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Allen Americans

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Allen Americans
CityAllen, Texas
LeagueECHL
ConferenceWestern
DivisionMountain
Founded2009 (in the CHL)
Home arenaCredit Union of Texas Event Center
ColorsRed, white, navy
     
Owner(s)Myles Jack
LaSonjia Jack
PresidentJonny Mydra
Head coachB.J. Adams
CaptainColton Hargrove
MediaCW33 Dallas (Television) +, Allen American-Star (Print)
AffiliatesUtah Hockey Club (NHL)
Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Websiteallenamericans.com
Franchise history
2009–presentAllen Americans
Championships
Regular season titles2 (2010–11, 2012–13)
Division titles3 (2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15)
Conference titles5 (2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16)
Ray Miron President's Cup2 (2012–13, 2013–14)
Kelly Cups2 (2014–15, 2015–16)
Current season

The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played for five seasons, winning the Ray Miron President's Cup twice. The CHL folded in 2014 and the ECHL accepted the remaining CHL teams as members for the 2014–15 season. In their first two seasons in the ECHL, Allen advanced to the Kelly Cup finals, winning the championship in both years. The Americans are affiliated with the National Hockey League's Utah Hockey Club and the American Hockey League's Tucson Roadrunners.

History

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Expansion and the CHL years

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On April 15, 2009, the Central Hockey League (CHL) announced an expansion team for Allen, to begin play in the 2009–10 season.[1] The new team was owned by Top Shelf, LLC, a group consisting of EXCO Resources chairman Douglas H. Miller and former National Hockey League (NHL) defenseman Steve Duchesne. That same day, the team announced an affiliation with the NHL's Dallas Stars.[1] Through this affiliation, they also affiliated with the Austin-based American Hockey League (AHL)'s Texas Stars.[citation needed]

The Fort Worth Brahmas vs. the Americans at the Allen Event Center on January 11, 2010.

On April 27, 2009, the ownership group unveiled the team's name, logo, and colors. On May 12, 2009, the Americans announced Dwight Mullins as their inaugural head coach, along with Bill MacDonald as assistant coach and head of hockey operations.[2] As construction on the Allen Event Center would not be completed in time for the beginning of the CHL season, Allen began the season with a seven-game road streak, winning five, including their first ever game against the Arizona Sundogs 1–0, on a first period Christian Gaudet power play goal.[3] The first game on home ice was not until November 7, 2009, a 4–1 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays in front of a sellout crowd of 5,808 people.[4] Allen advanced to the playoffs as the number two seed in the Southern Conference in their first season, defeating both the Laredo Bucks and number one seed Odessa Jackalopes in seven games. In the Ray Miron President's Cup finals, they took a 2–1 series lead over the Rapid City Rush, but lost three straight games, losing the series 4–2.[citation needed]

Allen also qualified for the playoffs in the following two seasons, winning the Bud Poile Governors’ Cup regular season title in only their second season in the league. They lost in the conference finals to eventual champions, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, in 2011, and had a disappointing first round exit to bitter rivals the Texas Brahmas in 2012.[citation needed]

Prior to the Americans' third season, on September 1, 2011, it was announced that the Americans signed a one-year affiliation deal with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and by extension the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL. This agreement officially made the Americans affiliates of the Avalanche after having a working relationship with the Monsters over the previous two years. The affiliation ended after Colorado and Lake Erie moved their affiliation to the now defunct Denver Cutthroats organization.[5][6]

On May 4, 2012, the Allen Americans announced that former Dallas Stars players Mike Modano, Craig Ludwig, and Ed Belfour partnered up to become minority owners of Top Shelf, LLC. Shortly after, the Allen Americans announced that they would not retain general manager and head coach Dwight Mullins, along with associate coach Bill McDonald.[7] Richard Matvichuk was then announced as the assistant general manager and defensive coach.[8] A month later, the Americans announced Steve Martinson as their new head coach.[9]

After winning their second Bud Poile Governor's Cup regular season title, the Allen Americans went on to win the Ray Miron President's Cup for the first time on May 11, 2013, in front of a sold out crowd. After falling behind 2–0 in the first two periods of game seven against the Wichita Thunder, Allen scored two third period goals to tie the game. In overtime, Todd Robinson scored the winner to give Allen their first championship win.[10]

