It has been a tough week for the Allen Americans. After two disappointing losses to the Idaho Steelheads on Friday (6-4) and Saturday (6-5 in OT), getting back to Texas turned into a nightmare. There have been many stories over the years about winter storms causing problems getting to games in Idaho and Utah. This time it was the reverse. The weather was good out west, but a disaster in Texas. Sunday flight cancelled, Monday flight cancelled. Tuesday finally headed home, but rather than being nonstop, the routing was Boise-Chicago-Dallas, and the scheduled time had the team arriving at DFW at 11:30 pm. After leaving Chicago and dealing with all the bags upon arriving at DFW, the team didn’t return to the CUTX Event Center until early Wednesday morning.
– The team was able to get in a practice in Boise on Monday, and after a full practice yesterday, should be ready to go for another three-in-three starting tonight. Allen is 4-1-1-0 against Rapid City this season. Here are some comparison stats between Allen and Rapid City:
- Allen’s record is 20-14-4-0 (.579), Rapid City’s is 17-18-3-0 (.487).
- Allen is 6-3-1-0 over the last 10 games, Rapid City is 4-5-1-0.
- Allen is 10-4-1-0 at home, Rapid City is 8-8-2-0 on the road.
- Allen’s goal differential is +11 (138-127), Rapid City is -13 (116-129).
- Allen’s team plus/minus is +13, Rapid City’s is -48.
- Allen’s team save percentage is .909, Rapid City’s is .909.
– Here are more statistical comparisons between the two
teams.
- Goals scored average: Allen (3.6) – Rapid City (3.1)
- Goals allowed average: Allen (3.3) – Rapid City (3.4)
- Shots for average: Allen (32.7) – Rapid City (31.5)
- Shots against average: Allen (36.7) – Rapid City (39.0)
- Power play percentage: Allen (20.9%) – Rapid City (13.2%)
- Penalty kill percentage: Allen (84.1%) – Rapid City (73.8%)
– Here are some other relevant stats to this series:
- Allen is the #4 ranked team in penalty minutes (550), Rapid City is ranked #22 with 428 minutes.
- Allen has scored first in 47% of games with a record of 13-2-3-0 (.806)
- Rapid City has also scored first in 47% of games with a record of 12-4-2-0 (.722).
- Allen has been involved in 6 overtime games with a record of 0-4 in OT and 2-0 in shootouts.
- Rapid City has been involved in 8 overtime games with a record of 3-3 in OT and 2-0 in shootouts.
- Allen is 14-0-1-0 when leading after the 2nd period, Rapid City is 10-1-3-0.
- Allen is 3-11-1-0 when trailing after the 1st period, Rapid City is 2-13-1-0.
- Conclusions
from these stats tell you Allen needs to stay out of the penalty box;
the team that scores first has a big advantage, and Allen doesn’t play
well from behind, but is great with the lead.
– Here are the head-to-head stats for the six games Allen has
played against Rapid City this season.
- Allen has outscored Rapid City 22-15.
- Allen has outshot Rapid City 226-222.
- Allen is 4-23 (17.4%) on power play, Rapid City is 1-21 (4.8%).
- Allen took 30 penalties for 89 minutes, Rapid City took 30 penalties for 93 minutes.
– If you look at all the stats above, the one that stands out is Allen’s advantage on special teams. Allen has the #4 ranked power play and #6 ranked penalty kill in the ECHL. Rapid City’s power play and penalty kill are both ranked #29. Allen needs to capitalize on this advantage in this series.
– The other key to this series is Allen getting back to playing better team defense. The Americans have lost three straight games, allowing a total of 17 goals (5,6,6) in the three losses. In the six games against Rapid City this season, Allen allowed 2,2,3,7,0,1 goals. No reason the Americans should allow more than three goals per game this weekend.
– Players to watch in this series:
- #29 Brayden Watts – 9 points (3G, 6A) in six games against Rapid City.
- #18 Harrison Blaisdell – 5 goals in six games against Rapid City plus 6 game assist streak.
- #23 Sam Sedley – has at least one point in 8 straight games (12 points).
- #13 Ryan Wagner – while no player on the Rush team has scored more than 2 goals in the six games against Allen, #13 Ryan Wagner is #4 in the league in points (40).
– The Allen lineup will have a different look. Brad Morrison has been traded to Bloomington for future considerations. Those futures will be for a specific player, and it won’t be at the end of the season. In addition, two NHL contracted players (Djibril Touré & Jake Chiasson) have been assigned from Belleville to Allen by Ottawa. (See details below). Here is Allen’s tentative lineup tonight.
