Allen Loses in KC, Game Recap, Video Highlights, The Week Ahead and Goal Differential Stats

 

The Allen Americans lost to the Kansas City Mavericks 7-5 last night before a crowd of 3372 at the Cable Dahmer Arena, which is a twin to the CUTX Event Center in Allen. The final score certainly doesn't tell the story of what happened in the 24 hours from the end of the Americans 3-1 win in Wichita on Friday night until the final buzzer against the Mavericks last night. 

- A hint of what the next 24 hours would bring started on the bus ride from Wichita to Kansas City. While the Mavericks didn't play on Friday and had seven days between games, the Americans arrived in Kansas City at 2:00 am. To make matters worse they had to drop off goalie Antoine Bibeau so he could head back to Charlotte (AHL) as he was recalled after his first start win for in Wichita. It was a long day for Bibeau who arrived in Charlotte in time to be the backup goalie for the Checkers who defeated Lehigh Valley last night by a score of 7-3. The teams play again today and with an early start time (noon Allen time) the odds are Bibeau will be in goal for the Checkers. 

 

- When the Americans got off the bus in Kansas City it was almost certain that Jack Combs would not be able to play against the Mavericks. Jack was slashed in Wichita on a play that wasn't called a penalty. It wasn't even daybreak and the Americans already knew they would be playing with an EBUG and just nine forwards against the Mavericks. When Kelly Bent got a game misconduct penalty (Aggressor) six minutes into the game the Americans were down to eight forwards. Even with a couple of calls that went Allen's way, one Mavericks goal was disallowed because it was kicked in the net and another was disallowed because of goalie interference, it became a long night for the Americans. Allen gave up the first goal of the game 5:32 after puck drop but responded 17 seconds later to tie the score. It was down hill from that point as the Americans were out shot 14-9 in the first period, 19-10 in the second period and 41-28 for the game. Allen trailed 2-1 after the first period, 3-2 after the second period and 6-2 midway through the third period. To the team's credit, they scored three unanswered goals in the second half of the third period to close the score to 6-5 before the Mavericks scored an empty net goal with 10 seconds remaining in the game to make the final 7-5.

 

- It looked like Allen had turned the corner when it held Wichita to 21 shots on Friday but it was back to a 40 shot night against Kansas City. The Americans are once again last in the ECHL in average shots allowed (38.17). They are ranked #25 in average goals allowed (4.50).

- Kansas City's first two goals were scored shorthanded. Allen has now allowed four shorthanded goals in six games. The Americans have given up the most shorthanded goals in the league. It is quite a turnaround from last season when Allen led the ECHL in the fewest shorthanded goals allowed. They have allowed four shorthanded goals in six games this season compared to allowing three shorthanded goals in 72 games last season. 

- Goals scorers for Allen were Ryan Lohin (5,6), D-Jay Jerome (1,2) and Chad Costello (3). Lohin's six goals is tied for second in the ECHL behind Toledo's John Albert we has seven goals.

 

- The game was very physical with a total of 20 infractions and 71 penalty minutes. Quite a contrast from Friday night when the same referee called four penalties for eight minutes.

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/media/game-recap-americans-rally-falls-short/  

 

- Here is Dan Stilley's take on the game. Dan covers the Mavericks for Field Pass Hockey:  https://fieldpasshockey.com/mavericks-prevail-in-tense-contest-against-allen/

- Video highlights are on the Americans YouTube Channel. Here is a link if you can't open the highlights below:  https://www.google.com/search?channel=nus5&client=firefox-b-1-d&q=allen+americans+youtube+channel

 

Here is the link if you search on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WL2diardDGM

 

- Allen will spend this week getting ready for its first three games in three days of the season. The Americans will play at Wichita on Friday, at home against Kansas City on Saturday and at home against Wichita on Sunday. Allen's record is now 2-2-2-0 with a .500 points percentage, good enough for fourth place in the Mountain Division. The Americans will be looking to move up in the standings with a good performance next weekend.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Newfoundland lost its first game of the season last night to Adirondack (6-4). The Growlers and Toledo are tied for the best points percentage in the ECHL at a lofty .833. They are also the two teams with the best goal differential in the league (see below).

 

- After 70 games the ECHL average attendance is just under 4000 but varies greatly. Five teams are averaging over 7000 per game while eight teams are averaging under 3000 per game. The Americans are ranked #22 with an average attendance for their first four home games of 2859.

 

- Tulsa is off to the best start in the Mountain Division with a record of 4-1-0-0 and a points percentage of .800. Wichita is in last place with a record of 1-4-0-0 and points percentage of .200.

