Three Games Postponed, Three Players Recalled - Not a Good Weekend for the Allen Americans

 

I am sure you have heard by now that the Allen Americans three game series this weekend against Wichita has been postponed because of COVID safety protocols. Wichita had a COVID outbreak this week and was missing a number of players. The games will be made up later in the season. While disappointing to have games postponed the safety of everyone involved is paramount.

 

- In the press release issued by the Allen Americans announcing the postponement this weekend they also included 11 additional home games through April 3. The complete schedule (home and away) through April 3 for the entire league will be released this afternoon. Here is the link to the press release on the postponement and additional home games: https://allenamericans.com/news/press-release/weekend-games-vs-wichita-postponed-by-echl-11-additional-home-dates-announced-through-april-3/    

- With the addition of 11 more home games the Americans now have 22 of their 36 home games scheduled. The schedule for the remaining 14 homes games will come out later. I will have an analysis of the new schedule tomorrow when the away games are released but here is the breakdown of the number of times the Americans play each team at home through April 3. This includes games already played and those upcoming:

6 - Wichita (includes 3 games just postponed)

5 - Rapid City

5 - Utah

4 - Tulsa

2 - Kansas City

 

- With the postponement of the three games against Wichita the Americans will go the entire month of January without playing at home. Even more ironic is Allen's last home game (December 31) was against Wichita and their next home game (February 3) is against Wichita.

 

- Zach Sawchenko, Joe Garreffa and Jake McGrew have been recalled by San Jose and will be leaving on Sunday for the Barracuda training camp which is being held in Arizona. The good news is they are all qualified for the ECHL playoffs if they don't return during the season. I know coach Martinson will have the option to get players from San Jose later in the season. 

 

- With two weeks between games because of the postponement and Allen not playing again until next Saturday in Kansas City the team will have some days off and also some fun practices. I know coach Martinson plans a scrimmage of the Western League vs World tomorrow. These have always been fun games in the past and I have seen these scrimmages be divided into teams such as Canada vs US and rookies vs oldtimers. Many times lunch is on the line and it is always a fun practice for the players.    

 

- Allen signed goalie Justin Kapelmaster yesterday in anticipation of Zach Sawchenko being recalled by San Jose. Justin is a rookie who played for Robert Morris University in 2019-20. He set school records for save percentage (.930), GAA (2.48), saves per game (30.4) and was selected as the team MVP. Kapelmaster, 25, transferred to Robert Morris after three seasons at Ferris State University. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Three players signed by Allen this season were nominees for the 2020 Hobey Baker Award (hockey's Heisman Award), Phil Beaulieu. Frank Marotte and Justin Kapelmaster. It made me wonder about the award process. As it turns out there were 78 nominees as the first step. Here are the all of the details on the Hobey Baker selection process.

The selection process for the award is in three parts. First, the head coaches of NCAA Division I schools nominate the top three players in their league and the top three players in the nation. College hockey fans can also vote online at this time—and fan voting can be an important factor in the balloting outcome. Price Waterhouse Coopers tabulates the votes and the top 10 candidates are announced.

Voting then commences for the "Hobey Hat Trick," which is a narrowing of the field from ten players to three, from which the winner is selected. The primary voting in this part of the process is by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Selection Committee, a geographically balanced group of 29 individuals representing print and electronic sports media, college hockey coaches and officials, and NHL scouts. Fans may also vote online for their favorite candidate during this phase of the process.

After the three finalists for the award are announced ("Hobey Hat Trick"), the countdown begins toward the announcement of the award winner in a nationally televised ceremony.

Commissioner's Exempt List Growing, AHL Training Camp Begins, January Roster Changes, Attendance Down 50% and More

 

- After three days with no players added to the Commissioner's Exempt List the last two days have seen a total of 10 players from five different teams added to the list. Five of the 10 players added to the list are from Allen's opponent this weekend, the Wichita Thunder. Wichita is scheduled to travel to Allen today to begin a three game series tomorrow (Friday). With a minimum of five players unavailable the question is what are the chances of games being postponed? If you recall when Rapid City was in Allen for the home opener in December and was dealing with a COVID outbreak they played with just 14 skaters. It is very unlikely games will be postponed unless there are more players unavailable. I assume players are tested the morning before the team travels so hopefully there will be no additional issues. 

