Thanks to Mary & Ted, My Take On Allen & South Carolina, The Road To The Final & More

Want to start the blog this morning by giving a big thank you to Mary Betz and Ted Hosterman who so generously offered to be guest writers while I was on my 14 days fishing trip in Ontario and Minnesota. With over 700 fish caught (walleyes, muskie, northern pike, small mouth bass, largemouth bass) to go along with close encounters with feeding moose, eagles and ospreys, loons nesting, young ducks and geese it was truly a trip back to nature. Spending an early morning on a lake where you are the only ones around and all you hear is the sounds of birds and animals reminds you why so many hockey players from the northern states and Canada love to hunt, fish and being in the outdoors. 

To Ted and Mary all I can say is it is obvious you put in a lot of time to keep the blog going from attending practice, interviewing players and coaches, working with the Americans front office, researching all of the stats and information to the actual writing. Your great work was both noticed and appreciated by all of the readers of the Allen Americans Blog. You certainly went above and beyond the call of duty.

- Since I am late to the Kelly Cup Finals party wanted to recap my thoughts on these two teams as they are the two teams that many Allen fans predicted would be in the finals. 

ALLEN - Even though Allen dominated their division winning the title by a huge 25 point margin, were second in the ECHL in points and winning percentage and were the highest scoring team in the league some diminished the Americans accomplishments because it was in the upstart Central Division made up of seven former Centrl Hockey League teams. For Allen and the Central Division to get respect they would have to win against the established teams. It wasn't easy as it took seven games and a great comeback after trailing Ontario 3-2 but the Western Conference title went a long way in sending the message about whether the Americans can compete with the rest of the ECHL.

SOUTH CAROLINA - It is hard to know where to start when talking about the Stingrays as they are truly a remarkable team. They lost nine of ten games in January and looked like they were destined to miss the playoffs. They won just 18 of their first 43 games. They then went on that amazing record breaking streak where they won 13 straight away games and 23 straight games overall. The 23 game streak broke the old record by six games. South Carolina finished the season winning 27 of their last 29 games. I remember talking to coach Martinson when the Stingrays broke the old winning streak record of 17 and he shared how difficult it is to maintain a high level of performance in minor pro hockey over that amount of time with the normal ups and downs of a season, travel, and playing three games in three days. After all South Carolina lost a game on January 30 and didn't lose again until March 28.

- Allen has had an easier path to this point in the finals than South Carolina. The Americans easily won their division and had the best record in the Westetn Conference. With their amazing win streak the Stingrays did not even win their division and had to win the last game of the season to get the #2 seed by just one point. Allen has had home ice advantage in all four of their playoff series while South Carolina has not had home ice advantage since the first round. Allen won their first three rounds 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3 and has played just one overtime period. South Carolina won their first three rounds 4-3, 4-2 and 4-3 and and played seven overtime games with a total of thirteen overtime periods. 

- So how does Allen find themselves down 2-1 in the finals after the first three games at home. If you look at the statistics Allen is accomplishing many of the keys to victory as they are outshooting South Carolina (85-75), they are winning the special teams battle with Allen 3-10 on the power play and the Stingrays 0-9, and the Americans have cut down on penalties (Allen 32 minutes - South Carolina 44 minutes). What has hurt Allen in this series has been an Achilles heel all year and that is unforced turnovers, odd man rushes and breakaways. Against a team as talented as the Stingrays they will make you pay. 

- Had a chance to catch up with coach Martinson as the team was traveling to South Carolina and he confirmed that all healthy players are on the trip as nobody was left home. Here is what he had to say about the game on Sunday, "We have to find some guys that can play harder against South Carolina's top line. We had unforced turnovers twice last game with the Stingrays best players on the ice and they both led to goals. We have to be better. We had some good chances last game and we need to do more of what we did well."

- For some reason the Kelly Cup Finals have not been competitive series. In the last fifteen years the final has gone to seven games just one time and has been decided 4-1 nine times. You would have to put the game on Sunday in the must win category for Allen or this may be one of those short series.

- Will have a complete game preview tomorrow but if there is a silver lining for the Americans it is the fact that in the playoffs the Stingrays have played much better on the road than at home. They have lost six of ten games at home including four of the five overtime games they have played at home.

- The one thing you can be sure of with this group of Allen Americans players and coaches is they are tough, resilient and are at their best in this situation. You don't win back to back championships without being able to rise to the occasion when the odds are stacked against you. 

