Martinson Post Game Comments, McMillin's Return, & Bus Pics

I am sure everyone came away from Allen's 5-2 loss last night against the Missouri Mavericks feeling disappointed. Talked to fans, coaches and players and to start out an important two game weekend against a good team like the Mavericks by being outshot 14-4 in the first period is very disheartening. While the team played better each period they could never dig out of the hole created in the first period. Official attendance was 4164 which puts the season average at 3956 which is about 250 per game behind last year's average. I'm sure the Mavericks enjoyed the convoy to Missouri last night better than the Americans as both teams headed out right after the game and will play again tonight in Independence. We can only hope for a different result.

Always a long bus trip after a loss the team was not expected to arrive in Missouri until 8:00 am this morning. As requested by super fan Doug, here are a couple of interior bus pictures.

The lone sitting area on the bus

Bus bunk set up.

MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- The most disappointing thing for me was after losing two games last weekend where we gave up too many odd man rushes and a week of practice we come out and get four shots on goal the first period. It was a big disappointment to me as we are not generating enough offense, we turned pucks over and we had forwards not supporting the puck on the wall. Just some system related stuff that makes you wonder what are we thinking.

- I am not happy with how we played from an X's & O's standpoint tonight. We had our best offensive period in the third period, we are all over them, get 18 shots on goal and then give them brain dead scoring chances.

- When things aren't working on the power play you need to get the puck to the point and shoot it and get guys to the front of the net. Too many times we have the puck at the point but guys are standing still on the wall waiting for the puck to come back. We worked on this all week in practice but we don't do it in the game.

- It looks more and more to me like the answer is a better line up. I don't know how much longer we can go on like this.

- On the power play the corner guys job is to not be in the corner when the puck gets to the point. He has to get to the front of the net. We have some guys that just don't do that and I will take responsibility for making sure we have guys in there who will go to the net.

- Brian McMillin is going to be signed by Wednesday and I think that will help us. He is coming back from Europe on Tuesday. He knows how to play the game that we want, he is good at both ends of the ice and he is the kind of guy that people want to play with. Obviously he had a great playoff last year and we know exactly what Brian can do. He will help us because he is a glue guy that doesn't cheat for offense. (Keep in mind no contract has been signed so the coach was only stating his intent as anything could happen).

- There is a little too much from the front end and back end of scoring is more important than winning and not understanding the difference. Obviously you have to score goals to win but you need to do all the little things that add up to a big thing rather than being the hero. Right now we have the guys capable of winning every night but we are not doing it. If you don't start winning with the line up you have, there are decisions that need to be made.

- We need some veteran players to step up and make some plays. You can't expect a young guy like first year player Alex Lavoie to be the guy every game.

- When you have lost two games in a row at home and then get outshot 14-4 in the first period it is not the goalies fault. That is on the team.

- I have looked at possible trades but when you are in a small league like the CHL it is hard to acquire players that will help your team. Combine this with the lack of a reciprocal agreement and it is easy for players to jump to the ECHL if they don't want to report. I am convinced we have to make a change. This home record we have (4-4-2) is painful.

- Dallas Ehrhardt will be in the lineup for the game tomorrow (Saturday) for sure.

- My job is to win. It is not to make everyone that lives here happy. If it requires getting rid of a player that was here last year or getting rid of a high cost defenseman to free up money to improve our up front lineup I will do whatever it takes to win.


OTHER COMMENTS:

- With the loss last night the Americans have slipped to 5th place in the standings and are only one point from 7th place.

- Being on the road tonight may prove to me a positive as the Americans road record (8-4-0) is much better than their home record (4-4-2).

- Allen and Missouri are evenly matched on special teams and that proved to be the case in the game last night as the Mavericks scored once on six power play opportunities while Allen scored once on seven power play opportunities.

- The high scoring Tulsa Oilers were shutout by Brampton last night 4-0. It was the first time Tulsa has been shutout all year as they are averaging about 3.75 goals per game.

- Rapid City was shutout at home by Quad City 2-0. This was a case of outstanding goalie play as Quad City goalie, Ty Rimmer, stopped 48 shots including 16 in the first period when the shots on goal were 16-4 in favor  of the Rush.  For the game Rapid City outshot Quad City 48-25.

- After the results last night there are only six points separating second place Missouri (31 points) and seventh place Quad City (25 points) in the CHL standings.

DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans bus is a 1998 Prevost (part of the Volvo Group) and has over 900,000 miles traveled. It has 23 bunks and one couch.

Da Bus

Coaches Comments, King Gets 7 Games, Radio Show & More

- Had a chance to attend practice yesterday and spend a few minutes with the coaches afterward. They were pleased with how practice went this week as they were able to work on many different aspects of the game. The big thing for the weekend is to make better decisions as many of the mistakes that lead to odd man rushes are mental errors not physical errors. Injured reserve decisions will not be made until today however Jarret Lukin has not practiced all week and has been in street clothes the times I have attended practice so would assume he will be on IR. Mark Guggenberger will be in goal.

- Colt King received a seven game suspension for the incident with Garrett Clarke on Tuesday. It is time to move on but it does make one wonder what the other leagues think about discipline in the CHL. I have it on good authority that many inside the locker room folks (including Missouri) expected a minimum of a ten game suspension given the incident and the fact that this was the third time King had been thrown out of a game this year. It seems as if the CHL has a reputation of treating these incidents lighter than any other professional league. The Garrett Clarke one game suspension for shooting the puck into the bench intentionally is another good example.

- Steve Martison's perspective on fighting is different than one might think given he was an enforcer during his playing days and had 488 penalty minutes in one year (1985-1986). Obviously the rules on fighting have changed since then. Martinson tells his players you must give the other player a chance to fight. If they don't want to fight, if they won't drop their gloves, you have to skate away. Sometimes players don't follow this advice such as Alex Penner last year and Martinson feels you need to come down hard on these types of incidents. My guess is he was one of those in the camp that thought seven games was not enough for the King/Clarke incident.

- In the only game on tap in the CHL last night Tulsa dominated Brampton in the the Beast's first home game in over a month. Tulsa out shot Brampton 42-24 and won the game 6-4. The official attendance was 2034. Tulsa has moved back into 2nd place in the standings with what seems to be the philosophy that the best defense is a good offense. The high scoring Oilers lead the CHL having scored 94 goals (Allen is second with 75) but also lead the CHL in goals allowed with 88. Having the most goals allowed in the league is an unusual stat for a second place team. As a comparison, first place Rapid City has allowed just 40 goals.

- All ten CHL teams are in action tonight. In addition to the Allen versus Missouri game another matchup to keep your eye on is Rapid City versus Quad City. The Mallards have had trouble getting respect around the league because they are 7th in the standings. This is primarily due to the fact that they have played fewer games than anyone in the league as their winning percentage would rank them 3rd. A chance for Quad City to gain some respect if they can acquit themselves well in Rapid City this weekend.

- If you didn't get a chance to listen to the Tommy Daniel's Allen Americans radio show on Wednesday night it was a great opportunity to get to know the players. This program was at corporate sponsor Hirsch's Meat Market in Plano and the guests were Trevor Hendrikx and Dallas Ehrhardt. These broadcasts take place most every week with different players joining Tommy for an hour of hockey/personal talk. The schedule is posted on the Americans web site (allenamericans.com) and all you have to do is click on "The Allen Americans Radio Show" block on the bottom of the page to see the schedule. The next show is on Wednesday (December 18th) at Palio's Pizza in Fairview and scheduled players are the Flow Brothers (Berube & Lukin). Tommy encourages fans to come to the event but if you can't attend in person tune into 107.3 for some good radio.


- With all of the talk about the dangers of fighting and the implementation of the new helmet rule this year, former Dallas Stars coach, Ken Hitchcock, had this to say, "Lets not take our eyes off the ball, the problems are the shoulders to the head and the hits from behind. Its not the fighting."


DID YOU KNOW: Allen has a reputation around the CHL as being this tough, intimidating, dirty team but the statistics this year would not bear that out. Missouri leads the league in "dirty" play as they have had five different incidents that have led to league suspensions and their players have been suspended a total of 18 games. Allen has not had a single player suspended thus far this season.

Enough Practice, Clarke Discussion, Ice Angels, Coolest Rink, Chill Win

- It is that time of the week when there has been enough practice and the guys are ready to play a game. With no game since last Saturday the coaches have had plenty of time to work on the phases of the game that has caused them most concern. The only thing that must still be decided is what players will be on injured reserve (IR) and who will start in goal. With 20 players under contract there will have to be two players on IR because of the CHL rules.

- If you haven't been following all of the message board traffic concerning the circumstances surrounding Garrett Clarke's broken jaw and concussion (details in yesterday's blog) the incident has generated lots of discussion. After reading all of the comments there are a couple of conclusions I have reached. Inspite of whatever Clarke said or did and you can be assured he was guilty of both, it does not justify the action taken against him. Clarke is a self described agitator and that is part of his game but the code in hockey is you don't hit a defenseless player. The other conclusion I reached is the vast majority of Missouri fans were concerned about Clarke, were sorry the incident took place, did not condone Colt King's actions and feel he deserves whatever suspension the CHL hands out. I have not seen a video of the incident but the picture below definitely shows this was not your typical hockey fight.