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Goal differential (goals for minus goals against) is a good indicator of the strength of a team. There are 12 ECHL teams that currently have a positive goal differential. The top four in goal differential are the top four in the standings:

+20: Toledo

+10: Newfoundland

+7: Utah

+6: Tulsa

+5: Fort Wayne

+5: Indy

+4: South Carolina

+3: Norfolk

+2: Atlanta

+1: Cincinnati

+1: Kansas City

+1: Adirondack 

 

Iowa has allowed 45 goals, no other team in the league has allowed more than 27 (Allen). The Heartlanders goal differential is -22. The next lowest goal differential is -8 (Worcester).

Allen Wins, Game Recap, Martinson's Comments, Antoine Bibeau Recalled, Allen vs Kansas City Preview and More

 

The Allen Americans won their road opener last night beating the Wichita Thunder 3-1 before a crowd of 5462 at INTRUST Bank Arena. It was an atypical game for these long time rivals, a low scoring defensive battle with just four minor penalties (two on each team) the entire game. As a comparison to the combined eight PIMS last night, the combined penalty minutes in the last six games between Allen and Wichita (two this season and final four last season) were 34, 32, 34, 30, 42 and 58. 

 

- Allen scored the first goal of the game which it has done in four of the five games this season. It was the only goal of the first period. Wichita tied the game in the second period (7:58) but the Americans responded at the 13:29 mark to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. The game wasn't decided until Allen scored an empty net goal with 22 seconds left in the game. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Phil Beaulieu (1), Kris Myllari (1) and Ryan Lohin (4). Beaulieu opened the scoring, Myllari had the game winner and Lohin's empty net goal gave him the team lead with four goals.   

 

- It was a low shot game by both teams with Allen leading in shots on goal 27-21. It was quite a change from Allen's first four games when it allowed 39, 34, 49 and 45 shots. The low shots allowed (21) helped the Americans get out of last place in the ECHL in shots allowed. They are now ranked #26 allowing an average of 37.60 shots per game but last night was real progress. 

 

- He faced only 21 shots but goalie Antoine Bibeau, playing in his first ever ECHL game after seven years in the AHL was outstanding stopping several quality Wichita scoring opportunities. A GAA of 1.00 with a .952 save percentage is quite a start.

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/media/americans-beat-wichita-3-1/  

- Here is the game recap issued by the Wichita Thunder:  https://www.wichitathunder.com/en/news/allen-holds-off-late-thunder-rally

 

- Neither team was able to capitalize on the power play though they each had just two opportunities. Allen's power play is down to 15.8%, ranked #17 in the league. The penalty kill is up to 78.9% but is still ranked #20 in the ECHL.  If you eliminate opening night when the Americans gave up three power play goals the penalty kill is at 92.9%.

STEVE MARTINSON'S COMMENTS

"We played better tonight but still need improvement."

"We need to get back to basics on our power play opportunities. We need more power play 101 in Kansas City."

"We will have an EBUG against the Mavericks. Antoine Bibeau, who played great in Wichita, has been recalled to Charlotte."

"We are making improvements but we are not where we are going to be."

"We have one player that was injured in Wichita that may not be able to go against Kansas City."   

 

 ALLEN VS KANSAS CITY PREVIEW

- After the win in Wichita the Allen Americans had to make the four hour bus trip to Kansas City and arrived at the hotel at 2:00 am. The Mavericks were snug in their beds as they did not play last night, they haven't played since Friday (October 29) when they beat Wheeling 3-0 at home. 

 

- Tonight will be the first of 11 times Allen will play Kansas City this season (6 home, 5 away). In February, Allen will play the Mavericks four straight games (3 home 1 away). Last season Allen's record against Kansas City was 7-4-0-0. 

 

- A statistical comparison for this season gives Kansas City an edge but Allen's stats are skewed by the opening day 7-0 shutout loss. The Mavericks have scored more goals per game (3.5 vs 3.2) and allowed fewer goals per game (3.8 vs 4.0). Allen has the edge in average shots for per game (29.8 vs 26.0) while the Mavericks have a big margin in average shots allowed (27.3 vs 37.6). Kansas City has the better power play percentage (23.5% vs 15.8%) and penalty kill percentage (82.6% vs 78.9%).   

 

- Referee Sean MacFarlane (#4), who was the referee last night when Allen beat Wichita and called just four minor penalties also took the trip the Kansas City and will referee the game tonight against the Mavericks.  

