The Week Ahead, PIMS Stats, Breakdown of 80 ECHL Shutouts and More

It is a typical Monday morning when you say Allen has three critical games this week with the playoffs on the line. Seems like that has been the case for many weeks. The good news is Allen just swept Rapid City on the road and is in second place in the Mountain Division which would give the Americans home ice for the first round of the playoffs. The bad news is Allen is two points from being out of the playoffs.

–  It is unusual for the Americans to play a team outside of the division and conference this late in the season. First year Savannah Ghost Pirates visit Allen this week for games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. When the Allen schedule was released last summer, some pointed to this series as a good break for Allen since first year ECHL teams typically struggle. Savannah did just that, falling to last place in the South Division, a place it still holds. However, this series will not be an easy opportunity for a sweep. The standings are clearly deceiving as the Ghost Pirates arrive in Allen as one of the hottest teams in the ECHL. In the last month Savannah has a record of 8-3-0-0 (.727). Even more impressive is seven of the eight wins came against teams that are playoff bound. 

– Idaho has been Allen’s Achilles heel this season with a perfect 8-0-0-0 record against the Americans. Idaho is in a class by itself this season, but every other Mountain Division team has earned points against the Steelheads, ranging from three to eight points. If you eliminate games against Idaho, the Americans have a record of 23-8-0-1 (.734) over the last three months. Making the playoffs as the #2 or #3 seed has to be the goal for Allen to avoid Idaho until the second round. Winning the Kelly Cup after winning the Brabham Cup rarely happens, but the Brabham Cup winner almost never loses in the first round of the playoffs. The #4 seed will almost certainly have an early playoff exit against #1 seed Idaho.   

– Here is how the week looks for the five division teams battling for three playoff spots. It could be a tough week for Utah playing Idaho three times. Teams that sweep the week or win two of three games will take a big step toward the playoffs. By Saturday night these five teams will have just two games remaining (Wichita), three games remaining (Kansas City, Utah, Rapid City) or four games remaining (Allen) in the regular season. The games in hand advantage for Allen will be crucial. Here is the schedule for this week.

• Allen (.523) hosts Savannah (.470) on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
• Kansas City (.515) hosts Rapid City (.477) on Tuesday and visits Tulsa (.392) on Friday and Saturday
• Rapid City (.477) visits Kansas City (.515) on Tuesday, Wichita (.493) on Thursday and Friday
• Wichita (.493) hosts Tulsa (.392) on Wednesday, Rapid City (.477) on Thursday and Friday
• Utah (.508) visits Idaho (.826) on Wednesday and hosts Idaho on Friday and Saturday

– I recently posted about the style of play being different between the two ECHL conferences as indicated by penalty minutes. I had a couple of questions about the PIMS Stats. Here is some additional information:

• 1000 PIMS teams: Western Conference 6 – Eastern Conference 1
• Total PIMS: Western Conference 13,914 – Eastern Conference 12,080
• Western Conference has the #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6 ranked ECHL teams in PIMS
• Eastern Conference has the #24, #25, #26, and #28 ranked ECHL teams in PIMS

– Do high PIMS translate to championships? With one exception recent Kelly Cup champions have been 1000+ PIMS teams.

• 1644 PIMS – Allen, 2015
• 1189 PIMS – Allen, 2016
• 1415 PIMS – Colorado, 2017
• 1377 PIMS – Colorado, 2018
• 786 PIMS – Newfoundland, 2019
• 1305 PIMS – Fort Wayne, 2021 (PIMS adjusted to 72 games since Komets played only 51)
• 1071 PIMS – Florida, 2022

– Came across these stats while doing research on Savannah and Idaho. Very impressive attendance stats. Not sure if other teams have similar stats but these are impressive:

• Savannah – With one home game remaining the first year Ghost Pirates have sold out their arena (7300 hockey capacity) 32 of 35 games.
• Idaho – With two home games remaining the #1 team in the ECHL has sold out its arena (5002 hockey capacity) 32 of 34 games including 31 straight sellouts and counting.

DID YOU KNOW:  The ECHL Stat post today is about shutouts. Allen has had one shutout this season. On January 28 in a home game, Chase Perry had 37 saves as the Allen Americans shutout the Tulsa Oilers 6-0.

There have been 80 ECHL shutouts this season ranging from 17-46 saves. One goalie has two of the top three shutouts with the most saves. The top three in shutout saves:46 saves: Isaiah Saville, Savannah, defeated Fort Wayne 4-043 saves: Mark Sinclair, Cincinnati, defeated Fort Wayne 6-042 saves: Isaiah Saville, Savannah, defeated South Carolina 5-0Shutout breakdown by score*0-0: 1 time1-0: 7 times2-0: 12 times3-0: 20 times4-0: 14 times5-0: 13 times6-0: 9 times7-0: 3 times**11-0: 1 time*Savannah goalie Michael Bullion and Jacksonville goalie Parker Gahagen didn’t allow a goal in 60 minutes of regulation time and seven minutes of overtime. It took nine rounds of shootout before Savannah won the game 1-0.**Tyler Wall (South Carolina) had just 17 saves in an 11-0 win over Cincinnati.