A fight or a sucker punch? You be the judge - Photo by Jeremiah Griffith

- The CHL has not announced the length of suspension for Colt King but he will definitely not be playing this weekend against Allen. The announcement should be made today. 

-  On a more pleasant note here is a story from the American's. In the spirit of the holiday season, the Americans Ice Angels made a visit yesterday to Children’s Medical Center of Plano to deliver Teddy Bears to patients. The Ice Angels have been making hospital visits a part of their annual holiday routine, which included a stop at Children’s. “It’s great to see the smiles on the faces of the little ones," said Ice Angel, Brooklyn, who is in her second season as a member of the group. “Making a child’s wish come true is really what Christmas and the season of giving is all about. Having a healthy child of my own makes me feel very thankful and blessed.” Joining Brooklyn on the hospital visit were Ice Angels Brittney, Amanda and Director and Choreographer, Stephanie Di Biase-Wheat.

- The Ice Angels will hold their annual Calendar Release Party this Friday night, immediately following the Americans game, at Game On Sports Bar located at the corner of Stacy Road & Greenville Ave, (across the street from the Firestone store) just two minutes away from the Allen Event Center. Come join the fun and be one of the first to get  your very own 2014 Ice Angels Calendar.

- Tonight is the Toys for Tots drive at the Allen Event Center sponsored by the Allen Americans and Fox 4.  Allen High School will take on the Richardson/ Rockwall Raiders with puck drop at 7pm. Admission for the event will be free to all fans. Fans are asked to park in the south garage and enter the Event Center at the south entrance adjacent to the Allen Community Ice Rink. For every person who brings in a toy for Toys For Tots, the participant will receive an opportunity to enter a drawing for a free suite night, for 20 people, at an Allen Americans game and a Dallas Sidekicks game. There will be Allen Americans players in front of the AEC accepting the Toys For Tots gifts (must be new and unwrapped), Tommy Daniels will broadcast the game (live stream) on 107.3 FM. and Lee Hastings will handle the PA duties so it will be a special game. Bring a toy, talk to the players, take a picture and stay for the hockey game if you can.

- In the only action in the CHL last night the last place St. Charles Chill, playing two players short because of suspensions, defeated Denver 3-1 in Denver. It was only the second regulation home loss for Denver all season. Denver attendance woes continue with the official crowd last night reported as 1056. 



DID YOU KNOW: Hockey rinks offer designers plenty of opportunity for creativity. There are many unique rinks around the world. One that is always rated as one of the best is the rink at Yale. Here are the details:

1. David S. Ingalls Rink

Year Opened: 1958

Location: Yale University - New Haven, CT.

Better known as the “Yale Whale”, the Eero Saarinen designed building is one of the most distinctive rinks in college hockey. Ingalls Rink earns the whale moniker thanks to it’s humpbacked-style timber roof that’s supported by a cable net and 30 foot reinforced concrete arch that resembles a whale’s backbone. The rink was renovated in the late ‘90s to add more community services but the classic design and style remained intact.

 

Practice Report, Pineault & Clarke Injury Update, Bus Ride From Hell, Toys For Tots

Briefly stopped by practice yesterday and you can always tell it is going to be a long practice when after over an hour the players leave the ice and head back to the locker room and that ends up being the half way point of practice. The Zamboni resurfaces the ice and the boys are back at it again. As coach Martinson said after the game on Saturday, "We will work hard this week and do a better job when we play Missouri next weekend." Not sure how the weekend will turn out but on the hard work part he is a man of his word! Jarret Lukin and Greger Hanson did not participate in practice.

- Rapid City had one of those bus trips from hell after sweeping Allen this weekend. If you recall the game on Saturday finished late. Two of the on ice officials were last minute replacements because the bad weather prevented officials from Tulsa getting to Allen. The start of the game was delayed about 30 minutes. Overtime and the shootout also extended the game. It didn't take long for the problems to start for Rapid City after they left the AEC  as just 35 miles north of Allen the roads were so bad the bus was stranded on the ice covered highway for 14 hours. To make matters worse the satellite dish on the bus was frozen and wasn't working. Bottom line is the team did not arrive back in Rapid City until Monday morning at 10:00 am which meant something like a 35 hour bus trip home. UGH!