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Newfoundland remains unbeaten winning its home opener last night 4-1 over Adirondack playing in a nearby small arena while an investigation takes place that has the Growlers suspended from their home arena (Mile One Centre). The attendance was a sold out standing room only crowd of 1168. The distraction doesn't seem to bother the team. With a 5-0 record to start the season Newfoundland needs three more wins to match the longest winning streak to start the season in the history of the ECHL. In the Growlers win last night they had a rare 5-on-3 shorthanded goal. In addition to having a 96.6% (1-19) penalty kill, Newfoundland leads the ECHL with five shorthanded goals in five games.

 

- Mountain Division teams have played as few as four games (Tulsa & Kansas City) and as many as seven games (Utah). Here are the division standings by points percentage:

.750 - Tulsa

.714 - Utah

.600 - Allen

.500 -Idaho

.500 - Rapid City

.500 - Kansas City

.200 - Wichita

 

- You don't see this happen very often. Trois-Rivieres has the best penalty kill percentage in the ECHL (100%) and the worst power play percentage in the ECHL (5.0%). The Lions have killed 20 straight penalties and are 1-20 on the power play. 

 

- Aaron Luchak of the Orlando Solar Bears has picked up where he left off last season as the top scorer in the ECHL. Luchak is averaging 2.40 points per game with 12 points (5G, 7A) in five games. 

 

- Defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous of the Utah Grizzlies leads all ECHL defensemen with five goals, is tied for the overall lead in goals and leads all players in plus/minus at +12. 

 

- There are 10 games in the ECHL tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of all of them:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/11/echl-today-nov-6

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen's current roster includes:

#1 All Time Goal Scorer - Spencer Asuchak (124)

#2 All Time Goal Scorer - Chad Costello (100)

#1 All Time in Points - Chad Costello (353)

#2 All Time in Points - Spencer Asuchak (314)

#3 All Time Goals by Defensemen - Eric Roy (43) 

#1 Average Points Per Game, Single Season - Jack Combs (1.75)

Allen vs Wichita Preview, Travel Roster, Stats, Best Goalie Save Percentages and More

 It is game day for the Allen Americans as they are in Wichita to take on the Thunder. After four home games the Americans are the last team in the Mountain Division to play a road game. After the game tonight Allen will travel to Kansas City where they will take on the Mavericks Saturday night before returning to Allen.

-  Here is Allen's travel roster which is every healthy player on the team. Two players stayed home, defenseman Nolan Kneen and forward Jackson Leef. With two goalies, seven defensemen and 10 forwards, everyone will be in the lineup tonight except one defenseman.

 

Goalies

#34 - Antoine Bibeau

#40 - Frank Marotte

Defensemen:

#3 - Darian Skeoch

#4 - Kris Myllari

#7 - Eric Roy

#15 - Josh Burnside

#20 - Ben Carroll

#23 - Ben Owen

#25 - Phil Beaulieu

 

Forwards

#9 - Ryan Lohin

#10- Jackson Leppard

#11 - Branden Troock

#13 - Chad Costello

#19 - Jared Bethune

#21 - Jack Combs

#26 - Spencer Asuchak

#28 - D-Jay Jerome

#29 - Kelly Bent

#49 - Dawson Butt

 

- Tonight's game will be Allen's fifth of the season but the third against Wichita. It is hard to forget the opening night disaster when the Thunder shutout the Americans 7-0. Allen came back the next night and beat Wichita 6-3. That opening night 7-0 win against Allen is the only game Wichita has won as they have lost three straight since. 

 

- Both teams come into the game tonight trying to get on the winning track. Allen has lost its last two games (both in overtime) and has a record of 1-1-2-0. Wichita's record is 1-3-0-0.

 

- Allen's Achilles' heel has been giving up way to many shots on goal. The Americans are last in the ECHL, ranked #27 in allowing an average of 41.75 shots per game. Wichita isn't much better, ranked #22, allowing 35.00 shots per game. In average goals allowed Allen is #25 (4.75) and Wichita is #24 (3.75).

 

- What causes Allen to allow an average of 41.75 shots per game while taking an average of  30.50 shots per game? A big part of the problem is turning over the puck in neutral ice and at the offensive blue line. These turnovers not only eliminate a chance for the Americans to get a shot, they create a great opportunity for the opponent to get a shot. Getting the puck in deep when there isn't room to make a play in neutral ice will be a key to the game tonight. 

 

- Special teams are always key and it was a tale of two games between these teams opening weekend. Allen was 0-6 on the power play in game one and 2-4 in game two. Wichita was just the opposite going 3-5 in game one and 0-3 in game two. Allen's power play after four games is ranked #16 at 17.6% but if you eliminate that first game the power play is 27.3%. Wichita's power play after four games is ranked #5 at 25.0% but if you eliminate that first game the power play is 13.3%. 

