Americans Lose, Was It The Refs Fault & More

The referee became part of the game last night - photo by SceneByKimberly.com

After eight days between playoff games the Americans started the first game of the second round against Missouri the same way they did in the first round against Denver, with a loss. Last night it was a lopsided 5-1 victory for the Mavericks before 3782 disappointed and in some cases angry fans at the Allen Event Center. Here are my thoughts on the game.

- Like turnovers in football, free throw shooting in basketball, or errors in baseball, in hockey you can usually tell the outcome of a game just by looking at special teams.  Last night was no exception as our much improved power play was 0-4  and our dynamite penalty kill gave up three goals in eight attempts. In addition we missed a penalty shot.You are not going to win many games with those special teams results.

- I have said many times on this blog all home teams think they get the short end of the stick when it comes to officials calls. I am always hesitant to blame the referee as calls even out over time. There are two ways to look at what happened last night with the referee. One point of view is the referee let his emotions get the best of him, took things personally, became the story of the game, and cost Allen the game. The other point of view is the Americans lost their composure and discipline, took away power plays because of retaliation, turned two minute penalties into four minutes with their actions, and forced the referee to take control.

-The truth most likely lies somewhere in between these two points of view. There is an article about the referee, Peter Tarnaris, which I posted on March 5, 2013 with the title, "The Inside Story Of A CHL Referee." I encourage you to give it a read if you haven't done so already. He is a young guy that already has lots of experience as he became a referee in the USHL & NAHL when he was only 15. He is a rostered American Hockey League (AHL) official which puts him on track to move up to the AHL. A referee never wants to become the story of the game and unfortunately last night that is exactly what happened. I think he would have earned more respect from the players on both teams if he would have been a little more tolerant of the chirping that goes on in an intense second round playoff game.

- The penalty minutes in the game were 57 for the Americans and 17 for Missouri. Of the Americans 57 penalty minutes I count 36 minutes having to do with too much chirping, not listening to the referee, and other antics. This is where I thought Tarnaris could have shown some restraint and tolerance. He didn't cost Allen the game, he just became more important to the outcome than a referee should. By the way, the referee for the game tonight (Monday) is Brent Coulombe.

- The Americans out shot Missouri 37-24. I think there has been a trend the last ten games or so where Allen has lost most games when out shooting their opponents by large margins.

- Trevor Hendrikx left the game with a leg injury. It didn't look good as he needed help getting off the ice. This will be a big loss if can't continue to play in the series.

- Anthony Maiani skated in warmups but did not play in the game. Don't know if he suffered a set back with his injury or the team is just being cautious with getting him back in the line up.

- As no surprise to anyone Adam Pineault was placed on the IR slot for this series so is ineligible to play against Missouri. Adam talked to Tommy Daniels on his radio broadcast last night and Adam said he will be ready to go for the finals. He also shared with Tommy that the fundraiser he and Monique had for Martine Durelle has now exceeded $16,000.

- I had the chance to talk to one of the CHL officials before the game last night about the "injured reserve slot" that is part of the playoff roster. This provision, agreed to by the owners, was to allow teams to keep a player who was injured on the roster in hopes of them being able to play in the subsequent round. This is an extra slot that avoids having to cut a player as would be the case if this extra slot was not available. Some teams have chosen to not use this IR slot as it is not intended for hiding healthy players.

- I was also told the amateur rule limits the number of amateur players that can be signed each year to two which means if you have two amateur players and one or both get injured the rule does not allow them to be replaced. Obviously there was some kind of snafu that allowed Alexandre Lavoie to be signed and play but it is the reason he is no longer with the team. While Alex only played one game he made a good impression so lets hope he comes back next year.

- I also had a chance to meet the Mavericks Vice President of Communication, Patrick Armstrong last night and we had a great conversation. He has worked in the CHL for ten years so has lots of history with the league. The best story he told me has to do with the Mavericks top line of Sebastien Thinel, Kellan Tochkin, and Kenton Miller. You have the 32 year old veteran in Thinel playing with two 22 year old rookies. They each had a goal last night and are ranked 1st, 2nd & 4th in scoring in the playoffs. Thinel has two young sons named Maddx & Jett and in a little locker room humor the team has started calling the rookies (Tochkin & Miller) Maddx and Jett.

- St. Charles Chill coach Jamie Rivers posted on twitter that after extensive talks with his family he will not be coming over to the United Kingdom this season. Not sure what this means relative to the Chill but I do find it interesting that neither Rivers or Chill President and General Manager Nicole Kupaks ever mention the Chill in their tweets.

- As coach Martinson often says the best thing about back to back games is you have a chance to redeem yourself if you lose the first game. Let's hope we repeat what happened in the first round and have a great game tonight.

- Is it just me that misses the post game press conferences? I find it strange that coach Martinson and/or the front office has chosen to discontinue these for the playoffs. COME ON, MAN

Practice Notes - 4/13/13

A rare afternoon practice at the Allen Event Center community rink drew quite a few fans to watch the Americans go through the paces. There is a group of fans that are very dedicated to this team and you can tell the guys really appreciate them. Here are my observations from the practice:

- It was good to see Aaron Dell back in red after his game on Thursday in Houston. I have to admit he looks good in an AHL uniform which I hope he is wearing next year. The Houston Aeros have had 10 different goalies on their roster this year and have 30 goalie transactions with all of the injuries and call ups.

Aaron Dell as a Houston Aero

- Anthony Maiani was skating at practice for the second day so his return to the line up is getting closer. Still not sure when he will be available but he is moving in the right direction.

- Adam Pineault was not skating with the team so he is still a ways away from his return to the ice. Haven't heard anything from the team but it would appear Adam will be the person on IR for the second round based on who is skating and who is not. That would make him ineligible for the entire second round. I don't think the decision on the IR slot has to be made until today so we will obviously know by game time.

- Drew Daniels was not at practice but the rumor I heard is he went home (New York) for a couple of days and will be back to play in the game tonight.

- Not sure if it will carry over to the game but the lines in practice were:
McMillin, Robinson & Kerbashian
Doyle, Schaafsma &Bootland
Lukin, Deitsch & McKenzie

- The defensemen parings were:
Montgomery & Trevor Ludwig
Berube & Tyler Ludwig
Baldwin & Hendrikx

- Lots of activity around the locker room by the time practice was over. I was interviewing some of the  Americans players for an article I am working on to wrap up the season and the Texas Revolution football team had players all over the place getting dressed, taped and ready to play. Some big guys taking up lots of space. By the way, the Revolution beat Cedar Rapids last night in what was a real defensive struggle by a score of 82-72.

- As a followup to my post yesterday about St. Charles Chill coach Jamie Rivers his agent posted last night that today would be a big day for Rivers and the EIHL. Stay tuned. My prediction is if Rivers is leaving, the Chill will not play in the CHL this fall.

CHL Rumors, Dell Returns, Frozen Four & More

Aaron Dell has returned to Allen after a one game stint in Houston - photo by chlphotos.com

 - Aaron Dell has returned to Allen after his one game call up to the Houston Aeros. While Aaron did not play in the 4-3 victory over the San Antonio Rampage Thursday night in Houston it is a great experience for the rookie who most believe will be playing in the AHL next season.

- Found this post on chlforums.com ( a great site for CHL fans) by MavaFanJoe who is a regular contributor and have to agree with him he has too much time on his hands but interesting nevertheless. Here is is post;
 I do these types of things, because, well, sometimes I have way too much time on my hands. Also, I have a very analytic mind that thinks of this kind of crap. But, did you know, that last night, April 12, 2013, was the first Friday, in the last 25 weeks (since October 19, 2012) that there was no hockey played in the CHL? And, today will be the first Saturday during the same period, that the CHL will not hold a game on a Saturday? Inevitable, yes, but strange since we are still in the post-season. Until the President's Cup is won, one would think there would still be at least a Saturday game.

- Not to worry about watching hockey as the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game is tonight between Yale and Quinnipiac. The two schools who are only 10 miles apart in central Connecticut earned their way to the NCAA hockey championship on Thursday. Yale edged UMass Lowell 3-2 in overtime in one semifinal, and top-seeded Quinnipiac followed by beating St. Cloud State 4-1.
The victories set up the fourth showdown between the Bobcats and the Bulldogs this year. Quinnipiac is 3-0 against Yale this season, though it will hardly matter if they can't make it four in a row.

-  While St. Cloud State didn't make it to the finals they did have the Hobey Baker award winner in Drew LaBlanc who hails from Hermantown, Minnesota which is a suburb of Duluth. Drew signed with the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday.  Speaking of Duluth and Hobey Baker awards and my Minnesota roots I will weave in my too much time on my hands trivia here. The Hobey Baker Award which is hockey's equivalent of the Heisman  was first awarded in 1981 and the first winner was Neal Broten from the University of Minnesota. Neal is from Roseau, MN the same hometown as Brian McMillin. The school with the most Hobey Baker award winners with five is the University of Minnesota Duluth where Mike Montgomery was the captain of the team when they won the NCAA championship in 2011. Finally, Minnesota is the home state of nine Hobey Baker award winners with Michigan in second place with four winners.

- For those looking for information on what will happen with the CHL after the season I found a couple of fun facts you can consider. None of this says anything definitive but it is food for thought.
There is a web site (thesportsadvisorygroup.com) where minor league sports franchises list teams for sale and also minority ownership for sale. The company name is WB Grimes and Company Sports Advisory Group. While looking through this site I found two minor league hockey listings that I found interesting:

*This exciting Midwest “AA” professional hockey team is scheduled to launch in the 2013 season. Seeking investors now to help develop business and marketing strategies leading up to the launch. Team will play in an exceptional U.S. hockey market. Investment units starting at $125K* This one has to be the St. Charles Chill and this may be normal operating procedure but it could also mean they need money to start up. There have been rumors they are having difficulty. See info below about their coach.
*Ground floor opportunity to join ownership group of a top CHL franchise located in the Southwest. Major metro area location. Terrific and well funded ownership group already in place. Solid marketing and operations already driving this team to new heights* I think this one is for the Brahmas as the contact person for this listing has a telephone number with the area code (817) which is Fort Worth. Again, this could be normal operating procedure to get an infusion of money.

- Something else I came across has to do with the St. Charles Chill head coach, Jamie Rivers, who was named head coach back in September 2012. Rivers is a 38 year old veteran who was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 1993 and has played for six different NHL teams as well as in the OHL, AHL, IHL and in Europe in Russia, Switzerland and Austria. Rivers has lived in St.Charles for 15 years. If you check Rivers twitter account you will find it full of tweets about him talking to the EIHL (United Kingdom) teams (Belfast & Nottingham) about a position. Belfast has a coaching vacancy but Nottingham does not. Here is a tweet from yesterday, "I am also in contact right now with management from both teams. We will have this figured out soon. EIHL Fans are awesome!!" Is this an indication that the CHL will announce the Chill will not operate in 2013-2014? I guess we will have to stay tuned. 

Dell Call Up, Practice Notes, & Series Preview

 - Once again got to see the end of practice and no changes to report other than Aaron Dell not participating because he has been called up by the Houston Aeros. This is a one game call up because of injury and Dell will be back in Allen for the game with the Mavericks on Sunday.

- Had an interesting conversation with some fans at practice and as happens frequently the discussion turned to what changes will take place in the CHL in the off season. With several teams in financial trouble and bring run by the league or helped by the league, a couple of teams who are eligible to leave because their lease is up, the skepticism about how having Brampton in league will work given the distance from many of the CHL current teams, the recent decision in Casper to not field a team for next year, and some rumblings about the St. Charles Chill having difficulties it does make you wonder if this is the year something has to happen. I have heard many hockey experts around the league say it is a matter of when not if there is only one AA league and just maybe this is the year. This might be wishful thinking but you hear more and more rumors as the season comes to a close which leads me to believe changes are coming. Announcements should start happening shortly after the season ends so we will have to wait and see.

- After the first round of playoffs Allen ranks 2nd in attendance trailing only Missouri. If you look at the upcoming series it will be difficult for Allen to increase average attendance because of having mostly weekday games

- Here is the Americans vs. Mavericks preview from the CHL web site which has some good info:

Semifinals Series Preview - Allen vs. Missouri

Conference Semifinals Preview

CHL Playoffs Conference Semifinals Series “E” (best-of-7)
Missouri Mavericks vs. Allen Americans

Series Schedule:
Game 1 – Sun., Apr. 14 – Missouri at Allen, 5:05
Game 2 – Mon., Apr. 15 – Missouri at Allen, 7:05
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 17 – Allen at Missouri, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 19 – Allen at Missouri, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 20 – Allen at Missouri, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon., Apr. 22 – Missouri at Allen, 7:05
*Game 7 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Missouri at Allen, 7:05

Regular Season Series:
11/15/12    Missouri 4 at Allen 3    
12/21/12    Allen 2 at Missouri 3 (OT)    
2/8/13     Missouri 1 at Allen 5    
2/16/13    Allen 5 at Missouri 3 
3/2/13    Missouri 2 at Allen 3    
3/23/13    Missouri 4 at Allen 0

Season Series Analysis:
The teams each won three times in six games during the regular season with Missouri snapping a three-game Allen win streak in the regular season’s final weekend with a shutout win on Mar. 23.  The Mavs showed they can play in the Allen Event Center winning a one-goal game, losing a one-goal game, getting beat by four and beating the Americans by four.  In Missouri, the Americans earned a point during each visit falling in overtime around Christmas and winning by a pair of goals in mid-February.  Sebastien Thinel had 10 points (5-5=10) in six games against the Americans.  Rookie goalie Aaron Dell played all but 10 minutes against the Mavs and he posted a 2.76 GAA.

Series Snapshot:
The Americans and Mavericks on paper may look like the top seeded Allen squad has the advantage but over the last two months of the regular season, the clubs were nearly identical.  Missouri went 14-11-2 and Allen went 14-10-3 after February 1st.  The Americans had the lowest GAA in the league at 2.67 with the duo of Aaron Dell and Steve Silverthorn but the Mavs may have the deepest group of forwards and they come in on fire after Kellan Tochkin’s five point game in Game 6 of the Opening Round and Sebastien Thinel’s two-goal effort.  Other contributors like Kenton Miller, Colt King, Ryan Jardine and Andrew Courtney have had their moments in the post-season so far as well.  Both teams enter this series on four-game win streaks.  

Players to Watch:
Missouri defenseman Dave Pszenyczny has four helpers and is a +4 in six games so far in the playoffs and he is built for the post-season with his ‘in-your-face’ approach during the playoffs.  He also has championship experience as a member of the 2011 CHL Champion Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

Allen defenseman Tyler Ludwig has five points (1-4=5) in five games and is a team-high +6 in the post-season so far.  Both he and Pszenyczny were finalists for the league’s Most Outstanding Defenseman Award (won by Wichita’s Kevin Young).


Key Note:
The Mavericks will need to control the Americans in the opening period as Allen has gotten on a role early in the post-season outscoring the opposition 7-1 in the first 20 minutes.  Missouri has scored just three times in period number one (six games played).

Semifinals Schedule Set

AMERICANS VS MAVERICKS

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The Allen Americans open round 2 of the playoffs on Sunday night at 5:05 pm against the Missouri Mavericks at Allen Event Center.
Here is the official release from the Central Hockey League
The Americans are looking to advance to their second CHL Finals (2010) in their fourth season as a franchise. The Mavericks also began in the CHL during the 2009-10 season as an expansion brother to Allen and last season they advanced the furthest in their short history making it to Game 7 of the Conference Finals (lost to the eventual champion Fort Wayne).

Allen makes their way to the semifinals thanks to a four games to one Opening Round series win over the Denver Cutthroats and thanks to a four-game win streak to close out that series. The Mavs went to a Game 6 against the Rapid City Rush in their Opening Round series and like the Americans, won four straight games to close out the series including a series clinching victory in Rapid City on Wednesday night (5-1).

Conference Semifinals (best-of-7) - - Missouri Mavericks vs. Allen Americans
Game 1 – Sun., Apr. 14 – Missouri at Allen, 5:05
Game 2 – Mon., Apr. 15 – Missouri at Allen, 7:05
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 17 – Allen at Missouri, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 19 – Allen at Missouri, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 20 – Allen at Missouri, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon., Apr. 22 – Missouri at Allen, 7:05
*Game 7 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Missouri at Allen, 7:05
 

Martinson Radio Broadcast Comments, Practice Notes & More

Caught the tail end of practice again today and not much new to report. Mike Berube was back with his "two upper lips" as he referred to the cut he got yesterday in practice which went all the way through and took about twenty stitches to close. The team did some different drills than normal today. Coach concentrated on more individual skating and skill work the last two days to try not to have the players be stale from practice all week. Starting tomorrow they will get back to the meat and potatoes stuff like special teams, line and system work.

-  With the rainy weather cramping tee times today many of the players are at Top Golf this afternoon.

Also had a chance to attend the live radio broadcast at La Finca Chiquita with Tommy Daniels interviewing coach Martinson. There was a good turnout and the food was excellent. Here are some of the highlights from the interview:

-  When asked about the reason Allen has a better road record than home record Martinson pointed to two things that help contribute to playing well on the road. First is the depth of the team. Since the home team has last line change they can exploit teams that don't have good depth. The depth of Allen helps in these match ups. The second reason Allen plays well on the road is because they are a physical team and can't be intimidated on the road like some other teams.

- It is frustrating having the injuries with our amateur players but it is part of the game. Both Justin Kirsch and Bryce Aneloski are headed home. Aneloski really did a great job of carrying the puck, jumping up on the play, and helped us with puck possession on the power play.

- The one good thing about the amateur rules is if they get hurt they can be replaced. Right now we have ten forwards and seven defensemen so Martinson is hesitant to sign another defenseman. He is talking to forwards right now as several teams in the Western League are going to be out of the playoffs soon. He wants to wait and see what is going to happen with our injured players that have been here all year before he makes a decision. He wants to hit a home run so he is going to be deliberate on who to bring in behind Aneloski because we have enough players to play this weekend.

- Alexandre Lavoie, our new amateur, is going to be a real good player for us. He is a heads up guy, moves his feet well and is a play maker. He was the seventh leading scorer in the QMJHL.

- The guys coach is talking to now are more of the big winger type, gritty guys who are tough to play against.

- One of the advantages the Americans have when recruiting amateurs is the large network they have with all the guys Matvichuk, Ludwig and Belfour know who are coaching. Martinson said it was the largest network he has ever been involved with.

-  Martinson uses Facebook as a recruiting tool as it quickly gets you connected directly with the players and you can also learn something about them.

- When asked about Brian McMillin, who is leading the CHL in goals and points Martinson said Brain is an example of a guy that has had to earn his way. He is playing the lightest he has ever played, is skating great, moving his feet, and he is really snapping the puck. He is playing with our best passer because he is our best scorer right now.

- Doyle will be coming off the IR in the second round and that is all we know for sure right now.

- The Brampton franchise announced today that they will be known as the "Beast" and when asked about the impact of Brampton being in the CHL coach Martinson was skeptical on how this can work. While there are plenty of rumors on what might happen and most experts agree there will eventually be just one AA league we will just have to wait and see what happens for next year. The one thing certain is Allen will be playing.

- When asked about team leadership and what Martinson would look for next year he commented on how he really wants self motivated players and prefers not to count on one guy. He prefers a guy with a little less skill but is hard to play against and will finish his checks. He doesn't like one way (offensive) players who just make their living on the power play.

- On Maiani & Pineault it is still wait and see as to when we might see them play. With Doyle coming off the playoff IR slot somebody will have to go on the IR for the next round. Fortunately that decision can wait until Sunday.