 

- If you have been tracking ECHL transactions you have noticed more and more contracted players being recalled to their AHL teams as training camps begin. I haven't seen any details on the Iowa Wild training camp but the San Jose Barracuda training camp is already under way. 

 

- With the start San Jose's three players assigned to Allen have had, it seems like just a matter of time before Zach Sawchenko, Joe Garreffa and Jake McGrew are recalled. Here are their stats:

Joe Garreffa - Joe leads all ECHL rookies in points (13) and is tied for the lead in goals (6). His 13 points is tied for #2 in the overall ECHL points lead. His six goals ranks him #2 overall in goals in the ECHL trailing only his teammate Jesse Mychan who leads the league with seven goals.

Jake McGrew - Jake is tied with Garreffa for the ECHL rookie lead in goals. If you look at team stats Jake is #2 in goals (6), #6 in points (8), #1 in plus/minus (+8) and #3 in shots (35).

Zach Sawchenko - Zach has a record of 5-2 with a GAA of 2.55 and save percentage of .926. He has played much better than his stats reflect. He was in goal for Allen's worst game of the season and had to suffer through as Motte was out and the Americans were playing with an EBUG. If you subtract the seven goals Sawchenko gave up in that game his GAA is 1.83 and his save percentage is .944.

 

- It will be great to have co-captains Spencer Asuchak and Dyson Stevenson back in the lineup for the series with Wichita. Asuchak has missed four games since being injured in a game in Wichita on January 5. Dyson will return after getting injured in his first shift of the season on December 12 in Tulsa. The Americans have been carried by the young guys so far with 28 of the teams 41 goals (68%) being scored by first or second year players. Having the leadership of these two veterans back on the ice should give the team a lift. Stevenson was the captain in Wichita for the two seasons he spent with the Thunder before moving up the the AHL so it should be fun watching Dyson be Dyson against his old team.  

 

- January was always expected to be an active month for roster changes but it has been relatively quiet. Allen has added four players; Conner Bleackley, Thomas Hodges (EBUG), Will Lochead and Frank Marotte and subtracted three players; Jake Gricius (released), Thomas Hodges (EBUG) and Frank Marotte (loaned to Bridgeport). 

 

- Look for the last half of January to have more roster changes than the seven in the first half of the month. Martinson has come to terms with a hard working gritty forward that will be familiar to Allen fans and will sign another goalie. You can also expect several roster moves of players going to and from AHL teams. 

 

- I will have a complete Allen vs Wichita series preview tomorrow but here is a stat to take note of regarding the Thunder. Wichita is the only undefeated road team in the ECHL with a road record of 4-0. In their four road games they have outscored their opponents 21-9. In their lone game in Allen (December 31) they beat the Americans 7-2. 

 

 DID YOU KNOW: Over the last 10 seasons (not including 2020-21) average ECHL attendance has ranged from a high of 4706 to a low of 4251. How much have attendance restrictions because of the pandemic hurt ECHL attendance this season? ECHL average attendance this season is 2251, down about 50% from past seasons.

If you look at Allen's average attendance it is down a little more than 50% compared to past seasons. Here is a Allen's average attendance the last five seasons:

2020-21: 1968

2019-20: 4001

2018-19: 4073

2017-18: 4082

2016-17: 4340

     

Possible Impacts as ECHL Adds Two Teams, Next Phase of Allen's Schedule, Chad Costello Injury Update, Steve Martinson Trivia and More

 

It was a big day yesterday as the ECHL approved new franchises in Coralville, Iowa and Trois-Rivières, Quebec who will begin play in 2021-22. It remains to be seen if all ECHL teams return after the pandemic but the ECHL now has 28 teams, two steps closer to their goal of matching the 32 teams in the AHL/NHL.

 

- Coralville is a suburb of Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa. Geographically it would make sense for Coralville to affiliate with the Minnesota Wild. The Wild's AHL franchise, Iowa Wild, is in Des Moines which is just over 100 miles from Iowa City. Steve Martinson and the Allen Americans have a great relationship with the Wild organization so hopefully the affiliation will continue. It is no secret that Steve Martinson is in the last year of his contract and was not given an extension after being selected as the ECHL General Manager of the Year last season. Add the fact that Martinson's home is in Rockford, Illinois just 175 miles from Iowa City and you have reason for concern if you are an Allen fan. Hopefully everything will be worked out. 

