The Allen Americans Nickname Guide

Gensy signs a jersey for Adele Chamberlin from the Americans fan club*

Valec holding court*

One of the perks when you buy a full season ticket to the Allen Americans is a party which has been at Top Golf, a long time sponsor of the Allen Americans for several years. Last night was the annual Top Golf event where full season ticket holders could spend time talking to players and in some cases their family, take some pictures, get some autographs, hit some golf balls with their favorite player and enjoy a great buffet meal. After six years the full season ticket holders are like family so they mingle with each other as much as with the players.

The event is a lot of work for all of the Allen Americans staff who have already put in a long day at the office. Thanks to Mike, the three Roberts, Emily, Jordan, McKenzie, Mark, Kailey and Kayla for all you do to help me and the season ticket holders. 

The night ends with Touchdown Tommy (see nicknames below) introducing all of the players and drawing for some great prizes.

Hanny (with Mike Martin) signs a helmet as did all of the players for one of the prizes*

The Top Golf event gets better every year and the informal feedback from everyone I talked to during and after the party was very positive.


NICKNAMES

With all of the players (with families) and coaches in one place in a casual setting it seemed like a perfect time to get some info for the blog. With so many new players on the team finding out  nicknames seemed like a good task. It was obvious from past experience that hockey players are usually not very creative when it comes to nicknames. Take the last name and maybe drop a syllable if it is a longer name, add an "er" or "sy" or "ie" or "y" and you have the nickname.  With that said here is a list of nicknames for players and coaches. The next time you are talking to them give these a try. If there is more than one the primary nickname is listed first.

Jamie Schaafsma - Shazzy or Shifty
Kevin Young - Younger or KY
Steve Martinson - Marty
Patrick Valcak - Valec
Jesse Messier - Mess
Chris Crane - Craner
Tommy Daniels - Tommy D or Touchdown Tommy or TD
J. P. Anderson - "J"
Brian McMillin - Milly or Mac
Tyler Ludwig - Luds or Ludsy
Greger Hanson - Hanny
Nolan Descoteaux - Deko or Coatsey
Aaron Gens - Gensy
Trevor Ludwig - Luds or Ludsy
Jaime Garcia (Trainer) - Gus
Chad Costello - Costy or Elvis
Justin Baker - Bako or J Bakes
Dyson Stevenson - Stevie or Dice
Tanner Eberle - Ebs or Jordan
Garrett Clarke - Clarkie or Goler
Spencer Asuchak - Ass or Assman or Chuckie
Kyle Follmer - Folms or Uncle Figs
Mike DiPaolo - Dips, Dipper or Dippy
Konrad Abeltshauser - Koni
Vincent Arseneau - Vinny
Joel Rumpel - Rumpz
Riley Gill - Gillsy or Giller
Erik Adams - Rico or Uncle Rico

- Seems like there are some nicknames that individual players have for each other such as Kyle Follmer calls Jamie Schaafsma "Shady P" while Jamie calls Kyle "Gramps" and Jamie calls Descoteaux "Ging" short for Ginger. Tyler Ludwig has a special nickname for Trevor but you will have to ask Tyler what it is. Have to admit I only scratched the surface on these as it seems that Captain Jamie Schaafsma has his own nickname for most of the players.

- For the wives the printable nicknames (just kidding) were as follows:
Ashley Costello calls Chad by his middle name, "Andrew" but it is usually not good when Chad hears his middle name. Same for Taylor Ludwig when she calls Tyler "John" which is his middle name. Nicole Schaafsma calls Jamie "Jame" but that is more of a name of endearment.

- Whenever you have a chance to see players interact with fans it always reinforces what a nice group of guys they are and how well they represent the team and the organization.  Always willing to answer questions, sign autographs and take pictures and they are really good with children.

Long time sponsor (Solutions Automotive) and fan Joe Yanessa in action*

DID YOU KNOW: Tommy Daniels was given his nickname of Tommy Touchdown in the Americans first season (2009-2010) by Bruce Graham. I was given my nickname of "Barry the Blogger" by Missouri head coach Richard Matvichuk when he was with the Americans.

*Thanks to Kimberly Sauer (scenebykimberly.com) for sharing all of the picture above.

Stats, Stats, Stats, Team & Individual, Career Year for Costello, Gens, Steffes & Costello's Record for the Ages

- With no hockey game until Thursday the Allen Americans will have a few days to practice which is as important this time of year as it was at the beginning of the season especially with so many new guys joining the team over the last couple of weeks and more roster changes on the way.



- Thought today would be a good day to take a look at some team and individual statistics to put into perspective what a great regular season the Americans have had this year. One of the numerous recruiting tools Steve Martinson uses when talking to players is that they will play in a system that is known for scoring. Players enjoy playing in high powered offensive systems. The players on the 2014-2015 Allen Americans team have taken this offensive system to an entirely different level as they are the highest scoring team in the six year history of the franchise. A team that has never scored fewer than 210 goals in a season and has averaged 230 goals per season has already scored 279 goals this year.



- Here is how the Americans rank in the 28 team ECHL in some of the statistical categories. The first number is Allen's number and the second number is how they rank in the ECHL.

