This is the Western Conference Weekly Recap for October 26-31. Click HERE to see our previous weekly recap.
Three weeks into the season and the races for the division leads are heating up. Utah and Colorado are tied atop the Mountain Division with 10 points each, while third place Allen sits just two points back. In the Central Division Toledo and Tulsa are off to hot starts, with identical 6-1-0-0 records.
MOUNTAIN DIVISION
Utah Grizzlies (5-1-1-0, 10 points)
The Grizzlies moved into the top spot in the Mountain Division after claiming a pair of home wins over the Colorado Eagles. Austen Brassard led the way for Utah, netting the game winning goal and adding an assist during Friday’s 4-3 overtime win. Shane Walsh was the hero on Saturday night, scoring his fourth goal of the season early on, then scoring the only goal in a four-round shootout to give the Grizzlies a 3-2 win. Ryan Faragher stopped 31 shots  in regulation before turning away all four Eagles shooters in the shootout.
Faragher enters the new week with a perfect 4-0 record. Jon Puskar leads the Grizzlies with seven points, by way of four goals and three assists in five games. Utah now heads out on the road this week to see their first competition from outside of their own division.
Next Up: Wednesday – at Tulsa, Friday & Saturday – at Wichita, Sunday – at Tulsa.
Colorado Eagles (4-1-1-1, 10 points)
The Eagles claimed four of a possible six points, after a home win followed by two extra-time losses on the road. Jesse Mychan had a hat trick, while Cole Sanford added two goals and an assist to power the Eagles past the Rapid City Rush 7-5 at home on Wednesday night. Sanford’s late goal on Friday sent Colorado’s game at Utah into overtime, where the Eagles would go on to fall 4-3. Luke Salazar pulled some late-game heroics of his own the following night, scoring with 27-seconds remaining to send Saturday night’s game at Utah into an eventual shootout. The Eagles would go on to lose in the shootout 3-2, but still would manage to hold onto a tie for first place.
Casey Pierro-Zabotel (3 G, 8 A) leads the Eagles with 11 points, while Mychan (5 G, 5 A) is second, followed by Salazar (4 G, 5 A) in third.
Next Up: Wednesday – Home vs. Reading, Friday & Saturday – Home vs. Idaho.
Allen Americans (4-4-0-0, 8 points)
The Americans slipped from first to third in the standings, following a road trip that saw them claim one win in just three games. Jamie Murray made 36-saves, but allowed four goals before being pulled Friday in a 5-0 shutout loss at Fort Wayne. Matt Willows netted a pair of goals, while Eric Roy, Chad Costello, Greger Hanson and Spencer Asuchak all contributed a goal and two assists in a 7-6 overtime win at Indy on Saturday. Roy’s second goal of the season came with just 47-seconds remaining to send the game to the extra frame. Once there, Costello struck 38-seconds into overtime for the win. Sunday saw the Americans drop a 5-3 decision at Kalamazoo as special teams played a key factor in the loss. Allen would go 0-for-4 on the power play, while allowing goals in 3-of-4 penalty kill situations.
Costello (2 G, 9 A) once again leads the Americans with 11 points on the season, while Hanson (4 G, 5 A) sits in second with nine points. Asuchak and Roy are tied for third with seven points each.
Next Up: Saturday & Sunday – Home vs. Alaska.
Idaho Steelheads (3-3-1-0, 7 points)
The Steelheads finally got to see some fresh competition last week, as they would pick up two wins in three home games against the Reading Royals after opening the season with four-straight games against the Utah Grizzlies. Rob Linsmayer and Will Merchant contributed a goal and assist each on Wednesday, but it would not be enough as the Steelheads fell to the Royals 3-2. Kellan Lain’s goal six-minutes into the third period Friday would send the game into a shootout, Branden Komm would stone all four Royals shooters and Merchant would find the net to secure a 3-2 victory for Idaho. Komm made 32-saves, an effort that earned him the number one star of the game. The Steelheads jumped out to an early lead Saturday and did not look back, as they cruised to a 3-1 win over Reading.
Jefferson Dahl (1 G, 8 A) holds the team lead for Idaho with nine points, while Anthony Luciani’s three goals and four assists places him in second place.
Next Up: Wednesday – at Rapid City, Friday & Saturday – at Colorado.