DID YOU KNOW: In four of the last five years the Kelly Cup Final went just five games (4-1) and in the other it went six games (4-2).

Na na na na na na na na hey hey- ey, Goodbye!

*Please note: while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

For the last two and a half weeks (seems like a lot longer), we have had the pleasure to continue this blog  This will be our final blog.  Everyone has been so great, commenting on posts, stopping us at the AEC and providing moral support. These are only some of the reasons why it is so hard to say farewell to this endeavor.

The good news....Barry is coming back early to cover the last games.  So you see, even though we are done, the best will return.  Barry has set such a high bar it has been difficult, but fun, maintaining his blog to the excellent standard to which we have all grown accustomed.  When he told us that it takes him approximately five hours, each and every day, to provide this article, we thought he may have exaggerated just a little.  WRONG!  It has taken us over two and a half hours each day and yet we still forget to include something, or worse, we make an error. Researching, verifying, then putting thoughts into logical text is a hard job.  We both have a whole new respect for the sweat and tears that Barry puts into it daily.  We can only hope that we did a good enough job so that he knows he can count on us to help him out when things get rough or he needs a break.

We have so many people to thank for their assistance, specifically:

• Our spouses, lord knows we have upset their routines and dominated conversations with "blog stuff".
• Barry for trusting that we would maintain the high quality of his blog.
• Allen American photographers Kimberly Sauer and Lauren Lyssy for providing  a vast array of photos to be used in the blog.  You two are the best and hopefully the fans are spreading the word of your excellent work. 
• The Americans staff, especially Jordan Manias and Tommy Daniels for offering and/or assisting with info needed, especially with team schedules.  
• Coach Martinson for tolerating us at his post game conferences. 
• Erik Adams, Aaron Gens, and Dave Gens for letting us interview them during this hectic time. 
• And, lastly, to all of you dedicated fans who check this blog every day, you are the reason why we wanted to continue in Barry's absence.  

What more is left to be said?  The only things that come to mind are: "GO RED",  "THREEPEAT" and "GIT 'ER DONE", "Bring  Mr. Kelly's Cup to Allen".

UH-OH! THAT WASN'T SUPPOSE TO HAPPEN.

(This is a revision due to previous error with photo credits.  Our apologies to both fabulous photographers).

*Please note: while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

Things did not go according to plan as the South Carolina Stingrays defeated the Allen Americans last night before a crowd of 3604.  A beautiful day in Texas turned into a dreary night when our opposition scored four goals to our one.

(photo courtesy of scenebyKimberly)

The first period would not see the puck cross the goal line for either team.  Although Allen outshot S.C. by 10-4, not one found the net behind Stingray's goalie, Jeff Jakaitis On the other end of the ice, Riley Gill stood tall protecting his net.

The first goal, scored by the Stingrays' Michal Cajkovsky assisted by Wayne Simpson and Andrew Rowe, came at the 9:02 mark breaking the 0-0 tie.  Perfectly screened, Gill would not see the biscuit approaching the net.   Again, Allen out shot the Stingrays 12-9, but nothing would get past Jakaitis.

Rowe would shoot the puck into the net 5:16 into the third period to increase the Stingray's lead to 2. Allen would eventually light the lamp a little over two minutes later when Chris Crane assisted by Aaron Gens and team Captain Jamie Schaafsma scored to put Allen on the board. The Stingrays would continue to spoil Allen's fans night by scoring two more goals.  One by Rowe assisted by Cajkovsky at 16:50 and the final was an empty netter from Simpson assisted by Derek DeBlois at 18:07.  This squashed any hopes the Americans would tie the game.

((photo courtesy of laurenlyssy.wix.com)

(photo courtesy of scenebyKimberly)

Allen travels 1,112 miles to North Charleston for games 4,5, and 6.  Allen will be the"home" team for game 6.  The puck will drop at 6:05 p.m. (Central time), for all 3 games.

