Bye-Bye Losing Streak, C.J. Motte With a 42 Shot Shutout Plus an Assist, Game Recap, Martinson's Comments, Toughness on the Way and 13 Year Old Hockey Sensation

Bye-bye losing streak! The Allen Americans snapped an eight game losing streak with a 2-0 shutout win against the Tulsa Oilers last night. It was the first win for the Americans since October 27th. It took some heroics from goalie C.J. Motte who stopped numerous odd man rushes and a total of 42 shots to earn his second shutout of the season. Motte even contributed to the offense with an assist on Allen's game winning goal.


-  You don't win many hockey games giving up over 40 shots but that has been the case in Allen's last two victories. Last night the Americans were outshot in every period for a total of 43-23 and came away with a 2-0 shutout win. In their last win which was all the way back on October 27 in Rapid City the Americans were outshot 51-34 but won the game 6-5 in overtime.


- Giving up 40 shots per game is definitely not the recipe for long term success but sometimes your goalie can steal a win and that is what happened last night. Doesn't make any difference how it happened, the losing streak is over and the Americans are now on a winning streak.


- After a scoreless first period in which Allen was outshot 15-8 the Americans got on the board early in the second period when Adam Miller scored his first goal of the season. Assists went to Mike Gunn and C.J. Motte. That was the end of the scoring until late in the third period (15:39) when Spencer Asuchak scored an insurance goal, his seventh goal of the season. It was a pretty three way play with David Makowski dropping a pass to Alex Ranger who passed the puck across the goal mouth to a wide open Asuchak.


- Tulsa pulled their goalie at the end of the game but never really threatened even when Allen took a delay of game penalty and the Oilers had a six-on-four advantage for the last 21 seconds of the game. At one point Spencer Asuchak won four consecutive faceoffs in Allen's defensive zone when the Oilers had an extra attacker.


- Here is a game recap from the Tulsa World which includes post game quotes from Tulsa coach Rob Murray. https://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/lackluster-play-contributes-to-oilers-first-home-defeat-of-season/article_0a0fdca7-8f10-5801-a3a8-2198f7676c42.html



STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS

I had a chance to check in with coach Martinson as the team was heading home on the bus and he shared his thoughts on the game and the weekend.

- C.J. Motte had a great weekend for us and it was good to see him get the shutout tonight. (Motte saved 79 of 82 shots in the two games against Tulsa for a save percentage of .963)

- We haven't been converting on odd man rushes so it was good to see Adam Miller score his first goal since joining the team on a two-on-one rush.

- Alex Ranger made a great play on our second goal. He faked a shot and then slid the puck to Spencer for an open net goal.

- It was good to win the game and end the losing streak but we have to get better, one way or another.



OTHER COMMENTS

- With the shutout last night Allen climbed out of the ECHL cellar in average goals allowed. Their average has fallen under four and is now at 3.81 which is ranked #26. The Americans gave up only three goals in two games against Tulsa this weekend and that is real progress. In their previous six games they never gave up less than four goals and in those six games allowed a total of 28 goals for a per game average of 4.67 goals per game.


- Allen now has a three way tie for the team lead in goals. Braylon Shmyr, Spencer Asuchak and Zach Pochiro all have seven goals. Alex Breton leads the team in assists with 11. Breton's 11 assists are second among all ECHL rookies and all ECHL defensemen.


- The Americans will now prepare for a three game road trip to Utah. They will fly to Salt Lake City on Tuesday and play the Grizzlies on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday before flying back home on Sunday. It will be a tough series for the Americans against a Utah team that has won five of their last six games and sit atop of the Mountain Division standings with a record of 9-2-3-0.


- There will be plenty of time for a series preview between Allen and Utah but one stat I noticed while scrolling through the daily report this morning is Allen has given up a total 638 shots this season. Utah's total is 391.


- If you have listened to Steve Martinson's interviews in the last week it is apparent he will be reshaping the roster by adding more toughness. It is hard to comprehend a Steve Martinson team with one fight in 15 games given how the team has started the season. Look for some toughness being added to the team sooner rather than later. Maybe something on transactions today or tomorrow.


- If you are a family with kids and have trouble keeping up with all of the promotion dates associated with the Allen Americans here is a link to a story that might help. It provides details on the promotion nights through December and a list of the future promotions. https://allen.bubblelife.com/community/allen_reporter/library/35662521/key/356927120/These_Upcoming_Allen_Americans_Games_Will_Add_Some_Extra_Cheer_to_Your_Holiday_Plans


- I came across this story about the future of hockey, a 13 year old many describe as the next Wayne Gretzky or Connor McDavid. His name is Connor Bedard and he is from North Vancouver, British Columbia and may end up in the Western Hockey League (WHL) as soon as the 2020-21 season through an "exceptional player" exemption. Here is the story: https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/meet-the-future-of-hockey-13-year-old-connor-bedard


- Here is a short video of Connor Bedard as a 10 year old:

DID YOU KNOW: C.J. Motte is no stranger to scoring. Last season while playing for the Quad City Mallards he was credited for a goal in the first period of a game against the Fort Wayne Komets. With a delayed penalty on Quad City the Komets pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Unfortunately the Komet's captain, Jamie Schaafsma, sent the puck off the boards trying to get it to a defenseman on the point and the puck slid all the way down the ice into the empty Fort Wayne net. Since Motte was the last Quad City player to touch the puck he was credited with the goal. Here is a link to a video of the play. https://vimeo.com/246628967

As strange as the game was with C.J. Motte scoring a first period goal how is this for a trivia question. Jamie Schaafsma scored an empty net shorthanded goal with 56 seconds remaining in the game which meant Jamie scored two empty net goals, the first and last goal of the game and managed to put a puck in both team's net. 