 

- Allen will have Eric Roy back in the lineup after he missed last weekend against Utah. Eric had three points (1G, 2A) in the two games he played and leads all ECHL defensemen in average points per game at 1.50 (minimum 2 games played). 

 

- Goalie Antoine Bibeau is scheduled to get his first ever ECHL start tonight. Also look for some line changes in the game. During practice this week Ryan Lohin was centering Costello and Combs while Spencer Asuchak was centering Jackson Leppard and Brenden Troock. 

 

- Scoring first is typically a big advantage but not so much with Allen and Wichita thus far this season. Allen is 1-0-2-0 when scoring first and Wichita is 1-1-0-0. With that said, the odds are the first goal of the game will predict the winner.

 

- Allen and Wichita have had some real Donnybrooks over the years and it sometimes seems like every game is like that. In fact half the times these teams play they have less than their average penalty minutes. In the opening weekend games the combined penalty minutes were 32 and 34. 

 

- The referee scheduled for the game is Sean MacFarlane (#4). He won the top award for on ice officials in 2020-21. He has been a referee in the ECHL and AHL the last five seasons. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- 20 of 27 ECHL teams will be in action tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with a brief preview of all 10 games: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/11/echl-today-nov-5    

- Newfoundland is the only undefeated team in the ECHL having won its first four games on the road. The Growlers "home opener" is tonight but they will play in a facility in a nearby community with a capacity of 1065. The team is suspended from its home arena (Mile One Centre) by the city of St. John's while it investigates allegations of "disrespectful workplace conduct" by team ownership.

- The only other Mountain Division teams in action tonight are Rapid City and Utah who will play in Utah. Last night Tulsa beat Idaho 2-1 at home despite being out shot by the Steelheads 31-16. The 16 shots is the second fewest in a game this season, not bad to get a win with so few shots. The fewest shots in a game this season also happened last night. Iowa lost to Cincinnati 5-3 and managed just 13 shots on goal including only two in the third period. The Cyclones had 37 shots on goal. 

- Here is an odd combination of stats. Greenville is tied for the worst points percentage in the ECHL (.250) but has the second best team save percentage of .928. How does that happen? The Swamp Rabbits can't score, having scored just 7 goals on 124 shots for an unusually low shooting percentage of 5.6%. The Iowa Heartlanders, another team with a .250 points percentage, is just the opposite of Greenville. Iowa has one of the league's best shooting percentages (13.6%) and one of the worst team save percentages (.845).

- Here are stat extremes so far this season in goals scored and allowed. Toledo is #1 in goals scored per game at 5.25. Greenville and Trois-Rivieres are #27 at 1.75 goals per game. Newfoundland is #1 in goals allowed per game at 1.75. Iowa is #27 allowing 5.50 goals per game. 

DID YOU KNOW: Antoine Bibeau is the most experienced goalie to ever play for Allen with his 194 AHL games and four NHL games. Of course Aaron Dell has more NHL experience (114 games) along with 76 AHL games but that was mostly after he played in Allen. 

Here is a list of all Allen goalies in franchise history with a save percentages above .915 in a single season (minimum 10 game played). Games played is in parenthesis:

 

.935 - Riley Gill, 2016-17  (43 games)

.930 - Zach Sawchenko, 2019-20  (13 games)

.927 - Jake Paterson, 2020-21  (27 games)

.921 - Charlie Effinger, 2009-10  (14 games)

.918 - Rejean Beauchemin, 2011-12  (33 games)

.918 - Marco Cousineau, 2011-12  (25 games)

.917 - Francis Marotte, 2020-21 (12 games)

.917 - Jake Paterson, 2017-18  (14 games)

.917 - Jeremy Brodeur, 2017-19  (39 games)

.916 - Aaron Dell, 2012-13  (44 games)*

.916 - Bryan Pitton, 2013-14  (43 games)*

 

*won championship

 

 

Allen Americans Hit the Road, Roster Update, November Schedule, Overseas Players, Historical Road Record and More

 

It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they head out this afternoon on the first road trip of the season where they will play Wichita on Friday and Kansas City on Saturday. It will be plenty of bus time for the guys to bond. The team will practice this morning (11:15 am) and leave this afternoon (2:30 pm) on the 365 mile trip to Wichita. After the game tomorrow night against the Thunder the Americans will jump on the bus for the 200 mile trip to Kansas City arriving around 2:30 am Saturday. After playing the Mavericks on Saturday night it will be back on the bus for the 475 mile trip back to Allen arriving Sunday morning. 

 

- The month of  November will be telling for Allen with nine of 11 games on the road. The schedule includes a three game series in Rapid City (November 17, 19, 20) and a three game series in Idaho (November 24, 26, 27). Luckily the team will be flying to these destinations. The only home games this month will be November 13 (Kansas City) and 14 (Wichita).

 

- The team had a very good practice yesterday. That is not just my opinion but what I heard in talking to players and the coaches after practice. Goalie Antoine Bibeau, who played only two games while in Charlotte looks ready to go. His GAA in his two AHL games was 1.93 and his save percentage was .918.   

 

- Look for some different line combinations on this road trip and the power play will be tweaked with Eric Roy expected back in the lineup. 

 

- The practice this morning will be a light one and not very long (45 minutes). Coach Martinson will spend some time working on the power play and as always, breakouts and entering the offensive zone drills. 

 

- All healthy players are expected to make the road trip. Nolan Kneen and possibly one of the forwards will stay home. 

 

- I know it is no surprise to most Allen fans but one of the things that has always impressed me in talking to Steve Martinson almost everyday is the amount of time he spends in his role as the team's general manager. There are so many details regarding housing, travel, immigration, salaries, budget and logistics that consume Martinson's time. But first among equals is the time he spends trying to improve the team. It is a case where if you stand still you will go backwards and it may be more true this season with a new affiliation that is not expected to have a lot of contract players assigned. You combine that with the team's slow start and you can be assured Martinson is working hard as the coach to improve on the ice but also working hard off the ice as the general manager to improve the team. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Mountain Division is the closest division in the ECHL based on early season results. Wichita is off to a poor start (1-3) with its only win the 7-0 shutout in Allen on opening night. Other than Wichita's .250 points percentage, the other six teams in the division have points percentages between .500 and .667. 

 

- The Mountain Division is in a typical position with the leading scorer in the league (Yauheni Aksaintsiuk, Idaho), the top scoring defensemen (Charle-Edouard D'Astous, Utah) and the leader in penalty minutes (Mikael Robidoux, Kansas City). 

 

- Scoring first has not been the advantage so far this season as it has been in the past. Usually across the ECHL, the teams that score first have a points percentage around .750. Currently the teams that score first have a record of 31-14-4-1 for a points percentage of .670.

 

- The per diem allowance when the team is in travel status this season is $48 per day, broken down to $10 for breakfast if in travel status prior to 10:00 am, $14 for lunch if in travel status prior to 1:30 pm and $24 for dinner if in travel status prior to 7:00 pm. FYI, if promoted to the AHL, in addition to more salary the per diem allowance is $81 per day.  

 

- It is hard to compare scoring when you look at former Allen players who are playing in Europe because there is so much variance in the quality of the leagues. There are only seven European leagues that games count toward veteran status in the ECHL. The top pro leagues in Russia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia and Czech Republic are considered the best leagues in Europe. Former Allen players that are playing in these top European leagues include Les Lancaster (Finland), Tyler Sheehy (Germany), Jason Fram (Russia), Konrad Abeltshauser (Germany), Stepan Falkovsky (Russia) and Alex Breton (Slovakia).

If you look at former Allen players with great starts and high point totals, they include Scott Conway (Northern Ireland) with 21 points (10G, 11A) in 12 games, Steve Owre (France) with 20 points (7G, 13A) in 15 games and Kale Kerbashian (Denmark) with 13 points (10G, 3A) in 11 games.    

 

DID YOU KNOW: The Americans will be on the road most of the month of November. Allen has historically been an outstanding road team. In some seasons the road record has been about as good as the home record. In a couple of the early years including 2012-13 when Allen won its first championship it had a better road record than home record. The Americans were also 5-3 on the road in the playoffs in 2013.

2020-21:   19-16-1-0     
2019-20:   18-7-4-2
2018-19:   10-21-3-2
2017-18:   11-13-0-1 
2016-17:   24-9-2-1  (home record was 25-8-2-1)
2015-16:   19-14-1-2
2014-15:   24-8-1-3 (home record 24-6-5-1)
2013-14:   19-12-2 (home record 20-10-3)
2012-13:   20-8-5 (home record 19-10-4)
2011-12:   19-8-6
2010-11:   24-8-1 (home record 23-8-2)
2009-10:   19-12-1      

Practice Update, Goalie Antoine Bibeau Assigned, Doty vs Arseneau Fight Video, Chad Butcher Returns From Sweden, Meet the Parents and More

 

I attended my first practice session of the season yesterday after spending the month of October in Minnesota and it was quite an eventful practice. I am not sure it was a lot of fun for the players as they had a 45 minute video session before taking to the ice and the practice ended with a bag skate (laps of hard skating around the rink). It was a spirited practice for sure.

