A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Week, Roster Update, Former Players in Great Britain, Lancaster Update and Players Used Stats

 

Last week was a difficult one for the Americans losing four straight games by scores of 7-5, 6-2, 7-4 and 2-1. Leading scorer Ryan Lohin and goalie Antoine Bibeau were recalled to the AHL, second leading scorer Jack Combs landed on injured reserve after an uncalled slash, Dawson Butt and Darian Skeoch were suspended and the Americans gave up their sixth shorthanded goal, twice as many as they allowed in 72 games last season. You would have to call it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.

- This week has started on a more positive note with two roster moves ahead of the team's road trip to Rapid City. Antoine Bibeau has been reassigned back to Allen and yesterday coach Martinson made a trade. The Americans traded forward Jackson Leef to Greenville for rookie forward Gavin Gould. Looking at the roster of both teams, the Swamp Rabbits added size to their  forward group that has a lot of smaller players and the Americans added some speed and quickness. Gould is listed as 5'8" and 160 pounds in the Allen press release on the trade. Here is a link to the press release:   https://allenamericans.com/media/americans-trade-for-forward-from-greenville/   

 

- Gavin Gould's older brother, Malcolm, played 10 games for the Allen Americans at the end of the season in 2018-19. He had three points (1G, 3A). 

- It is still early in the week and the way things have been going for the Americans, I wouldn't be surprised to hear more bad news in the next few days.

-  If you like stats check out the Americans Weekly for a recap of the weekend games and team leaders in almost every stat:  https://allenamericans.com/media/americans-weekly-antoine-bibeau-returns/

 

- Here is the Mountain Division Weekly issued by the ECHL. A few bullet points on each team in the division:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/11/mountain-division-weekly-nov-15

 

- There are two games on the ECHL schedule today, both Kid's Day games. Maine is at Jacksonville (10:30 am EST) and Tulsa visits Kansas City (10:35 am CST). Here is the ECHL Today with a preview of both games:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/11/echl-today-nov-16  

- There are many former Allen Americans players in the EIHL in Great Britain. Here is a list with points and games played. The games played varies because the league plays a preseason tournament and teams have started the regular season at different times. Glasgow, where Dyson Stevenson and Colton Yellow Horn play just played its first game of the season. Here is the list:

25 points (11G, 14A) in 15 games: Scott Conway, Belfast Giants

15 points (8G, 7A) in 16 games: Tanner Eberle, Sheffield Steelers

15 points (1G, 14A) in 22 games: Matt Register, Cardiff Devils

14 points (5G, 9A) in 16 games: Dallas Ehrhardt, Manchester Storm

13 points (7G, 6A) in 17 games: Greg Chase, Fife Flyers

9 points (4G, 5A) in 16 games; Jared VanWormer, Manchester Storm

3 points (0G, 3A) in 14 games: Alexander Ranger, Dundee Stars

1 point (1G, 0A) in 1 game: Dyson Stevenson, Glasgow Clan

1 point (1G, 0A) in 15 games: Sam Ruopp, Belfast Giants

1 point (1G, 0A) in 17 games: Ben Wilson, Manchester Storm

1 point (0G, 1A) in 15 games: Wade MacLeod, Manchester Storm

0 points (0G, 0A) in 1 game: Colton Yellow Horn, Glasgow Clan

The top teams in the standings by points percentage are Sheffield (73%), Nottingham (71%), Guildford (65%) and Coventry (64%), These happen to be the only teams in the 10 team EIHL with no former Allen players on the roster.

-  Les Lancaster is playing in the top professional hockey league in Finland (Liiga) which is rated by some as the second strongest league in all of Europe. Les has 14 points (3G, 11A) in 26 games. He leads all defensemen on the team (Ilves) in points and is tied for the overall team points lead. The team is in second place in the 15 team league.

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL teams have used between 21 and 29 players thus far this season. Allen falls in the middle having used 25 players. With few contracted players expected to be assigned this season the total players used my be down. Between COVID and losing San Jose as an affiliate in March, last season set an all time record for players used:

The number of players playing at least one game for the Americans for each season since they joined the ECHL:

25   2021-22 (thru nine games)

52   2020-21

41   2019-20 (shortened season)

45   2018-19  

41   2017-18

42   2016-17

46   2015-16

41   2014-15

 

   

Allen Loses a Different Way on Sunday, Game Recap With Coaches Comments, Bibeau Returns to Allen, Changes Are Coming and More

It was a Sunday afternoon battle for last place in the Mountain Division and the Allen Americans came out on the short end of the stick again, losing to the Wichita Thunder 2-1 before a crowd of 2399 at the CUTX Event Center. Allen has now lost four straight games and its record is 2-5-2-0 with a points percentage of .333. The Americans are last in the Mountain Division and their .333 points percentage is ranked #23 in the ECHL.