Best Period of the Season Can't Prevent Another Loss, Game Recap, Martinson's Comments, Video Highlights, Allen vs Tulsa Rematch Preview and More

Another inconsistent performance by the Allen Americans led to a 3-2 loss to the Tulsa Oilers last night before a crowd of 3730 at the Allen Event Center on Faith and Family night. Faith is something the loyal Allen fans have needed a lot of this season as they have watched their team set record after record for consecutive losses. Allen has now lost eight straight games and have run their home record to 0-7.


- It was a similar refrain that cost Allen the game last night. They played one good period surrounded by two bad periods. The Americans started the game getting the first three shots on goal but were then outshot 15-4 the rest of the first period giving up two goals. In the second period Allen looked like a different team in what coach Steve Martinson described after the game as the best period of hockey the Americans have played all season. Allen dominated the play with very few turnovers and the majority of the puck possession. They managed two goals, both by Pavel Jenys, and had numerous other quality scoring chances. When the dust settled on the second period Allen had outshot Tulsa 15-10, scored a power play goal and got the score back to even (2-2).


- What has happened so many times this season happened again last night in the third period. Allen followed up a great period with a bad one that cost them the game. The Americans were outshot 15-4 and until late in the game the shots were 15-2. The Americans were kept in the game thanks to the play of goalie C.J. Motte but a costly turnover led to the Tulsa game winning goal at the 13:22 mark of the third period.


- Pavel Jenys scored both of Allen's goals, his third and  fourth of the season. Jenys now has a goal in the last three games and in those three games has four of the Americans nine goals. Here are the Sporfie replays of his goals last night:








 



- Here is the game recap press release issued by the Tulsa Oilers: https://tulsaoilers.com/oilers-win-third-straight-with-late-goal-from-kaunisto/


- Here are Steve Martinson's post game comments:

ALLEN VS TULSA REMATCH PREVIEW


- As coach Martinson likes to say the team needs to get back up on the horse and get ready to play the Oilers again tonight. The team will leave at 1:00 pm this afternoon on the 230 mile trip to Tulsa, perfect timing for the players to get in their afternoon pregame nap.


- Allen showed themselves how they can play with their second period play last night. That is how they need to play for three periods tonight to stop the bleeding and break this losing streak. If they can replicate what they accomplished in the second period last night they will break the streak. If they give up 40 shots on goal in Tulsa the streak will continue.


- A good sign for Allen is they managed to get a power play goal last night going 1-2. As has been typical, Allen took more penalties (5) than Tulsa (2). Both teams scored a power play goal. Staying out of the penalty box will be a key tonight.


- As strange as it might sound the special teams percentages favored Tulsa in Allen but will favor the Americans tonight in Tulsa. The Oilers power play percentage at home is 12.9% while Allen is at 20.0% on the road. Tulsa's home penalty kill percentage is 81.1% compared to Allen's road penalty kill percentage of 86.4%.


- Allen's record when scoring first has been much worse than in past years. The Americans have scored first in six of their 15 games with a record of 3-2-0-1. That does mean, however, that Allen's only wins of the season (3) have come when they scored first.


- It should be the same lineup tonight as last night since there are no extra players available. The only question is who will get the start in goal. C.J. Motte stopped 37 of 40 shots last night for a save percentage of .925 so coach Martinson may choose to go with him again.


- The referee scheduled tonight is Stan Szczurek (#15) and the linesmen will be Addison Brush (#80) and Micheal Miggans (#47).



OTHER COMMENTS

-  The hole Allen is digging for themselves gets deeper and deeper with each loss. The Americans now have the worst winning percentage in the ECHL (.267) but what is more important to their playoff hopes is what is happening in the Mountain Division. Check out these numbers and keep in mind the Americans have just eight points in their first 15 games.

5 points -  how far back Allen is from sixth place in the seven team Mountain Division
8 points - how far back Allen is from a playoff spot
11 points - how far back Allen is from first place in the Mountain Division


- The Mountain Division tightened up last night as the top two teams (Kansas City and Utah) both lost. All seven teams will be in action tonight with Allen at Tulsa, Kansas City at Wichita, Indy at Utah and Rapid City at Idaho.


- Spencer Asuchak played in his 245th regular season game as an Allen American last night. He is now just two games behind Tyler Ludwig as the all time leader in games played.


- With all of the recent roster changes, Allen is no longer one of the youngest teams in the league. The average age has gone from under 24 years to 25.04 years. The Americans are now ranked #15 in the league in average age. The oldest team in the league is Kalamazoo (26.00) and the youngest is Maine (23.76).


