ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans play their lone preseason game tonight against the Kansas City Mavericks. The team left yesterday afternoon after practice for the 475-mile trip to Kansas City, which is a long way to travel for a single preseason game.
Allen’s new ride for the 2019-20 season
The Americans are using a different transportation company this season. Kincaid Coach is a family-owned motor coach/charter bus company that was founded in 1977 and has terminals in Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Amarillo, Dallas-Fort Worth, and in Northwest Arkansas.
– The roster for the preseason game tonight will be missing some key players. The three veterans (Spencer Asuchak, Mike Heddon, Shawn O’Donnell) are not with the team. Other players not on the trip are Olivier Archambault, Stepan Falkovsky, and Dereck Baribeau. With so many “regulars” not playing, it provides an opportunity for others. Four of the five tryout players (Eddie Matsushima, J.M. Piotrowski, Josh Victor, and R.T. Rice) will play tonight.
– The game tonight is crucial because it is Martinson’s only opportunity to compare players in a game situation before the start of the season. Decisions on lines, defensive pairings, special teams, trades, and cuts could be impacted based on how players perform in this preseason game.
– A reminder that the game tonight will not be broadcast. You can follow along on the ECHL website in the Game Center.
– As of today, Allen has three of their players (Matt Register, Josh Atkinson, Jake Doty) with AHL teams. But on the flip side, they have had seven NHL/AHL contracted players assigned to Allen by the Wild.
– AHLTV is free this weekend, so take advantage of watching current and former Allen players who have made opening night AHL rosters. Not sure if they will be in the lineup but great to see these players in the AHL. Here is a partial list.
Iowa Wild – Josh Atkinson, Matt Register
Ontario – Jake Doty
Utica – Vincent Arseneau, Dyson Stevenson
– There is a criminal investigation in Rapid City concerning the possibility of a $500.000 theft over several years from the Rapid City Rush. This came to light when new owners took over the team. Here are the details: https://www.kotatv.com/content/news/Rush-owners-raise-the-alarm-about-missing-cash-562104791.html
Did You Know?
I am sure most everyone remembers the fewest regular seasons wins for the Americans since joining the ECHL was 25 last year. Did you know the most wins (49) did not come in either of Allen’s championship seasons? Their 49-win season came in 2016-17 when the Americans lost in the division finals to Colorado, who went on to win the Kelly Cup.