Game observations:

• game a lot closer than score indicates
• both Greger Hanson and Gary Steffes had their streaks stopped, Hanson for points and Steffes for goals
• despite being outshot 40-28, the Stingrays prevailed
• neither team was able to capitalize on 4 PP opportunities
• their top line (Simpson, Rowe, and DeBlois) had 3 goals, 4 assists, and were +7 collectively
• Simpson set a single season Kelly Cup scoring record.  His 3 points last night gives him 36 total points breaking a record that has stood since 1955 (50 years)
• with the victory last night, the Stingrays continue their torrid road record - including OT losses, their record is 10-3, conversely their home record is 4-6

Coach Martinson's post game comments:

• did a lot of things better tonight but did not win
• thought we outplayed them
• lost our leading scorer for the rest of the game. knocked out his front team, 4 officials on the ice and none of them saw it 
• we were 4 on 4, had control of the puck but turned it over allowing a break-away
• can't turn the puck over when their good line is on the ice
• build on what we did good tonight
• had plenty of opportunities but did not score, it was frustrating
• we know we can outplay them
• Valcak will be back in, Hanson lost front teeth - getting stitched up, but he's a tough guy and will be ready to go
• have to get the next game, had a lot of positives tonight just did not score
• their #1 line is doing all the damage we have to figure that out

Did you know:  In 2003 the ECHL was the first professional hockey league in North America to mandate protective visors.

ONE DOWN, THREE TO GO!

*Please note: while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

Future Allen American?

(photo courtesy of scenebyKimberly)

If you were at the Allen Event Center, you again were witness to a fantastic Allen Americans game. Allen struck first and would maintain the lead throughout the entire game.  What a spectacular performance from the team in RED.  It all started with a goal from Allen's Dyson Stevenson, assisted by Greger Hanson and Spencer Asuchak, The teams would leave the ice at the end of one with the Americans leading 1-0.

Gary Steffes would increase the American's lead to 2 when he buried his 11th goal of the playoffs.assisted by Chris Crane and Konrad Abeltshauser at the 11:17 mark of the second frame. Steffes would pad the score for RED with 17 seconds remaining. on a power play, assisted by Chad Costello and Justin Baker.

(photo courtesy of laurenlyssy.wix.com)

(photo courtesy of scenebyKimberly)

(photo courtesy of laurenlyssy.wix.com)

The third period would find a Stingray's goaltending change as league MVP Jeff Jakaitis was pulled and Clay Witt took over.  Would the Stingrays make a comeback when Scott Ford blasted a shot past Riley Gill at the 1:48 mark?  Not a chance since Spencer Asuchak pulled the momentum back for Allen with a shot assisted by Stevenson.  But the Stingrays would not give up as Sean Dolan netted his fifth goal of the playoffs at the 9:40 mark.  The Stingray's frustration would boil over in the games' final minutes when S.C. forward, Tim Spencer cheap shotted Patrick Valcak, leaving blood on the ice.  The Americans' Konrad Abelthauser scored on the resulting PP with just 6 seconds remaining until the horn would blow.  Game over!  Allen earned their first victory (5-2) of this final series.

Game observations:

• big win ensures Allen will go the road with at least 1 victory (hopefully, after tonight, it will be 2)
• Steffes 1st goal went top shelf on a one-timer from 15 feet set up by a nice feed from Crane
• the second goal by Steffes was enhanced by a successful screen by Ian Shultz
• the Stingray's first goal of the evening was a one-timer from the point by 35 yr old Scott Ford who is 2 years older than his Coach Spencer Carbery
• the goal scored by Asuchak appeared to draw the defenseman to commit early which provided a clear shot for Spencer, what a great way to welcome the replacement goalie
• the games' final goal was officially scored as a PP goal (not an empty netter) as Witt was not yet off the ice
• Stingray's vaunted line: Rowe, Simpson, and DeBlois combined for 0 goals, 1 assist and a -3 (continued containment of this line is a must)
• Jakaitis allowed 3 goals on 13 shots, his 3rd period replacement, Witt, yielded 2 goals on 8 shots

Coach Martinson's post game conference:

• Steffes stepped up big, couple of huge goals
• Asuchak line did great job against their top line
• different matchups tomorrow as S.C. is home team
• we need to do a few things better than we did tonight
• PP was pretty good
• Patrik Valcak alright, one of my ex-players did that to him
• referees doing a pretty good job, feels better about the officiating, better than any other series since playing in Allen
• we still have last change for 4 games, tomorrow's last change for them is a bonus
• best forechecking team that we've played,Stingrays always have a guy back, they do not cheat
• will be at arena at 5:30 for tv coverage, we definitely need more press

Tonight's referrees:  Same as Sunday's game, Stephen Reneau and Pierre Lambert.

Last night's attendance was 3804, a good crowd for a Tuesday night.  Let us, please, continue to support our team.  Bring a friend (or foe) and cheer for RED! RED! RED! RED!