Alaska Aces (3-2-0-0, 6 points)
The Aces finally got to open the home portion of their schedule last week as they claimed two wins out of a three game set with the Rapid City Rush. Friday night saw Alaska jump out to a 6-0 lead, as Peter Sivak’s two goals and two assists paced the Aces to a 6-3 win over the Rush. Tim Coffman offered the only bright spot for the Aces on Saturday night, scoring his fourth of the season 1:36 into the third period to break up Rapid City’s shutout bid in a 5-1 loss. Alaska avoided a second-straight loss on Sunday, despite losing a two-goal lead heading into the third period. After Rapid City tied to force overtime, Sivak netted his fourth of the season just 16-seconds into the extra frame to give the Aces a 5-4 victory.
Stephen Perfetto (4 G, 4 A) leads the way for the Aces with eight points on the season, while Sivak (4 G, 3 A) sits in a close second.
Next Up: Saturday & Sunday – at Allen.
Missouri Mavericks (2-4-0-1, 5 points)
The Mavericks picked up three points last week, claiming a win, regulation loss and shootout loss during a three-game road trip. Radoslav Illo’s third goal of the season would be the only score for the Mavs during a 2-1 loss at Quad City on Wednesday. Sam Povorozniouk scored twice and added a shootout goal Friday night in a 5-4 win at Brampton. Eamon McAdam stopped 22-of-23 shots in relief of Ville Husso to pick up the win. Jesse Graham, Lukas Lofquist and Dane Fox all contributed a goal and assist each on Sunday, but the Mavericks would go on to fall 4-3 to the Beast in a shootout.
Bryce Aneloski’s seven assists places him at the top of the Missouri leader board in points. Fox and Darren Nowick (2 G, 2 A each) are in second place, while Illo’s three goals are the most on the Missouti roster.
Next Up: Friday – at Tulsa, Saturday – Home vs. Tulsa.
Rapid City Rush (1-6-1-0, 3 points)
The Rush are finally into the points column following a weekend road trip to Anchorage that saw them claim three out of a possible six points. Lindsay Sparks netted a pair of goals and added an assist Friday, but it was too little, too late as the Rush went on to lose 6-3 to the Aces. Ryan Walters scored twice, while Sparks and Josh MacDonald contributed a goal and two assists each on Saturday night and Kent Patterson stopped 28-shots to give Rapid City it’s first win of the season by a score of 5-1. Late goals by Walters and Nathan Moon  sent Sunday’s game into overtime, helping the Rush salvage a point. Their hopes to grab that second point, however, were dashed when Alaska scored just 16-seconds into overtime to hand Rapid City a 5-4 loss.
Sparks currently sits atop the Rush leader board with seven goals and seven assists for a total of 14 points. Walters (3 G, 8 A) is second with 11 points.
Next Up: Wednesday – Home vs. Idaho, Friday & Saturday – Home vs. Reading.
CENTRAL DIVISION
Toledo Walleye (6-1-0-0, 12 points)
The Walleye have pulled into a first place tie in the Central Division, as they improved their current win streak to six games. Jacob MacDonald earned a goal and assist and Tylor Spink netted the game-winner 45-seconds into overtime on Friday night as Toledo claimed a 3-2 win at Norfolk. The following night four different players scored as the Walleye jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first intermission and Jake Paterson stopped 32-shots to lead the Walleye to a 4-1 win over the Admirals.
Kyle Bonis (5 G, 5 A) holds the team lead in points, while Tyson Spink (4 G, 5 A) sits in second.
Next Up: Friday – at Wheeling, Saturday – Home vs. Wheeling
Tulsa Oilers (6-1-0-0, 12 points)
The Oilers, celebrating their best start since the 1960’s, had another solid week to keep them at the top of the division. Tulsa took to the road last week for their first full weekend away from home, following a 3-2 home win over Allen on Tuesday. Danick Paquette netted a goal and assist on Friday as the Oilers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on to claim a 3-2 victory at Indy. Netminder Jamie Phillips stopped 34-shots in his sixth-consecutive win. Christophe Lalancette and Phil Brewer each scored on Saturday night, while Brody Hoffman stopped 28-shots in his Oilers debut, but Tulsa went on to fall 3-2 to the Quad City Mallards to end their season-opening win streak.
Emerson Clark (4 G, 5 A) holds the current team points lead, while Dan DeSalvo (3 G, 4 A) sits in second place. Phillips (6-0) leads the ECHL in minutes played and wins, while holding a .918 Save Percentage.