 

 

 

- Trois-Rivières, Quebec is located about 90 miles from Montreal and is expected to be affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal does not currently have an ECHL affiliation.

 

 

 

- It will be interesting to see how the new 28 team ECHL gets divided into what you assume will be four divisions of seven teams. If you look at the map the most logical division would be to leave the Mountain Division intact, add Coralville to the Central Division, Trois-Rivières to the North Division and leave the South Division intact. The unknown question is whether any of the current 26 teams drop out next season. They have all indicated their intention to play in 2021-22.

 

- More and more you see NHL teams trying to get their affiliates geographically close. This potentially saves time and money as players move between the NHL, AHL and ECHL. I doubt it will happen but logically wouldn't it make sense to have Coralville affiliate with the Minnesota Wild, Allen affiliate with the Dallas Stars and Idaho affiliate with the Seattle Kracken?

 

 

 

- Here is the ECHL press release with more details about the two new franchises: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-approves-two-expansion-memberships 

 

 

 

- Allen President Mike Waddell shared the next phase of the Americans schedule comes out this week and will cover games through April 3. The balance of the schedule will come out later. In this next phase of the schedule the Americans will have three games against non Mountain Division opponents, all on the road. The schedule is very regional centric to cut costs.

 

- After I did the update on Monday about former Allen players that are playing in Europe I got several questions about Chad Costello. Chad signed to play in Stavanger, Norway this season. After just 11 games, on December 3, he suffered a serious knee injury and is out for the season. The nature of Chad's injury required some healing before they could do surgery. Here is the latest from Ashley Costello, 

"Chad is scheduled for surgery on Monday which is about six weeks after the injury happened. We are getting anxious but excited to finally be back on the road to recovery. He is getting around great, which is what the surgeon wanted."

I know all of the Costello's "Allen Americans family" wish him best of luck on his surgery and hope for a speedy recovery.

 

- Allen continues to prepare for their three game series against the Wichita Thunder which starts on Friday. Wichita added a player to the Commissioner's Exempt List yesterday according to ECHL transactions. Hopefully no other players will be impacted and affect the games this weekend. 

 

 

 

- Roman Durny of the Tulsa Oilers was named ECHL Goalie of the Week yesterday. There were six goalies nominated and three of them have played for the Allen Americans. Evan Weninger (Wichita) was the runner up. C.J. Motte (Allen) and Andrew Shortridge (Kansas City) were nominees. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here is some ECHL and Steve Martinson trivia.

 

After adding ECHL teams in Iowa and Quebec yesterday the league now has 28 teams. To find a season when the ECHL had more than 28 teams you have to go all the way back to 2003-04. The league expanded to the western United States as the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) folded and their six remaining teams were absorbed by the ECHL. The WCHL champion in their last season (2002-03) was the San Diego Gulls. The coach of that team was Steve Martinson. 

After absorbing the WCHL teams in 2003 the ECHL played that season with 31 teams which is the most in league history. The league started declining the following season and had been reduced to 22 teams before the Central Hockey League folded and their remaining teams joined the ECHL for the 2014-15 season to make a total of 28 teams. The CHL champion in their last season was the Allen Americans. The coach of that team was Steve Martinson. 

Allen Signs Goalie and Defenseman, Asuchak and Stevenson Share Captaincy, Barracuda Start Training Camp and More

 

Thought today would be a slow one for new content but you learn things can happen quickly in the blogosphere. Two player signings, team leadership and AHL startup all provided for new information since yesterday. Here goes:

 

Team Leadership - Coach Martinson has decided how leadership will work going forward. Co-captains will be Spencer Asuchak and Dyson Stevenson with one wearing the "C" at home and the other wearing the "C" on the road. They will switch home and away each month. This month Dyson will wear the "C" at home and Spencer will wear the "C" on the road. If they aren't wearing the "C" they won't wear an "A" as three players, Kayle Doetzel, Turner Ottenbreit and Tyler Sheehy will share wearing the "A's" (only two "A's" per game). 