Did you know: "Chill-y" facts- From 1992 to 1994 the Columbus Chill sold out all home games en route to an ECHL and Minor League Hockey record streak of 83 consecutive sellouts.  The St. Charles Chill had their inaugural season in 2013-14.  They folded immediately after that season, enduing a win percentage of .166 and an overall point percentage of .212.

KEEP CALM AND GIT 'ER DONE...!

*Please note while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

It is game day in Allen - don't allow South Carolina to "Mess with Texas"!  Everyone, including the team, knows what has to be done.

We provided game observations yesterday, here is some best-of-seven playoff history:

• Game one winners are 105-45 overall and 18-8 in ECHL finals
• Game two winners' records are equally impressive at 104-46 all time and 19-7 in the finals.
• In the CHL championship series last year, Allen lost two of three game ones but still managed to win the Presidents' Cup.
• For game twos, Steve Martinson's record is 8 and 1; Stingray's head coach Spencer Carbery's record is 2 and 5.
• For this year's Kelly Cup finals, visiting teams will be given home ice advantage rules for games three and six. S. C. will play under home ice rules for game 3 in Allen  and Allen will play under these rules in game 6 in S.C.
• Allen is undefeated when leading after the first period, or leading/tied after the second. 

Mr. Dave Gens, father of Aaron Gens, was kind enough to share some of his thoughts during his extended stay in Allen.

• We asked about Aaron's brother, Matt, whose career was shortened by an injury resulting from a hip check while playing for Evansville two years ago.  While in Evansville, he played 16 games together with Aaron. It was their dream to play together but their age difference prevented it. Dave vividly remembered the time they were in the penalty box together.  
• Having been a wrestler, Dave said "My kids will be wrestlers, no hockey"!  We all know how that turned out.
• Dave left Minnesota on April 12th and has been here ever since.  Dave is an experienced traveler as he saw his daughter play college hockey in Estonia and his son play for the USA under 17 hockey team in Finland.
• Dave likes Allen a lot. Having been in seven different ECHL arenas, Dave prefers the AEC as he finds every seat awesome and has a great hockey atmosphere. 
• The Allen fans have been fun and have treated Aaron very well.  
• Having been to Minnesota hockey games in temperatures of 35 below, the environment in Allen is much more tolerable. He was surprised when Aaron told him he was living in a nice apartment on a golf course.
• Coach Martinson is not a stranger to Dave.  Marty was Matt's coach in the 06-07 UHL championship year. Dave even had the chance to go down to the ice with the team and hoist the championship cup.
• Knowing Dave's deep religious convictions, we asked if he was offended by the colorful language that is so prevalent in hockey.  Dave replied that he was not at all offended, that we all come from the same place.

For those of you who miss the CHL, here is a  Minneapolis Millers' program cover from the 1933-34 season.  Note the cost of a whopping 5 cents!

Did you know:  The Stingray's ECHL record 23 game win streak began with the formation of the high scoring line of Andrew Rowe, Wayne Simpson, and Derek DeBlois.  Also, Stingray's defenseman, Lee Moffie, played for the Denver Cutthroats against Allen in the CHL playoffs last year.

CLOSE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!  ALLEN LOSES GAME ONE.

*Please note while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

(Photos courtesy of ScenebyKimberly)              

When Trevor Ludwig scored, assisted by Aaron Gens and Greger Hanson, 58 seconds into the first period, it appeared it would be a great night at the AEC. The Stingrays snatched that great night away less than 3 minutes later on an unassisted goal by Andrew Rowe.  That was not the clincher as Stingray's Wayne Simpson, assisted by Michal Cajkovsky and Andrew Rowe, flashed a puck past Riley Gill, on an odd man rush, to gain the lead at the 6:19 mark of the first period.  And the Stingrays were not done yet, as Wayne Simpson, assisted by Scott Ford and Derek DeBlois would strike again 4 minutes 31 seconds later. 

Allen would fight to come back in the second period when Gary Steffes,on a rebound, buried the puck in the net at the 14:23  mark to reduce the South Carolina lead to 1.   Allen would tie the game, 1:43 into the 3rd period on a beautiful goal by Spencer Asuchak, assisted by Greger Hanson and Dyson Stevenson. Unfortunately, that would not be enough, as Allen gave up the game winner, a short handed goal by Sean Dolan at 11:30. Their top scoring line proved tonight why they are the best in the league.

South Carolina won their 4th consecutive opening playoff game.  Both teams have identical records for the second playoff game with each notching two victories.  However, Allen must be aware that the Stingrays are the ECHL's best road playoff team (9-1-1-0).