- There are some great jersey deals on the Allen Americans auction website, Live Source. There are jerseys with bids as low as $25 (pink) and some of the veterans jerseys have starting bids of $199. This auction ends on Tuesday at 9:00 pm. As this new auction website becomes more well known you won't see prices like these in the future. If you don't already have the app here is the link and if you have any questions email Michelle Martinson at mmartinson@allenamericans.com: http://www.livesourceapp.com/ 


- It didn't take long for Greg Chase and Mitch Maloney to see their first action for Allen after being acquired in a trade with Wichita for Eric Roy. The duo arrived in Allen Thursday night, participated in the morning skate on Friday and played their first game for the Americans last night. Here are a couple of photos courtesy of David Dudich.

Greg Chase

Mitch Maloney

DID YOU KNOW: There are only two teams in the ECHL that are currently on a losing streak of more than two games and the teams are connected. Allen has lost eight straight games and the Reading Royals have lost five straight games.   

Eric Roy Traded, Chad Butcher Quits, Profile on New Forwards Greg Chase and Mitch Maloney, Allen vs Tulsa Preview and Making the Playoffs by the Numbers

I said in the blog yesterday you never know who is coming and going from morning to afternoon and it turned out to be prophetic when Eric Roy had a great practice in the morning and was traded less than an hour later. Allen traded Eric to the Wichita Thunder for two forwards, Greg Chase and Mitch Maloney.


- This was a trade that met needs for both teams. Allen needed forwards with all of the injuries they have had upfront. One day at practice this week three defensemen were playing forward. With the addition of Chase and Maloney, who arrived in Allen last night, the Americans will be able to play 10 forwards tonight for the first time in a long time.


- Wichita had the opposite problem from Allen, they had too many forwards but were short defensemen because of injuries. Just as important in the trade is the fact that Wichita has one of the worst power plays in the league. Their home power play is only 7.1%. The Thunder were looking for a defenseman who could quarterback the power play and they are hard to find. Eric Roy is one of the best. Almost half of Roy's career points have come on the power play. Wichita coach Malcolm Cameron had this to say about the Roy acquisition, "I felt like we needed an experienced go to power play guy because power play is such an important part of the game." With Eric Roy the Thunder not only get a player to help an ailing power play, they also get an experienced defenseman with a Kelly Cup on his resume. I have no knowledge of this but can't help but think Eric's good buddy, Wichita captain and former Allen player Dyson Stevenson played a role in this trade.


- On a personal note it is always difficult to see a player you have gotten to know move on. Eric is a quiet young man but once you get to know him is a great guy. We share a love of fishing and he came out to Heritage Ranch where I live to catch some slab crappies many times. He will be missed for sure. Always a class act, here is what Eric had to say after the trade, "Just wanna say thank you to the Allen Americans for the past three years. It was great to win a championship in my first year and play in front of great fans every night. I am excited for the new opportunity with the Wichita Thunder."


- Almost completely lost in fervor of the Roy trade was another player moving on. Forward Chad Butcher was suspended after he quit the team. Butcher was being counted on to play a key role this season but only played in three games because he arrived at training camp with an injury. Coach Martinson made some decisions on other players based on the fact Butcher would be back. To say coach Martinson was not happy after Butcher stayed in Allen all of this time and then decided to quit the team to head off to college to play hockey would be an understatement. It wasn't the fact that Butcher decided to pursue his education, it was how he handled it that pissed off the coach. The official transaction regarding Butcher is suspended by team, removed from active roster. The reason to do this transaction is to retain his ECHL rights. This prevents him from signing with another ECHL team.


- Here is some background on the two forwards Allen got in the Roy trade.

GREG CHASE: Greg is a 6'1" 190 pound right shot forward who was the seventh round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2013 NHL draft. He is in his fourth season as a pro and has played 97 AHL games (7G, 20A) and 70 games in the ECHL (26G, 34A). Chase signed a three year entry level NHL contract with Edmonton in 2013. Greg is another of the many players who have played for Allen from the WHL (Western Hockey League). His last year in juniors with the Calgary Hitmen he led the team with 85 points (35G, 50A) in 70 games. Chase started last season in Wichita who is affiliated with Edmonton and he was still under his NHL deal. However, his NHL rights were traded to Florida by Edmonton in December of 2017 and Chase was assigned to Florida's AHL affiliate. His NHL deal expired after last season and Greg signed with Wichita for the 2018-19 season. This is what Wichita coach, Malcolm Cameron said when he signed Chase at the end of August, "Greg is a dynamic, offensive player who has tremendous speed. When he was traded last season it left a large hole in our lineup." 

Chase will have a few familiar faces when he arrives in the Allen locker room today. Chase Lang and Josh Thrower were teammates in Calgary and Alexandre Ranger was a teammate in Norfolk.

Here is a video of Greg Chase from 2016 after he had signed his NHL deal with the Edmonton Oilers. Getting drafted and signed by your hometown team must have been very special.

