One Third Down, Two Thirds to Go, Individual and Team Stats, ECHL Top Scorers and More

It is time for a fresh beginning for the Allen Americans. A win in Tulsa just before the Christmas break sets the Americans up to make the second third of the season a big improvement from the first third. Allen’s record over the first third of the season was 8-15-1-0.

–   With exactly one third of the season in the books it is a good time to take a look and the Allen stats leaders.

• Points
• 30: Hank Crone
• 29: Jack Combs
• 24: Liam Finlay

• Goals
• 15: Jack Combs
• 13: Hank Crone
• 11: Liam Finlay

• Assists
• 17: Hank Crone
• 14: Jack Combs
• 13: Liam Finlay

• Plus/Minus
• +4: Nick Albano
• +2: Liam Finlay, Chad Butcher, Dalton Gally

• PIMS
• 62: Nico Blachman
• 54: Jackson Leppard
• 37: Zach Pochiro

• Ave. Points Per Game
• 1.25: Hank Crone
• 1.21: Jack Combs
• 1.14: Liam Finlay

• Shots
• 74: Hank Crone
• 73: Colton Saucerman
• 72: Jack Combs

• Shooting Percentage (min. 40 shots)
• 23.9%: Liam Finlay
• 20.8%: Jack Combs
• 17.6%: Hank Crone

• Save Percentage
• .943: Kevin Mandolese
• .896: Logan Flodell
• .894: Luke Peressini

• GAA
• 2.20: Kevin Mandolese
• 3.55: Luke Peressini
• 3.59: Logan Flodell

– A couple of things standout when you look at the stats above. First is the reliance on scoring from Combs, Crone and Finlay. These three players account for 57% of Allen’s goals and 45% of the Americans points. In the next third of the season (24 games) Allen will need to have more balanced scoring to move up the standings. The other stat worth noting is plus/minus. As a team the Americans are -104 and have a goal differential of  -19 (69 goals for, 88 goals against). A positive goal differential should be a realistic goal for the next third of the season (24 games).

– Here is how the team ranks in some key stats. Definitely some room for improvement going forward.

• #21: Ave. goals scored (2.88)
• #24: Ave. goals allowed (3.67)
• #23: Ave. shots for (29.42)
• #25: Ave, shots against: (35.04)
• #11: Power play percentage (21.0%)
• #11: Penalty kill percentage (82.6%)
• #3: Ave. penalty minutes (16.58)
• #17: Team save percentage (.895)

OTHER COMMENTS

– It is not a big sample, but the Mountain Division has had mixed results in playing the other ECHL divisions. Here is the record:

• 6-3-0-0: North
• 0-5-0-0: South
• 8-5-1-0: Central

– Idaho has played 26 games thus far and has the best record in the ECHL 22-3-0-1. The Steelheads have played 70% of their games against just two teams, Utah and Rapid City. Idaho is 7-1-0-1 against Utah and 7-2-0-0 against Rapid City. Yet another quirk in the ECHL scheduling.

– I look at stats every day and few surprise me but the best and worst ECHL goals differential is striking. Idaho has scored 115 goals and allowed just 51. Norfolk has scored a league low 63 goals and allowed a league high 121 goals. FYI, the fewest goals allowed in a single ECHL season was in 2017-18 when South Carolina allowed 153 goals. At its current pace Idaho would break the all-time record.

– I will have a series preview tomorrow on the three games this week against Wichita, but one encouraging stat is Allen’s record against the Thunder this season. The Americans have eight wins this season with three of them coming against Wichita. Allen is 3-3-0-0 against the Thunder.

DID YOU KNOW: With two thirds of the ECHL season remaining, six players have 30+ points and are on pace for 90+ points. The League MVP is likely on this list and unless he spends considerable time in Toronto (AHL) or misses a lot of games because of injury, it should be Zach O’Brien. Here are the current ECHL leaders in points:41 points – Zach O’Brien, Newfoundland33 points – Ryan Dmowski, Idaho32 points – Brayden Watts, Wichita31 points – Matt Marcinew, Rapid City31 points – Michal Stinil, Wichita30 points – Hank Crone, Allen