today to Arizona for future considerations. Kip was traded to clear up a roster spot for Trevor Hendrikx. It was a unanimous decision among the management group that trading Kip was the best choice for the team at this point.

- The positives from the game were we came out strong, the penalty kill remains strong and we did a much better job of keeping Arizona from in front of the net.

- Skinner may be back for next weekend. He will be in Grand Rapids for three games but it could be extended.

- There will be no more CHL trades before the trade deadline (Monday) but we will sign some European players but signing them will not have any immediate impact on the team. It will give us options down the road. There will be no announcement unless and until they show up to play which will be in March.

- Even without Brennan we are still the toughest team in the league no doubt.

- Adding Kerbashian, Doyle, and Hendrikx in the last three weeks will improve our team and it shows we will make changes where needed.

Trevor Hendrikx Returning to Allen

EXTRA EXTRA - Facts & Rumors

Had a few items I thought I would share for those that don't keep up with the goings on with  social media.

- Heard a trade rumor which I can't confirm but if it is true it will be another trade that won't sit well with the fans. Keep an eye on who isn't in the line up tonight. If a trade is in the works the player will be a scratch. With the team shorthanded already if there is a healthy scratch that should be a clue. The trade may get announced this afternoon. Coach Martinson said he was working on a trade at the press conference after the game Tuesday.

- Garrett Clarke will not play tonight as he received a one game suspension for the hit on Fort Worth goalie Brad Fogal on Tuesday.

- Chris Doyle is expected to play tonight.

- Chris Whitley was the number one star Thursday night as his Cardiff Devils defeated the Coventry Blaze 4-3 in overtime.

- Justin DeCosta has left the Elmira Jackals and signed to play for KooKoo in Kouvola, Finland.

- Thanks to the Americans for providing "Seats For Soldiers" tickets for veterans from Heritage Ranch and their families. They will be honored at the game on Saturday and one of the WW II vets will be highlighted.

CHL Expansion Update - Brampton & Casper

Central Hockey League team owners reach lease deal with Powerade Centre

BRAMPTON — All that’s left now is for the owners of Brampton’s new Central Hockey League franchise to sign off on a long-term lease and its full steam ahead.
City councillors approved an agreement with the Realstar Group, owners of the Powerade Centre, at yesterday’s council meeting — the final hurdle in securing the new team.
When owner Gregg Rosen and president Cary Kaplan met with councillors last week there were five items of concern that needed to be finalized.
Three of those concerns had been addressed prior to their visit to City Hall.
The fourth, an agreement from council to help with the purchase of a state-of-the-art video scoreboard, met with unanimous approval from the councillors in attendance.
The fifth was the finalizing of an agreement between the City of Brampton and the Realstar Group as it pertained to the lease for the new team.
“The lease with the Powerade and team is also written and agreed to, I am told,” said Mayor Susan Fennell. “It just needs to be signed and executed."
According to Realstars Group's Brian Soye, that may take until next week. The new Central Hockey League team has signed a letter of intent but will now need to finalize a long-term agreement with the building.
The Brampton team is expected to begin play in the Central Hockey League next October.
They are currently asking for the community to get involved in “Naming Their Team"

Professional  hockey remains "a possibility" for Casper

January 29, 2013 9:00 pm  •  By KELLY BYER Star-Tribune staff writer

The city is still working with investors and other parties to bring a Central Hockey League team to Casper by this fall.
City Manager John Patterson said last week that he spoke with investors who have raised about half of the total project amount.
“It’s still going well,” Patterson said. “We will soon come to the point at which we could have a team operational October 2013.”
If private investors can’t obtain the remaining funds by March 1, he said the project may need to be delayed a year.
“At this point in time, we are still hopeful,” Patterson said.
The city would not contribute anything to the project except an ideal facility in the Events Center with enough space and seating. The city would rent the Events Center to the team and some of that amount would be offset by concession and other related revenues. Patterson said an investment board would install an ice rink at the center and that should take fewer than 90 days.
The ice would stay on the Events Center floor eight months a year and a one-inch-thick board would be placed over the ice when concerts and other events take place. The hockey team would play about 40 home games each season, which begins in October and ends in March.
The CHL is roughly comparable to baseball’s AA level in the hierarchy of minor league hockey. It fielded 10 teams this season and will add a team in St. Charles, Mo., for the 2013-14 season. The closest franchises to Casper are the Rapid City (S.D.) Rush and the Denver Cutthroats.