Win Percentage - .725 (#3)
Points - 100 (#3) 
Average Goals For - 4.04 (#1)
Average Shot For - 32.67 (#5)
Power Play Percentage - 21.8% (#2)
Average Penalty Minutes - 22.90 (#1)
Longest Home Winning Steak - 11 games (#1)
Team Plus/Minus -  +262 (#3) 
Goal Differential -  +81 (#2)
Shorthanded Goals - 12 (#2)

Goals Scored 2nd Period - 117 (#1)

Goals Scored 3rd Period - 89 (#2)

 - The defensemen on this team are the highest scoring group in the league by far and without having the stats to back it up may be one of the best group of offensive defensemen ever assembled in the ECHL. There are four Allen players in the top 18 in the league in scoring by defensemen including Aaron Gens with 53 points, Kevin Young with 44 points, Tyler Ludwig and Justin Baker with 37 points. Add recently acquired Konrad Abeltshauser who has four goals in three games to the mix as well as Trevor Ludwig and Nolan Descoteaux and you have a defensive group that has contributed over 200 points and close to 30% of Allen's offense.



- Here are the Allen players that rank in the top three in the ECHL in any of the statistical categories tracked by the league. Have to admit with 28 teams in the league this is an impressive list.

Points - Costello 118 (#1) 
Goals - Steffes 44 (#1), Costello 40 (#2)
Assists - Costello 78 (#1)
Power Play Points - Costello 42 (#1)
Power Play Goals - Steffes 18 (#1)
Power Play Assists - Costello 22 (#1),  Gens 19 (#2)
Shorthanded Goals - Hanson 4 (#2)
Game Winning Goals - Hanson 9 (#1), Steffes 8 (#2)
Points By Defenseman - Gens 53 (#1)
Goals By Defensemen - Tyler Ludwig 16 (#1) 
Assists By Defensemen - Gens 45 (#1)
Power Play Goals By Defensemen - Tyler Ludwig 8 (#1)
Power Play Assists By Defensemen - Gens 19 (#1)
Longest Assist Streak - Costello 16 games (#1)
Longest Point Streak - Costello 17 games (#1)
Longest Home Assist Streak - Costello 13 games (#1)
Longest Home Points Streak - Costello 21 games (#1)
Longest Road Goal Streak - Costello 7 games (#1)
Longest Road Point Streak - Hanson 16 games (#1)
Power Play Assists Single Game - Costello 4 (#1)
Goalie Wins - Gill 31 (#1)
Goalie Saves - Gill 1265 (#3)



- The Allen Americans single season record book was almost entirely rewritten this year and in some cases by a wide margin.

 Points: Chad Costello has 118 points with three games remaining. He broke the old record of 88 points set by Colton Yellow Horn set back in 2010-2011.

Goals: Gary Steffes (44 goals) and Chad Costello (40 goals) have both surpassed the old record of 34 goals set by Nino Musitelli and Bruce Graham back in 2010-2011.

Assists: Another smashed record for Chad Costello who has 78 assists and broke the record of 55 set by Colton Yellow Horn in 2010-2011.

Power Play Goals: Gary Steffes has this record with 18 power play goals breaking the old record of 16 set by Bruce Graham in 2010-2011.

Plus/Minus: Chad Costello (+39), Gary Steffes (+31), and Greger Hanson (+31) have all topped the old record of +27 set by Dave Bonk in 2010-2011.

Riley Gill has established Allen single season records for games played (48), wins (31), minutes (2748), and saves (1265).




- It is not unusual for players playing in Steve Martinson's system for the first time to have career years and that has certainly been the case this this year. Check out these numbers.

Aaron Gens - Aaron has never had more than six goals, nineteen assists or twenty two points in college or in the pros. This year he leads all ECHL defensemen with 53 points (8 goals 45 assists) and also has more penalty minutes (176) than he has ever had in a season. A career year indeed.

Gary Steffes - Including his four years in college and five years as a professional the most goals Gary had ever scored in a single season was 22 which he scored in 2011-2012 playing for the Tulsa Oilers. This year he leads the ECHL with 44 goals and if he had not been called up to the AHL would have most likely hit the 50 goals milestone. With his three goals in the AHL Gary has 47 goals this year. When you score more than twice as many goals as you have ever scored before it certainly qualifies as a career year.

Chad Costello - Chad has been a professional for seven years and has been a prolific scorer for a long time so for him to have a career year it takes something special and that is what has happened this year. When you call this year a career year for Chad maybe the most impressive statistic is that he is one of the ironmen on the team having played in all 69 games thus far for the Americans. What Costello has accomplished in terms of points is almost hard to believe as he has far surpassed all of his prior points records. He has never scored more than 34 goals in a season, he has 40 this year. He has never had more than 51 assists in a season, he has 78 this year. Chad has never had more than 85 points in a season, he has 118 this year. For what should be an unanimous choice for ECHL MVP it has definitely been a career year.

Greger Hanson - Greger started the year in Cincinnati where he played one game before being acquired by Allen in a trade and has played fourteen games in the AHL but the majority of the time (52 games) he has been with the Americans. Greger has more goals (28), assists (34) and points (56) than in any season going back to when he started college at Northern Michigan University in 2007.

Justin Baker, Ian Schultz, and Spencer Asuchak are other players that have put up good numbers playing in the Martinson system this year.