 

-  In talking to coach Martinson after practice he mentioned several stats from the weekend that stood out. Blocked shots favored Utah 48-14, shots on goal favored Utah 94-56 and a stat called counters favored Utah 42-24. Counters is an interesting stat because it captures those instances where a team loses possession in the neutral zone which leads to an opportunity/shot for the opponent. Think of it this way, a team has possession of the puck and tries to make a play in neutral ice and turns the puck over rather than get it in deep in the offensive zone. The opponent not only gets possession of the puck, they are better positioned to get a shot on goal. This was the main focus of practice yesterday. It is a fine line between knowing when to carrying the puck into the offensive zone and when to get the puck in deep. 

- Eric Roy and Nolan Kneen were practicing in the yellow no contact jersey. Roy is day to day and expected to be ready for the weekend, Kneen is still a ways away from getting back in the lineup. 

- Martinson had some good news as goalie Antoine Bibeau has been reassigned to Allen from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) by the Seattle Kracken. Bibeau was assigned to Allen a couple of weeks ago but as soon as he arrived he was recalled because of an injury. Martinson has called Bibeau the best and most experienced goalie in the ECHL. The stats would back that up. Antoine turned pro in 2014-15 and has spent the last seven seasons in the AHL. He has played in 194 AHL games with a record of 101-64-29, a GAA of 2.72 and save percentage of .908. Bibeau has played in four NHL games with a record of 2-1-0, a GAA of 2.54 and save percentage of .907.

Bibeau is the #4 goalie in the Kracken organization and only available for assignment to the ECHL because Seattle shares and AHL affiliation with Florida. With a normal affiliation, which Seattle will have next season when its AHL team starts competing, the 5th or 6th goalie in the organization is assigned to the ECHL. Here are the Seattle goalies:

#1 - Philipp Grubauer

#2 - Chris Driedger

#3 - Joey Daccord (assigned to Charlotte)

#4 - Antoine Bibeau (assigned to Allen)

The good news in this situation is Allen gets a top notch goalie who has never played at the ECHL level. The risk is Bibeau will be gone anytime one of the other three goalies is injured. That is what happened a couple weeks ago when Bibeau was assigned to Allen. As he was driving from Charlotte to Allen, Chris Driedger was injured, placed on injured reserve, Joey Daccord was recalled to Seattle and Bibeau was recalled to Charlotte. Driedger was activated yesterday so the dominoes reversed themselves. That is the risk reward Allen will be dealing with all season, the Americans have a great goalie who will be recalled anytime one of the other three goalies goes down. That is why having Frank Marotte, who also is an AHL contracted goal, in tandem with Bibeau, is so important.

 

- You may have seen Chad Butcher, who played with Allen last season and signed in Sweden (HC Vita Hasten) along with Corey Mackin, has left the team and is headed back home. The official statement from the team states, "Chad Butcher leaves White Horse for personal reasons and returns to Canada. Chad played 12 competitive matches and scored two points. Vita Hasten would like to thank Chad for his efforts for the club and wishes him luck in the future."

The obvious question is whether Chad will return to Allen. The short answer to that question is if he wants to continue to play pro hockey, it will most likely be in Allen. Coach Martinson gave Butcher one of the eight qualifying offers he had available in July precisely for this situation, to retain his ECHL rights if he returned to North America. Butcher is only 25 and it is hard to believe he is done with pro hockey. He is a high energy, play making forward who can skate and play both ends of the ice. He was a speed skater when he was younger. In his last season in the WHL, as an overage junior in 2016-17, Chad had 103 points (27G, 76A) in just 68 games. He would be a good addition to the Allen roster. 

 

- Jacob Doty (Ontario Reign) and Vincent Arseneau (Abbotsford Canucks), two very tough former Allen Americans now playing in the AHL, went toe to toe in a game on Saturday. Check out this video. If you have trouble with the video you can find it on YouTube, "Jacob Doty vs Vincent Arseneau Oct. 30, 2021 (https://youtu.be/BKfylWh7EyU)

 

- Had a chance to meet and talk to Darian Skeoch's dad, Brian, at practice. Hard to believe Darian is the small guy in the family as his dad is 6'10" and didn't play hockey as basketball was his sport. Learned plenty about Darian's youth from moving away from home to play hockey at 15, to living with his sister rather than a billet family, to the fact he was not a big kid growing up, one of those late bloomers physically. Always fun to meet the parents.
   

