The Allen Americans are finding their stride at the quarter mark of the season. They’ve climbed to the top of the standings. They have an award winning goalie anchoring the team between the pipes. Along the way, they’ve changed up the look of the team on ice.
Roster Moves:
Allen completed some transactions to change the look of the team on the ice recently. Forward Mike Kompon returned to his old team in Germany. Allen completed a trade with the Missouri Mavericks that saw young promising forward Lachlan MacIntosh come to Allen and defensemen Steve Kaunisto and goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson go to Missouri. Defensemen Dominic DAmour was signed to a contract last week. Allen has shown that they are not afraid to make moves to continue to improve the team in all areas on the ice, and it will be interesting to see what other moves are made throughout the rest of the season.
More observations of the Americans so far this season after the jump.
Red Hot Glove:
Marco Cousineau, assigned to the Americans from the Anaheim Ducks, has been on fire. He was named the Sher-Wood/CHL goalie of the month for November. He’s had 8 starts with the Americans since getting assigned and his record is 6-1-1. His save percentage is at .926 and he has a GAA of 2.46.
Shooting Up The Standings:
The Americans now sit atop the league with 23 points in 17 games played. They currently boast a .676 points percentage, 4th highest in the league.
Special Teams:
The Americans currently sit in the bottom half of the league in their powerplay percentage at 20.27%. This is down slightly from last season which clipped on at 23% and was tops in the league. If Allen wants to continue to stay atop the league, their powerplay will need to get slightly better, as most teams in the league have seen improvement in this area of last year’s season. Allen also has one of the most shorthanded goals allowed in the league, much like last season when they gave away the most shorthanded goals in the league. On the flip side, the American’s penalty kill has been the third best in the league. This is an area where Allen has seen improvements this season from last year when they were middle of the pack.
Upcoming Schedule:
December marks a good month for Allen, where they’ll spend a lot of time on their home ice. October and November saw the Americans on the road a lot, making them great road warriors. The Americans will look to improve their almost .500 home ice record this month. Key matchups this month will include a home game versus crosstown rivals the Texas Brahamas on December 16th as well as playing the Laredo Bucks on New Year’s weekend December 30 and 31 at home.