- The schedule doesn't get an easier for Allen as it will be on the road the rest of November. First comes three games in Rapid City (17th, 19th, 20th) followed by three games in Idaho (24th, 26th, 27th). Eight of Allen's next nine games between now and December 10 are on the road. Maybe that will be a good thing for the team to spend a lot of time together on the road. 

-  Sunday's 2-1 loss was an indication that nothing seems to be going right for the Americans. After allowing 20 goals in the first three games of this losing streak the Americans held Wichita to just two goals but managed to get only one of their own. 

- Coach Martinson's first comment when I talked to him post game was the team played two good periods but ran out of gas in the third period. Wichita's fresher legs, the Thunder didn't play on Saturday, showed up in the third period when Allen was out shot 18-5. In the first two periods the Americans out shot Wichita 17-16.

- It was another bad start for Allen giving up the first goal and only goal of the first period. That was not a good sign since the Americans have not won a game this season when giving up the first goal of the game (0-3-0-1). Trailing 1-0 after the first period was also a bad sign. The Americans are 0-3-0-0 when trailing after the first period.

- It looked like momentum had changed in the Americans favor when Allen tied the score 1-1 with 18 seconds remaining in the second period. Eric Roy made a "Hail Mary" pass from inside his blue line that bounced off a defenseman at the opposite blue line and sent Chad Costello in all alone. Chad made a sweet move beating the goalie five hole for his fifth goal of the season. 

- As quickly as Allen gained momentum at the end of the second period they lost it at the beginning of the third period. A penalty just 12 seconds into the period and a power play goal 11 seconds later gave Wichita a 2-1 lead that it would not relinquish. If you saw the replay on this power play goal you saw how wide open the Thunder player was in the slot. That doesn't happen without more than one player making the wrong decision. As coach Martinson said after the game, it was Hockey 101 mistakes by multiple players. 

- Allen was outplayed in the third period which is obvious by the 18-5 shot margin but the Americans had a good chance to get the equalizer with a 6-on-4 power play the last 1:20 of the game. When the power play started at the 18:40 mark the shots were 18-1 in favor of Wichita. In the last 80 seconds of the game, with the goalie pulled and a two man advantage, the Americans had four shots on goal but could not get the equalizer. Martinson mentioned post game he would like to see more slap shots from the point on the power play than the team is taking. 

- It has clearly been a tough start for the Americans, losing seven of  nine games to start the season is never acceptable. Things may get worse before they get better but it won't be for lack of trying. There is going to be another roster disappointment this week, there may be a trade, new players will arrive and injured players may return to the lineup. What is known is Jack Combs is not eligible to return from injured reserve until November 20 and Darian Skeoch will miss the first game in Rapid City serving the second of his two game suspension. 

- The Americans received some good news late last night. Goalie Antoine Bibeau has been reassigned to Allen from Charlotte and will arrive tonight. This will be Bibeau's third reassignment to Allen, the first two lasted only a couple of days. Any injuries in Seattle or Charlotte could result in Bibeau being recalled so it is a tentative situation, the prize you pay for a goalie with the resume as distinguished Bibeau's. Antoine returns to Allen tied for #3 in the ECHL in save percentage (.952).

 

- Ryan Lohin was Allen's leading scorer with eight points (6G, 2A) in six games when he was recalled to Charlotte last Tuesday. The Checkers played games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Lohin was a health scratch in all three. Charlotte has a heavier schedule than Allen right now. The Checkers have seven games in 12 days starting on Wednesday. Allen has six games in 12 days starting on Wednesday. With so many games in a short period of time you can understand why Charlotte has extra forwards. Hopefully Lohin will see some consistent game action and if not, maybe Seattle will decide it is best for his development to be reassigned back to Allen. 

 

- Allen has now had six home games, three on Saturdays and three on Sundays. The average attendance for the three Saturday night games is 4478. The average for the Sunday afternoon games is 2187. Allen's overall average attendance is now at 3244 which ranks them #20 in the ECHL. 

 

- Allen's special team stats continue to slip. The power play is ranked #17 at 17.2% (5-29). The penalty kill is ranked #23 at 73.5% (9-34). 