- Wanted to end this "stats blog" with a couple more stats about Chad Costello as an indication of what he has accomplished this season. It is pretty well known that Chad had an injury plagued season last year as he played in only fourteen games all year. Despite his talent there were not a lot of teams interested in him for the 2014-2015 because of the injuries. Allen was a good fit for Chad and his family for many reason but nobody saw what has happened this year coming. Allen fans will be talking about what Chad Costello accomplished in 2014-2015 long after he has retired. Chad currently has 118 points with three games remaining. He will most likely finish the season with a point total in the 120's. It will be the most points scored in the ECHL in twenty years. You have to remember when the ECHL started in the late 1980's it was a very different time with a lot more scoring. Between 1989 and 1994 the leading scorer in the ECHL averaged 143 points and the all time record of 161 points was set in the 1992-1993 season. Chad will end the season with more points than any player since the 1995-1996 season. Maybe an even more amazing stat is Chad currently has a 40 point lead in the ECHL scoring race with three games left to play. In the history of the ECHL the scoring champion has won the scoring title by more than 20 points only three times and they were all in the early year. Here are the three years where the ECHL scoring champion had at least twenty more points than the runner up along with where Chad currently fits in with three games to play. 

43 points - 1992-1993 (Trevor Jobe)
40 points - 2014-2015 (Chad Costello)
35 points - 1989-1990 (Bill McDougall)
24 points - 1995-1996 (Hugo Belanger)

DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans have scored 117 goals in the 2nd period which is 43 more than the ECHL average and and 24 more than any other team in the league.

Quad City Clinches Playoff Spot, Central Division Seedings Tighten, This N That & Odds N Ends

The Allen Americans enjoyed the day off yesterday and will also have today off as will most of the ECHL with just one game scheduled (Elmira at Indy). In what is the last of this season's "scratch your head" why did they do that with the schedule the Americans don't play for six days after the 8-1 win over Brampton and then finish the season with three games in three days.

So the blog today will be odds n ends or this n that, covering a bunch of random items that have been on the "put this in the blog list" for a while. However, let's start with what happened last night around the ECHL and the impact on the standings.

- In the Central Division Quad City beat Rapid City 3-2, Missouri beat Tulsa 5-3 and Wichita beat Brampton 5-1. Quad City clinched a playoff spot so three of the teams in the playoffs have now been decided (Allen, Rapid City, Quad City) with Tulsa and Wichita battling for the final playoff spot. The standings remain very close, so close that Tulsa could finish in second place or they could miss the playoffs altogether. Here are is the update with games remaining.
80 points: Rapid City - Thursday at Allen, Friday at Allen
79 points: Quad City -  Saturday Tulsa at home
75 points: Tulsa - Wednesday at Wichita, Friday at Wichita, Saturday at Quad City 
72 points: Wichita - Wednesday Tulsa, Friday Tulsa, Saturday Allen - all at home
When you look at the points and remaining games there are a lots of things that can still happen. Rapid City has the tie breaker over Quad City so if the Mallards beat Tulsa in their last game (Saturday) the Rush would need one point when they visit Allen for their last two games (Thursday & Friday) in order to finish in second place. If Tulsa wins out and Rapid City loses both games in Allen in regulation Tulsa would get second place. Wichita plays Tulsa at home on Wednesday and Friday and must win both games in regulation or they are eliminated.


- The two team race for the best record in the Western Conference tightened up again last night as Idaho beat Colorado 3-2 in a shootout to gain two points and tie Allen with 100 points. Allen is still in the drivers seat as they have two games in hand. Idaho has just one game remaining and they play that game on Wednesday at home against Utah. Since Allen owns the tie breaker with Idaho all the Americans have to do is equal Idaho's point total. If Idaho loses in regulation time on Wednesday Allen clinches the best record. If Idaho gets one or two points that is what Allen will need in their last three games. The good thing is the Americans will know exactly what they need before they start the three games in three days on Thursday.


- Allen still has a chance at the best overall record in the ECHL but it is now out of their control. Here are the standings with games remaining:
103 points: Toledo - Cincinnati (H), Kalamazoo (A), Kalamazoo (H)
101 points: Florida -  Orlando (A), Orlando (H), Orlando (H)
100 points: Allen - Rapid City (H), Rapid City (H), Wichita (A)
100 points: Idaho - Utah (H)
98   points: Fort Wayne - Cincinnati (H), Kalamazoo (A), Cincinnati (H)


- Do you think the style of play is different in the Western Conference than the Eastern Conference? You would sure think so if you look at penalty minutes. All fourteen teams in the Western Conference have over 1000 penalty minutes while only six of the fourteen teams in the Eastern Conference have 1000 penalty minutes. Eight of the top ten teams in penalty minutes in the ECHL are from the Western Conference. Nine of the ten teams with the fewest penalty minutes come from the Eastern Conference.


- The 21 day injured reserve carries over into the playoffs. It had been reported the IR ends at the end of the season so a player could be placed on 21 IR the last week of the season and then play the first game of the playoffs. That is not the case as any players put on 21 Day IR will have to sit out 21 days even if it carries over to the first round of playoff games.


- The last day to put a player on waivers isn't until April 10 (5:00 p.m. ET) so it is possible there could be some player movement around the league this week. When a player goes on waivers, teams have until 3:00 p.m. ET the following day to submit a claim. The waiver claim order is based on reverse order of percentage points (i.e., the team with the lowest points percentage has first priority and the team with the highest points percentage has 28th priority). The order is updated each Monday, however, if a team successfully submits a claim during the week, they slide to the back of the order until the order is reset the next Monday.