- The marathon bus ride and short turn around (Rush played St. Charles Tuesday night) didn't effect the high flying Rush as the headline in the local story says. "Rush put a freeze on the Chill 7-2." Rapid City now has a five point lead in the standings over Missouri who moved into second place with a 6-1 victory over Arizona last night.

- Garrett Clarke was knocked unconscious late in the Missouri vs Arizona game last night and was removed from the ice on a stretcher. Sure hope Clarke is okay. He did raise his arm as he was being taken off the ice. There are always two sides to these stories and I have only seen the Missouri interpretation of events. According to a Missouri blogger who talked to the coach, Colt King and Clarke were exchanging words coming up the boards by the Arizona bench, after exchanging  a few slashes Clarke knocked King's stick out of his hand. Clarke supposedly challenged King to fight at which point King, who did not have a stick, was able to throw off his gloves quickly, threw and landed a devastating punch before Clarke could defend himself, knocking Garrett immediately unconscious.
My guess is when the Sundogs version of this is known the other side of the story will be that King sucker punched Clarke when he was defenseless. For the record, referee Trevor Harding gave no penalty to Clarke and a intent to injure match penalty to King. Since King is a repeat offender this year you would expect a longer suspension than the three games he got last time but you never know the way the CHL hands out suspensions. In any event, King will not be playing in the home and home series with Allen this weekend.
UPDATE: I just talked to Garrett and this is what he said, "I was skating up the ice and became conscious in the ambulance. Very confusing and scary moment for me. For the record, I challenged nobody to fight. I just remember him being overly aggressive moments before I lost consciousness.
I broke my jaw and have a concussion. Will see a specialist soon."

- Adam Pineault had surgery yesterday to put plates and screws in his broken jaw. With is normal positive attitude and sense of humor he posted this before and after shot on Twitter with the caption, "Difference a slap shot in the mouth can do with a broken jaw. Pics taken 1 wk apart. Look better on Left, lol."  Here is wishing Adam a speedy recovery from all of his Allen fans!

Adam Pineault - "Before & After"

- As a follow up to the article in the blog posted yesterday about "Hockey & Heels" wanted to give everyone in North Texas a heads up that the next session will be on Saturday, December 21st. They are still putting the details together so the official announcement will be forthcoming from the Americans. The event will go something like this. You will arrive at the AEC at 5:30 pm. for the program. There will be some on ice demonstration (you will be on carpet when on the ice) and then some off ice instruction which will take place in a conference room or a suite. The off ice portion will include wine tasting. And you can sit is a suite for the game. The best part about this is the price. If you already have a ticket for the game the cost is $10 for the class, wine and a suite ticket. If you don't have a ticket to the game the cost is $30. From what I understand you will be able to sign up for Hockey and Heels on line. If you have any questions or need additional information contact Erik Adams at erikadams@allenamericans.com.

- Ryley Grantham and Aaron Dell are two examples of how being on an American Hockey League (AHL) team can be a blessing and a curse. Being able to be on an AHL roster, one step from the NHL, is a dream for these players. But once you are on the roster it doesn't help your development if you don't play. This is the situation for Ryley and Aaron. Grantham has been with the Springfield Falcons all season and has only played in one game. Aaron Dell has had call ups to the Norfolk Admirals and is currently with the Manchester Monarchs. He is yet to get into a game. Dell has only played in three games all season and that was the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) just before his call up to the Monarchs.


- It is still early in the season to talk league MVP but two players really stand out in my opinion. Goaltender Tim Boron from Rapid City has been outstanding as he leads the league in wins (14), GAA (2.05), and save percentage (.937). The other stand out candidate is Denver forward Garett Bembridge. Bembridge played in Japan last year and had a brief stint with Wichita in 2011-2012. He has 244 AHL games. Bembridge leads the CHL in points (34) and his 20 goals are five more than any other player.

- If you enjoy hockey and want to support a great event check this out for tomorrow night. The Holiday Hat Trick is an event organized around Toys For Tots, which is supported each year by Fox4 News. The second component of this event is the hockey game between Allen Eagles Varsity and Richardson/ Rockwall Varsity teams. As a third component and during the first intermission, the Holiday Skate Show, presented by the Allen Community Ice Rink, will be performed. Tomorrow (Thursday, December 12th), the Allen Eagles Varsity Hockey Team will be participating in the first annual Holiday Hat Trick at the Allen Event Center Arena. Allen will take on the Richardson/ Rockwall Raiders with puck drop at 7pm. Admission for the event will be free to all fans. Fans are asked to park in the south garage and enter the Event Center at the south entrance adjacent to the Allen Community Ice Rink. For every person who brings in a toy for Toys For Tots, the participant will receive an opportunity to enter a drawing for a free suite night, for 20 people, at an Allen Americans game and a Dallas Sidekicks game. Food will be included. There will be Allen Americans players in front of the AEC accepting the Toys For Tots gifts and Tommy Daniels will broadcast the game (live stream) on 107.3 FM.