MITCH MALONEY: Mitch is a 6'0" 212 pound left shot forward who is a first year pro after completing his collegiate career at Ferris State University last season. His first year at Ferris State was C.J. Motte's last. Maloney was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award (hockey equivalent of the Heisman Award) last season. He played in six games for Wichita after completing his collegiate career last season. When Mitch was signed by Wichita in August he was described this way, "Mitch is a big bodied, intelligent forward that meshed seemlessly with us for the playoffs last season. He protects the puck well and goes to the hard areas."

Maloney has had a difficult time cracking the Wichita lineup thus far because they have so much depth (15 forwards). He has played in just three games and has one goal. Mitch will get a chance to play in Allen and show what he can do. Here is a video from the Wichita training camp in early October. Mitch had just returned from the Rockford (AHL) training camp.

      



ALLEN VS TULSA SERIES PREVIEW


- With all of the moving parts regarding the Allen roster over the last couple of weeks the focus now turns to the weekend with home and home games against the Tulsa Oilers. The teams play tonight in Allen and in Tulsa on Saturday. The game tonight will be the second of 13 games against the Oilers this season. In their first encounter on October 21st in Tulsa the Oilers came out on top beating the Americans 6-4 while out shooting Allen 53-32.


- Tulsa has gotten off to a great start going 6-1-2-2 thus far compared to Allen's record of 3-9-0-2. Tulsa has won their last two games while Allen has lost seven in a row.


- Here is the match up between Allen and Tulsa:

                                     ALLEN                                TULSA

Team Record               3-9-0-2 (8 points)                   6-1-2-2 (16 points)
Division Ranking         7th - Mountain                        3rd -Mountain
Conference Ranking   12th - Western                        5th - Western
League Ranking          26th                                        9th
Last Game                  5-4 loss (Wichita)                    5-4 Win (Idaho)
Goals For                    40                                           36
Goals Against             58                                            32
Power Play                 14.9% (10/67)                         11.1% (5/45)
Penalty Kill                  84.3% (11/70)                         84.2% (6/38)
Leading Scorer           Shmyr  (7-7-14)                       Pleskach (6-5-11)
Most PIM's                  Makowski (62)                        Kromm (13)


-  There are many stats that explain the challenge for Allen against Tulsa but maybe none more than shot differential (shots for minus shots against). Tulsa is #2 in the ECHL with a shot differential of +86 while Allen is ranked #26 with a shot differential of -95. This big difference in shots leads to goals. Allen is ranked last in goals allowed giving up an average of 4.14 goals per game. The Oilers are ranked #9 giving up an average of 2.91 goals per game. Coach Martinson has spent the majority of practice time this week working to improve defensive play and thus shots on goals. Hopefully it will pay off with fewer shots allowed and more shots on on goal for the Americans.


- Special  teams are always key but even more so in the next two games. With Braylon Shmyr back and recently signed Adam Miller having time to practice with the top power play unit look for improvement. The team spent a lot of time working in practice on getting the puck in the zone and getting the power play set up. Hopefully the extra work pays off. If you compare home vs road special teams Tulsa has the advantage. Allen's power play at home is a paltry 7.4%, Tulsa on the road is at 13.3%. Allen's home penalty kill is 80.8% compared to Tulsa on the road at 86.4%.


- In my opinion you should throw the stats out the window for the game tonight. The good news for Allen is they will have a full team and nobody will be playing out of position. The bad news is two of the forwards just arrived last night and will not practice before they play their first game. Three other forwards joined the Americans in the last two weeks. The bottom line is this game will be won by the team with the most "want." After losing all five home games this season, playing with a bunch or new players and missing so many key players I look for a big effort from the Allen Americans tonight. The Americans have plenty of reasons to out "want" the Oilers.


- Greg Chase will be wearing #10 and Mitch Maloney will be wearing #24. 



DID YOU KNOW: Over the last two seasons the average number of points to make the ECHL playoffs is about 79 points. Allen has eight points in their first 14 games. To hit 79 points they will need 71 points in the next 58 games. That calls for a record of something like 34-21-2-1 the rest of the way. Making the playoffs will be a tall order if the Americans don't get things turned around very soon.

Practice Update, Roster Update, Q&A With Steve Martinson, Interesting ECHL Stats, Exodus to College About to Begin, Allen's Ironmen History

If I had to describe the Allen Americans practice on Wednesday it was more of the same. With a goal differential of -18 (40 goals for & 58 against) which is ranked #26 and a shot differential of -95 (461 shots for & 556 shots against) which is ranked #26 the drills this week have primarily worked on the forecheck, having proper gaps and overall defensive play. Today, the team will focus on special teams in practice, concentrating on the power play.


- There were 17 players at practice yesterday with one more expected back today. It remains to be seen what the lineup will look like against Tulsa on Friday night. With all of the players recovering from injuries along with the possibility of trades and/or free agent signings, everyday can see roster moves. You never know who is coming and going from morning to afternoon. It all reminds me of a quote about change, "The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order."


- If you are not on Facebook you may have missed the Q&A discussion with coach Steve Martinson yesterday. Here are some highlights.