- If Gary Steffes and Aaron Dell are on the Allen playoff roster but remain in the AHL for the playoffs when might they return to Allen? Both of their teams are currently in a playoff position but are one of the lower seeds. The AHL regular season doesn't end until April 19th and the first round of the AHL playoffs won't be completed until around May 1st. If their teams would make it to the second round of the playoffs the soonest that would be completed is the middle of May.


- Ian Schultz who has been playing with the Iowa Wild (AHL) since the middle of February should be returned to Allen soon as the Wild are out of playoff contention.


- For those interested in the very unique EIHL (Great Britain) playoffs the semi-finals were held yesterday and the finals are today. Remember, both the semi finals and finals are one game playoffs. Both of the semi-final games were close and ended in dramatic fashion. In one of the semi-finals the Coventry Blaze beat the Belfast Giants 3-2 in a shootout despite being outshot during the game 41-29. That is right, the semi-finals are just one game and that one game goes to a shootout after one ten minute overtime period. Coventry is the team Brian McMillin played for at the beginning of the season last year and former Allen American Justin DaCosta (2010-2011) is playing for this year. Justin scored the first goal for Coventry against Belfast. In the other semi-final the #1 seeded Sheffield Steelers beat the Hull Stingrays 3-2 when they scored a power play goal with just four seconds remaining in the game. David Brown who was with Allen for a short time last year was in goal for Hull and took the heartbreaking loss. There is also an Allen connection to Sheffield as Devin DiDiomete played five games for Sheffield before he came to Allen for four games earlier this year. The one game championship final between Sheffield and Coventry started at 10:00 am this morning Allen time.


- Trevor Hendrikx who played in the EIHL this year for the Cardiff  Devils, lost in the first round of the playoffs. The team has an awards night after the season and Trevor received the award for fan favorite.


- With three games in three nights to end the season there might be an inclination to rest some players on Saturday if the best record overall and best record in the Western Conference have been decided. It would be a shame to see any of the three ironmen (Chad Costello, Aaron Gens, Jamie Schaafsma) who have played in every Allen game this year sit out the last game. Aaron Gens is in a close race for most points for defensmen in the ECHL and knowing coach Martinson if anything, Gens will get some extra power play time to make sure he finishes in first place. Jamie Schaafsma played in every game in 2012-2013 and as team captain would like to do it again and Chad Costello is setting scoring records going back twenty years so he will not want to sit out. If the game is meaningless some of the regulars may get less ice time.


- Tomorrow will be a post about stats. Will look at team and individual statistical leaders and talk about all of the players that have had career years this season in the offensive friendly Steve Martinson system. Will also take a look at how Chad Costello's 40 point lead in the ECHL scoring race compares to scoring leaders from the past.



DID YOU KNOW: The team with the most penalty minutes in the ECHL (Allen with 1580) is in first place in the Western Conference standings and the team with the fewest penalty minutes in the ECHL (Toledo with 723) is in first place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Allen Wins 8-1, Game Recap, Martinson Comments, Case For Costello, Jersey Auction Results

It is hard to know where to start in a lopsided 8-1 win by the Allen Americans over the Brampton Beast last night before an enthusiastic Military Appreciation/Free Jersey Night crowd of 4750 at the Allen Event Center. Guess the best place to start is at the beginning of the game when former Allen player Brett Lyon tried to start a fight at the opening puck drop and took an ill advised penalty to put the Americans on the power play. It took Allen less than a minute to score a power play goal and the Americans never looked back. By the time the onslaught was over Allen had tied their largest margin of victory all season (Allen beat Brampton 9-2 the first time they played back in November). The goal scorers for Allen were Konrad Abeltshauser (2,3,4), Greger Hanson (25,26), Spencer Asuchak (12), Tanner Eberle (2) and Chad Costello (40). There were so many highlights to this game it would take  several pages to write about all of them so will just provide a list.
- Allen out shot Brampton 39-19
- The seven goal margin of victory tied for the most all year
- Allen was 5-8 on the power play which may be an all time record
- Allen was perfect on the penalty kill not allowing a goal on four Brampton PP opportunities
- Defensemen Konrad Abeltshauser playing in just his third game for Allen had a hat trick
- Defenseman Kevin Young had four assists
- Chad Costello had five points (1 goal 4 assists) including his 40th goal of the season (see more on Chad's night below)
- Aaron Gens had two assists and maintains his scoring lead (53 points) among all ECHL defensemen
- Joel Rumpel saved 18 of 19 shots and lowered his GAA to 1.62 with save % of .917
- Greger Hanson had two goals which is the first time he has had a multi goal game since November
- Last night was the fourth time Allen had scored eight or more goals this season
- Defensemen accounted for nine points (3 goals 5 assists)



STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS:

- It was obviously a great night for us tonight so there was a lot to like about the game but the special teams stood out. We had five power play goals and we had traffic in front and screens on most of them. That was good to see. The penalty kill unit was also good not allowing a power play goal.

- We were much better defensively though the lone goal Brampton scored was on a two on one.

- I liked that we had a lot of different players contributing tonight. Don't forget Brampton went into Quad City and beat them on Wednesday.

- There are a lot of positives from this game which is what you want going into the playoffs.

- Rumpel played well in goal tonight. He is smart, quick and technically sound.

- After Brampton started Brett Lyon and he jumped Stevenson right at the opening puck drop I wasn't about to cut them any slack.