 

Frank Marotte - What may go down as one of the shortest stints for a player signed by Allen before getting an AHL deal goes to goalie Marotte. He just finished his collegiate career in 2019-20 and was the ECAC Goaltender of the Year, playing for Clarkson University. His record was 23-3-8 with a GAA of 1.78 and save percentage of .938. Marotte was hoping for an AHL deal but when it didn't happen he signed with Allen. However, now that the AHL is getting ready to play and NHL teams must carry three goalies the New York Islanders/Bridgeport Sound Tigers signed Marotte as a depth goalie. He is the fifth goalie in their organization. Including the taxi squad the Islanders will have three goalies and the other two will be in Bridgeport. That means it is unlikely Marotte will ever be assigned to Allen even though the Americans hold his ECHL rights. Martinson is in the process of bringing in another goalie.

 

Will Lochead - Allen added 6'0" 200 pound left shot defenseman yesterday and he is already in town practicing with the team and should be available this weekend against Wichita. The 22 year old, second year pro signed an AHL deal with Springfield last season and played 28 AHL games and 22 ECHL games (Greenville). During his junior career in the OHL the Ontario native played in 210 games and had 40 points (16G, 24A) to go along with a plus/minus rating of +40 and 313 penalty minutes. If you want to learn a lot more about Will as a person, not just a hockey player, and have plenty of time, checkout this 50 minute interview. It is different than most interviews with a great message if you have a hockey player in your house. 

- The San Jose Barracuda have announced their training camp details. The team will hold their training camp in Arizona and will have seven preseason games. Training camp started yesterday and will run through February 4. The training camp roster includes 14 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies but does not include the three players assigned to Allen, Zach Sawchenko, Joe Garreffa and Jake McGrew. This doesn't mean these three players won't be recalled. It is possible San Jose prefers to have them stay in Allen where they can play games and then recall them later this month. Here is a link to the San Jose press release with all of the details: http://www.sjbarracuda.com/news/detail/barracuda-announce-2020-21-training-camp-details-roster-and-exhibition-schedule

 

- Iowa has not announced the details of their training camp but the Minnesota Wild assigned 10 players to Iowa yesterday so details should be out soon. 

 

-  Tommy Daniels recently interviewed Dyson Stevenson about his return from injury and his new blog adventure, "Bubble Life." 

- It has been a while since coach Martinson has had extra players for games but that should be the case  this weekend. With injury and illness you never know for sure what the roster will look like on game day. Joe Garreffa, who was injured in Rapid City, may not be available for Wichita. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen has had 25 players (23 skaters) play at least one game this season. All but four of the skaters have at least one point and 14 of the 23 have a goal. 

 

Practice and Roster Update, Former Allen Players in Europe, Scoring First Stats and More

 The Allen Americans are back home for the week as they prepare for three games this weekend against Wichita. It will a busy week of practice for coach Martinson and also a busy week for general manager Martinson. With no game until Friday some days will be full practices and some will be   will have some down time this week for most of the players. Martinson will work on areas that need improvement and will also experiment with some new line combinations and defensive pairings. Spencer Asuchak and Dyson Stevenson will be back at practice this week and are expected to be available for the game on Friday. 

 

- General Manager Martinson has also been busy. The top collegiate goalie he recently signed and will to be announced today has already been signed by an AHL team so Martinson has found another goalie to replace Zach Sawchenko if/when he gets recalled by San Jose for their training camp. Martinson has also signed another defenseman that will be announced today. With so many rookies and contracted players, Martinson doesn't have a salary cap problem but could have a budget problem (salaries, housing, etc.) that will require him to trim the roster as he is adding new players. 

 

- San Jose and Iowa have not announced when their AHL training camps will start but it has to be in the next 10-14 days if they plan to begin play in early February. With eight NHL/AHL contracted players on the Allen roster (5 Iowa, 3 San Jose) it is one more thing Martinson has to consider.    

 

FORMER ALLEN PLAYERS IN EUROPE

- If you are wondering how former Allen players are doing in Europe this season, here is an update on some of them. The years they played in Allen are in parenthesis:

Alex Breton (2018-20) - Alex is playing in Slovakia for HC Banksa Bystrica. He has played in 24 games and has 22 points (6G, 16A). Alex leads his team in points as a defenseman. His team is in 11th place in a 12 team league.

Kale Kerbashian (2012-16) and Rylan Schwartz (2014-15) are teammates on Lausiter Fuchse which is a team in Germany's second level pro league (DEL2). Kerbashian leads the team with 23 points (8G, 15A) in 18 games and Schwartz is second with 18 points (9G, 9A) in 14 games. Their team is in eighth place (the last playoff spot) in the 14 team league.