Forwards
26 Asuchak – 29 Watts – 18 Blaisdell
67 Crone – 7 Hargrove – 92 McAuley
9 Katic– 91 Gildon – 11 Chiasson
10 Spitserov – 19 Maxwell – 14 Gursoy
Defense
86 Anania – 40 Touré
8 Prefontaine – 23 Sedley
21 Decker – 22 Costantini
Goalies
32 Costantini
31 Parsons (backup)
– The game tonight will be a one-referee game. Emile Charron (#43) will call the game. The linesmen will be Will Anderson (#92) and Michael Miggans (#47).
PLAYER PROFILES
– Djibril Touré
| Djibril Touré |
Ottawa reassigned defenseman Djbril Touré from Belleville to Allen yesterday. He is 6’7”, 210 pounds, a 22-year-old, right-shot defenseman from Dorval QC. Touré signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract in September 2023. He spent the 2023-24 season in the OHL with Sudbury and Windsor. Last season he split time between Belleville (36 games) and Orlando (24 games). Touré has played in 18 games in Belleville this season with two assists and 40 penalty minutes, which was #2 on the team in penalty minutes per game. Here are some comments from scouting reports:
“Skates incredibly well for someone who stands 6’7″, showing the agility few other players have.”
“Made a name for himself with a scrap that made him look like Zdeno Chara.”
“Touré is extremely difficult to play against. He is very aggressive physically. He will step up on you at the blueline. He will punish you below the goal line. He makes life difficult for forwards at the crease.
The one comment in many stories about Touré is that he is a big guy who didn’t play in the OHL until he was older, he is a late bloomer with tons of potential. Quotes like his growth over the last two years has been remarkable, and he has shown consistent improvement in his game are commonplace.
Here is a video to get to know Touré. The interview with Djibril starts at the 9:30 mark of this podcast:
– Jake Chiasson
 |
| Jake Chiasson |
Ottawa reassigned forward Jake Chiasson from Belleville to Allen yesterday. He is a 6’2”, 187-pound, 22-year-old, right-shot forward from Abbotsford, B.C. Jake was the fourth round draft choice of the Edmonton Oilers (116 overall) in the 2021 NHL draft. He signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract commencing with the 2023-24 season. He spent his junior career in the WHL with Brandon Wheat Kings. In 174 WHL games, he totaled 111 points (40G, 71A). He spent the majority of his first pro season (2023-24) in the ECHL with Fort Wayne (68 games).
In July of 2024, Chiasson was traded to Ottawa in a multi-player deal. He spent last season (2024-25) splitting time between Belleville (19 games) and Orlando (20 games). He had no points in Belleville and seven (1G, 6A) in Orlando.
This season, Jake has played in 20 games in Belleville before being assigned to Allen. He had one assist in the 20 games.
Here is what the Belleville coach had to say about Chiasson when he was acquired: “He is a hockey player, he is a rink rat. He loves the game and knows the game. He is going to be a utility knife. He told me he can play all three forward positions. He knows what his identity is; he’s a checker and energy guy. If he plays to his strength, he can be an asset.”
Here is Chiasson’s exit interview from last season in Belleville:
OTHER COMMENTS
– There are 13 games on the ECHL schedule tonight. Two Mountain Division teams are playing teams outside the division. Kansas City is in Iowa, trying to improve on its league-best winning streak (14 games) and league-best road record (13-1-1-1). Chad Costello and his Greenville Swamp Rabbits are in Utah to take on the Grizzlies. Here are the previews for all 13 games.
– Hopefully posting this list will be a good luck charm tonight with lots of scoring. Allen players with 10 or more points in the last 10 games:
- 16 points (4G, 12A) – Hargrove
- 15 points (3G, 12A) – Crone
- 14 points (5G, 9A) – Watts
- 13 points (3G, 10A) – Sedley
- 11 points (1G, 10A) – Blaisdell
- 10 points (8G, 2A) – McAuley
- 10 points (8G, 2A) – Katic
– The Allen Americans are in the midst of a seven-game home streak with, trying to erase a three-game losing streak. These seven home games are against teams with point percentages lower than Allen’s (.579). The Americans should be favored in every game. Here are the opponents’ points percentage:
- .487 – Rapid City (3 games)
- .405 – Norfolk (3 games)
- .527 – Wichita (1 game)
If Allen is going to compete with the top three teams in the Mountain Division, 10 points should be the minimum goal on this home stand.
– Allen’s strength in the last couple of months has been its balanced scoring and lots of it. The Americans now have 10 players with 20 or more points: How does that compare with the other Mountain Division teams? Here are the number of 20+ point scorers for each team:
- 10 – Allen
- 9 – Tahoe
- 8 – Kansas City
- 5 – Idaho
- 5 – Utah
- 5 – Wichita
- 4 – Rapid City
- 2 – Tulsa