Question: Coach, there was talk of bringing in some players willing to drop the gloves with teams coming to Allen with bad intentions. It is hard to to watch our players get pushed around physically and defensively.

Answer: We are working on bringing in some players to help the cause. We also need some of our current players to step up and help that problem as well.


Question: Any chance we get Vinny (Arseneau) back?

Answer: Arseneau is under contract in the AHL but we own his rights so if he gets sent down it will be to us.


Question: Coach, is there any indication of when the players on injured reserve will return? It appears that we need to re-find team "physicality" and toughness?

Answer: Josh Thrower is day to day. Casey (Pierro-Zabotel) is out indefinitely. We are hoping to have Kevin Sundher back after Thanksgiving. We have some toughness coming.


Question: When are we going to see some organization on the power play?

Answer: The power play is a work in progress. Having Adam Miller will help the power play tremendously and having Shmyr back is big.


STATS FROM THE ECHL DAILY REPORT

- Three of the four division leaders were not in the playoffs last season. Newfoundland leads in the North Division and is a new franchise. Jacksonville, who leads in the South Division, missed the playoffs by 10 points last season. Kansas City leads in the Mountain Division. The Mavericks were in the Central Division last season and finished 31 points out of first place. Only the Toledo Walleye are in a familiar position, first place in the Central Division. If they continue in first place this would be the fifth straight division championship for the Walleye.


- The top two ECHL rookie scoring leaders are from the same team, the Newfoundland Growlers. Brady Ferguson has 20 points (9G, 11A) and Giorgio Estephan has 18 points (9G, 9A). Allen's Braylon Shmyr is third in rookie scoring with 14 points (7G, 7A). Shmyr has played seven fewer games than the top two.


- Allen is the only ECHL team that has not won a home game (0-5). Two teams have yet to lose at home. Kansas City is 6-0 and Toledo is 3-0.


- Rapid City has already gone beyond regulation seven times (4 OT, 3 SO). Fort Wayne and South Carolina have yet to go to overtime.


- The Atlanta Gladiators are the only remaining member of the 100% special teams club. Atlanta has a 100% home penalty kill record (0-21).


 - The Allen Americans are the only ECHL team to appear on the single game high for saves in all three periods. The Americans are tied for the most saves in the first period (18), fourth for the most saves in the second period (19) and first for the most saves in the third period (20).



OTHER COMMENTS

- If you haven't seen the ECHL Plays of the Week where C.J. Motte makes the list here is the link: https://www.echl.com/en/video/2018/11/echl-plays-of-the-week-nov-5-11-2018-v4fHEbYf


- It is that time of year when young players who have college scholarships earned from playing major junior hockey in Canada have to make a decision whether to continue their pro careers or enroll in a Canadian college. They can still be eligible to play this season for their college hockey team if they enroll in the next several weeks. Players that have struggled in making the transition from juniors to pro often take the option to go to college.


- Talk about teams going in opposite directions, the Kansas City Mavericks have won seven straight games and lead the Mountain Division (tied) with 19 points. The Allen Americans have lost seven straight games and find themselves in last place with eight points.



DID YOU KNOW:  Allen is only 14 games into the season and there are just five players that have played in every game and are candidates to be an Ironman by playing in all 72 games. It is a feat that is really difficult to accomplish. The five players are Spencer Asuchak, Alex Breton, Dante Salituro, Josh Atkinson and Chase Lang. Here are the past Ironmen who played in every regular season game.

2017-18 - Joel Chouinard, Casey Pierro-Zabotel
2016-17 - Chad Costello, Joel Chouinard
2015-16 - Chad Costello
2014-15 - Chad Costello, Aaron Gens, Jamie Schaafsma
2013-14 - Spencer Asuchak, Daniel Tetrault, Mike Berube
2012-13 - Jamie Schaafsma, Jason Deitsch
2011-12 - Jason Deitsch
2010-11 - Colton Yellow Horn, David Strathman
2009-10 - Bruce Graham, Christian Gaudet
 

Practice Update, Roster Update, Individual and Team Stats Leaders and Why All the Injuries

When I arrived at the Allen Americans practice session yesterday my first thought was it was an optional practice day because there were so few players on the ice. However, there are no optional practice days when you have lost a franchise record seven straight games. A boatload of injuries and a couple of excused absences made for a practice with one goalie, eight defensemen and just seven forwards.

Goalie Jeremy Brodeur was in Toronto to attend his father's Hall of Fame induction ceremony Monday night. He caught a plane back to Allen very early Tuesday morning and would have made practice if there wasn't a 45 minute delay sitting on the tarmac because of the weather. A sleep deprived Brodeur arrived at the rink just as practice was ending. If you haven't seen Martin Brodeur's emotional induction speech here it is:

- Allen now has seven forwards out of the lineup due to injury if you count Josh Thrower who coach Martinson intended to play up front this season. Here is the list with games missed thus far.

12 games - Kevin Sundher
11 games - Chad Butcher
10 games - Josh Thrower
7 games - Casey Pierro-Zabotel
2 games - Johnny McInnis
2 games - Zach Pochiro
0 games - Dante Salituro

44 games - Total games missed by the seven forwards currently injured and this number will go much higher.