Game observations:

• As stated in the previous blog, Stingray's Rowe and Simpson must be held at bay. Rookie DeBlois is also a threat on this line.
• Special teams have to perform. Allowing odd man rushes and short handed goals will not win a playoff game. Although Allen was only on the penalty kill for 6 minutes, the PK unit must remain effective.  The Stingrays were in the box for 8 minutes where Allen took advantage and scored on the PP, this must continue.
• Have to get more pucks to the net, the SOGs last night were 24-Allen, 23-Stingrays. Both teams can and will score, so the more attempts, the greater the chance that goals will be scored

Coach Martinson's post game comments:

• on the positive side, they are definitely beatable
• need more guys in the battle, did not get enough from the top guys tonight
• defense and goaltending need to be better
• painful to tie up game then allow short handed goal
• not a best of one, we need to pull up our socks and play hard next game
• our young guys were good, we all need to be better on Tuesday, as the guys that were not strong tonight must rebound
• Clarke was good tonight, made their defense look around
• our top defense was not ready for their top scoring line
• got to have confidence, have to make them earn goals
• nobody is looking for a game 7, have to win here then go into S.C. and win
• we outplayed them beginning shortly after the 10 minute mark of the first period, were not giving them many scoring chances
• we weren't smart or tough enough on their goals
• not worried about O/T as format is different in playoffs (5 on 5)
• top guys have to be top guys and they weren't, have to be smarter, have to bring our "A "game

Attendance for the game was 4042 which is almost 800 over the playoff average of 3284. Another boisterous, rowdy crowd on a Sunday afternoon.  Let's bring more on Tuesday to make the Stingrays' "SEA RED".


Did you know: Stingray's rookie Derek DeBlois had an AHL callup from none other than our affiliate, Worcester Sharks. He played four games and scored one goal.

WILL ALLEN WIN A PIG AND KELLY CUP?   HUH???

*Please note while Barry's name remains at the bottom of this blog, he is on vacation and the information/views posted in his absence do not reflect Barry's views or the views of the Allen Americans organization.

Is he for real? Guess he just got caught up in the moment.  The first thing that came to mind, and Mayor Terrell got it too, 1 pig for 1 cow....We don't think so.  It did not take long for the Allen Mayor to set him straight.

 Great job, Mayor Terrell!

We have seen on various forums that several fans from South Carolina will be coming to Allen. Let's all make sure to make them feel welcome to support their team.

Game preview: (all statistics are 2014-2015 playoffs only)

• Referees for game 1 are Pierre Lambert (2nd consecutive Kelly Cup Finals appearance),Steven Reneau (working his first Finals)
• Key players to stop for South Carolina are Wayne Simpson and Andrew Rowe. Rowe leads the playoffs in goals, Simpson leads in  assists and they are first and second in points and Pt/G.
• Both teams are tied for playoff wins and points, 12 wins and 24 points.  Allen is 8-2-0-0 at home and the Stingrays are 8-1-1-0 on the road having won last 7 on the road
• Each team has scored 67 goals (S.C. playing 2 additional games) however, when looking at the top nine points leaders in each team, Allen leads in Sh% at 14.5 to 12.8
• Both teams are undefeated when leading after 2 periods.
• The worse period in GA for both teams is the second with each giving up 25
• Chad Costello and  Greger Hanson are tied for third in Pt/G at 1.28
• In goalie comparison, Riley Gill and Jeff Jakaitis both have playoff SV% of .900.  Gill has the edge in GAA 2.43 to 2.77
• One major difference in the playoffs is overtime. Allen only had 1 game go to OT, whereas S.C. played 5 OTs (including 2 double OTs and 1 triple OT).  
• One unusual stat is that Allen is undefeated when being outshot.
• For the power play, Allen is 25.5% at home; while S.C. is 24.0% on the road. 
• For the penalty kill Allen is 81.8% at home; while S.C. is 80.6% on the road.
• While Allen has a better PP and PK efficiency, Allen averages over 6 mins more in PIM per game which  equates to over 3 minor penalties 

Did you know: Congratulations are due Allen Captain Jamie Schaafsma for playing in his 7th consecutive championship finals.  Jamie has also made playoff appearances in every season of his professional career beginning in 2004-2005 with the Geleen Smoke Eaters.

Please note: With a 4:05 game start, there will be no blog tomorrow.  Blog will return on Monday.