Stats, Stats and More Stats, Rookie Coaches with Shared Experience, Best Shootout Goalies

It is back to practice today for the Allen Americans as they prepare for a three games series against the Savannah Ghost Pirates starting tomorrow night (Wednesday). Have had numerous questions asking what the roster will look when the Americans take the ice against Savannah. I will attend practice today, try to get some answers and provide an update in the series preview tomorrow.

–  Took a look at Allen’s points leaders over the last seven games. Nine players had four or more points in the last seven games. Several players missed some of the games but still made the list.

• 10 points (4G, 6A) – Colton Hargrove (missed 2 games)
• 8 points (3G, 5A) – Hank Crone
• 7 points (2G, 5A) – Jack Combs (missed 2 games)
• 7 points (2G, 5A) – Colby McAuley
• 5 points (4G, 1A) – Jakov Novak
• 5 points (1G, 4A) – Colton Saucerman
• 4 points (2G, 2A) – Kris Myllari
• 4 points (2G, 2A) – Liam Finlay (missed 2 games)
• 4 points (0 G, 4A) – Grant Hebert

– Hank Crone and Liam Finlay are best of friends. They were college teammates (University of Denver), are roommates in Allen, room together on road games and are all over the ECHL rookie leader board:

• #1 & #2 – Rookie goals (42 & 31)
• #1 & #2 – Rookie power play points (31 & 26)
• #1 & #3 – Rookie points (92 & 78)
• #2 & #3 – Rookie power play assists ((20 & 20)
• #1 – Hank Crone, Rookie power play goals (14)
• #1 – Liam Finlay, Rookie shooting percentage (22.6%)
• #2 – Liam Finlay – Rookie game winning goals (7)
• #2 – Hank Crone – Rookie shots (218)
• #2 – Hank Crone – Rookie assists (50)

– Allen coach Chad Costello and Adirondack coach Pete MacArthur have become good friends. They have a lot in common including playing for the Allen Americans. MacArthur played 22 games in Allen in 2017-18 (the year Costello left for Europe) before suffering a season ending injury. They really got to know each other last summer when they both played in the 3ICE league. They had reason to seek each other out at 3ICE because both had been plucked from their respective ECHL locker room, where they were team captains, and selected as the head coach and general manager. It is a daunting task to move directly from the locker room to the coach’s office so finding someone else going through the same process was a natural.

– Another thing Costello and MacArthur have in common is their teams got off to horrible starts. At one point in December Adirondack’s record was 5-14-3-1 (.304) and Allen’s was 5-12-1-0 (.306). The playoffs appeared a long way off. Both teams have turned around the season in spectacular fashion and are on the cusp of making the playoffs. Since that low point in December Adirondack’s record is 24-12-6-1 (.640) and Allen’s is 28-18-0-1 (.606). Both teams have identical .523 points percentage and have a great chance to make the playoffs. Adirondack is 8-0-3-0 in its last 11 games and is one point out of a playoff spot. Allen is coming off a three-game road sweep in Rapid City and is in second place in the division, but just two points from fifth place. It would be a fitting ending for these two rookie coaches that have shared a unique experience this season and both make the playoffs.

– Talk about the tale of two seasons, Colton Hargrove is the perfect example. In his first 20 games while playing injured he scored four goals for a per game goal average of .20. In his last 37 games, Hargrove has scored 33 goals for a goals per game average of .89 per game. That is Connor McDavid level goal scoring. McDavid’s average goals per game is .81. Yes, it is apples and oranges but very impressive all the same.

– Here is the Mountain Division Notebook for the week from the ECHL with info and the schedule for the week: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2023/4/mountain-division-notebook-april-3

– Nine of the 16 teams that will make the Kelly Cup playoffs have already been determined. A reminder the last 15 Kelly Cup champions finished no lower than #7 in the regular season. Here are the nine teams qualified for the playoffs by current rank in the standings. Odds heavily favor one of the top five teams winning the Kelly Cup.

• #1 – Idaho
• #2 – Cincinnati
• #3 – Toledo
• #4 – Newfoundland
• #5 – South Carolina
• #6 – Indy
• #7 – Reading
• #11 – Maine
• #13 – Fort Wayne

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL Stats post is about the best shootout goalies this season. Over the ECHL years Allen has had two goalies with a 100% shootout save percentage. In 2020-21 Jake Paterson was 10-10 and in 2016-17 Riley Gill was 5-5.

2022-23 best ECHL shootout goalies by percent saved (minimum 5 attempts):100%: 11-11, Trent Minor, Utah100%: 6-6, Ryan Bednard, Greenville88%: 7-8, *Ryan Fanti, Fort Wayne88%: 7-8, Shane Starrett, Kansas City86%: 6-7, *Henrik Tikkanen, Worcester*RookieThe last ECHL goalie with a 100% shootout save percentage and more attempts than Trent Minor was in 2016-17. Playing for the Quad City Mallards, C.J. Motte, was 12-12 in shootout attempts.