OTHER COMMENTS:

- With the win last night Allen extended their streak of getting a least on point to eight games. The Americans record in those eight games is 6-0-1-1. Allen is back in the ECHL overall points race and is now second with 100 points just one point behind Toledo. Allen leads the Western Conference standings by two points over Idaho and the Americans have played one less game.

- Not sure who picked the three stars of the game last night and there were plenty of worthy candidates. It is not as easy as you might think when picking the three stars as it has to be done quickly and before the game is over so the information can get down to the ice for the post game activities with the stars. Have to admit the first time I was asked to pick the three stars when on the radio with Tommy Daniels without the ability of studying all of the information in the box score I choked and Tommy had to bail me out. With that said Chad Costello should have been one of the three stars last night and probably the #1 star. Here is the case.
*Chad scored his 40th goal of the season
*Chad had five points in the game (1 goal 4 assists)
*Chad's five points is tied for the second most points in a game all season in the ECHL
*Chad had four power play assists which is the most in the league all season
*Chad's four assists were all primary assists
*Chad had an assist of four of Allen's first five goals.


- With his five points last night Costello now has 118 points (40 goals 78 assists) and a 41 point lead in the ECHL scoring race. Chad has more points in a single season than any player since the 1997-1998 season when Jamey Hicks had 119 points. Chad is almost assured of passing the 119 mark and will end the season with more points than any player has scored in the ECHL in 20 years.


- In the Central Division playoff battle Tulsa beat Missouri and Quad City beat Rapid City last night. Here is how the four teams fighting for three playoff spots stand along with their remaining games:
80 points: Rapid City - Quad City (H), Allen (A), Allen (A)
77 points: Quad City -  Rapid City (A), Tulsa (H)
75 points: Tulsa - Missouri (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (A), Quad City (A)
70 points: Wichita - Brampton (H), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H), Allen (H)
Games tonight are Brampton at Wichita, Missouri at Tulsa and Quad City at Rapid City.


- The military appreciation specialty jerseys were very popular last night based on the post game auction. With so many specialty jersey auctions recently there was some speculation the prices would be suppressed but that was not the case. Don't have all of the results but here are some of those that went for the most money:
$1350 - Aaron Gens
$1200 - Joel Rumpel
$1100 - Tanner Eberle
$1000 - Chad Costello
$900 - Jamie Schaafsma
$850 - Spencer Asuchak
$800 - Trevor Ludwig
$800 - Konrad Abeltshauser

Aaron Gens' Military Appreciation Jersey went for $1350 - photo by scenebykimberly.com

DID YOU KNOW: Chad Costello has more assists (78) this season than any other player in the ECHL has points.

Allen vs Brampton Game Preview, Abeltshauser Honored, Steffes Strives for 50, Playoff Race

It is game day in Allen as the Allen Americans take on the Brampton Beast in a match up between the best and the worst teams in the Central Division. By almost any measure the Americans should win this game handily. After all, Brampton is in last place by a wide margin and can't escape the cellar even if they win all of their remaining games. That may have been what Quad City, who is battling for a playoff spot, thought on Wednesday when Brampton visited Quad City and came away with a 6-5 victory. Or maybe that is what Allen was thinking the last time Brampton visited the Allen Event Center when the Beast won 6-5 in overtime. The point being is tonight's game is important for Allen if they are to get first place in the Western Conference while Brampton will be playing for pride and playing loose.

The game tonight will pit the the team ranked #3 in the ECHL standings (Allen has 98 points) against the team that is #25 in the ECHL standings (Brampton has 47 points).  It will be the seventh and final meeting between these two teams this year. Allen won the first five games by scores of 9-2, 4-1, 6-0 (in Allen) and 5-2, 5-1 in Brampton before the Beast came away with a 6-5 OT win the last time they played which was February 28 in Allen.

- A statistical comparison of Allen and Brampton shows a huge advantage for Allen. Here are a few examples:

Points: Allen (98) - Brampton (47)
Winning Percentage: Allen (.721) - Brampton (.356)
Goals For: Allen (271) - Brampton (174)
Goals Allowed: Allen (197) - Brampton (272)
Goal Differential: Allen (+74) - Brampton (-98)
Team Plus/Minus: Allen (+252) - Brampton (-453)
Allen is #1 in average goals scored per game (3.99). Brampton is #25 (2.64).
Allen is ranked #10 in average goals allowed (2.90). Brampton is #27 (4.12).

- Special teams will most likely be a key to the game especially with Allen leading the league in average penalty minutes per game (22.69). Allen has a better overall power play (#3 in the ECHL) and penalty kill (#3 in the ECHL) than Brampton who is ranked #20 on the power play and #26 on the penalty kill. However, if you look at home and road stats the Americans advantage is not as great. At home Allen is ranked #9 (19.3%) on the power play and #6 (86.1%) on the penalty kill. On the road Brampton is #20 (15.2%) on the power play and #17 (80.3%) on the penalty kill. Advantage Allen.


- As is often said, on paper it looks like Allen should win this game rather easily but the game isn't played on paper. Coach Martinson met with the players yesterday to once again go over video of the defensive breakdowns that have been causing so many odd man rushes recently. Defense is more about hard work and "want" than it is about skill. To win tonight the Americans need to get back to the basics of being aggressive without cheating, finish checks, avoid odd man rushes, get the puck in deep, avoid blue line turnovers, be more concerned about winning the game than scoring points and stay out of the penalty box. Easier said than done.


- The on ice officials scheduled for the game are referee Micheal McCreary (#7) and linesmen Brian Bull & Alex Black.