On May 10, 2014, the Allen Americans became only the third CHL team to win back-to-back Ray Miron President's Cup championships, and the first since the Memphis RiverKings achieved the feat in 2003. Allen scored four second period goals to defeat the Denver Cutthroats 5–2, winning the finals series four games to one in front of a sold out crowd.[11] Less than a week later, the Americans were sold by the Top Shelf ownership group to Stevens Brothers Sports Management, LLC. The Stevens Brothers also owned the CHL's Tulsa Oilers and[Wichita Thunder.[12]

Move to the ECHL

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On October 7, 2014, soon before the 2014–15 CHL season was set to begin, it was announced that the Central Hockey League ceased operations and the Americans, along with the Brampton Beast, Quad City Mallards, Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder, were all approved the expansion membership application into the ECHL for the 2014–15 season.[13][14] On October 14, 2014, the Americans announced their affiliation with the San Jose Sharks and Worcester Sharks (and later the San Jose Barracuda).[15]

The Americans finished its inaugural ECHL season atop the Central Division which encompassed the former CHL members, having the second-best overall regular-season performance and the best offense in the league, with 192 goals.[16] During the 2015 playoffs, they beat both the Tulsa Oilers and Rapid City Rush to reach the Western Conference Finals against the Ontario Reign. The Americans would win the first game before losing the following three games to the Reign. The Americans would come back to win the following three games in order to clinch the series. They were the fifth team in ECHL postseason history to win a series after trailing 3-games-to-1.[17][18] On June 14, 2015, the Americans defeated the South Carolina Stingrays in seven games to win their first Kelly Cup. They are the first team to advance to and win the Kelly Cup in their first ECHL season since the Idaho Steelheads accomplished the feat in 2004.[17]

Allen finished its second season in the ECHL in second place in the newly reorganized Central Division, behind the Brabham Cup champions Missouri Mavericks, earning the number four seed in the Western Conference. After trailing 3-games-to-2 in the opening series with the Idaho Steelheads, Allen forced a game seven at home, with Tristan King scoring the series-winning goal in overtime.[19] The Americans went on to defeat number one seed Missouri by 4-games-to-2,[20] and retain the Western Conference championship, defeating the number two seed Fort Wayne Komets by 4-games-to-1,[21] becoming the first team to make back-to-back trips to the ECHL finals since 1994, and the first-ever since the switch from the Riley Cup to the Kelly Cup. Allen then became the first team since the Toledo Storm in 1994 to win consecutive ECHL championships, by defeating the Wheeling Nailers 4-games-to-2, celebrating their fourth consecutive championship across two leagues on home ice on June 9, 2016.[22]

On February 23, 2017, the ECHL announced that the Americans had been sold by the Stevens brothers to Allen Hockey Team, LLC, led by Reading Royals' owner Jack Gulati.[23][24] As part of the transition, Gulati planned to rebrand the team to be more inclusive of the Dallas-Fort Worth area while keeping the Americans name and keeping the team at the Allen Events Center. The organization held a name-the-team contest from March 31 to June 30, 2017,[25] but nothing further was announced as of the end the 2017–18 season.

Following the 2018–19 season, the Americans missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.[26] In July 2019, owner Gulati also announced that the team for sale before the 2019–20 season due to health issues in his family at the time and thought it would be better for the team to have local owners instead of an absentee owner. He also stated that if the team was not sold before the start of the season, he would not sell it during the season.[27]

The Americans were again leading the division in the 2019–20 season with a 40–14–0–6 record before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Steve Martinson was named General Manager of the Year, while defenseman Alex Breton and forward Tyler Sheehy were named to the All-ECHL First Team. The Americans were one of 14 ECHL teams to elect to play the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season. They finished with the top seed in the Western Conference, but were eliminated by the Fort Wayne Komets in the conference finals of the 2021 Kelly Cup playoffs.

