Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Americans Practice Through All-Star Break, Pucks N' Paws Night, Mullins To Coach Jr. Stars

- Most teams in the ECHL are taking three days off because of the All-Star break but not the case for the Allen Americans. With Steve Martinson in Orlando to coach the the ECHL All-Stars, Erik Adams and Kevin Colley conducted a light practice yesterday and will have a regular practice today before the team gets on the bus tonight for the 850 mile trip to Indianapolis where they play the Indy Fuel on Friday. Steve Martinson will fly from Orlando to Indianapolis Thursday to meet the team.

- It may look like a different line up in Indy if everything goes as planned. Greger Hanson is on his way back to Allen, Tyler Barr was released yesterday and Patrik Valcak was scheduled to fly from Poland to Dallas and arrive today. Will be interesting to see who gets on the bus tonight. Garrett Clarke will make the trip but will not be eligible to play until Saturday.

- Just as they did last year the players and coach Martinson along with the league and PHPA agreed to switch the three day "All-Star" break to a later date. Coming so soon after the Christmas break it is better for everyone concerned to have the break later in the season. This year the break had to be delayed because of the travel schedule. So Allen will take three days off after the next two home games which are January 29 & 30 against Rapid City. It works out nice as it will be Super Bowl weekend.

- Tonight is the All-Star game which starts at 7:00 EST and you can watch it online for free through ECHL.TV. If you don't already have an ECHL-TV account established that is all you have to do to watch the game. Use the code CCMASC2015 to access the free feed from Orlando.

- What will Steve Martinson have to say to the All-Star team. He will emphasize two different messages to the guys. The first is to enjoy the experience and have some fun. The other is to remember there will be scouts from every NHL team watching so show them what you can do by playing your game and working hard.

- Okay dog lovers, here is a chance to bring your dog to an Allen Americans game and support the SPCA of Texas as "Pucks N' Paws Night" is coming on Valentines Day. Here are the details. If you have any questions contact Kailey Warren of the Allen Americans staff who is in charge of this promotion. Kailey can be reached at 972-912-1000 or you can email her at kwarren@allenamericans.com.




Registration:
  • MUST REGISTER BY FEBRUARY 12.
  • Register, via email (kwarren@allenamericans.com), or by calling (972) 912-1000. The Allen Event Center box office will not be selling tickets for this promotion.
  • $5 each for canine admission, and $2 of every dog ticket is donated to the SPCA!
  • Limit one dog per adult (18+) ticket.
  • Must provide records of up-to-date vaccinations AND proof of spay/neuter, as well as sign a waiver for each dog.
Restrictions:
  • Non-retractable leashes only.
  • Non-aggressive dogs only.
  • Dogs will not be allowed up to premium level.
  • Pet entry and exit through south entrance only.
  • Dogs will be limited to the south side of the main concourse. This area will be blocked off with stanchions outside of section 118 just before the box office; dogs will not be allowed past this point.
  • Limited to seating in upper portions of sections 112 & 113.

Game Day:
  • Dog check-in on the day of the game will take place at the south entrance, beginning at 6:00 pm.
  • Owners will be issued a wristband, which will allow re-entry to the owner and dog ONLY throughout the game at the south entrance.
  • Water stations will be placed outdoors, as well as inside near the designated sections.


-  If you never signed up for ECHL-TV at the beginning of the season and wished you had the ECHL has just announced a mid season pricing promotion for the rest of the season. You can purchase several different passes at reduced prices for the remaining of the regular season. An All-Access Pass to view everything is $149.99, to just watch the Allen Americans games it will cost $99.99 and if you just want the Allen away games the cost is $64.99. You can finds details at echl.com.

- The Dallas JR Stars have added former Allen head coach Dwight Mullins as a Co-Head Coach. Former Allen captain Jason Deitsch is the current head coach of the team but was not mentioned in the press release. Here is part of the press release.

The JR Stars add coach Dwight Mullins as a Co-Head Coach. Mullins has most recently coached at the professional level in the ECHL and has spent considerable time at the Junior/18U Tier I level in Dallas, Reggie Hall, President and General Manager made the announcement today.
“We believe our team has substantial talent and can compete with anyone in Tier III hockey. Through 30 games we have clearly not reached our potential and we are committed to making adjustments that improve our program. The opportunity to add a coach with Dwight’s experience and background doesn’t happen very often”, said Hall. “Having personally coached with Dwight for six seasons I know the level of game knowledge and teaching ability he brings to our players. At this level it is really about teaching effectiveness”, continued Hall.
Mullins brings a deep hockey background to the JR Stars organization.




DID YOU KNOW:  The 2010 ECHL All-Star game was one for the record books. The game was played in Ontario, California between All-Stars from the two conferences. The two teams combined for 19 goals to set a record for most goals in an ECHL All-Star game and the game went into overtime. The American Conference ended up winning the game 10-9 in a shootout over the National Conference. 
Q: Do the players get paid to play in the All-Star game?
A: Yes, according to the ECHL collective bargaining agreement each player that participates receives a flat fee of $300 from the host team in addition to transportation, accommodations and meals.

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