DID YOU KNOW: - Defenseman Daniel Tetrault played in his 538th CHL game on Saturday moving him past Jason Tessier into the 20th spot on the league’s all-time games played list. Tetrault could get as high as 12th all time by seasons end. There are only two active players ahead of Tetrault on the list. Scott Wray (Rapid City) is #6 with 706 games played and Sebastien Thinel (Missouri) is #7 with 653 games played.

Team Stat Leaders, CHL Suspensions, Hockey & Heels

With five days between games the Americans have time to work in practice in an attempt to get things turned around before taking on Missouri this weekend. I will attend practice today to see if I can pick up any new information. In the meantime here are the team leaders in all categories that are tracked by Pointstreak. If you can draw any conclusion from the list it is what an incredible rookie season Alex Lavoie is having as he leads the team in 9 of 14 categories!

Games Played: There are only eight players that have played in all 21 games. (Lavoie, Kerbashian, Asuchak, Tyler & Trevor Ludwig, Rouleau, Tetrault, & Berube. Last year only two players (Schaafsma & Deitsch) played in all 66 games.
Goals - Alex Lavoie (12)
Assists - Alex Lavoie (19)
Points - Alex Lavoie (31)
Plus/Minus - Alex Lavoie (+5)
Penalty Minutes - Darryl Bootland (58)
Power Play Goals - Alex Lavoie (4) & Jonathan Lessard (4)
Power Play Assists - Alex Lavoie (8)
Shorthanded Goals - Spencer Asuchak (2)
Shorthanded Assists - Ross Rouleau (2) & Daniel Tetrault (2)
Game Winning Goals - Alex Lavoie (3)
Shots - Jonathan Lessard (73)
Shooting Percentage - Phil Fox (.231)
Oakley 3 Star Points - Alex Lavoie (24)

Here is how our team leaders rank amongst the CHL leaders in some of the offensive categories:
- Alex Lavoie's 31 points rank him 3rd in the league in scoring and 1st among rookies. His 12 goals rank him 4th in the league and his 19 assists rank him 4th in the league. Alex is 3rd in the Oakley 3 Star competition.
- Tyler Ludwig's 11 points (3 goals 8 assists) place him 7th among defensemen in the league in scoring.
- Spencer Asuchak is tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals.
- Alex Lavoie's team leading +5 in plus /minus is ranked only 39th in the league.
- Darryl Bootland's 58 penalty minutes rank him 11th in the league.
- Phil Fox's 23% shooting percentage is tops in the CHL for any  player that has at least 25 shots.
- Jonathan Lessard's 73 shots ranks him 7th in the league.

OTHER COMMENTS:

- If you saw the video of the brawl that took place after the end of the St. Charles and Denver game on Saturday (you can find it on YouTube at "Chill and Cutthroats Fight After Game 12/7/13) it was pretty ugly. Two Chill players have been suspended. Here is the CHL news release:
GLENDALE, AZ (December 9, 2013) – The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today that St. Charles Chill defenseman Anthony Pisano and forward Anthony Perdicaro have each been suspended as a result of their actions in Saturday’s game versus Denver.  Both organizations have been fined an undisclosed amount of money as well.  Pisano will miss the Chill’s next three games (12/10 @ RPD, 12/11 @ DEN and 12/13 vs. WIC).  The defenseman was assessed 42 minutes in penalties after the conclusion of the Chill/Cutthroats contest including three Game Misconducts (one for leaving the player’s bench area). Perdicaro will miss the Chill’s next two games (12/10 @ RPD and 12/11 @ DEN) after being assessed a Physical Abuse of Official penalty after the conclusion of the game.

- Rapid City and Missouri are both in action tonight at home. Rapid City plays St. Charles & Missouri has Arizona. A chance for Missouri to move back into second place in the standings and Rapid City to pad their lead.

- The following article, "Hockey and Heels, Women Learning More About Hockey" was posted on the Americans web site and written by Tiffany Kassab. There have been several of these sessions over the years and the feedback I get about them from Heritage Ranch fan club members (including my wife) who have attended is they are informative, fun, and worthwhile. Whether you are a novice or expert at how hockey is played you will enjoy Hockey and Heels and yes it is for ladies only. There needs to be more publicity and advanced notice the next time a Hockey and Heels is scheduled. Highly recommend your attendance. You might get some wine, gift, or other surprise as well.

Published: Monday, December 09, 2013

Photo - Kim Miller
The Allen Americans recently hosted a Hockey and Heels Night before an Americans Home Game. Tiffany Kassab covered the event for the team and here is her recap.

Hockey and Heels, Women Learning More About Hockey

by Tiffany Kassab

Hockey is arguably a male dominated sport, yet week after week women fill the stands as much as men do. Women hockey fans love the game just as much as the male counterpart; but honestly, a lot of women have no idea what’s going on those three periods the puck is passed around the ice. That’s where Hockey and Heels come in.

Hockey and Heels is a community program set up through Owner and Executive Partner Kim Miller and the Allen Americans Hockey Organization. The program intends to offer multiple courses on hockey 101, informing women of basic hockey information in a casual atmosphere with easy-to-understand explanations. Ladies are welcome to ask any hockey related question at any time.

“Women obviously don’t play as much hockey as men do,” Miller said. “I just really want to bring women in—get women more involved in the sport.”

Around 13 enthusiastic women huddled into the season ticket holder VIP room to learn anything from penalty calls to the average salary of a CHL player.

Associate Coach Richard Matvichuk and Hockey Operations Erik Adams, imitated what defensemen should do when “protecting the house” (preventing incoming opponents from shooting at the goaltender) by pushing up against each other, and explained hockey violations such as “icing” (the team with puck possession shoots the puck from behind the center-ice line across the opponents goal line without being touched by any players on the ice) on a giant white board that mirrors a hockey arena.

            Just in case anything learned was soon forgotten, all guest received an 11-page packet that described most of what was discussed in the meeting, plus plenty more to be reviewed at future meetings.

            “I want this for my guys,” Matvichuk joked about the packet.

Miller is hopeful that Hockey and Heels will bring more women fans together. According to Miller, the meetings are designed for women to get out and do something different, while also connecting more with the hockey community and making new friends.

Traci Houpt and Cindy Williamson are Miller’s perfect example of making friends and connecting through hockey. Houpt and Williamson, who attended the meeting together, were complete strangers before purchasing season tickets, and after five seasons of sitting next to each other every home game, they have become close friends. Williamson even invited Houpt to her daughter’s wedding.

Both Houpt and Williamson attended the event because they both felt they should know more about hockey than they do. Both claim that their favorite parts of hockey are the aggressive body checks and fights, but the meeting helped clarify what penalties such as “off-sides” looks like in game.  

            Adams hopes the next meeting will commence at a sponsored restaurant with a ride back to the Allen Event Center in the Americans’ team bus. Also, there are plans to have players and Head Coach Steve Martinson speak. But no guarantees can be made just yet. The idea is to attend the meetings, have fun, and learn something new.

            “Have fun, enjoy yourself, and come out to the games,” Matvichuk said. “Hopefully we’ll get you a win.”

            For more information on Hockey and Heels, or to inquire on when the next class will resume, please email Erik Adams at erikadams@allenamericans.com.

DID YOU KNOW: The only scoring record that still remains from the Americans inaugural season (2009-2010) is game winning goals. Bruce Graham had 9 game winning goals the first year. There have not been more than 7 since.  

Funk Month Examined, Ice Storm Metaphor, Enjoy Players While You Can!

I was doing my input for the CHL power rankings this morning and was reflecting on a comment coach Martinson made at the season ticket holder press conference after the game on Saturday when he said, "The team has been in a funk for a month now." Here are some of the facts that back up what he said.

- Allen started the season going 7-1 and established themselves as a contender. They were in first  place early in the season.

- Once November hit the team started to struggle. Since early November their record is 5-8 and they are now tied with Denver for fourth and fifth place in the standings. While the Americans are still in the thick of the CHL race they have fallen six points behind league leading Rapid City.

- During the "funk month" special teams have also taken a hit. While still a strength of the team as the penalty kill is #2 in the league and the power play #3 both have declined by over 5% in the last month.

- Defense wins championships and when you compare Allen to the two teams that are acknowledged as the best in the league right now (Rapid City & Missouri) you see a big difference. The team GAA is:

2.11 - Rapid City
2.74 - Missouri
3.19 - Allen
Rapid City and Missouri are the only teams under 3.00 in the league.

- Here is how Allen stacks up on plus/minus, a rough indication of even strength play:
+144 - Rapid City
+57 - Missouri
- 8 - Allen

- Does Allen have the talent to turn this around? Absolutely they do. If you look at the number of players with American Hockey League (AHL) experience on these teams the picture is reversed.

15 - Allen
7 - Missouri
4 - Rapid City
So as Coach Martinson likes to say, "As the Allen general manger I like our team but as the Allen coach I am not happy." Concentrate more on being a better defensive team and less on scoring, make better decisions and be the hardest working team and Allen will be back in the hunt for first place.

- Things don't get any easier this weekend with home and home games with the Missouri Mavericks. The Mavericks have caught a little bit of the funk lately themselves as they have lost three of their last four games.

OTHER COMMENTS:

- The team with the best record in the past week in the CHL was the Tulsa Oilers who were 3-0. With a win yesterday over Arizona, Tulsa moved into sole possession of second place in the standings.

- Tulsa heads to Brampton for three games this week. Brampton just finished a long road trip and their game with Tulsa on Thursday (December 12) will be their first home game since November 10.

- It's hard to think of guys like Bruce Graham, Nino Musitelli, and Anthony Maiani no longer playing hockey and a guy like CHL playoff MVP, Brian McMillin looking for a job (still hoping there is a way for him to return to the Americans). And guys like Adam Pineault and Scott Howes dealing with injuries. What a difference a year makes. As a fan it teaches you to enjoy players while you can because things change fast in minor pro hockey.

- Mike Heika wrote a great story about the icy weekend and the Dallas Stars which has some parallels to the Allen games this weekend. I thought some of Mike's words were perfect for the Americans as the difficulty navigating the roads, relying on others to drive safely and do their job is similar to the team trying to work together for success. Here are few of Mike's words with my changes in parentheses:
That’s sort of where you are with the (Allen Americans) Stars. You have been tossed into the middle of the movie, into the middle of an ice storm. Some people have a better idea of the plot than others, but the bottom line is we’re all sliding around a little here.
We’re all curious how this is going to work out.
It was sort of like your drive to (Allen Event Center) American Airlines Center Saturday. You didn’t know what you would encounter on the way. You didn’t know what you would encounter when you got there. You didn’t know if it would be worth it.
But it was.
You’re not always sure why this weather blows in, but you are sometimes amused by the fun you have. It’s not natural, it’s not what you’re used to, but it is different.
And when you put the effort into enjoying it, it can be pretty entertaining.
A lot like dealing with this hockey team.

If you haven't read Mike's story it is a good read. You can find it at starsblog.dallasnews.com, "Observations on an icy weekend and what it means to a game actually played on ice."



DID YOU KNOW: When your team is going through rough times like the Americans are now it is only relative. Going 5-8 over the past month is bad only in reference to what Allen fans have come to expect from the team. If you want real futility think of the longest losing streaks in NHL history:

• Overall: 17 games, by 1974–75 Washington Capitals and 1992–1993 San Jose Sharks
• Home: 14 games, by 2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins
• Away: 38 games, by 1992–93 Ottawa Senators

Martinson Post Game Comments, Shootout Stats, & More

Rapid City Journal blog writer, Jim Holland probably said it best, "A massive ice storm gripped the Dallas metroplex and Rush rookie netminder Keaton Hartigan froze the Allen Americans when he had to. Hartigan turned aside all four Allen skaters in a shootout, while Jesse Schultz and Konrad Reeder got the job done against Allen goaltender Mark Guggenberger on the other end of the rink as Rapid City finished off the defending CHL champions with another 3-2 decision Saturday night."

Another disappointing night for Allen fans as the Rush showed why they are the best team in the CHL by taking four points from the Americans in the two game set. If there was a positive in the game for the Americans it was they fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score early in the second period. But neither team could score in the third period or overtime. 



MARTINSON POST GAME COMMENTS:

- I thought we played a better game tonight than last night. In the second period we took advantage of some opportunities and tied the game early in the period but then we let them dictate the pace in our offensive zone. There forwards put a lot of pressure on our defense and we did not do the same thing back.

- We could have won the game but I would not say we outplayed Rapid City tonight. The game could have gone either way so it is a crappy weekend as we end up getting one point out of four and let the Rush get a big boost in first place.

- We have a lot of work to do. I am not happy with everything I see on the ice and we need to get more contribution from the older players. All in all it was a very disappointing weekend.

- I thought in the game on Friday our team was more interested in scoring than in winning. When you play against the team in first place, the best team in the league right now, they are playing the best hockey and we gave them at least six or seven odd man rushes last night (Friday) and they gave us two.

- I thought Guggenberger did a real good both nights. He kept us in the game on Friday and played well again tonight.

- Our problem tonight is we did not sustain much of a fore check. We just did not hold the puck in their zone enough. Fore checking is just hard work. If we are going to score on the rush we need to have more guys drive the net. We work on it all the time in practice.