In the 2021–22 season, the Americans became the first ECHL affiliate of the NHL expansion team, the Seattle Kraken.[28]

Post-Martinson era (2022–present)

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Allen's Hank Crone - 2023 ECHL MVP winner

The 2022–23 ECHL season was the first for head coach for Chad Costello and President Jonny Mydra. On August 24, 2022, the Americans announced they had reached a deal to become the new ECHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators of the NHL and their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.[29] Later that offseason, they announced the first major television deal in franchise history, agreeing to terms with Dallas TV station CW33.[30] With a reach of over 2.5 million households, it became one of the largest television deals in minor league sports.[31] The Americans finished the 2022–23 season second in the Mountain Division, defeating the Kansas City Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.[32] Rookie Hank Crone won the ECHL regular season MVP,[33] and the team set their franchise record for season ticket sales.

Americans forward Jakov Novak during Round 1 of the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs

On October 4, 2023, it was announced that the team was sold to Myles Jack and his mother LaSonjia Jack, becoming the first ever African-American majority owners in ECHL history.[34] The Americans finished the 2023–24 season third in the Mountain Division, falling to the Idaho Steelheads in the first round of the playoffs.[35] The organization dismissed Costello as head coach in May 2024.[36] A search for a new head coach began immediately following the release of Costello, and B. J. Adams of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) was officially hired on June 12, 2024.[37] On July 31, the Americans announced a new affiliation with the Utah Hockey Club of the NHL and the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL.[38]

Mascot and dance team

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At the opening weekend of the 2010 season, the Americans introduced their mascot, Biscuit the American Bulldog, who wears the jersey number "K9". Biscuit has remained the Americans mascot ever since.

The Americans are also known for their dance team, the "Allen American Ice Angels". Founded the same year as the team, the group performs at every home game and makes various community appearances. The group is considered a high-level feeder team for National Football League and NHL dance teams.

The "Ice Angels" cheer on the Americans during a 2023 regular season game

Season-by-season records

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Allen Americans 2023 staff and players
Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM Standing Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
Central Hockey League
2009–10 64 42 17 2 3 89 210 183 1,229 2nd; Southern Conference 2010 BYE W, 4–3, LAR W, 4–3, ODE L, 2–4, RC
2010–11 66 47 16 1 2 97 271 211 1,184 1st; Berry Conference 2011 W, 3–1, TEX W, 3–2, ODE L, 1–4, BS —
2011–12 66 39 18 3 6 87 212 175 1,336 2nd; Berry Conference 2012 — L, 2–4, TEX — —
2012–13 66 39 18 4 5 87 210 176 1,571 1st; CHL 2013 — W, 4–1, DEN W, 4–3, MO W, 4–3, WIC
2013–14 66 39 22 1 4 83 249 214 1,498 3rd; CHL 2014 — W, 4–1, BRM W, 4–2, QC W, 4–1, DEN
ECHL
2014–15 72 48 14 6 4 106 292 203 1,644 1st; Central Division 2015 W, 4–1, TUL W, 4–2, RC W, 4–3. ONT W, 4–3, SC
2015–16 72 41 24 3 4 89 222 204 1,189 2nd; Central Division 2016 W, 4–3, IDH W, 4–2, MO W, 4–1, FW W, 4–2, WHL
2016–17 72 49 17 4 2 104 294 203 1,432 1st; Mountain Division 2017 W, 4–1, UTA L, 2–4, COL — —
2017–18 72 35 29 6 2 78 235 232 1,411 3rd; Mountain Division 2018 L, 3–4, IDH — — —
2018–19 72 25 41 4 2 56 208 269 1,691 7th; Mountain Division 2019 did not qualify
2019–20 62 40 14 6 2 88 247 195 745 1st; Mountain Division 2020 Season cancelled
2020–21 72 45 23 3 1 94 236 196 996 1st; Western Conference 2021 — W, 3–0, UTA L, 1–3, FW —
2021–22 72 35 28 8 1 79 240 244 1,000 3rd; Mountain Division 2022 L, 1–4, RC — — —
2022–23 72 37 32 2 1 77 260 263 1,172 2nd; Mountain Division 2023 W, 4–2, KCM L, 1–4, IDH — —
2023–24 72 33 35 3 1 70 233 276 1,211 3rd; Mountain Division 2024 L, 1–4, IDH — — —

