Barry the Blogger – News and Notes

Had a chance to touch base with coach Martinson and came away with a few items of interest:

• The replay system was not operable in Tulsa on Saturday which prevented the review of an Allen goal that was ruled a no goal on the ice and the review of a Tulsa goal that was allowed. Martinson thought both of these calls could have gone the other way had the referee had access to replay.
• The Charlotte Checkers had two defensemen assigned from the Florida Panthers taxi squad yesterday. Charlotte shows 11 defensemen now on the roster. It is possible Nolan Kneen could be sent back to Allen.
• With Canadian colleges on pause because of COVID and uncertainty going forward, a lot of players are opting to turn pro. I read one account that said the number is already over 40. Martinson is always trying to improve the roster and is looking at some of these players.
• I always describe Martinson as a grinder because he is the type of coach that works hard every day to get better off and on the ice. He is all hockey all of the time. He is always looking forward and always trying to improve. His comment yesterday was time to start a new win streak.
• He won’t know for sure which of the players that have been out will be available this week until he gets a status today.

– After its 4-2 win over Allen on Saturday the Tulsa Oilers played Kansas City on Sunday afternoon. The Mavericks beat the Oilers 6-1. Tulsa’s plays three games this week, all against Allen (in Allen on Wednesday and in Tulsa on Friday and Sunday). It will be a tougher week for Allen as they play in Kansas City on Saturday in addition to the three games against Tulsa.

– This week will be a big one with Allen and Tulsa battling for the third and fourth playoff spot in the Mountain Division. Three of Allen’s four games this week are on the road but the Americans have been a good road team this season with a .577 points percentage. Idaho at .579 is the only team in the division with a better road points percentage.

– The ECHL All-Star game is just a week away (1/18) but still no announcement on the teams. With so many players on loan to the AHL you have to wonder how the league will handle this situation. As I have said previously the ECHL All-Star game has always been a prospects tournament more than a true All-Star game. The only veterans that typically participate are those voted in as starters. Unless the criteria is different this season, the obvious choice for Allen’s all-star representative is rookie Gavin Gould who is tied for second on the team in scoring with 24 points (7G, 17A). Gould is tied for fourth in points among all ECHL rookies and is tied for #1 in assists.

– Looking way ahead to the ECHL playoffs, one consideration is what players will be assigned from the AHL. The AHL recently extended its season by a week to allow time for teams to make up postponed games. The regular season will now conclude on April 30. The ECHL playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 20. It means fewer contracted players will be sent to ECHL teams. Only eight AHL teams miss the playoffs so for the other 23 they will be playing beyond April 30. How might this impact the Allen Americans? Charlotte plays in the Atlantic Division which has eight teams, six of the eight will make the playoffs. The Checkers are currently in fifth place so should make the playoffs which will extend the season. The first round of the Atlantic Division playoffs will be the best of three (top two teams will get a bye). Bottom line is don’t expect help from Charlotte until the second round of the ECHL playoffs. The good news is this will likely have less of an impact on Allen than many other ECHL teams that have more contracted players on the roster.

– When I was looking up stats for the ECHL Stats post this morning (most goals and assists since 2017-18) I decided to look at the same info for the Americans. To my surprise other than Spencer Asuchak no other players has spent much time in Allen since 2017-18. Here are the top five in goals and assists since 2017-18:

GOALS

• 70 – Spencer Asuchak
• 52 – Zach Pochiro
• 43 – Alex Guptill
• 31 – Les Lancaster
• 31 – Olivier Archambault

ASSISTS

• 103 – Spencer Asuchak
• 69 – Alex Breton
• 64 – David Makowski
• 61 – Joel Chouinard
• 60 – Les Lancaster

– Incidentally, Allen’s all-time leader in goals is Spencer Asuchak with 133 followed by Chad Costello with 111. The Americans all-time leader in assists is Chad Costello with 269 followed by Spencer Asuchak with 201.

– Fort Wayne and Toledo are always the bellwether ECHL teams when it comes to attendance. How these teams go has an impact on overall ECHL attendance. Discounting last season here are attendance numbers for recent seasons. The ECHL is clearly not back to pre-pandemic attendance yet.

2021-22

• 3779 – ECHL Average
• 7622 – Toledo
• 6647 – Fort Wayne

2019-20

• 4327 – ECHL Average
• 8090 – Fort Wayne
• 7448 – Toledo

2018-19

• 4445 – ECHL Average
• 7932 – Fort Wayne
• 7783 – Toledo

DID YOU KNOW: An exclusive club of six. ECHL players with 100 goals or 150 assists since 2017-18:

100 GOALS112: John McCarron, Florida110: Adam Pleskach, Tulsa108: Spencer Watson, Indy150 ASSISTS172: Jesse Schultz, Cincinnati156: Shawn Szydlowski, Fort Wayne155: Michael Pelech, Atlanta

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