22 games - Total games missed due to injury by players back in the line up.

66 games - Grand total of games missed due to injury after just 14 games. That is an average of 4.7 players out of the lineup for every game. At the current pace Allen would miss 339 player games over the course of a full season.


- Allen has had numerous upper body injuries this season as the result of flagrant penalties. It makes you wonder if there is any connection between all of the injuries and Allen's lack of physical play. It seems like in past seasons if a player was the recipient of a cheap shot there was hell to pay with everyone willing to drop the gloves to stand up for a teammate. This season not so much. Other than the home opener against Wichita where there were four players (Josh Thrower, Dalton Thrower, Zach Pochiro, Josh Atkinson) with fighting majors the Americans have not been willing to drop the gloves. If you eliminate the home opener game, Allen has had a total of one fighting major in 13 games, the fewest in the league. This is a far cry from a typical Steve Martinson team.


- Coach Martinson said after the last home game if the third line isn't scoring it makes more sense to put together a third line that is tough to play against. I think that is what he is in the process of doing.  



INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS AND TEAM STATS


- I thought it might be instructive to take a look at Allen's stats leaders after 14 games. Below are the team leaders in various statistical categories with the league rank in parentheses:

Points:
14 - Braylon Shmyr (14th)
13 - Spencer Asuchak (18th)
12 - Alex Breton (26th)


Goals:
7 - Braylon Shmyr (8th)
7 - Zach Pochiro (8th)
6 - Spencer Asuchak (21st) 


Assists:
10 - Alex Breton (12th)
7 - Spencer Asuchak (41st)
7 - Braylon Shmyr (41st)
7 - Josh Atkinson (41st)


Plus/Minus: (Only one player is plus)
+1 - Adam Miller (185th)


Penalty Minutes:
62 - David Makowski (3rd)
41 - Dalton Thrower (7th)
38 - Zach Pochiro (13th)
 

Shots On Goal:
60 - Dante Salituro (2nd)
37 - David Makowski (38th) 
33 - Braylon Shmyr (67th)


Points by Defensemen
12 - Alex Breton (1st)
7 - Josh Atkinson (58th)
5 - David Makowski (30th)
5 - Joel Chouinard (30th)


Goals by Defensemen
2 - Alex Breton (16th)
2 - David Makowski (16th)
1- Joel Chouinard (44th)
1 - Eric Roy (44th)


Assists by Defensemen
10 - Alex Breton (3rd)
7 - Josh Atkinson (9th)
4 - Joel Chouinard (34th)


Save Percentage
.910 - Jeremy Brodeur (20th)
.901 - C.J. Motte (28th)



- If you can draw any conclusion from the individual stats it would be the impact offensively of three rookies and a second year player. Atkinson, Breton, Shmyr and Salituro have contributed 44 points in the first 14 games. The rest of the roster combined has 67 points. The four young players (including two defensemen) have accounted for 40% of the offense.


- Another stat from above worthy of note is goals by defensemen. So far as a group they have just six goals in 14 games. At that pace the defensemen would end the season with 30 goals. That compares to the defensemen contributing 46 goals last season and 52 goals two seasons ago.



-  Here is how the Americans rank in the ECHL in some critical statistical categories:

Goal differential - 26th (-18)
Shot differential - 25th (-95)
Average PIMS per game - 4th (20.14)
Power play - 18th (14.9%)
Penalty kill - 11th (84.3%)
Ave. goals scored - 19th (2.86)
Ave. goals against - 27th (4.14)
Ave. shots for per game - 6th (32.93)
Ave. shots against per game - 27th (39.71)
Shooting percentage - 18th (8.5%)
Team save percentage - 17th (.899)


There is not much to like in the stats above which help explain the 3-9-0-2 start by the Americans. With goals allowed the worst in the league (4.14) and goals scored ranked #19 (2.86) it is easy to see the reason for the poor results. 


- Over the first five home games the Allen Americans attendance has averaged 4110 per game. That ranks Allen #15 in average attendance. Ranked #1 is Fort Wayne averaging 8488 per game and ranked #27 is Manchester averaging 2073 per game. The leaguewide average attendance is 4284.


- Allen is 11 points behind Kansas City who is in first place in the Mountain Division with 19 points. The Mavericks have played three fewer games than the Americans.


- Four ECHL teams are tied for the fewest regulation losses (1) and three of them reside in the Mountain Division; Kansas City, Utah and Tulsa. The fourth team is Toledo.



DID YOU KNOW: The Mountain Division has three of the top five teams in the ECHL as measured by winning percentage. Here are the five ECHL teams with winning percentages above .700.

.875 - Toledo Walleye
.864 - Kansas City Mavericks
.773 - Utah Grizzlies
.769 - Adirondack Thunder
.727 - Tulsa Oilers

Where Are They Now - Chris Whitley

Chris Whitley circa 2009

If you followed the Allen Americans during their inaugural season in 2009-10 it was a dream season even though the Americans lost to the Rapid City Rush in the CHL championship finals.