 

- The hottest teams in the Mountain Division are Utah (7-3-0-0 in the last 10 games), Tulsa (5-2-0-0) and Kansas City (5-4-0-0). None of the other four teams have a winning record. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Eric Roy leads all Allen defensemen in average points per game at .86. Here is the ECHL Stats post from today that lists the 10 ECHL defensemen averaging 1.00 or more points per game (minimum 5 games):

 

1.50 - Brenden Miller, South Carolina

1.20 - *Connor Corcoran, Fort Wayne

1.18 - Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Utah

1.14 - *Patrick Holway, South Carolina

1.13 - Jordan Subban, South Carolina

1.00 - Daniel Brickley, Norfolk

1.00 - Michael Brodzinski, Orlando

1.00 - Blake Hillman, Toledo

1.00 - Noel Hoefenmayer, Newfoundland

1.00 - Tim Davison, Atlanta 

 

*Rookie

        

Another Home Loss, Steve Martinson's Comments, Allen vs Wichita Preview and More

 

The hole the Allen Americans will have to dig out of to turn its season around got a little deeper last night with a 7-4 loss to the Kansas City Mavericks. It was another poor third period that spelled defeat for Allen as the Mavericks outscored the Americans 3-1. The game didn't end well but it didn't start well either. Allen gave up the first goal of the game 108 seconds after opening puck drop and were never able to catch up though they closed the gap to one goal a couple of times. Kansas City leads of 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 4-1, 4-3, 5-3 and 5-4 before pulling away to the 7-4 win. 

- Not to prolong the agony for Allen fans but here are a few stats that speak to the frustration of the game and the season for the Americans:

- Allen was once again out shot (34-23) including 14-6 in the third period. For the season the Americans have been out shot 99-73 in the third period. They are ranked #26 in shots allowed (36.63).

 

- Allen gave up another shorthanded goal and now have allowed twice as many shorthanded goals (6 ) as any other team in the ECHL. It doesn't say much for the power play unit when they have scored five power play goals this season but given up six shorthanded goals. It isn't a good sign when you would be better off declining all power play opportunities eight games into the season.

 

- Allen gave up two power play goals to Kansas City (2-6). In the last three game the penalty kill is 4-13 for a penalty kill percentage of 69.2%. For the season the penalty kill is ranked #22 (75%).

 

- Allen hasn't won a game all season when giving up more than three goals. The Americans have lost three straight and allowed 7, 6, and 7 goals in the losses. For the season Allen's goals allowed average is now exactly 5.00 which ranks it #26. Not going to win many games giving up five goals per game. 

 

- I heard a lot of talk during and after the game that the team played physical and stood up for each other and I would agree with those observations. The Americans totaled 41 penalty minutes last night and have cracked the 20 PIMS per game average. There are one of four teams in the ECHL averaging 20 penalty minutes per game. Darion Skeoch received a fighting major penalty and game misconduct aggressor penalty in the last five minutes of the game which comes with an automatic suspension so he will be out today.

 

- Allen has now lost three straight games, six of eight this season and four of five home games. It doesn't get better the rest of the month as the Americans will on the road for six games after the game against Wichita today. 

 

- I don't have the stats to back this up but just watching the game last night is seemed like there were way too many turnovers trying to breakout of the defensive zone and in the neutral zone, two areas of emphasis in practice this week. Faceoffs also seemed one sided in favor of the Mavericks.

- Enough doom and gloom, let's look on the positive side:

- Allen fell behind 2-0 but kept coming back to close the gap but could never get the equalizer. The Americans scored four goals, more than enough to win a game. 

 

- Allen had the better of the game physically and I don't mean scrums and fights but finishing checks. I heard the Americans had 18 hits in the first period alone. 

 

- Allen has won just two games in the first eight with both coming against the opponent today, Wichita. 

 

- The attendance last night was the best of the season at 5627. It is great to see big crowds attending games again. For long time Allen fans the kiss of death going back many years seems to be games with big crowds and specialty jersey games. The large crowd curse struck again last night.

 

- Goal scorers for Allen were Branden Troock (2), Dawson Butt (1), Chad Costello (4) and Phil Beaulieu (2). 

 

- Here is the Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/media/189447/

ALLEN VS WICHITA PREVIEW

- Wichita didn't play last night so it will be the fresher team this afternoon. It may seem a while ago but Friday night in Wichita the Thunder beat Allen 6-2. 

 

- The three keys to the game this afternoon (4:05 pm) would be get off to a better start, win on special teams and cut down on turnovers. These were all issues last night and it is hard to see Allen winning without improvement in these areas.

 

- I had a chance to talk to coach Martinson this morning and as you might imagine, he was not pleased the way the team played last night. Here were his comments:

"We have to many players more interested in scoring than winning."