Dante Salituro (2018-19) - Dante plays in the top league in Norway for Narvik which is a town that is above the Arctic Circle. Salituro leads his team in points with 20 (12G, 8A) in 27 games. His team is in ninth place in a 10 teams league and has lost 23 of 27 games.

Daniel Leavens (2017-18) and Travis Brown (2016-17) play in the same league as Salituro for Stjernen Hockey. Their team is in sixth place in the 10 team league. Leavens is second on the team with 34 points (11G, 23A) in 24 games. Brown is fourth in points among defensemen with seven points (3G, 4A) in 23 games.

Stepan Falkovsky (2018-20) - Stepan plays for his hometown pro team, Dinamo Minsk, in the KHL which is considered by most the second best hockey league in the world after the NHL. Stepan is the second leading scorer among defenseman on the team with eight points (4G, 4A) in 20 games. Stepan's  teammate, defenseman Brennan Menell. who like Falkovsky was in the Minnesota Wild organization the last three seasons has 28 points (5G, 23A) in 35 games and is the second leading scorer in the KHL among defensemen. Dinamo Minsk is in fifth place in their 11 team division. The KHL has two divisions and a total of 23 teams. 

A who's who of former Allen Americans play for SC Csikszereda which is a professional team in Miercurea-Ciuc, Romania, Colton Yellow Horn (2009-12), Jack Combs (2014-15) and Judd Blackwater (2010-11). Blackwater leads the group with 18 points (5G, 13A) in 13 games. Yellow Horn has 15 points (6G, 9A) in 12 games. Combs arrived later and has nine points (5G, 4A) in just five games. Their team record is 8-5-2. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Wichita beat Kansas City 6-2 yesterday to improve their record to 6-2-1-0. Allen and Wichita have been the class of the Mountain Division so far and the three game series they play this weekend at the Allen Event Center will determine first place. 

 

- The season always seems to move quickly once it starts. After this weekend the Americans will have already completed 22% of the home season. 

 

- After the three home games this weekend against Wichita the Americans play five straight road games:

January 23 - at Kansas City

January 24 - at Tulsa

January 29,30,31 - at Utah   

- NHL taxi squads begin tomorrow. Every NHL team must have 4-6 players on the taxi squad and carry a minimum of three goalies between their active roster and taxi squad. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL teams that score first win close to 80% of the points (wins plus OT & SO losses). Here are the teams with the best record this season when scoring the first goal of the game:

6-0-0-0: Wichita

3-0-0-0: Orlando

5-0-1-0: South Carolina

6-1-0-0: Allen 

 

Here are the teams with the best record last season (2019-20) when scoring first:

29-1-3-1: Reading

26-3-1-1: Allen

30-4-2-0: South Carolina

26-4-1-0: Toledo

 

Allen has always done well when scoring first but the 2016-17 season was extraordinary. The Americans scored first in 45 of their 72 games (63%) and had a record of 40-2-2-1.  

Allen Wins Rubber Match, Game Recap, A Barry the Blogger Rant, Allen's Shorthanded Goals History and More

 It was an identical score as Friday night but it couldn't have been a more different game as the Allen Americans beat the Rapid City Rush 4-2 last night before a crowd of 4213 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. As an aside it is shocking to me to see so many unmasked people in an indoor space. The arena was somewhere around 80% to 85% full and there is no requirement to wear a mask in South Dakota. It is little wonder how in a nation that leads the world in coronavirus cases per capita (unless you count a few small countries like Montenegro, Luxembourg, Czechia) South Dakota and their neighbor to the north (North Dakota) lead the United States in coronavirus cases per capita. Put another way, if South Dakota were a country they would have more coronavirus cases per million population (approx.116,000) than any country on earth. This may also explain why the Rush lead the ECHL in players placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List with 16.

 

-  Sorry for the aside but being 73 years old and having lost a cousin, a neighbor and a high school friend to coronavirus along with numerous friends that have survived but are struggling with the after effects I don't understand the choices some people make. I know fans that believe they were infected with coronavirus at hockey games so if you choose to attend take all of the suggested precautions. For me the best choice is to stay away until I get vaccinated. The good news is I got my first shot on Wednesday and will get my second on February 3 so it won't be long and I will be back at the AEC for a hockey game rather than being the only one from the media covering practice. Okay, I am off the soapbox and back to the hockey game last night. 

