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Archive for February, 2009

Amerks Defeat Marlies for Second Win of Weekend

February 22, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans won their second game of the weekend as they defeated the Toronto Marlies by the final score of 3-1 in Toronto on Saturday afternoon.  The same two teams will be playing again on Sunday at 6:05pm in Rochester at Blue Cross Arena.

It’s a “Red Hot Sunday” where anyone wearing red can get the best seat in the house for $10.  The Amerks will also be wearing their red road jerseys for the occassion.  Make sure to wear red to join in the spirit and cheer on this team as they improve daily!

As for Saturdays game, between my work schedule and going to the Knighthawks game I wasn’t able to watch or listen to the game.  Rather than make things up and sound as if I know what happened I’ll provide the Amerks press release from the game:

AMERKS SKATE PAST MARLIES WITH 3-1 WIN IN TORONTO

2/21/2009 12:00:00 AM

(Rochester, February 21)… The Rochester Americans skated past the Toronto Marlies with a 3-1 victory this evening at Ricoh Coliseum in the first leg of a home-and-home series between the North Division rivals. The Amerks have now won two straight and three of their last [...]Read More

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Awesome Win for Amerks Over Hershey Bears

February 21, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans continued on Friday night what they’ve been doing over the past two months, proving they’re capable of competing with the best teams in the league.  They did that earlier tonight with a 3-2 win over the Hershey Bears who are the number one team in the Eastern Conference.

Benoit Groulx with the plan to resist and hang in there as much as they could.  The team did just that and it paid off.

The Hershey Bears are the highest scoring team in the league, compared to the Rochester Americans who prior to the game tonight were the lowest scoring team in the league.  The three goals scored by the Amerks helped them gain ground and get them tied with the Springfield Falcons at 127 goals for this season.

The fact that the team has climbed out of last place in the league as well as no longer being the lowest scoring team are not necessarily things to be happy about, but given the way the season started it’s a great sign that the team is developing nicely.

“They were very focused, they might have took us lightly a month ago but that’s not the case anymore.  I [...]Read More

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Amerks Post Game Injury Report

February 20, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans beat the Hershey Bears on Friday night but they also lost two more players to injury.  Jacob Micflikier hurt his ankle in the second period and had to be helped off the ice.  He returned to the bench a short time later to play a few more shifts, but did not return in the third period.  Rory Fitzpatrick hurt his knee as well during the game and will not be playing in Toronto on Saturday afternoon.  Benoit Groulx was unsure if it was the same knee he had surgery on in December.

Here’s the rest of the injured players:

  • Drew Larman – rib injury
  • Tanner Glass – shoulder
  • Kenndal McArdle – shoulder
  • Kyle Hagel – shoulder
  • Luke Beaverson – concussion

We’ll know more after the weekend about the extent of the injuries to Micflikier and Fitzpatrick.  Drew Larman is expecting to be back within the next week.  The remaining injured players (Glass, McArdle, Hagel, Beaverson) are out with no timeline that I know of for returning.

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Amerks Come Close but Lost in Shootout

February 19, 2009 - By

There are two things that are for certain about the Rochester Americans this season, those things are that they are capable of competing against the best teams in the league and they’re also capable of playing like a last place team.  Trying to figure out ahead of time which team that will be is the tough part.

So far in the month of February it has been the team that shows it is capable of competing with the best in the league.  The Rochester Americans proved it once again on Wednesday night when they lost in a shootout to the Grand Rapids Griffins by the final score of 2-1.

Following tonight’s loss, the Griffins are 30 points ahead of the Amerks in the standings.  Yes, that is correct, 30 points.  If we looked back over the season so far we could easily find 15 games that were close that would make it seem as if the two teams were actually close.

As quick as we are to throw in the towel once in a while, it also needs to be noted the potential that exists.

