Allen wins 4-0, match recap, video highlights, Martinson commentary, tonight’s preview, Michael Greco interview, goal differentiation leaders and more

If you were lucky enough to attend the Allen Americans’ games against Wichita on Wednesday and last night, you saw two of the most entertaining and enjoyable hockey games in recent memory. I talk to a lot of fans at the games, and the first thing they say is how much fun it is to watch this team.

– Allen won last night with a 4-0 shutout, the third shutout of the season for the Americans. This is what the statistics say:

• The best player on the ice was goalkeeper David Tendeck with a shutout of 42 saves. Only one other shutout in the ECHL all season resulted in more saves.
• Allen scored first to improve his record as he went first to 11-1-2-0 (.857).
• Allen led 2-0 after the first period and improved his record to 6-1-1-0 with a first-period lead.
• Allen led 3-0 after the second period, improving his record to 12-0-0-0 with a second-period lead.
• Allen was 1-4 on the power play and has scored a power play goal in nine of the last 10 games.
• Allen was 0-5 after the penalty and has given up one power play goal to Wichita in the four games they have played. (1-17 – 94.1%).
• Sam Sedley had a goal and an assist last night and now ranks fourth among defensemen in the league in points (25) and #2 in assists (22).
• Ty Prefontaine scored his third goal since arriving in Allen six games ago. He already ranks second on the team in goals scored by defenders. Watrmuth leads by four. Prefontaine, Sedley and Anania have three.
• McAuley and Katic have a point in seven home games in a row. Longest current streak in the league.
• Sedley has an assist in six straight home games, the longest current streak in the league.
• Allen has won five straight home games, the current second-longest streak in the league.
• With his 42-shot shutout, David Tendeck increased his save percentage to .927, #6 in the league.

– Overall quickness and quickness through the neutral zone allows Allen to create more and more chances. The chemistry between the linemates shows amazing skill. The McAuley-Hargrove-Crone line was recently reunited and looks great. Martinson has said he will maintain more consistency in the lines for the remainder of the season.

-Goal scorers last night were Sedley (3), Hargrove (7), Prefontaine (3) and McAuley (10). View the match reports of both teams here. and the video highlights with all the goals and many great saves from David Tendeck.

– The recipe for continuing the perfect record against Wichita is more of the same from the past five bouts. Allen has outscored Wichita 10-1 over the last five bouts. The Americans won the special teams battle in both games in Allen, scoring a power-play goal in each game but allowing none. Throw in a good start and all should be fine. Don’t forget, the game starts early tonight, 6:05 PM CST.

COACH’S NOTES

– I had the chance to spend a few minutes in the coach’s office while the team was packing to board the bus. This is what he had to say:

“It’s nice to get an early goal and then the power play goal in the first period.”

“I keep saying this: We move the puck so much better. You can see their skills at work because we play a faster game.”

“That top line is so unselfish. There are times when they should shoot better than keep passing.”

“I have more flexibility in the defensive combinations at home because of the latest change. I will adjust the pairings in Wichita because we don’t have the latest change.”

EXAMPLE FROM TONIGHT

– The recipe for continuing the perfect record against Wichita is more of the same from the past five bouts. Allen has outscored Wichita 10-1 over the last five bouts. The Americans won the special teams battle in both games in Allen, scoring a power-play goal in each game but allowing none. Throw in a good start and all should be fine. Don’t forget, the game starts early tonight, 6:05 PM CST.

– Here’s the lineup tonight. It’s exactly the same as last night. If you’re wondering why Tendeck starts in goal last night after making 42 saves and then drives to Wichita overnight, it’s simple. Coach Martinson usually gives a goaltender the option to play the next game if he has a shutout. I guess Tendeck was given the choice and chose to play tonight.

OTHER NOTES

-I had to update yesterday’s list of the six players who averaged a point or more per game. Here is the list of game 11 (last night) added. The average of each player’s points per game is in parentheses. If six players averaged over 1.00 points per game over the past month, you know everything you need to know about how well the team is playing and how offensive they have become.

• 15 points (7G, 8A) – McAuley (1.36)
• 13 points (4G, 9A) – Hargrove (1.18)
• 13 points (8G, 5A) – Katic (1.18)
• 12 points (4G, 8A) – Watt (1.09)
• 12 points (1G, 11A) – Sedley (1.09)
• 11 points (1G, 10A) – Crone (1.00)

Katic is the only player with an average of one point per game this season. He has 26 points (13G, 13A) in 23 games. If the team continues to play as it is now, several players will reach the point-per-game mark. FYI, in the entire league, only 17 players average a point per game or more (minimum 20 games).

– I came across this video interview of Michael Greco from last year when he played for Steve Martinson in Athens. You can learn more about his passion for hockey, his desire to become a coach after his career and his atypical hobby for a hockey player as an artist.

– Despite Allen playing great hockey and winning nine of the last twelve games, there are challenges ahead for the Americans. They won’t play at home again until January 30, apart from the All-Star game. It’s another stretch of six straight road races; two in Wichita, two in Tulsa and two in Idaho. If Allen can win four of six games or earn eight of a possible 12 points, the Americans will play 20 games through mid-March, with 14 of the 20 games at home.

– All 30 ECHL teams are in action today and there is a lot of movement possible in the standings. Two Mountain Division teams host teams from other divisions. Indy is in Rapid City and Greensboro is in Idaho. That means five of the eight Mountain Division teams could be winners (or losers) tonight. Here are the previews of all 15 games: https://echl.com/news/2026/01/echl-today-jan-10

– Here is the Mountain Division standings by points percentage, with points in brackets:

• 48 points – Kansas City (.750)
• 43 points – Idaho (.652)
• 41 points – Tahoe (.603)
• 37 points – Allen (.578)
• 32 points – Rapid City (.516)
• 31 points – Wichita (.500)
• 29 points – Utah (.468)
• 22 points – Tulsa (.344)

DID YOU KNOW: Today’s ECHL Stats post is about goal difference. Allen is listed as one of 13 teams with a positive goal difference. Allen has improved his goal difference over the last six weeks. After a six-match losing streak in November, Allen’s goal difference was -11. Today it is +12: