- The Americans are in a familiar pattern where they only have games on the weekend and then have all week to practice. A few days to heal the battered bodies, work on system issues that are in need of shoring up, and improve the power play. Will also see what if any roster changes take place this week based on Coach Martinson saying Brian McMillin will be signed this week. These things often take more time than you might think and McMillin won't be flying back from England until tomorrow (Tuesday) and will head home to Minnesota.
- Allen will take on an improved Brampton team on Friday & Saturday at the AEC. Brampton won two of three games this past week playing Tulsa at home. Brampton got four goals in each of the three games and the have the second ranked goalie (Grant Rollheiser) in the league. A split this weekend isn't good enough as the Americans need to sweep this series.
- Wonder if the Pitton brothers will face each other this weekend? Both have been playing well with Bryan getting the 40 shot shutout in Missouri on Saturday and Jason scoring goals on Friday & Sunday against Tulsa.
- As I was working this morning on my input to the CHL power rankings that I do each week a couple of things struck me. This past week every team in the league won at least one game and lost at least one game so maybe there is more parity than the standings might suggest. The top four teams in my ranking won six games this past week while the bottom four teams won five games.
- A reminder that this event, which was postponed because of the bad weather last week is rescheduled for this week.
Be sure to visit La Belle Boutique (owned by Tabayia Tetrault) and all the other great shops and restaurants of downtown Plano Tuesday or Wednesday (Dec. 17 & 18).
In addition to the fantastic merchandise and gift offerings, merchants
will be selling annual collectable holiday ornaments commemorating
Historic Downtown Plano. Allen Americans players will make
an appearance for autographs and photo’s at La Belle Boutique
on Tuesday and
Wednesday evening from
6pm-7pm.
All participating merchants will be donating 10% of their sales on
these dates to benefit The Assistance Center of Collin County.
I
know the Tetrault family would really like the support of all Allen
Americans fans on the two evenings players are making an appearance so
plan to attend if you can make it. That is tomorrow (Tuesday) & Wednesday
(December 17th & 18th) from 6pm-7pm. Autographs, pictures, and a
chance to talk to the players and ask your questions. And the
Championship Cup will be there. Don't hold me to the names but I think Darryl Bootland will join Daniel Tetrault on Tuesday and Mike Berube and Jarret Lukin will be there with Daniel on Wednesday. The boutique which is in historic downtown Plano is located just east of
the DART tracks on the north side of the road (1007 East 15th St. Suite
101).
- Corey Tamblyn has three points (1 goal 2 assists) in the two games he has played since signing a tryout contract with the Peoria Rivermen.
- One of the rumored CHL expansion cities was Sioux Falls, South Dakota because they are building a new facility scheduled to open next year. That won't happen as the Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) announced this week that they will be moving to the new arena. Many other candidates remain as possible expansion sites. Casper, Wyoming is the odds on favorite as one of the expansion teams but the second site could be anywhere from Houston in the south to another team in Ontario with many places in between. If you haven't seen the recent article about the Brahmas they are still in the picture according to their franchise owner. Here a just a portion of the article:
Barack, who was with the Brahmas for years before Atkinson’s group
took over, is back in the front office as the franchise president of the
Texas Brahmas.
Barack said the team returned to that partnership because Atkinson’s group defaulted on money it owed to the original owners.
He
stressed that the Texas Brahmas are not folding. He also made it plain
that they are not responsible for any of the unpaid bills left by the
Atkinson regime.
Barack said the team will remain on hiatus in the
Central Hockey League until it can find a new arena somewhere in the
greater Fort Worth and Tarrant County area. Previously, he said the team
wanted a 6,000-seat venue, similar to the one in Allen where another
CHL team plays.
He didn’t give a definite timeline for when the
Brahmas will return but said they expect to play again within the next
two seasons.
But the team’s ownership is convinced there is a market for minor-league hockey in Tarrant County.
“Having
been in the sports industry for many years we’ve seen tremendous highs
and lows with the Brahmas,” Barack said. “We are hopeful to bring the
team back for the loyal fans who have followed us for more than a
decade.”
If you want to read the entire article you can google,"Skating on thin ice: the financial fall of the Fort Worth Brahmas" dated December 14, 2013.
DID YOU KNOW: One year ago this weekend Scott Howes was on another of his scoring streaks as he scored two goals in three consecutive games. Scott had nine points (6 goals 3 assists) in three games. After this three game scoring outburst Scott would play two more games the end of December before being called up to the AHL for the rest of the year. Scott's remarkable accomplishment will never be forgotten as he scored 21 goals in 22 games in his short Allen Americans career. His 21 goals ranked him third on the team in goals scored for the entire season even though he only play in a third of the games. (Schaafsma 24, Bootland 22, Howes 21).
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/12/13/5417315/skating-on-thin-ice-the-financial.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
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