Today we catch up with Chris Whitley who was the star goalie on that inaugural team. It didn't start out that way as Chris shared goalie duties early in the season but gradually emerged as the top goalie. Chris was a rookie that season having just finished his collegiate career at Lakehead University. Whitley came to Allen after a highly successful amateur career. He played Junior A hockey prior to attending college (OPJHL) and was the Player of the Year and won the championship (RBC Cup) in 2003-04. At Lakehead University he was selected as the league's most outstanding player and to the collegiate All-Canadian first team in 2007-08. Chris attended the Detroit Red Wings training camp in 2009-10.

Despite his credentials Whitley had to earn his playing time when he arrived in Allen as a rookie in 2009-10. He didn't get his first start until the fourth game of the season. He has that in common with another rookie who came to Allen and had to ride the bench the first three games of the season before getting his first start, Aaron Dell.


Once Whitley got his chance he earned the top goalie spot and by the end of the regular season was on fire. In his last 18 regular season games from January to the end of the season, Chris had a record of 15-1-2-0. Whitley's regular season record was 31-8-4-1. His 31 wins led the CHL.


Allen finished second in the Southern Conference with 89 points behind the class of the league and favorite for the championship, the Odessa Jackalopes, who finished the regular season with 101 points.


To say the Allen Americans rode Chris Whitley in the playoffs would be a gross understatement. Chris played in all 20 playoff games for the Americans over three series. Allen played Laredo in the opening round and fell behind 3-2 before winning game six (3-2) and seven (4-1). In the second round Allen took on the favorite, Odessa. It was a back and fourth series that had two overtime games and was decided in game seven in Odessa with a 4-2 Allen win. Allen then took on Rapid City in the finals but came up short losing in six games. The stat that tells you all you need to know about Chris Whitley's performance in the 2009-10 playoffs is he played in all 20 playoff games and made 636 saves which was 200 more saves than any other goalie in the playoffs.   

Chris Whitley with the glove save - photo by Chip Crail

Chris is currently living in Thunder Bay, Ontario the same place where he graduated from Lakehead University. After graduation he was hired as a teacher by the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board. He took a leave of absence for a few years to pursue a professional hockey career. He is currently teaching special education at the Senior Elementary level (7th & 8th grade).

Chris isn't married but has been with his girlfriend, Marcy, for five years. They have no children but do have a fur baby, a Shih Tzu named Harley.

Chris & Marcy

Harley

Here is more from Chris in is own words:


What involvement do you have in hockey?
I have coached a few AA and AAA teams in Thunder Bay the past five years. I am currently coaching a Peewee AA team, which is very enjoyable. I also run a hockey development camp, with my former teammate at Lakehead University, Joel Scherban. The camp is called Northern Lakes Hockey Development.


What are your hobbies/interests now that you no longer play professional hockey?
I like to play softball in the summer and travel when I can. I get to Las Vegas a few times a year and enjoy spending some time in that heat which reminds me of Texas. I won't be able to make the alumni game in February but do plan on getting back to Texas in the future to catch a Dallas Cowboys game and hopefully catch up with some friends in Allen. 


Can you share something about your experience playing in Allen?
I really did love the time I spent in Allen. The excitement of a new team was really something I wanted to be part of. I enjoyed going to the rink in shorts, which you can't do playing hockey in Canada. I think the winning culture the organization has developed over the last 10 years has made Allen one of the best places to play. The city is great. The rink is very nice to play in and the fans made it exciting to play each night.


What is your highlight, fondest memory of your time playing in Allen?
That would be competing for the CHL championship in our inaugural season. Not many teams get the opportunity to do that although the Vegas Golden Knights seemed to do it pretty easily last season.


Who was your/closest teammate in Allen?
I had a very fun time with many guys in Allen because we were all close to the same age. I roomed with Charlie Effinger my first year so I got to know him pretty well. 


Chris Whitley was a big part of establishing the winning tradition in Allen and is still #2 all time in games played by a goalie. His fun loving personality made him popular with his teammates and fans alike. He was also known as a bit of a jokester. 


If you want to read more about Chris, check out his Northern Lakes Hockey Development website and click on the "about us" tab.  http://northernlakeshd.com/

Losing Streak Hits Seven With Shootout Loss, Game Recap, Martinson's Comments, Comparing This Season to Last, Blowing Leads at Home and More

The Allen Americans managed to end a streak of six straight regulation losses with a 5-4 shootout loss in Wichita last night. In the process Allen set a franchise record for consecutive losses which is now at seven and counting.


- The odds were stacked against the Americans as they were playing their third game in 48 hours and had to bus all night to get to Wichita, arriving around 5:00 am. The Thunder on the other hand had the night off on Saturday. Allen had some good news as Braylon Shmyr returned from his AHL call up but the Americans still had to play shorthanded. David Makowski was serving a one game suspension for a major slashing penalty in the game on Saturday and Zach Pochiro stayed home with an upper body injury.


- Even with the obstacles Allen acquitted themselves quite well in the game. Here are a few of the positives:

Allen got off to a fast start scoring the first goal of the game at 4:35 of the opening period.
Allen had at least one goal in all three periods.
Allen outshot Wichita 40-38.
Shots by period were15-9 in the first period, 9-9 in the second and 13-11 in the third.
Allen took fewer penalties (5) than Wichita (7).
Allen was 2/6 on the power play, Wichita 1/3.