DID YOU KNOW: Yesterday I wrote about the ECHL leader in points, Idaho rookie Yauheni Aksiantsiuk who has nine points (4G, 5A) in five games. It got me wondering when the last time a rookie won the ECHL scoring title. Turns out it was in 2011-12 when rookie Dustin Gazley, playing for the Elmira Jackals, scored 85 points to win the scoring title. However, what caught my eye was the players that finished #2, #3 and #4 in scoring in 2011-12, as they all spent time in Allen though they were playing for different teams at the time. Here were the top four in scoring in 2011-12:

85 points - Dustin Gazley, Elmira

84 points - Adam Miller, Las Vegas 

78 points - Justin Bowers, Greenville

76 points - Chad Costello, Colorado

The story behind the numbers is Costello was leading Colorado and the ECHL in scoring with 76 points in 47 games (1.62 points per game) before he suffered a season ending knee injury. Despite the injury, Chad finished fourth in league scoring, was selected to the ECHL First All-Star Team and was chosen as the ECHL's MVP. With two more MVP awards in Allen (2016 & 2017), Costello is the only player in ECHL history to win more than one MVP award. 

Daily Report With Stats and More

Nothing new to report today regarding the Americans. I will attend my first practice of the season this morning and will hopefully have something to report tomorrow after talking to coach Martinson and some of the players. 

- I was looking at the ECHL standings this morning while writing my ECHL Stats post and came across a couple of interesting facts. First, only two of 27 teams have a points percentage above .667. Newfoundland is undefeated (4-0-0-0) and Jacksonville's points percentage is .833 (2-0-1-0). Second, 19 of 27 teams have points percentages between .500-.667. Considering most ECHL teams have only played three or four games, to have every team with the exception of Newfoundland with at least one win and one loss speaks to early parity. 

 

- Here is a link to "Americans Weekly" which is issued by the team and recaps the week's games, team stat leaders, other facts and this week's practice schedule. Remember practices are open to the public:  https://allenamericans.com/media/186732/

 

- Here is a link to the "Mountain Division Weekly" which is issued by the ECHL with facts about all the teams in the division:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/11/mountain-division-weekly-nov-1

 

- You may have seen Newfoundland can't play in its home facility because the city of St. John's has suspended the team's access pending an investigation for "disrespectful workplace conduct" allegations. The Growlers were initially going to play their home games in Toronto but have found a facility closer to St. John's in Conception Bay South, a community 18 miles from St. John's. The Conception Bay South Arena only seats 1065 so that will create some issues. Here is a link to a story with all the details and impacts:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/newfoundland-growlers-cbs-1.6233087  

 

- The ECHL leader in points is Idaho rookie Yauheni Aksiantsiuk who has nine points (4G, 5A) in five games. The 5'7" 170 pound 20 year old forward is from Belarus and was the 6th round draft choice of the Dallas Stars in the 2020 NHL draft. There has been some confusion about his name as he was drafted by the name Yevgeni Oksentyuk. Turns out Belarus has two official languages, Belarusian and Russian, thus the two ways to spell his name. Seems like it is agreed Yauheni Aksiantsiuk, the Belarusian spelling will be used going forward. Yauheni signed a three year entry level NHL contract with the Stars in June. If he continues to score at his present pace you should see him get recalled to the Texas Stars soon. 

 

- I wrote about the Americans attendance yesterday and had a couple of inquiries about the ECHL average attendance. Here is the ECHL average attendance the last five seasons. Keep in mind the 2021-22 attendance is based on just 48 games and some of the historically high attendance teams have few if any home games played. With that said, here is average ECHL attendance since 2017-18:

3883:  2021-22

2275:  2020-21 (COVID restricted)

4327:  2019-20 (shortened season)

4445:  2018-19

4424:  2017-18

 

- Four ECHL teams are averaging 4.00+ goals per game and four teams are allowing less than 2.50 goals per game. Two teams are on both lists:

Top Four Goals Per Game

5.67 - Toledo

4.00 - Indy

4.00 - Newfoundland

4.00 - Orlando

 

Top Four Goals Allowed

1.50 - Indy

1.75 - Newfoundland

2.00 - Kalamazoo

2.33 - Jacksonville

 

DID YOU KNOW: With Allen's poor start to the season, losing three of four games at home, I pulled this info out of the archives. Here is Allen's record after 25 games for each season since joining the ECHL with points in parenthesis. Last season was unique with a late start and only 14 teams playing so I didn't include it:

2019-20:   18-4-3-0   (39 points)
2018-19:   6-17-0-2   (14 points)**
2017-18:   15-7-2-1   (33 points)
2016-17:   13-12-0-0 (26 points)
2015-16:   15-9-1-0   (31 points)*
2014-15:   19-4-1-1   (40 points)*

*Kelly Cup champions  

 **Missed playoffs

Another OT Loss, Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full, Attendance Stats and More

 

When the Allen Americans took a 4-0 lead against the Utah Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon it looked like they would cruise to victory and win on Sunday after a poor performance on Saturday just like opening weekend. Instead the Americans gave up five unanswered goals to lose 5-4 in overtime.