“We have to be happy with the way we played tonight, they’re one of the [...]Read More

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Chris Beckford-Tseu Assigned to Florida Everblades of the ECHL

February 18, 2009 - By

Chris Beckfrod-Tseu is packing his bags and leaving Rochester on Thursday morning headed to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Beckford-Tseu played in 22 games for the Amerks this season and will leave with three wins, 14 losses, and one shootout loss.  During those 22 games he had a 3.94 goals againts average and .868 save percentage.

The team will be taking their annual team picture on Thursday morning, maybe they’ll let him stick around to be a part of it as well.  No matter how this season finishes, he’ll be part of the story line.

Prior to this season he signed a two year contract so we may see him back next year.  Someone must’ve seen something in him to sign him for two years, the reassignment should help him gain more confidence.  It surely helped for Tyler Plante.

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Amerks at Home vs Grand Rapids Griffins Tonight

February 18, 2009 - By

The Amerks are finally back home from the long and grueling road trip to the midwest.  On his way to the ice Tyler Plante commented, “I am still so tired from that trip.”  I would expect that they all are.

They played five games in six nights.  All five games were in different cities.  There was travel time and lack of sleep and three big wins (that could have been four).  The team traveled 2,451 on their road trip.  That is a lot of travel on little rest.

Kenndal McArdle is back on the ice today.  He was out practicing with Luke Beaverson before the team got on the ice.  They are both still out now that the whole team has joined them.  Kenndal is in a green jersey though, so I’m sure he is not full contact.  Luke is back to full contact so, I wouldn’t expect to see him around here much longer with eight defenseman healthy.

Defenseman, Mike Caruso was the only healthy scratch in Sunday’s win over the Peoria Rivermen.  He wasn’t playing his best in the two games prior to that so Franklin MacDonald took his place in the lineup.  Who will sit tonight?  My [...]Read More

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Star Toss to Benefit Rochester Police Officer; Skate With Players; Other Promotions

February 18, 2009 - By

The Amerks are back on home ice tonight after a five game road Mid-West road trip where they won three games and lost two.  The Rochester Americans play at home tonight, Friday, and Sunday and have a number of different promotions going on.  This team is very capable of playing entertaining and exciting hockey, no matter what you may have heard or read from others.  If you’re still looking to check out a game but don’t want to pay full price the options are abundant to save some money and watch some hockey.

Wednesday February 18th at Blue Cross Arena vs Grand Rapids Griffins

  • The Rochester Americans announced they will be donating all net proceeds from their “Star Toss” promotion toward the recovery of Rochester Police Officer Anthony DiPonzio. The promotion begins Wednesday, February 18th and will include the remaining 13 home games. Stars can be purchased at any Amerks home game for just $1.00 each or in groups of six for $5.00.  If you’re not familiar with the story you can catch up here courtesy of 13 WHAM news.
  • Before the game, the Rochester Americans Hockey Club will be honoring the group of officers that helped [...]Read More

Categories: Amerks

Amerks End Road Trip With Win In Peoria

February 16, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans finally ended their five games in six nights road trip Sunday when they defeated the Peoria Rivermen by the final score of 4-2.  Tyler Plante got his third win of the season making 34 saves in net.

The Amerks will have a much deserved day off on Monday as they return back to Rochester before playing back at home on Wednesday night against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Had a busy night tonight so I’m just going to be posting notes taken during the game:

Mike Caruso the only healthy scratch.

The Amerks have scored short handed goals in the last four games!

Manny Legace not starting in goal, the lord smiles down on us.  Tyler Plante in goal for the Amerks…a deserved start, he kept the Amerks in the game on Saturday against Rockford.

Goal given up 40 seconds into the game.  Becoming a habit to give up a goal within the first two minutes of the game.  Has happened in the last 4 games.