 

- After giving up a 2-0 lead and coming from behind to win on Friday the Americans were determined to get off to a better start last night. Mission accomplished as Allen dominated the first period, out shooting Rapid City 17-9 and taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Everything went downhill in the second period and when the dust settled the Americans had given up two goals and went into the second intermission tied 2-2. 

 

- After a total of 14 penalties and 40 penalty minutes in the first two games combined there were 20 penalties and 71 penalty minutes in the second period last night including two game misconduct penalties. Rush players Garrett Klotz and Brennan Saulnier got the game misconducts. Wouldn't be surprised to see some additional discipline from the league office.

 

- The third period went back to playing hockey and Allen took the lead 3-2 midway through on a Les Lancaster goal and put the game away on a shorthanded empty net goal from Samuel Laberge with 100 seconds left in the game. 

 

- Allen scored a shorthanded goal in all three games in Rapid City. It was a successful road trip with the Americans earning four of six points. Allen headed home early this morning on a 6:00 am flight. Their last five games have been on the road and they finished the five games with a record of 4-1. The Americans now prepare for three home games against Wichita next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

- The goal scorers last night were Joe Garreffa (6), Corey Mackin (6), Les Lancaster (2) and Samuel Laberge (2). Garreffa also assisted on Lancaster's goal and is now tied for the league lead in points with 13 (6G, 7A). 

 

- There are no highlight packages posted by the Americans, Rush or the ECHL but there should be later today. If you want to read more details on the goals and the hectic second period here is the game recap issued by the Rapid City Rush:  https://www.rapidcityrush.com/en/news/2021/1/rush-comeback-falls-short-in-series-finale  

 

- After not getting a point on Friday, Tyler Sheehy had an assist last night and is tied for the league lead in assists with nine. Sheehy has at least one point in nine of  11 games. Joe Garreffa leads all ECHL rookies in points (13), assists (7) and is tied with teammate Jake McGrew in goals (6).

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- With their win last night Allen improved their record to 8-3-0-0 and is in a three way tie for the points lead (16) with Florida and Indy. Allen's .727 winning/points percentage trails Indy (.889) and South Carolina (.778).

 

- Look for Allen to announce the signing of a third goalie in the next day or two. A top collegiate goalie signed by coach Martinson indicates to me he is expecting to see AHL contracted goalie Zach Sawchenko being recalled when the San Jose Barracuda start their training camp. The AHL is tentatively scheduled to start play in early February but have not released a schedule or date for the start of training camps. 

- The series next weekend should be a great one. Wichita has gotten off to a good start with a record of 5-2-1-0. Two of their three losses came at the hands of the Americans. Anytime these teams play three games in three days (less than 48 hours) you know there will be fireworks. Dyson Stevenson, former Wichita captain, should be back in the the lineup to add even more drama to the weekend.

 

- Spencer Asuchak and Phil Beaulieu are also expected to return against Wichita. Have to assume there will be other roster changes this week as well.

 

DID YOU KNOW: Allen has scored shorthanded goals in three straight games, their first of the season. Here are the shorthanded goals scored by the Americans since joining the ECHL with league rank in parenthesis:

3 - 2020-21, 11 games (#2)

9 - 2019-20, 62 games (#7)

8 - 2018-19  (#16)

7 - 2017-18  (#20)

9 - 2016-17  (#11)

9 - 2015-16  (#5)

13 - 2014-15  (#2)

 

In 2013-14 when they were still playing in the CHL the Americans had 11 shorthanded goals in 66 games. Rookie Spencer Asuchak had five of the 11 which is still  Allen's single season record for shorthanded goals. 

 

  

Allen Back on the Winning Track, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Interviews, Rubber Match Preview, Shorthanded Hat Trick and More

 

The Allen Americans beat the Rapid City Rush last night 4-2 before a crowd of 3182 mostly unmasked, not socially distanced fans at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. It didn't look good for the Americans when they gave up the first goal just 34 seconds into the game and fell behind 2-0 at the 7:24 mark. To their credit Allen didn't allow another goal and scored four unanswered goals of their own for the win. The game wasn't decided until there were 59 seconds left in the game when Josh Lammon scored a shorthanded, empty net goal. It was Lammon's second straight game scoring a shorthanded goal.