"We made many of the same mistakes last night that we worked on in practice and video review this week."

"The shorthanded goal was critical. When your power play is -1 on the season (5 power play goals, 6 shorthanded goals allowed) it says a lot about playing defense."

"We will continue to work hard to improve the team but I will also look to improve the roster. I have a play making center that will arrive next week and I am working on other roster changes."

"Darian Skeoch will be suspended for the game today."

"We have to many players that are always on the offensive side of decisions, we need to reverse that and our leaders need to lead in being on the defensive side of decisions."

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen's record is now 2-4-2-0 (.375 points percentage) which is tied for last place in the Mountain Division with Wichita. In 2018-19, when Allen ended the season with the worst record in the ECHL, its record after eight games was 3-4-0-1 (.438 points percentage).  

 

Allen vs Wichita Loss Recap, Video Highlights, Allen vs Kansas City Preview, ECHL Fight Stats and More

 

The Allen Americans lost to the Wichita Thunder last night 6-2 before a crowd of 3226 at INTRUST Bank Arena. It was a closer game than the final score indicates as Wichita scored four unanswered goals including two empty net goals after the 13:20 mark of the third period. 

- Allen scored its two goals early in the first period (3:27) and second period (2:25) but that is all the scoring the Americans could muster. They relinquished 1-0 and 2-1 leads and managed just 23 shots on goal including seven in the third period. They were out shot 30-23.

- Each team was 1-4 on the power play in a game that was much more physical than prior games this season. The combined penalty minutes in the prior three games was 72, an average of 24 per game. Last night the teams combined for 51 penalty minutes.

- Goal scorers for Allen were D-Jay Jerome (3) who has a point in five straight games and Spencer Asuchak (2) who scored on the power play. Every time Asuchak scores a goal he sets a new all-time record for the Americans. His goal last night was his 125th. FYI, Chad Costello is second all-time with 101 goals.

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/media/americans-fall-to-wichita-6-2/

 

- Here is the game recap issued by the Wichita Thunder:  https://www.wichitathunder.com/en/news/big-third-period-lifts-thunder-past-americans  

- Here is a link to video highlights of the game: youtu.be/pmSDwWIsDxg

 

 

ALLEN VS KANSAS CITY PREVIEW

- No time for the Americans to lick their wounds as they spent the night traveling back to Allen on the bus and will be back at it against Kansas City tonight (7:05 pm). The Mavericks played in Tulsa last night and lost 3-1.

-  I expect Allen will get Dawson Butt back in the lineup after he sat out last night serving a one game suspension. Goalie Hayden Lavigne, who signed with Allen this week, is expected to get his first start tonight against the Mavericks. 

- Allen and Kansas City met for the first time this season last Saturday and the Mavericks won 7-5, outshooting the Americans 41-28. The game was penalty filled with 20 infractions and a combined 71 PIMS. Kansas City leads the ECHL in average penalty minutes (25.38), Allen is ranked #5 (17.43).

 

- Special teams will play a big part in the game tonight, with both teams getting plenty of opportunities if past is prologue. Allen has a slight edge in power play percentage (19.2% vs 18.9%). However, in Allen's last six games the power play percentage is 25%  (5-20).

 

- Allen allowed another shorthanded goal last night but it was an empty net goal at the end of the game. Allen has now allowed five shorthanded goals in seven games. Not a good stat especially when you consider the Americans have only five power play goals this season. 

 

- It sounds like a broken record but if the Americans want to get this turned around it begins with reducing turnovers which lead to scoring opportunities for the opponent. Allen did better last night in allowing fewer shots (30) but the Americans managed just 23 shots of their own. Allen has given up 259 shots this season and taken only 200. They have allowed 33 goals and scored just 23. That places Allen #25 in the league in shots allowed per game (37.00) and #25 in goals allowed per game (4.71).

 

- It will be the defensive end of the ice that determines if Allen wins tonight. In the Americans two wins this season they allowed one goal and three goals. In their five losses they allowed 7, 4, 5, 7 and 6 goals. With Lohin and Combs out of the lineup it is doubtful Allen can win if they give up 4+ goals. 

 

- The referee scheduled tonight is Andrew Wilk (#24). Wilk is a long time ECHL and AHL referee.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- If you haven't checked the box scores from last night there was a wild game between Trois-Rivières Lions and Maine Mariners. The Lions won 8-7 in overtime in a game that saw 84 shots on goal and seven power play goals with Maine going 4-4. Former Allen forward Olivier Archambault tied the score 7-7 with 27 seconds remaining in the game to send it to overtime. Trois-Rivières took a 3-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and had leads of 4-1 and 6-3 before allowing Maine to come back. The #1 star of the game was from the losing Mariners. Lewis Zerter-Gossage had six points including five goals on 11 shots. He scored four straight goals at one point to lead the Maine comeback. The last time an ECHL player had five goals in a game was in 2017.