Janis Sprukts scores!  Kept driving it in when rebounds came up.  MacDonald and Meyer assists.  Sprukts has three goals since returning from Latvia.  15th goal for Janis. 31st point. 1-1

Flick gets [...]Read More

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IceHogs Stop Amerks Comeback

February 15, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans entered their fourth road game in five nights on Saturday when they lost to the Rockford IceHogs by the final score of 4-3.  The Amerks started a comeback in the second period when they were down 3-0 but were unable to get the go ahead goal before Rockford did.  The common denominator for the first three goals was the simple fact that the Amerks were unable to keep the net free of opposite players to help out Mike Brodeur.

We’ll pick up the scoring with the IceHogs second goal of the game when Dan Bertram tipped in a shot glove side corner.  Former Rochester American Doug Janik took a shot from the point that Bertram tipped in.  There was a big crowd in front of the Amerks net consisting of four Amerk players that looked like they were discussing where to get a post game meal instead of playing defense.

Evan Brophey gave the IceHogs a three goal lead with his power play goal only 1:38 into the second period.  Michael Caruso of the Amerks had stopped an incoming shot by Tim Hambly and the puck fell right on the stick of Brophey who easily put it [...]Read More

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Watch All Remaining Amerks Games Online for $64

February 15, 2009 - By

The AHL is offering an excellent deal in what they’re calling the “Rush to the Cup Package” where you can pick a team and watch all remaining regular season games for a special offer of only $64 using a special promo code below saving $15 off the normal price of $79.  Of course they come out with this offer less than 24 hours after we paid the originally price.

If you have never used the AHL Live (or B2 Networks in previous seasons), it’s not bad at all.  The feed online is typically what is shown on the scoreboard at the arena and you get to pick which teams announcer you want to hear.  Don’t be surprised though when you hear small talk during commercial breaks between Don Stevens and that Craig guy.

It’s well worth the price to be able to tune in and watch the games and hear Don Stevens while the team is on the road.

Anyways, here’s the entire scoop and details from the AHL Live:

Hey hockey fans!

Are you ready for more AHL action as your team battles for a playoff spot? AHL Live is now offering the ultimate package that includes [...]Read More

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Janis Sprukts Returns and Amerks Defeat Wolves

February 12, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans have started out a five game road trip with their second straight win, tonight coming against the Chicago Wolves with a 4-3 victory.

Janis Sprukts didn’t fly in to Chicago until around 2:30pm and from there he still had to get to the arena for the game.  One would think flying half away around the world would cause some serious jet lag, but that wasn’t the case tonight.

Sprukts made his presence known early in the game with a great penalty kill along with David Brine working hard to clear the puck.

The first period saw the Amerks and Wolves trade goals with the period ending tied at two.

Drew Larman scored the the first goal of the game for the Amerks after he received an excellent pass from Repik from the right wing side.  Once the puck hit his stick he easily put it into the net.

Karl Stewart was called for a roughing penalty at 9:04 of the first that eventually led to the Wolves power play goal by Riley Holzapfel to gain the 2-1 lead.

As a play was about to be called for icing Stewart continued into a Wolves player and plowed him [...]Read More

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Tyler Plante Leads Amerks Out of Last Place

February 11, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans have finally gotten themselves out of last place in the American Hockey League led by Tyler Plante with a 4-1 win on Tuesday night on the road against the Iowa Chops.  The game was further evidence of a Jekyll and Hyde type of team that the Amerks have become.  The Amerks played smart hockey with very few mistakes, tallying a power play goal, successfully killing four power play chances for the chops, and even scoring a short handed goal.

Heading into tonights game the Amerks trailed the Springfield Falcons by only one point in the standings, so the two points gained by the Amerks tonight puts them ahead by one.  Both teams play again on Wednesday night, but hopefully now that the Amerks have gotten out of the cellar they’ll continue with the good and finally stop with the poor performances.

The performance by Tyler Plante was outstanding as he made 33 saves in the game for his second win of the season.  Mike Brodeur was expected to start the game tonight but isn’t quite ready to return from his groin injury.  What seemed like a tough scenario having Brodeur out injured has turned into an excellent [...]Read More

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