Next Up: Wednesday & Sunday – Home vs. Utah, Friday – Home vs. Missouri, Saturday – at Missouri.
Kalamazoo Wings (4-2-0-1, 9 points)
The K-Wings find themselves just three points off the division pace, following a weekend in which they picked up one win out of three games. Eric Kattelus scored twice at home on Friday, but the Wings would fall 3-2 in a six-round shootout to the visiting Wheeling Nailers. Charlie Vasaturo’s first period goal on Saturday would be the only score for Kalamazoo in an 8-1 loss at Wheeling. The Wings returned home on Sunday, and had a great outing that resulted in a 5-3 win over the visiting Allen Americans. Tyler Shattock and Tyler Biggs each scored twice in the game, as the Wings connected on three-of-four power play chances.
Justin Taylor (1 G, 6 A) sits atop the team points lead for Kalamazoo, while Biggs (3 G, 3 A) is second. Three players are tied for third place with five points each.
Next Up: Friday – at Brampton, Sunday – at Wheeling.
Fort Wayne Komets (4-1-0-0, 8 points)
The Komets won their only outing of the weekend, by way of a 5-0 shutout over the Allen Americans on Friday night. Kyle Thomas (1 G, 2 A) led the way for the Komets, while Mason Baptista and Jamie Schaafsma added a goal and two assists each. Fort Wayne out-shot Allen 45-27 on the night, as goalies Pat Nagle and Eric Hartzell combined to pitch the shutout. Nagle posted three saves in the opening 3:24 before leaving the game with an injury. He has since been placed on the 21-day injured reserve list. The Komets added Keegan Asmundson on Monday to take the place of Nagle, who held a 3-0 record with a .955 Save Percentage prior to his injury.
Thomas (2 G, 5 A) holds the team scoring lead with seven points, while Schaafsma (3 G, 3 A) and Mike Cazzola (2 G, 4 A) are tied for second place.
Next Up: Wednesday – at Cincinnati, Friday – Home vs. Indy, Sunday – at Brampton.
Quad City Mallards ( 4-2-0-0, 8 points)
The Mallards are riding a four-game winning streak after claiming a pair of home wins last week over their former CHL opponents. Adam Vay posted 24-saves and Alex Petan scored the game winner 11:20 into the third period during a 2-1 win over the Missouri Mavericks on Wednesday. Sam Warning scored twice, including the game-winner and C.J. Motte record 28-saves on Saturday night as the Mallards ended the Tulsa Oilers’ six-game winning streak with a 3-2 win.
Justin Kovacs (3 G, 6 A) is in the team points lead, while Warning sits in second with four goals and four assists. Petan rounds out the top three with two goals and three assists for five points.
Next Up: Thursday – at Cincinnati, Saturday – at Indy, Sunday – Home vs. Cincinnati.
Wichita Thunder (3-1-0-0, 6 points)
The Thunder headed East last week, with plans of a three-game road trip, but mechanical issues with the ice chiller at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville forced their two weekend games with the Swamp Rabbits to be postponed. Wichita made the most of it’s only game, scoring three unanswered third period goals to comeback from a one-goal deficit and defeat the Atlanta Gladiators on Wednesday. Louick Marcotte and Alexis Loiseau each contributed a goal and assist in the 4-2 win. No dates have been set yet for the Thunder to make up their games with the Swamp Rabbits.
Alex Krushelnyski (2 G, 4 A) leads the team in points, while Loiseau sits in second with two goals and three assists.
Next Up: Friday & Saturday – Home vs. Utah.
Indy Fuel (2-3-1-0, 5 points)
The Fuel saw their losing streak reach four-straight, but they did manage to steal a point out of a pair of home games last weekend. Marek Tvrdon and Patrick D’Amico scored just over three minutes apart in the third period on Friday, but could not find the equalizer as they fell to the Tulsa Oilers 3-2. Tvrdon scored twice and Kevin Lynch added a goal and assist on Saturday while Brady Ramsay scored with 2:18 remaining to give Indy the lead over Allen. The Fuel would not be able to hold on, though, as the Americans scored with 47-seconds left to tie then added the game winner 38-seconds into the extra frame in a 7-6 Indy loss.
Alex Wideman (3 G, 3 A) paces the Fuel with six points, while Tyler Currier (3 G, 2 A) and Lynch (1 G, 4 A) are tied for second.
Next Up: Friday – at Fort Wayne, Saturday – Home vs. Quad City.