 

- Before last night Maine was 4-15 on the power play for a good power play percentage of 26.7%. After going 4-4 last night the Mariners power play leads the league at 42.1%.

 

- Kelly Bent leads all ECHL rookies in penalty minutes with 27 PIMS in six games. Mikael Robidoux (Kansas City) leads all ECHL players with 46 PIMS.

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen has eight fighting majors in seven games. Here are the top five teams in fighting majors thus far in 2021-22. The team's points percentage is in parenthesis:

11 - Wichita (.375)

9 - Iowa  (.278)

8 -Allen  (.429)

8 - Wheeling  (.571)

7 - Kansas City (.500)

Tulsa is the only ECHL team that has not had a fighting major this season.   

    

Allen vs Wichita Preview, ECHL Hall of Fame Musings and Offensive Defensemen Shine

 

 It is game day for the Allen Americans as they are in Wichita to take on the Thunder. It will be the first of three games in three days for the Americans who will return home to play Kansas City on Saturday and Wichita again on Sunday. The game tonight is the seventh of the season for the Americans and the fourth against Wichita. After an opening night 7-0 loss, Allen has won 6-3 (at home) and 3-1 in Wichita last Friday. Both of these teams are trying to find their footing after finishing last season with the top two points percentages in the Western Conference. (Allen .653, Wichita .634).

 

- It is still early in the season but Allen finds itself tied for #8 of 14 teams in points percentage in the Western Conference at .500 with a record of 2-2-2-0. Wichita is #13 with a points percentage of .286 and record of 2-5-0-0.

 

- Allen enters the weekend having lost both of its contracted players (goalie Antoine Bibeau and center Ryan Lohin) who were recalled to Charlotte (AHL). I don't remember a time when Allen had no NHL/AHL contracted players on the roster. Some ECHL teams have 10+ contracted players.

 

- Allen will also be without Jack Combs tonight, this weekend and next weekend against Rapid City. He was placed on the IR yesterday and will be out a minimum of 14 days. The earliest Combs could return is November 24 when the Americans begin a three game series in Idaho. 

 

- With Lohin and Combs out of the lineup Allen has lost its top two scorers. These two players have 43% of Allen's goals this season.    

-  Here is Allen's travel roster which includes two goalies, seven defensemen and nine forwards. Not on the trip are Combs and  Nolan Kneen who are injured and Dawson Butt who is serving a one game suspension.

 

Goalies

#35 - Hayden Lavigne

#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

#5 - Jackson Leef

#10- Jackson Leppard

#11 - Branden Troock

#13 - Chad Costello

#17 - Chad Butcher

#19 - Jared Bethune

#26 - Spencer Asuchak

#28 - D-Jay Jerome

#29 - Kelly Bent

 

- Frank Marotte will get the start in goal tonight but with three games in less than 48 hours, newly signed goalie, Hayden Lavigne, will also get a start this weekend.

 

- Chad Butcher will play his first game for Allen since last June. Chad is actually on a three game point streak from last season and had a goal in his last game for Allen. He looked very good in practice yesterday even though he hasn't skated since leaving his team in Sweden about 10 days ago.   

- 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 38.17 shots per game. Allen is ranked #25 in goals allowed per game at 4.50. It will be imperative for the Americans to hold down shots and goals tonight if they expect to win. Last Friday in Wichita the Americans allowed just 21 shots and one goal, by far the lowest in both categories this season. With so much of the goal scoring out of the lineup (Lohin & Combs) the Americans will need a performance like last Friday again tonight. 

 

- 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. This week the team has spent a lot of time on the ice and in the video room working on team defense. Will all of the extra work payoff in the game tonight?

 

- With seven defensemen and only nine forwards, if coach Martinson needs a defenseman to play up front it would be Josh Burnside. Josh played forward in his junior career (OHL) and his last two seasons had 45 points (13G, 32A) in 55 games and 41 points (16G, 25A) in 66 games. 

 

- Special teams are always key and season long stats show Allen with the edge on the power play (18.2% vs 16.7%) and Wichita with the edge on the penalty kill (88.6% vs 77.3%). In the three previous games between these teams each has had one good power play night. In the 7-0 opening night win, Wichita was 3-5 on the power play. In the other two games they were 0-5. Allen was 2-4 on the power play in its 6-3 win at home against Wichita. In the other two games the Americans were 0-8. Allen's power play will have a different look tonight without Combs and Lohin and the addition of Butcher.    

