Allen vs Wichita Game Preview, Roster Update, Milestone Night, Comparing Attendance Across Leagues and More

Sorry for being so late in getting the blog posted today. It took me some time to get the latest on the game tonight. Here is what I learned through my reporting:

– Liam Finlay and Colton Saucerman are not expected to play tonight. They are close but not quite ready.

– Kevin Mandolese will get the start in goal. Mandolese has played in four games since being assigned to Allen by Ottawa. He has a record of 2-1 with a save percentage of .943 and a GAA of 2.20. He was the 6th round draft choice of Ottawa in 2018.

– Forward Joe Widmar was traded to Florida yesterday for cash considerations. Widmar played 14 games in Allen and had three points (0G, 3A) and a plus/minus of -16. It makes you wonder if trading Widmar is a precursor to bringing in another forward. Stay tuned.

– Not much to add about the series with Wichita that continues tonight in Allen that hasn’t been covered the last few days. It will be nice for the Americans to play at home the next two nights. Game time is 7:05 pm tonight and 6:05 pm on Saturday.

– Allen’s last played at home two weeks ago on December 16 and 17 and it was against Wichita. The Americans won 4-2 on Friday and lost 4-3 on Saturday. The way things have been going a split this weekend would be a success.

– Playing at home has not been an advantage for the Americans thus far. Allen has played 10 home games with a record of 3-6-1-0 (.350). They have played 15 road games with a record of 5-10-0-0 (.333).

– Wichita had the better of the special teams play on Wednesday. Allen was 0-6 on the power play and Wichita was 2-4. However, if you look back to the two home games against Wichita on December 16 and 17 the results were quite different. Allen was 3-10 on the power play and Wichita was 0-13.

– Over its last five games Wichita has scored a total of 27 goals, averaging 5.4 per game and never scored fewer than four goals. Over its last 10 games Allen has scored a total of 27 goals, averaging 2.7 goals per game. The forwards did not score in the 5-2 loss in Wichita on Wednesday. That will have to change tonight for Allen to be successful.

OTHER COMMENTS

– Congrats to Tommy Daniels who will be broadcasting his 1000th game for the Allen Americans tonight. He has been with the Americans since game one on October 16, 2009. It was a 1-0 win in Arizona against the Sundogs.

– Another familiar name to Allen fans has milestones to celebrate. Three-time ECHL Defenseman of the Year and three-time Kelly Cup champion Matt Register will play in his 500th ECHL game tonight for the Idaho Steelheads. On Wednesday Matt tallied his 300th career ECHL assist. Matt spent parts of four seasons playing for Allen. He played in 104 games and scored 69 points (7G, 62A) and was on the 2015-16 Kelly Cup championship team.

– Steve Martinson, American Family Solar, will have a booth at the Allen game on Saturday. His booth will be right outside Section 119 near the box office. Stop by and talk some hockey and solar.

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL stats post today compares average attendance between the AHL, ECHL and SPHL. It was interesting to note when researching attendance that Allen is averaging 3560 per game which is ranked #15 in the ECHL. Allen’s affiliate, the Belleville Senators, average just 2035 per game and is ranked #31 in the AHL. Only San Jose has a lower average attendance.

Comparing 2022-23 average attendance between the AHL, ECHL and SPHL:AHL5118 (Average)8716 (high – Cleveland)2064 (low – San Jose)ECHL4256 (Average)7410 (high – Toledo)1633 (low- Wheeling)SPHL2975 (Average)5345 (high – Huntsville)491 (low – Vermilion County, Danville, IL)