The playoff schedule for the Fort Worth vs Wichita series has finally been released as follows:
Conference Semi-finals (best-of-seven)
Fort Worth Brahmas vs. Wichita Thunder
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 10 – Fort Worth at Wichita, 7:05
Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 11 – Fort Worth at Wichita, 7:05
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 18 – Wichita at Fort Worth, 7:30
Game 4 – Sat., Apr. 20 – Wichita at Fort Worth, 7:30
*Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 21 – Fort Worth at Wichita, 5:05
*Game 6 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Wichita at Fort Worth, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Fort Worth at Wichita, 7:05 

Quad City Coach Terry Ruskowski Talks Offseason

Found this article written by Dan Angell of the Quad City Times talking about the Mallards and more specifically the off-season plans of coach Terry Ruskowski as he starts putting together his team for next year. A couple of things struck me as I read this article the first being it assumes full speed ahead with no changes in the CHL structure. At least Ruskowski doesn't plan on waiting to sign players if the opportunity arises. I know it is too early to be applying any of these thoughts to the Americans who are in the midst of a playoff run but it will be interesting to see what happens in the off-season with Allen especially as it relates to early signings.

Dan Angell dangell@qctimes.com

The 2013 Central Hockey League off-season promises to be a very different one for Quad-City Mallards coach Terry Ruskowski.
This time, he isn’t spending the summer looking for a new team to coach, after watching financial realities catch up to his previous two teams at Laredo and Rio Grande Valley.
This time, he won’t have the handicap of putting together a team on the fly, with a week to go before the season starts.
This time, he actually has the full off-season to work with to build his team — and the work has already begun.
As the Mallards completed exit interviews and physicals following their quarterfinal loss to Fort Worth on Saturday, Ruskowski already had an eye on next season and building around some returning players.
“If the guys I want that did very well for me last year, if they want to come back, what I'll do is instead of building a whole new team, I can go for spots,” Ruskowski said. “If I need a tough guy, I'll go find a tough guy who will protect our younger and smaller guys. I can target that instead of just going randomly to pick the best players and put them in areas where they've never played before.”
How much of the team returns is a question mark, with the coach wanting to return anywhere between 10 and 12 of his players. One certainty is that this time, anyone who does return will be his decision. During the past season, Ruskowski did not arrive in the Quad-Cities until a week before the season, forcing him to try to win with a team mostly put together by previous coach David Bell.
Bell's system bore little resemblance to Ruskowski's and the Mallards struggled for most of the first half of the season with a team full of players who were ill-suited to Ruskowski's style. It was not until the final 12 weeks of the season that the Mallards turned the corner, going 21-11-3 to close out the regular season and finish in sixth place in the 10-team CHL.
“I respect what he's done and what he did do here,” Ruskowski said. “But every coach has different systems. I like to be as close as possible to the AHL level, so that if my players ever do get called up, they're not wondering what to do. I think the coaches at the higher league respect that, because they don't have to sit down and teach them.”
One of those players who did get called up was forward Mickey Lang, who parlayed a 41-goal season into a brief opportunity with the Rockford IceHogs. That will likely open doors at higher levels for the second-year player, but if not, the forward would be glad to return to a market he considers a great place for hockey
“Hopefully, they get what they deserve for next year,” Lang said. “I know exactly what I'm getting here. I'm getting great people who are loyal, they're faithful and they've always been good to me. This will always be a second home for me, and whatever happens, I know I can always rely on the Quad-Cities.”
Forward Anthony Perdicaro, who joined the team midway through the season, also sounded like he would be interested in returning.
“We really thought we were going to do big things in the playoffs,” Perdicaro said. “I think there's unfinished business for some of the guys in that locker room for next year.”
Ruskowski concurred with that statement, and he planned on starting his work on that by looking at rookies and building from there.
“Sometimes, there's guys that want to sign really early, and if I think they can help my team, I'll want to sign them as early as possible,” Ruskowski said. “The younger guys are a bit more impatient. The older guys will wait until the summer, so for me, it's sign the young kids that are really going to help us and later on, work on the older guys.”