 

- The team that scored first has won all three games Allen and Wichita have played this season. Last season Allen won four of five games against Wichita when scoring first.

 

- 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 three games these teams have played this season the combined penalty minutes were 32 34 and last Friday just eight penalty minutes on four minor penalties.  

- Not much intrigue on the Wichita goalie as Evan Buitenhuis has played every game for the Thunder this season. The ECHL leading goalie last season in GAA (2.29) and save percentage (.931) has played well (GAA 2.75, .919 save percentage) this season despite Wichita's poor record. Wichita is the only team in the ECHL that has played only one goalie. Wichita doesn't play on Saturday so a safe assumption Buitenhuis will be in goal against Allen tonight and again Sunday afternoon.

 

- The referee scheduled for the game is Riley Yerkovich (#7). He works ECHL and AHL games and in the off season in the pro shop at a golf club. He has a masters degree in Biomedical Science from Colorado State University.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There is a full slate of games in the ECHL tonight. In Mountain Division action in addition Allen at Wichita, Kansas City is at Tulsa, Idaho at Rapid City and Utah visits Adirondack.

 

- Last season just two of the 14 teams that played had power play percentages above 20% (Fort Wayne 25.9% and Allen 20.5%). It it is still early this season but eight teams are above 20% and three are above 25%. Here are the top power play teams:

36.4% - Orlando

28.0% - Rapid City

26.7% - Maine

 

- The ECHL announced four additions to the Hall of Fame yesterday. I sure hope I am around to see Allen's locks for the HOF, Riley Gill and Chad Costello be inducted. Goalie Joel Martin is one of the four additions to the HOF and his last season was 2017-18, the same season Gill was injured and had to retire. I think and hope Riley Gill's time for HOF recognition will come soon. Chad Costello may play until he is 40 so his time is years off. Congrats to the four new HOF selectees. Here is the ECHL press release with the details:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/11/echl-announces-2022-hall-of-fame-class  

DID YOU KNOW: Allen is known for offensive defensemen. Here is the ECHL Stats post for today that mentions a couple of them:

Offensive defensemen are shining! In 2020-21, Les Lancaster (Allen), scored 26 goals, most by an ECHL defenseman in 20 years. This season three defensemen are in the top 10 in points and averaging 1.00+ points per game:

 

1.25 Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Utah

1.25 Daniel Brickley, Norfolk

1.00 Michael Prapavesis, Idaho

 

The last ECHL defenseman to average a point per game for a season (minimum 40 games) was David Makowski (Allen) who averaged 1.19 points per game in 2016-17.

A Repeat Getaway Day For the Allen Americans, Roster Changes For the Weekend, Allen Players With 100 Games Since 2017-18 and More

 

It is rinse and repeat for the Allen Americans as today will be a mirror image of last Thursday. It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they head out this afternoon for Wichita where they will play the Thunder tomorrow (Friday) night and Kansas City on Saturday. The team will practice this morning and leave this afternoon on the 365 mile trip to Wichita. Last Friday Allen came out on top by a score of 3-1. After the game tomorrow night the Americans will return to Allen for home games against Kansas City on Saturday (7:05 pm CST) and Wichita on Sunday (4:05 pm CST).   

 

- The rest of the month of  November will be telling for Allen. After this weekend the Americans spend the rest of the month 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. As seems to be the case most seasons, Allen will spend Thanksgiving on the road, in Idaho.

 

- It has been a tough week for the Allen roster. It started with goalie Antoine Bibeau being recalled to Charlotte (AHL)  after his first outing for the Americans. Bibeau has been assigned to Allen twice but has been recalled quickly both times, October 18 assigned, October 20 recalled and November 2 assigned, November 5 recalled. In the one game Bibeau played which was the 3-1 win in Wichita last Friday he had a save percentage of .952. 

 

- Tuesday Allen's leading scorer, Ryan Lohin, was recalled to Charlotte. Lohin has averaged a goal per game since being assigned to Allen on October 20. He is tied for second in goals (6) in the ECHL. Most impressive is Lohin's efficient shooting percentage which is 33.3%. he has scored six goals on just 18 shots. He will be missed.

 

- Here is what coach Martinson had to say about losing Bibeau and Lohin who are both with Charlotte (AHL). Charlotte has two NHL teams they are working with, Seattle and Florida. Martinson said, "The positive side of having an affiliate like Seattle that splits an AHL team is the players we get assigned are higher up the food chain. Bibeau and Lohin are clearly AHL players. The downside is there are only two if them."  