 

- Are you an optimist or pessimist, is the glass half full or half empty? As I talked to fans during and after the game it was clear there are plenty of views on both sides of the ledger. The optimists were talking about earning two points this weekend, it is early, it takes time to jell and everything will be fine. The pessimists were talking about three home losses, lack of speed and poor team defense. 

 

- Being a stats guy the best approach is to look at the Americans start from a stats perspective to see how this start compares with seasons past, here goes: 

- Allen's record in first four home games the last five seasons:

2021-22: 1-1-2-0

2020-21: 4-0-0-0

2019-20: 2-2-0-0

2018-19: 0-4-0-0

2017-18: 1-1-2-1

It is clear the Americans home start has not been great but you can see from past seasons a slow start is not out of the ordinary. The optimists win on this point.

 

-  Allen is dead last, ranked #27 in shots allowed per game at 41.75 and ranked #25 in goals allowed per game at 4.75. The Americans have given up two shorthanded goals in their first four games. Last season Allen was ranked #1 in the ECHL allowing three shorthanded goals in 72 games. When it comes to team defense the pessimists might have a point.

 

- Allen has always been good in overtimes and shootouts. Even in 2018-19 when the Americans had the worst record in the ECHL and missed the playoffs they were 7-6 in games that went extra time. After four games Allen is 0-2 in overtimes. 

 

- There is an 80-20 rule that has held up very well over the years that says 80% of the teams in playoff positions at Thankgiving make the playoffs. Said in reverse it means if a team is not in a playoff position on Thanksgiving there is a 80% chance they won't make the playoffs. At this point Allen is tied with a bunch of teams (9) with a .500 point percentage. Just six of 27 teams have a point percentage below .500. In the Mountain Division, Allen is tied for fifth place with only Wichita having a worse points percentage than the Americans. Can Allen avoid being on the outside looking in for a playoff spot at Thanksgiving? It will be a tough task when you consider the Americans have nine games remaining before Thanksgiving and seven of them will be on the road. 

 

- Steve Martinson has won close to 1100 games and 10 championships because of his ability to adapt and adjust to what is needed to improve the team. You can bet that will happen. If you watched this weekend it was obvious that Phil Beaulieu played but is not 100%. He had three shots on goal but they were not the type of shots you are used to seeing from him. Eric Roy is day to day and Nolan Kneen has looked good in practice and is close to returning to the lineup. Will Lochead is still a ways away. Add goalie Antoine Bibeau and the possibility of another forward from Charlotte and the defense and offense will be improved when the Americans add these players to the lineup. It is way too early to draw any conclusions on what this team will be this season.

 

- I wrote yesterday about the importance of the top line (Costello-Asuchak-Combs) both offensively and defensively in the success of the Americans. They had a good game on Sunday despite the overtime loss. Another four points (2G, 2A) and a combined +4 in a game where the rest of team was -7. The top line is now averaging 3.25 points per game, just a shade under their ECHL historical average of 3.56 points per game. In the last three games the top line is averaging 4.67 points per game. 

 

- Goal scorers for Allen on Sunday were Jack Combs (3), Ryan Lohin (4), Jared Bethune (1) and Chad Costello (2). It was rookie Bethune's first pro goal. Jared played with Allen all the way back in 2017-18 and again last season but is still considered a rookie because he has not played 25 games in the ECHL. 

 

- Ryan Lohin leads the Americans and is tied for #3 in the league with four goals. Jack Combs leads the Americans and is tied for #10 in the ECHL with six points.

 

- Allen will have some valuable practice time this week to work on system issues before they head on the road to play Wichita on Friday and Kansas City on Saturday. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The Allen attendance on Sunday was 1832 to make the total attendance for the four game homestand 11,437, an average of 2859 per game. It is still early with several ECHL teams not having a home game yet, plus eight have played just one home game which is normally higher attendance. Allen's opening night crowd was 5443 followed by 1799, 2363 and 1832. With that said only three ECHL teams have a lower average attendance than the Americans. Comparing Allen's average attendance to last season (1859) doesn't make sense because of the COVID restrictions. In the three seasons prior to 2020-21, Allen's average attendance was 4001, 4073 and 4082. The Americans attendance always starts slow and builds as the season progresses and football season ends. The question is can the Americans average 4000 fans per game this season?