OTHER COMMENTS

- Congrats to Konrad Abeltshauser who was announced yesterday as the Community Service award winner for the Worcester Sharks. He was also selected for this award last year as a rookie. It is obvious Konrad goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to community service. Here is the press release Worcester issued about his selection:

Konrad Abeltshauser named Worcester Sharks 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year
Sharks defenseman has been nominated for the second straight season

Worcester, MA – The Worcester Sharks (@WorcesterSharks), proud American Hockey League affiliate of the San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) announced today that second year defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Worcester community during the 2014-15 season. The 22-year-old native of Bad Tolz, Germany has taken the initiative to go above and beyond in regards to community outreach and has once again established himself as a leader in the Worcester community.  Continuing his efforts from last season when he established “Konrad’s Korner”, this season Konrad purchased tickets for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central MA/MetroWest and personally met with the recipients after each Sunday home game. Abeltshauser helped organize this year’s 7th Annual “Give Moore for the Holidays” Toy Drive by rallying all of his teammates to participate. The team purchased $3000 worth of toys for the Rainbow Child Development Center and invited the recipients and their families to receive the gifts following the Sharks’ December 14 game. Earlier this season, Konrad was chosen to assist with “Project Playhouse”, a build for Habitat for Humanity. This program was created in order to help combat veterans who suffer from PTSD by constructing themed playhouses for their children. Directly after practice, Konrad gathered some teammates to aid in the construction process. Konrad helped paint, build the foundation, mount the roof and install solar panels of each house. Also the Worcester Sharks Man of the Year nominee during the 2013-14 season, he appeared in over 20 community events throughout central Massachusetts and leads by example when it comes to the Sharks’ community efforts. Abeltshauser was named the QMJHL's Humanitarian of the Year in 2013 for his community work with the Halifax Mooseheads. In recognition of his efforts, Konrad will be presented with an etched crystal trophy during an on-ice presentation prior to an upcoming Sharks home game. Abeltshauser is now one of 30 finalists for the AHL’s 2014-15 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year and is looking to be the first Sharks player to win the award since Nick Petrecki during the 2011-12 season. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League later this month.

- Had a question about Gary Steffes returning to Allen for the playoffs. The way Gary is playing in Milwaukee with three goals in five games (plus a disallowed goal) Coach Martinson is not planning on Gary coming back to Allen until Milwaukee has been eliminated from the playoffs. There are a lot a variables that come into play so you can never predict when Gary will return but the plan is he stays in Milwaukee until they are eliminated. Gary will be eligible to play for Allen no matter if he comes back before the playoffs or after they have already started. Steffes still has a good chance to reach 50 goals for the season which would be an amazing milestone for him. He is at 47 goals now with six games remaining for Milwaukee.

Gary Steffes wearing #15 celebrates his first goal for Milwaukee

- The Allen roster will continue to change over the next week as coach Martinson prepares for the playoffs. Yesterday defenseman Steven Tarasuk was waived. This next week should see several more players being added to the roster.


- South Carolina continues their outstanding play as they won again last night 2-1 in a fifteen round shootout. South Carolina is an amazing 25-1 since February 7th but is still in a battle with Reading for home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs in the East Division. South Carolina has a one point lead for second place but Reading has two games in hand.


-  In the Central Division playoff race three teams are in action tonight. Missouri is at Tulsa and Quad City at Rapid City. Wichita is idle. Here are the standings with games remaining:
79 points: Rapid City - Quad City (H), Quad City (H), Allen (A), Allen (A)
75 points: Quad City -  Rapid City (A), Rapid City (A), Tulsa (H)
73 points: Tulsa - Missouri (H), Missouri (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (A), Quad City (A)
70 points: Wichita - Brampton (H), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H), Allen (H)


- Here is an interview the Allen Americans posted of an interview Tommy Daniels conducted with recently assigned goalie Joel Rumpel:

DID YOU KNOW: The Brampton Beast have one of the worst records in the ECHL but they are the only team in the ECHL that is undefeated in shootouts this season.

Another Shootout Loss, Game Recap, Martinson Comments, Dyson Stevenson Details, Dell, Steffes & More

The Allen Americans lost in a shootout last night to the Wichita Thunder by a score of 4-3 in front of a big Wednesday night crowd of 6847 at Intrust Bank Arena. Despite the final score the good news outweighed the bad news on the night.

The Good News:
- Allen got one point and extended to seven consecutive games where they have earned at least one point. They are 5-0-1-1 in the last seven games.
- Even though they lost, Allen is still tied for the top spot in the Western Conference with a game in hand.
- Allen dominated puck possession and had 36 shots on goal.
- Allen held Wichita to just 20 shots on goal.
- Allen was perfect on the penalty kill as Wichita was 0-5 on the power play.
- Allen did great on the power play going 2-3.
- Allen took fewer penalty minutes (23) than Wichita (29).
- Allen came back in the game twice after being down 2-0 and 3-2.

The Bad News:
- Allen was never able to get a lead after giving up the first two goals of the game.
- Allen dominated the game statistically but gave up easy scoring plays and odd man rushes.
- Allen's struggles in overtime and shootouts continued with another shootout loss. The Americans combined record in overtime and shootouts is now 5-10 which is the third worst record in the league.


- The goal scorers for Allen were Justin Baker (9), Konrad Abeltshauser (1) and Spencer Asuchak (11).


STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- It is frustrating to have so many experienced players with defensive breakdowns this late in the season.

- On Wichita's first goal we did not execute on what was simple defensive coverage.

- Two of Wichita's goals were scored on odd man rushes. Four games to go and we still haven't figured it out.

- Tonight's loss was exactly the same as the loss to Missouri last week. We out shoot a team by close to a 2-1 margin but give up easy scoring chances with odd man rushes and end up losing the game.


OTHER COMMENTS

- Aaron Gens had an assist on the Asuchak goal and has taken over the ECHL scoring lead for defensemen with 51 points.


- Spencer Asuchak had a goal and assist last night to extend his scoring streak to seven games. He has five goals and six assists in the seven games.


- Chad Costello had an assist for his 113 point of the season and extended his ECHL scoring lead to 36 points. With two more points Chad will have scored more points in a single season in the ECHL than any player since 1997-1998.


- Rapid City beat Missouri last night 4-1 to clinch a playoff spot. Rapid City is playing the best hockey in the Central Division right now with an eight game winning streak. It is not over yet with some critical games to play but Rapid City is certainly in the drivers seat for the #2 seed. Here are the updated details in the race for the playoffs including remaining games.
79 points: Rapid City - Quad City (H), Quad City (H), Allen (A), Allen (A)
75 points: Quad City -  Rapid City (A), Rapid City (A), Tulsa (H)
73 points: Tulsa - Missouri (H), Missouri (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (A), Quad City (A)
70 points: Wichita - Brampton (H), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H), Allen (H)


- Gary Steffes scored another goal last night for Milwaukee. Gary's goal with just over five minutes left  in the game tied the score 2-2. Milwaukee went on to defeat Lake Erie 3-2 in overtime. For Gary it was his third goal in five games. He is making the most of his opportunity in the AHL and it could not happen to a nicer guy.


- Speaking of making the most of an opportunity Aaron Dell continues to shine in Worcester. He was in goal last night as Worcester won 3-2 in a shootout. Aaron saved 36 of 38 shots in regulation and stopped six of seven in the shootout for his thirteenth win for the Sharks. His GAA is 1.88 and save percentage is .932. Now that is taking advantage of an opportunity!


- The Allen Americans have officially announced the first two home games in round one of the playoffs will be Tuesday April 14 and Wednesday April 15. Certainly not ideal dates but this team deserves support from everyone. With more time to market the game than in past years and word of mouth from all of the fans hopefully there can be a good showing for these games. I will be getting a suite for opening night to show support if anyone is interested. If you already have a ticket for the game you can get credit for the cost of your ticket toward a suite ticket.


- The Allen Americans were loaned another player yesterday. Dyson Stevenson was loaned to Allen by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL). Dyson has played most of the year in the ECHL with the Gwinnett Gladiators where he had 16 points (8 goals 8 assists) and 104 penalty minutes in 46 games. Last year in his final junior season playing for the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League Stevenson had 76 points (38 goals 38 assists) in 66 games to go along with 121 penalty minutes and a +23 plus/minus rating.  For his efforts he was named the team MVP. He also took home the Regina Pat's Community Service Award and was voted the most popular player by the fans.  He is the kind of player Steve Martinson likes in that he can score, he will finish his checks and drop the gloves when necessary. If you follow Dyson on twitter (@dysice26) you will notice his profile picture is a picture of him with a big northern pike he caught ice fishing. Seems as if the size of the Allen Americans fishing club is getting to be as big as the golf group. Coach Martinson is going to have to use the recruiting line of you will live at a great place to fish as well as a great place to golf.

Dyson Stevenson (center) has been loaned to Allen from Bridgeport (AHL

Here are Dyson's stats courtesy of hockeydb:

Dyson Stevenson

Right Wing -- shoots R
Born Jul 15 1993 -- Shaunavon, SASK
[21 yrs. ago]
Height 6.00 -- Weight 185

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009-10	Regina Pats	WHL	1	0	0	0	5	1	--	--	--	--	--
2010-11	Regina Pats	WHL	64	6	8	14	72	-19	--	--	--	--	--
2011-12	Regina Pats	WHL	59	15	20	35	102	5	4	3	2	5	14
2012-13	Regina Pats	WHL	62	16	27	43	120	-9	--	--	--	--	--
2012-13	Bakersfield Condors	ECHL	4	0	0	0	12	0	--	--	--	--	--
2013-14	Regina Pats	WHL	66	38	38	76	121	23	3	0	1	1	6
2014-15	Gwinnett Gladiators*	ECHL	46	8	8	16	104	-15
2014-15	Portland Pirates*	AHL	2	0	0	0	2	0
2014-15	Bridgeport Sound Tigers*	AHL	4	0	0	0	5	-1
2014-15	Allen Americans	ECHL	1	0	0	0	0	0

Dyson and recently signed Tanner Eberle played against each other in juniors and have fought several times but are friends off the ice and train together in the summer. Here is one of their more recent fights from February of last year. Have to give Stevenson the decision on this one.

- DID YOU KNOW: How is this for a strange stat. Last night was the tenth and final regular season Wednesday night game for the Allen Americans. Allen was 7-3 on Wednesday night with all three losses coming at the hands of the Wichita Thunder. With the second game of the first round of playoffs scheduled for Wednesday (April 15th) another reason to hope Tulsa holds on for the fourth and final playoff spot.