 

- To make matters worse, Allen's second leading scorer, Jack Combs, who has seven points (3G, 4A) in five games is out of the lineup after being slashed in Wichita last Friday. 

 

- Forward Dawson Butt will miss the game in Wichita as he will be serving a one game suspension he received for an altercation in Kansas City last Saturday. 

- Nolan Kneen and Jackson Leef have been practicing with the no contact jersey so it is uncertain whether either one will play this weekend.

 

- There is a bright spot for the weekend, Allen had added a forward (will be announced today) and a goalie. Hayden Lavigne will serve as a backup to Frank Marotte. He is on loan from the Pensacola Ice Flyers (SPHL). Since turning pro last season after finishing his collegiate career at the University of Michigan, Hayden has played in eight ECHL games, all for Wichita, with a GAA of 2.68 and a .917 save percentage. He played against Allen three times last season when he was with Wichita, winning 5-2 and 4-1 and losing in overtime 4-3.

 

- I will have a preview tomorrow but the key for tomorrow night and the entire weekend is can the Allen Americans get things turned around defensively. Allen scores enough goals to win, it is ranked #7 in the ECHL averaging 3.50 goals per game. What is hurting the Americans is giving up close to 40 shot per game (38.17) which is the worst in the league and allowing an average of 4.50 goals per game (ranked #25). A lot of practice time and video review this week was devoted to this weakness. Playing team defense is as much about hard work, pride and not cheating as it is about skill. It will be difficult this weekend for Allen with the top two scorers (Lohin & Combs) not in the lineup. All the more reason to play a tight defensive game. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The ECHL standings are starting to show the teams that will struggle all season but each division is a little different:

North Division - Points percentages range from .200 (Worcester) to .857 (Newfoundland). Only two teams (Growlers & Reading) have a points percentage above .417. 

South Division - Points percentages range from .200 (Greenville) to .800 (South Carolina). Six ECHL teams have points percentages of .750 or more and three of them are in the South Division, South Carolina, Norfolk and Atlanta.

Central Division - Points percentages range from .188 (Iowa) to .800 (Fort Wayne). Only two of seven teams (Iowa & Indy) have points percentages below .500.

Mountain Division - The tightest of the four divisions with points percentages ranging  from .286 (Wichita) to .750 (Utah). Five of seven teams are at .500 or above. 

 

- It is a big weekend around the ECHL with a total of 32 games scheduled. The best teams are starting to distance themselves from the non-playoff teams. Remember, past history says if a team isn't in a playoff spot on Thanksgiving there is a 80% chance it will miss the playoffs. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: In the last four seasons (since 2017-18) 10 players have played 100 or more regular season games for the Allen Americans. How many can you name other Spencer Asuchak we has almost twice as many games played as anyone else? Here are the 10 players in games played order.

245 - Spencer Asuchak

133 - Joel Chouinard

126 - David Makowski

121 - Josh Lammon

114 - Alex Breton

109 - Dalton Thrower

107 - Alex Guptill

106 - Les Lancaster

106 - Josh Thrower

105 - Zach Pochiro

    

A Bonding Practice Week for the Allen Americans and Wow Stats From Around the ECHL

 

The Allen Americans are back home in Allen after splitting two road games over the weekend. Playing .500 hockey early in the season may be acceptable for some teams but not for the culture that has been established with the Americans. It is easy to make excuses from no preseason games to just a couple of players attended NHL/AHL training camps to several players coming off injuries to the fact that just two of the top 18 players in scoring from last season returned for the 2021-22 season, with most of them opting to play in Europe. To Steve Martinson those are just excuses and the current team has the talent to win each and every game. With that said I would expect the team will be working hard on and off the ice this week as they prepare for three games this weekend.

 

- With just two home games in the month of November (this Saturday and Sunday) practice time this week will be valuable. In talking to coach Martinson the plan for Monday and Tuesday includes on ice practice, video sessions and the team hitting the gym together. Martinson will be working on everything from systems issues to defense to special teams to conditioning. 