 

-  The game was more typical of these teams in regards to penalties. There were only 10 penalties but four of them were fighting majors. 

 

- The goal scorers for Allen were Corey Mackin (4&5), Connor Bleackley (1) and Josh Lammon (2). Matt Register assisted on one of Mackin's goals and Bleackley's goal and is now tied for the ECHL lead in points by defensemen with eight.

 

- Here are the video highlights with all of the goals and both of the fights. I have heard the highlight video I embed in the blog doesn't work for some of you. It works fine on tablets, laptops and desktops but some phones don't get the video. Here is a link to the Allen Americans YouTube Channel where you can always find the video highlights and post game interviews I embed in the blog. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4skvqPU3CGKx-vRDPCD4tA  

 

- Highlight Video:

- Here is the game recap issued by the Rapid City Rush: https://www.rapidcityrush.com/en/news/2021/1/allen-forces-rubber-match-with-game-two-win

 

- When I checked in with coach Martinson this morning he was happy with the way the team responded after getting down 2-0 early but emphasized the importance of being ready to play and getting off to a better start. Allen is now 3-1 this season against the Rush but Rapid City has scored first in three of the four games. There were no injuries in the game last night that would keep anyone out of the lineup but there were a couple of incidents that may carryover. Martinson had not decided who will get the start in goal.

 

- Here are Martinson's post game comments:

 

 

- Special teams played a key role in the game last night with Allen scoring a power play goal and a shorthanded goal while holding Rapid City scoreless on their two power play opportunities. The Americans have now scored a power play goal in five straight games going 5-25 for a percentage of 20.0%. Over the last five games the penalty kill is 2-19 for a penalty kill percentage of 89.5%. With the two shorthanded goals against Rapid City the penalty kill unit has scored as many goals as they have allowed over the last five games. Josh Lammon scored shorthanded goals in back to back games. Here is the interview Tommy Daniels conducted with Josh after the game:

 

 

- The big focus in the rubber game of this three game series against the Rush is getting off to a better start. Time for Allen to score the first goal of the game after Rapid city has scored first the last three times these teams have played. A good start by scoring the first goal and ending the first period with a lead is a huge advantage. Last season the Americans were 26-3-1-1 when scoring first and when leading after the first period their record was 22-3-2-0. 

 

- The referee tonight will be the same as the first two games, Casey Terreri (#14). He called four penalties for eight minutes the first game and 10 penalties for 32 minutes the second game. Overall he doesn't call a lot of penalties but if you were betting whether or not there will be 10 penalties tonight the odds would favor taking the over.

 

- Another full slate of six games on the ECHL schedule tonight. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2021/1/echl-today-jan-9 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Tyler Sheehy had his eight game assist streak snapped last night. Here is info from my ECHL stats post about long assist streaks;

Most recent ECHL players with assist streaks of 10 or more games:

 

10 - Brett Pollock, Allen, (2019-20)

11 - Austin Ortega, Utah, (2017-18)

10 - Joe Cox, Florida, (2017-18)

19 - Chad Costello, Allen, (2015-16)

16 - Chad Costello, Allen, (2014-15)

 

In 2015-16 Chad Costello had an assist in 19 straight games from February 26 to the end of the season on April 9. Costello had a total of 29 assists in the 19 games. It was the second longest assist streak in ECHL history.

 

-  If you haven't seen Dyson Stevenson's most recent blog post from inside the bubble here is the link. Dyson talks about what it was like playing with Riley Gill: https://allenamericans.com/news/blog/bubblelife-2-catching-up-with-an-echl-legend/

 

- With the win last night Allen's record of 7-3-0-0 has them tied for #2 in points (14) and ranked #5 in winning/points percentage (.700). The Americans have play 10 games, only Florida with 11 games has played more. Utah has only played six games. The league has said all teams will not end up playing the same number of games this season so standings will be determined by winning/points percentage. 

- Attendance at the six ECHL games last night ranged from a high of 3182 in Rapid City to a low of 1196 in Wichita. The ECHL average attendance (54 games) is now 2191.

DID YOU KNOW: Josh Lammon scoring back to back shorthanded goals gives me an excuse to bring out the video of one of four players in ECHL history that have had a shorthanded hat trick. Chad Costello accomplished the feat in 2012 playing for Colorado.