Practice Update, Mountain Division Schedule, Chris Brown Behind the Bench, Brabham Cup Winners

It was back to practice yesterday for the Allen Americans and I think it is fair to say the team is coming into the final 10 games of the season as healthy as they have been in a very long time. From my observation and talking to the coaches afterwards the practice was fast paced, very spirited and fun. Maybe it is because Allen is relieved after playing five of its last eight games against Idaho without a win. Time to look forward to Rapid City and the team looks ready.

– With five teams battling for three playoffs spots being separated by just five points, this week will be critical. Here are the matchups this week with current points percentage:

• Allen (.500) visits Rapid City (.484) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
• Kansas City (.524) visits Idaho (.833) on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
• Wichita (.516) visits Utah (.369) on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
• Tulsa (.492) visits Maine (.595) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

– Allen has 10 games remaining, five at home and five on the road. Here is a breakdown including Allen’s record against each team:

• Rapid City: Three games at Rapid City (March 30, 31, April 1. Allen is 2-3-0-0 against the Rush this season.
• Savannah: Three home games (April 5, 7, 8). First games ever against Savannah.
• Tulsa: One game at Tulsa on April 9. Allen is 4-4-0-0 against the Oilers this season.
• Kansas City: one game at home on April 12. Allen is 4-1-0-0 against the Mavericks this season.
• Wichita: Allen finishes the season with two games against the Thunder. In Wichita on April 14 and in Allen on April 15. Allen’s record against Wichita this season is 6-6-0-0.

–  Several of you have asked me about the new coach that has been behind the Allen bench recently. The new coach is Chris Brown, a friend of Chad Costello who is volunteering his time to help out. Chris grew up in Flower Mound and returns home after each hockey season. Brown, Costello and Jack Combs played together in Germany in 2017-18 for the Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL. While Costello and Combs have returned to North American, Brown is still playing in the DEL.

Chris played his college hockey at the University of Michigan under famed coach Red Berenson. He was the second-round draft choice (#36 overall) of the NHL Phoenix Coyotes in 2009. Brown was a member of the U18 USA team that won the gold medal at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships. The US team beat Russia in the finals 5-0. Brown had a goal and assist in the game. The Russian team included future NHL stars Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeni Kuznetsov, Dmitri Orlov and Nikita Zaytsev to name a few.

As an AHL rookie in 2012-13 playing for the Portland Pirates, Brown led all AHL rookies with 29 goals. Over his 11-year pro career Brown has the following games played:

• AHL: 299 games, 160 points (82G, 78A), 356 PIMS
• DEL: 261 games, 164 points (63G, 101A), 299 PIMS
• NHL: 23 games (Phoenix & Washington) 3 points (2G, 1A), 21 PIMS

– Here is the Mountain Division Update issued by the ECHL: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2023/3/mountain-division-notebook-march-27

– Former Allen forward Zane Franklin leads the ECHL in shooting percentage. Franklin has 16 goals in 66 shots for a 24.2 shooting percentage. Franklin’s stats against Allen were eight games played, nine points (5G, 4A) and +11.

– The NCAA Frozen Four takes place in Tampa on April 6 (Minnesota vs Boston U. and Michigan vs Quinnipiac) with the winners meeting championship game on April 8. With the season for all other teams now completed there are a lot of free agent hockey players looking for ATO’s (amateur tryout contract) in the AHL and ECHL.

– I will have a complete Allen vs Rapid City series preview on Thursday. One stat that the Rush rank #1 in the league is overtime and shootouts. Rapid City is 5-1 in overtimes and 2-0 in shootouts for a points percentage of .875.

– Idaho has all but locked up the Brabham Cup which is awarded to the ECHL regular season champion. Here are the Brabham Cup winners since Allen joined the ECHL in 2014-15. What do these teams all have in common? None added the Kelly Cup to the Brabham Cup.

• 2021-22: Toledo
• 2020-21: Florida
• 2019-20: Not awarded (COVID)
• 2018-19: Cincinnati
• 2017-18: Florida
• 2016-17: Toledo
• 2015-16: Missouri
• 2014-15: Toledo

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL teams have between 7-10 games remaining in the regular season. There are lots of close races in making the Kelly Cup playoffs and seeding in the playoffs. A reminder of how the ECHL break ties?1. Regulation wins2. Regulation + OT wins3. Goal differential4. Points, head-to-head (for two teams that have not played the same number of home games against the other tied team, the first game(s) played in the city that has the extra home game(s) shall not be included)5. Winning percentage, division (if tied teams are from same division; if not, skip to 6)6. Winning percentage, conference7. Goals for, regular season8. Goals against, regular season9. Coin toss