References

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  1. ^ a b "CHL Introduces Allen, Texas Franchise". Central Hockey League. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  2. ^ "Americans name Dwight Mullins head coach". OurSports Central. May 12, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  3. ^ "Boxscore". PointStreak. October 16, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
  4. ^ "Boxscore". PointStreak. November 7, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
  5. ^ "Americans announce new NHL/AHL affiliation". Allen Americans. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  6. ^ "Americans still share affiliation with the Dallas Stars organization". Facebook. September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  7. ^ "Americans Bring Back McDonald in Advisory Role". Allen Americans. May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012. [dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Americans make changes at the top". OurSports Central. May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  9. ^ Hageland, Kevin (June 8, 2012). "Proud to be an American: Allen hires Steve Martinson as new head coach". Plano Star Courier. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  10. ^ "Americans rally from two goal deficit to win CHL title". The Dallas Morning News. May 11, 2013. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  11. ^ Heika, Mike (May 12, 2014). "Allen Americans win second CHL championship with victory over Denver". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  12. ^ "After two CHL championships, Allen Americans sold to new owners". The Dallas Morning News. May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  13. ^ "CHL Clubs Join ECHL for 2014-15 Season". Central Hockey League. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  14. ^ "ECHL Accepts Seven Members". ECHL. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  15. ^ "Americans sign affiliation agreement with the San Jose Sharks". ECHL. October 18, 2014. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  16. ^ Welch, Matt (October 2, 2014). "Welcome to the show: Postseason underway as Americans gun for another title". Allen American. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Allen claims Bruce Taylor trophy as western conference champions". ECHL. April 1, 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  18. ^ Welch, Matt (May 28, 2015). "Allen, Reign o'er Ontario: Americans bound for ECHL Finals after dramatic series comeback". Allen American. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  19. ^ Daniels, Tommy (April 27, 2016). "Americans win overtime thriller". Allen Americans. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  20. ^ Daniels, Tommy (May 10, 2016). "Americans eliminate Missouri, advance to Western Conference Finals". Allen Americans. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  21. ^ Daniels, Tommy (May 22, 2016). "Americans advance to Kelly Cup Finals with 6–4 win over Fort Wayne". Allen Americans. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  22. ^ "Celebrate good times". Allen Americans. June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "ECHL Announces Membership Transactions". ECHL. February 23, 2017. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  24. ^ Harding, Matthew (February 23, 2017). "Breaking: Allen Americans Sold". The Sin Bin. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  25. ^ Daniels, Tommy (March 31, 2017). "Americans Announce Plan to Expand Roots in DFW". Allen Americans. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  26. ^ "Allen vs Tulsa Preview, Roster Update, Allen's Best Shooters, Average PIMS by Division and More". AllenAmericansBlog. March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  27. ^ Janssen, Barry (July 19, 2019). "Allen Americans are on the Market…Again". The Sin Bin. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  28. ^ "Americans Enter Affiliation Agreement with Seattle Kraken". ECHL. October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  29. ^ "Ottawa Senators reach affiliation agreement with ECHL's Allen Americans". Ottawa Senators. 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2024-02-20 – via NHL.com.
  30. ^ "It's hockey time in Texas! Allen Americans hockey to have games broadcast on CW33 for 2022-23 season". CW33 Dallas / Ft. Worth. 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  31. ^ Schmitt, Elisa (2022-08-31). "Americans Announce Groundbreaking Television Rights Deal, Reaching 2.5 Million Households". Allen Americans Hockey Club. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  32. ^ "Americans Beat Kansas City, Moving on to Round 2". OurSports Central. 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  33. ^ "Allen's Crone is Warrior Hockey/ECHL Most Valuable Player". www.echl.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  34. ^ "Former NFL Star Myles Jack Makes History As New ECHL Owner". www.flohockey.tv. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  35. ^ "Steelheads Advance to Second round Defeating Americans in Five Games". Idaho Steelheads. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  36. ^ Sikes, Ryan (31 May 2024). "Allen Americans Part Ways With Head Coach/General Manager Chad Costello". The Hockey News. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  37. ^ Sikes, Ryan (12 June 2024). "ECHL: Allen Americans Name B.J. Adams New Head Coach". The Hockey News. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  38. ^ "Americans announce New NHL Affiliation". Allen Americans. July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
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