Allen Beats Tulsa 5-1, Game Recap & Video Highlights, Martinson Comments, Wichita Preview & More

The Allen Americans ended their seventeen game season series against the Tulsa Oilers last night with a dominating 5-1 victory before a crowd of 4735 at the BOK Center. The Americans finished the series against Tulsa with a record of 12-4-0-1.

Goals scorers for Allen were Chad Costello (38 & 39), Vincent Arseneau (11), Jamie Schaafsma, (17), and Patrik Valcak (2). For Chad Costello, who played for Tulsa during the 2010-2011 season, last night was another of many great performances against the Oilers with three points (2 goals 1 assist) which earned him the #1 star of the game. Chad was also the #1 star the last time these two teams played on Sunday when he had the overtime game winner.  In the seventeen games against Tulsa, Chad has thirty one points (15 goals 16 assists).

STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

- Chad Costello had two really nice goals tonight to go along with a great pass on Schaafsma's power play goal. What he has accomplished this year is special to see after playing in just 14 games last year.

- With the recent additions of Asuchak, Arseneau, and Eberle we have become a much more physical team again. 

- Konrad Abeltshauser played well tonight in his first game. He is a great fit with our defense puck possession style of play.

- We have gotten eleven of a possible twelve points in our last six games winning five of the six. It is a good time to start building momentum.

- Joel Rumpel looked good in goal. He made the five on three penalty kill look easy. It looked to me like the one goal Tulsa scored was goalie interference.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - Here are the video highlights from the game last night which includes all of the goals - courtesy of the Tulsa Oilers:

OTHER COMMENTS 

- With Tulsa losing to Allen last night they missed an opportunity to tie Quad City for third place in the Central Division and put more distance between themselves and fifth place Wichita. Here are the updated standings for second through fifth place along with the remaining games both home (H) and away (A):
77 points: Rapid City - Missouri (H), Quad City (H), Quad City (H), Allen (A), Allen (A)
75 points: Quad City - Brampton (H), Rapid City (A), Rapid City (A), Tulsa (H)
73 points: Tulsa - Missouri (H), Missouri (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (A), Quad City (A)
68 points: Wichita - Allen (H), Brampton (H), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H), Allen (H)
These four teams play each other a lot in the next ten days so anything can still happen. Three of the four teams are in action tonight with Brampton at Quad City, Allen at Wichita, and Missouri at Rapid City. Tulsa is idle.


- With the points so close between Rapid City, Quad City, Tulsa and Wichita it is highly likely the tie breakers will come into play. Here they are:
1. Wins, regular season (excluding shootout wins)
2. Goal Differential
3. Points head-to-head
4. Winning percentage, division (if teams are from the same division)
5. Winning percentage, conference
6. Goals for, regular season
7. Goals against, regular season
8. Coin toss


- Gary Steffes had the only goal for Milwaukee (AHL) last night as they lost to Lake Erie 2-1. Gary has two goals (with another disallowed) in the four games he has played for Milwaukee. They play Lake Erie again tonight.


- With his three points last night Chad Costello now has 112 points for the season and leads the ECHL scoring race by an unbelievable 35 points. He is now just three points away from having more points in a single season than any other player in the last sixteen years.


- If things go as planned there will be another roster change announced sometime today. Stay tuned. 


- With the win over Tulsa last night Allen has moved into first place for the best record in the Western Conference. The Americans lead Idaho by one point (97-96) and have one game in hand.



ALLEN VS WICHITA GAME PREVIEW:

- The game tonight will be number sixteen between these teams with one more to go (April 11th in Wichita). Allen leads the series 8-2-3-2. The Americans are 5-1-0-1 in Wichita.


- It has been mentioned before that Allen and Wichita have been evenly matched statistically all year. All but two of the fifteen previous games have been decided by one or two goals and six have gone to overtime. The only exceptions being a 4-0 win by Wichita on March 18th and a 8-2 win by Allen on January 16th.


- If the game tonight goes to overtime Wichita has the advantage as they have won five of the six games that were not decided in regulation time.


- Here is an up to date statistical comparison for the fifteen games played between the Americans and Thunder this season which shows just how close these teams have played.

Goals: Allen (58) - Wichita (53) 
Shots on Goal: Allen (461) - Wichita (476)
Penalty Minutes: Allen (362) - Wichita (359)


- Special teams is almost always the key to victory and Allen has the edge in this department. If you look at the head to head matchups in the fifteen games played this season Allen has gone 18-89 (20.2%) on the power play and Wichita has gone 14-78 (17.9%) on the power play.  More broadly at home Wichita is ranked #8 (20.0%) on the power play and #11 (84.2%) on the penalty kill. On the road Allen is #2 (21.3%) on the power play and #4 (86.4%) on the penalty kill.

- Joel Rumpel will be in goal for Allen again tonight trying to build on his great outing last night when he stopped 21 of 22 shots. After his first professional game Joel has a GAA of 1.00 and save percentage of .955.

- Leading scorer for Allen in the fifteen games against Wichita is Chad Costello who has twenty one points (9 goals 12 assists). Leading the way for Wichita is Danick Gauthier who has twenty one points (10 goals 11 assists) against Allen.

- The referee scheduled for the game is Kenny Anderson (#16).


DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans finished the season winning eight of their last thirteen games in both of the back to back championship seasons (2012-2013 & 2013-2014). If the Americans win three of their last five games they will have won eight of their last thirteen games for the third straight season.