- I don't think we are as interchangeable as I would like to be right now. We need to get more play out of some of our positions up front.

- Our goals for (75 which is 2nd in the CHL) is enough to win every game but we make too many bad decisions both on the back end and on the power play. We pass Rapid City the puck and we just keep skating as if they are going to pass it back. That breakaway tonight was very painful to watch. It goes back to our veteran guys as the young guys are pulling their weight but I would not say that for the established part of our line up.

- What I said to our guys this morning is we have 14 guys who have played in the American Hockey League while they have two. So what is going on? I like our line up but Rapid is playing the best team game and they showed us this weekend why they are in first place. We have to step it up before the playoffs. I don't think we are where we need to be and I don't believe you can play this way now and then turn things on for the playoffs as some of our established player believe. We have been in this funk for a month now and it is not good enough. Nobody gives a rats ass that we won the championship last year. I am going to have to look at options. One way or another we have to get a little bit better.

- We have to have our offensive players be better defensively. In this game you need depth at offense and you need to teach them to play better defensively. The frustrating part for Richard and myself is we have players that have played better defensively in the past but for some reason are not at this point.

- Klotz acquitted himself very well against a tough fighter in  Justin Sawyer. When you are as big as those guys and weigh 240 pounds they can do some real damage when they hit you. I'm not a big believer in fighting shifting momentum but I thought the fight did help us. It is then up to the players to sustain that momentum. We got ourselves back in the game on the scoreboard but Rapid City out played us the second half  of the second period.  They outplayed us with the fore check which again is just by hard work and skating. I don't think fore checking is a strength of some of the guys we have.

- We have this week to work on improvement as we have another big test next weekend against Missouri and hopefully we will do a better job with that.

- Thanks to all of the fans that braved this crappy weather to come out tonight. We might not have shown it in the way we played but we really appreciate your support.



OTHER COMMENTS:

- The Rapid City Journal staff must like the catchy play on word lines in their stories. Here is how they described the game and play of back up goalie Keaton Hartigan who was starting only his second game of the year and had not played since November 2nd:
"The goaltender with the dreadlocks deadlocked the Allen Americans when push came to shove Saturday night. Forced into a shootout against the defending Central Hockey League champions, Jesse Schultz and Konrad Reeder scored while rookie netminder Keaton Hartigan stonewalled all four Allen shooters he faced to lift the Rapid City Rush to a 3-2 victory and a weekend sweep of the Americans at the Allen Events Center. Making his second start since backstopping the Rush to a 5-3 win over Arizona on Nov. 2, Hartigan denied 26-of-28 in regulation. His three saves in overtime included stuffing Jonathan Lessard’s penalty shot attempt. Hartigan, sporting dreads under his goalie mask, turned aside Jamie Schaafsma, Tyler Ludwig, Alex Lavoie and Phil Fox in the shootout."


- The official attendance for the night was 3789 and while there were many more people in attendance last night than on Friday the icy conditions still kept many fans at home.

- In addition to losing ground to Rapid City last night the Americans lost ground to the teams around them in the standings as Missouri, Tulsa, and Denver all won. Other than the Rush with a five point lead the teams at the top are really bunched up. Here are the point standings at the top:
32 - Rapid City
27 - Missouri
26 - Allen
26 - Tulsa
26 - Denver

- With the loss last night Allen is 3-2 in shootouts this year. The Americans have had back to back shootouts twice this year so if that holds form look for the game coming up on Friday to end in a shootout. The Americans are 6-26 on shootout attempts which is 23%. The leaders in shootout goal percentage are:
Tyler Ludwig - 67% (2-3)
Kale Kerbashian - 50% (2-4)
John Snowden - 50% (1-2)
At the other end of the spectrum are guys you would assume would be excellent in shoot outs. Schaafsma, Lavoie, and Lessard are a combined 0-11 in shootouts.

- Looks like there were some unhappy St. Charles Chill players after Denver beat them at home last night 4-2. Couldn't get any first hand accounts of what happened but the Chill ended up with  92 minutes in penalties after the game was over. Would expect some suspensions out of this one as Anthony Pisano got 42 minutes including leaving the bench and Anthony Perdicaro a game misconduct for physical abuse of officials.

- Attendance figures last night ranged from 5722 in Wichita to 1517 in St. Charles. League wide average attendance is down an average of 279 per game from last year and 615 from two years ago.



DID YOU KNOW: The Rapid City Rush have only been in two shootouts this year and have won them both. They have only had to take six shots to win the two shootouts and scored on five of the six shots, a whopping 83% conversion rate.