- With all of the positives the one big negative was Allen could not hold on to the lead. The Americans had leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3. Defensive miscues, which have been a recurring theme all season, kept happening. The goal that sent the game into overtime was scored with 75 seconds remaining in the game.


- Both teams had numerous grade A chances in overtime but were stoned by great goalie play. Allen went 0-3 in the shootout (Shmyr, Salituro, Asuchak). Wichita's second shooter (Greg Chase) scored and that is all it took. Allen's shootout record this season is now 1-2 and their shootout goals scored stands at 22.2% (2-9).


- Goal scorers for Allen were Dante Salituro (5), Pavel Jenys (2), Alexandre Ranger (1) and Thomas Frazee (2).


- Here is the game recap issued by the Allen Americans: https://allenamericans.com/americans-earn-a-point-in-shootout-loss-to-wichita/


- Here is the game recap issued by the Wichita Thunder: https://www.wichitathunder.com/news/press-release/thunder-wins-see-saw-battle-vs-allen.html



STEVE MARTINSON'S POST GAME COMMENTS


- I had the chance to touch base with coach Martinson after the game and while he did say there were some positives to build on from the game he was not happy with the outcome. Here are a few of the printable comments:

"That game was tough to take. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot."

"We keep making avoidable mistakes that lead to goals."

"We are not playing a very intellectual game."

"We are struggling with basic hockey concepts."

"We keep taking dumb penalties and many of them are right in front of the referee."

"Sometimes what is more painful than the actual penalties is the manner we take them. We don't consider where and when we takes penalties. Too many times they are right in front of the referee which adds insult to injury."


- The Americans headed back to Allen immediately after the game. They will have a few days to prepare for two games against Tulsa this weekend. They will play in Allen on Friday and Tulsa on Saturday.



OTHER COMMENTS


- One of the many statistics that are out of the norm for the Americans this season is their record when scoring first. Allen has been one of the best teams in the ECHL when scoring the first goal of the game. The Americans record since joining the ECHL when scoring first (prior to this season) is 127-16-6-5 for a winning percentage of a jaw dropping .820. This season Allen has scored the first goal six times with a record of 3-2-0-1 for a winning percentage of .538.


- It is hard to believe 20% of the season is already in the books for the Allen Americans and the hole they are going to have to dig themselves out of is still getting deeper. Here are the Mountain Division point standings with games played in parentheses:

17 points - Kansas City (10 games played)
17 points - Utah (11 games)
16 points - Tulsa (11 games)
14 points - Rapid City (13 games)
12 points - Idaho (14 games)
11 points - Wichita (10 games)
8 points - Allen (14 games)


- I was asked yesterday to compare the stats from this season to the same time last season. Remember last season the Americans barely made the playoffs. These stats compare this season and last season after 14 games played.

Record: 3-9-0-2 this season compared to 7-4-2-1 last season.
Goals for: Allen has scored 40 goals thus far, last season they had 47 after 14 games.
Goals against: The Americans have allowed 58 goals this season, compared to 40 last season.
Power play %: This season it is 14.9%, last season it was 15.7%.
Penalty kill %: This season it is 84.3%, last season 89.6%.

The goals for and against really stand out. The 2018-19 roster was billed as a very high scoring team but have scored seven fewer goals (40-47) than last season. The defensive woes are very apparent as the Americans have allowed 18 more goals (58-40) this season than last season. If you put goals for and against stats together you can see why the team is in last place. Last season the goal differential was +7 while this season it is -18.


- Braylon Shmyr missed five Allen games while in Springfield (AHL) but still leads the Americans in scoring. Here are the top five:

14 points (7G, 7A) - Braylon Shmyr
13 points (5G, 8A) - Spencer Asuchak
12 points (2G, 10A) - Alex Breton
11 points (7G, 4A) - Zach Pochiro
11 points (5G, 6A) - Dante Salituro


- If you have ever wanted to win a jersey at one of the auctions and were always outbid as the price got too expensive you might want to check out the current jersey auction taking place through the website Live Source. There are a lot of the veterans day specialty jerseys and a few of the pink specialty jerseys up for auction. This auction will end on Tuesday (November 13) at 9:00 pm. You can get more details and download the app here: http://www.livesourceapp.com/

As of this morning there were 21 jerseys with no minimum bid ($250) and another nine with only the $250 minimum bid so many of these should go at relatively inexpensive prices.


- Tomorrow I will post the second of our "Where Are They Now" series and it will be the opportunity to catch up with goalie Chris Whitley. Chris led the first year Allen Americans (2009-10) to the CHL championship finals.
    


DID YOU KNOW: Blowing a lead at home has traditionally been a very unusual event for the Allen Americans. The Americans have lost both games in regulation this season when they had a first period lead. They didn't lose two games in regulation when leading after the first period in either of the last two seasons. Here are the records when leading after the first period at home:

2018-19:   0-2-0-0
2017-18:   12-1-1-0
2016-17:   19-1-1-1