 

- It was quite a week for goalie Antoine Bibeau. He was assigned to Allen on Tuesday from Charlotte (AHL). Left with the team on the bus trip to Wichita on Thursday. Played his first ECHL game Friday night winning 3-1 with a save percentage of .952. Took the bus to Kansas City with the team arriving Saturday morning (2:00 am) and after being recalled caught a very early flight a few hours later from Kansas City to Charlotte. Saturday night he was the backup goalie as the Checkers beat Lehigh Valley 7-3. Charlotte played again early on Sunday (noon Allen time) and Bibeau started in goal. He stopped seven of eight first period shots but wasn't feeling right so came out of the game for the final two periods. My reporting is Bibeau was not injured and will be fine going forward. His stay in Charlotte is expected to be short term. Charlotte had a goalie recalled to the Florida Panthers (NHL) which necessitated Bibeau heading back to Charlotte. The injured Florida goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, is listed as day to day with a status of "expected to be out until at least November 8" on the Panthers injury report. Once Bobrovsky returns the dominoes will reverse themselves and Bibeau will return to Allen (barring any other injuries).

 

With nothing else new to report here is a list of what I will call "wow stats" which are some good and bad statistics for Allen and other ECHL teams that stand out to me. 

- I included this yesterday but it is worth repeating because it speaks to where Allen needs to improve.  The Americans are ranked #27 in average shots allowed (38.17), #25 in average goals allowed (4.50) and #27 in shorthanded goals allowed.

 

- The first year Trois-Rivieres Lions have the best penalty kill percentage in the ECHL (95.7%) and the worst power play percentage (8.7%).

 

- The first year Iowa Heartlanders have the worst record in the ECHL with a points percentage of .188. The all-time ECHL record for the lowest points percentage for a full season was set in 1992-93 by the Roanoke Valley Rampage at .227.

 

- Toledo leads the ECHL with a +17 goal differential, Iowa is #27 with a goal differential of -22.

 

- Four ECHL teams have more than 115 penalty minutes, all are in the Western Conference. 57% (4 of 7) of Mountain Division teams have 100+ PIMS. The percentage in the other divisions is 28% in the Central, 17% in the North and 14% in the South.

 

- The Newfoundland Growlers have the lowest average attendance in the ECHL (1168) but have had three sold out standing room only crowds because they are playing in an alternate facility.

 

- Talk about some wow stats, rookie goalie Keith Petruzzelli (Newfoundland) leads the ECHL in wins (4), GAA (0.75) and save percentage .976. 

 

- In a game on Saturday, Reading was out shot 18-1 in the first period but scored the first goal of the game. On Sunday, Idaho was out shot 32-20 and had just one shot on goal in the third period but beat Tulsa 2-1.

 

- Newfoundland has scored five shorthanded goals in seven games, a pace that would equal a ridiculous 52 shorthanded goals over a full season,. The ECHL record for shorthanded goals in a season is 24 set in 1998-99 by the Louisiana IceGators. FYI, the record for fewest shorthanded goals in a season is one, set in 1999-2000 by the Arkansas RiverBlades.

 

- Here is a potential turnaround story. Norfolk opted out and didn't play last season and in 2019-20 it was the worst team in the shortened ECHL season with with a points percentage of .300. In the last full ECHL season in 2018-19 Norfolk was ranked #25 of 27 teams with a winning percentage of .438. It is still early but this season Norfolk is ranked #6 in the ECHL in points percentage at .714. 

 

- Allen stats, Branden Troock is second in the ECHL in shots (34) and is tied for 132nd in goals (1). Ryan Lohin is tied for 46th in shots (18) and tied for second in goals (6). 

 

- The top two players in the league in plus/minus are both defensemen from Utah. Charle-Edouard D'Astous leads at +12 and Luke Martin is +11. D'Astous also leads all ECHL defensemen in points (10) and goals (6). 

 

- Kansas City is averaging 30.17 penalty minutes per game, a pace that would equal 2172 PIMS over a full season. Since Allen joined the ECHL in 2014-15 it averaged over 20 PIMS per game twice but nothing close to 30 PIMS per game. In 2014-15 Allen led the ECHL with 1644 PIMS (22.83 average). The Americans also led the league in 2018-19 with 1691 PIMS (23.49 average). No ECHL team has averaged 20 PIMS per game since 2018-19. It is clearly a new style of play for Kansas City who averaged between 11.19-13.79 PIMS per game over the last four seasons. 

 

- On current ECHL rosters there are 301 players from Canada and 295 from the United States. Trois-Rivieres has no players from the US, Newfoundland has nine. The Allen Americans have 13 players from Canada and seven from the US. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The highest playoff winning percentages, all-time. Playoff record in parenthesis:

.696 - Newfoundland Growlers (16-7)

.662 - Alaska Aces (98-50)

.608 - Allen Americans (45-29)

.585 - Hampton Roads Admirals (55-39)

.581 - Greensboro Monarchs (36-25)