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Archive for March, 2009

Beckford-Tseu Recalled to Backup Shantz

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March 31, 2009 - By

With injuries keeping Mike Brodeur and Tyler Plante off the ice for games this weekend against Binghamton and Syracuse, Chris Beckford-Tseu has been called up from the Phoenix Roadrunners in the ECHL to backup David Shantz.

We could go into details about the stats of Beckford-Tseu, but I think everyone is familiar with his performance.

I find it hard to believe the Panthers or Amerks were not able to find someone out of college or juniors that was capable of signing an amateur tryout for the next two weeks.

With the season winding down, Micflikier off to the Everblades and Duffy soon to follow, the #1 and #2 goalies hurt, it’s probably safe to say the team will just be riding out the last few games.  Over the next two weeks I’m going to see what I can dig up about the future.

If you made it this far, you may want to look at todays date.

Tags: ι ι Categories: Amerks

Amerks Officially Assign Micflikier to Everblades

March 31, 2009 - By

We mentioned it here first on Sunday night and it was officially announced today that the Amerks have assigned Jacob Micflikier to the Florida Everblades.  We hope he takes the opportunity to lead the Blades to the Kelly Cup to help guarantee himself a contract next season.

For Immediate Release

March 31, 2009

AMERKS ASSIGN MICFLIKIER TO FLORIDA EVERBLADES

(Rochester, NY)… Rochester Americans General Manager Jody Gage announced today that team has assigned forward Jacob Micflikier to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Micflikier, 24, rejoins the Everblades where he registered 21 points (9+12) along with 13 penalty minutes (PIM) in eight games earlier this season. In 39 American Hockey League contests this season with the Amerks, the 5-foot-8, 180-pound forward has recorded four goals and 12 assists for 16 points. In 56 career AHL games with Springfield and Rochester, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native has amassed 25 points (8+17) and 16 PIM.

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Plante Possibly Done; Duffy to the Blades; Team Photo Giveaway

March 30, 2009 - By

Tyler Plante is possibly done for the season with a shoulder injury.  With only six games left in the season chances are David Shantz will be riding out the rest of the season in an Amerks uniform.  His shoulder had been bothering him for a few weeks, sounds as if it’s caught up to him.  Benoit Groulx shared this news on the “Power Play” radio show on Monday evening that they’ll be evaluating the situations with Brodeur and Plante with the medical staff and Florida Panthers.

Shantz started this past Saturday in Binghamton arriving about 30 minutes before face off.

Apparently Matt Duffy is expecting to join the Florida Everblades for their playoff run.  Yesterday we posted about the chances of Micflikier joining the Blades, tonight Duffy mentioned on the same radio show that it’s being discussed about him being sent down as well.

Matt Duffy has played in the past three games for the Amerks and has scored a goal and assisted on three others.  Four points in three games, not too bad.  The pose and confidence he has shown in only three games makes the future look bright for our defense next season.

It’s amazing what [...]Read More

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Drew Larman the Film Maker

March 30, 2009 - By

Drew Larman has added film maker to his resume along with being a professional hockey player.  Larman is finishing up his fourth season as a Rochester American, he was originally signed by the Florida Panthers on September 25, 2005.  Larman was originally born in Buffalo, NY before moving to Michigan at a young age.

The video at the end of the post is Larmans first attempt at being a film maker.

“I’ve always been interested in film making, ever since i was little all i wanted to do was play hockey and make films,” Larman said when I caught up with him after Wednesday nights game.  “Last summer i went to a one week workshop to this film school in New York City, something I’d wanted to do since high school.”

Larman titled the film ‘We Are One‘ and links to a number of keywords around the idea of 2012.  When asked what 2012 is he said, “It opens peoples eyes to those kinds of things so that they can do their own research to find out what 2012 is all about.”

If you’re too lazy, here’s a Google search for 2012.

“The whole concept is that we [...]Read More

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Jacob Micflikier to Join Florida Everblades

March 29, 2009 - By

Jacob Micflikier is going to be joining the Florida Everblades of the ECHL in their playoff push for The Kelly Cup.  Micflikier has been out of action since February 20th (17 games) when he suffered an ankle injury.  Prior to that he missed nine games in January with a broken foot.  In 39 games with the Rochester Americans this season Micflikier has scored 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points.

Micflikier is looked upon as an offensive threat for the Blades, in eight games played this season for them he has scored nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points.

When he’ll be joining the Blades we don’t know.  He’s still in Rochester and has been practicing recently with the team.

The Everblades open their first round of playoff action on April 10 and 11th.

I wrote on March 23rd in an injury update Jacob Micflikier was expected back within two and a half weeks, which would have him playing in the final three games of the Amerks season.

It’s not likely that he’ll stick around with the second worst team in the AHL instead of joining the number one team in the ECHL.  Chances are we’ve seen [...]Read More

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Amerks Pink in the Rink Gameday Pictures

March 29, 2009 - By

On Friday March 27th the Rochester Americans wore pink jerseys and painted the ice pink in support of breast cancer research.  The Amerks lost the game to the Monsters by the final score of 4-2.

The team announced that they raised $8,580 in its pink jersey auction conducted at the game.  Fans were able to bid on the game worn jerseys of the players throughout the game.

The jerseys of goaltender Mike Brodeur and newcomer Matt Duffy were among the most popular, as each jersey was auctioned off for substantial amounts. Brodeur’s jersey flew off the table with a $551 purchase, while Duffy’s jersey was second to go with a $548 buy.

The day before the ice crew at the arena painted the ice pink for the game, you can view those pictures here.

Here’s thumbnails of our pictures from the game itself below, you can view them directly on flickr via the flickr.com/letsgoamerks page.

Tags: ι ι Categories: Amerks

Shantz Stops 50 shots, Arrives 30 mins before face off

March 29, 2009 - By

David Shantz arrived at Broome County arena less than a half hour before face off, started the game, and stopped 50 of 52 shots prior to the Amerks losing in the shootout against the Binghamton Senators.

Shantz was called up from the Dayton Bombers to start the game because both Mike Brodeur and Tyler Plante aren’t in the best condition to be starting.  Plante’s shoulder is bother him, not sure what’s bothering Brodeur.  Brodeur did not make the trip and Plante can play, but would prefer not too.  Goalie coach Bob Janosz was dressed and ready to be activated as the backup goalie if Shantz did not start in time.

I’ll post a weekend recap tonight, but took a minute to get this posted.

Here’s the story of Shantzs’ arrival from Michael Sharp, reporter for Press & Bulletin in Binghamton:

The whirlwind began about noon Saturday, when David Shantz got word out in Dayton, Ohio, that the Rochester Americans were recalling him for that night’s game in Binghamton.

From there, Shantz booked a flight for Ithaca, landed around 5:30 p.m., then was picked up by Amerks GM Jody Gage. As the two then raced to make the game [...]Read More

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Kyle Hagel Returns to Reading

March 28, 2009 - By

Under the category of not breaking news at all, Kyle Hagel has been returned to the Reading Royals of the ECHL.  He was loaned to the Rochester Americans on February 8th.  Hagel had only played in three games for the Amerks when he separated his shoulder on February 14 against Rockford.

Prior to getting called up Hagel lead the ECHL with 25 major penalties. In 38 total games with the Fresno Falcons and Royals this year, Hagel had scored seven goals, assisted on six others (thirteen points), and picked up 143 penalty minutes.

The three games that he played in were all road games so I never got to see him play, but I’m assuming based on those numbers in the ECHL the team was looking for a player with a style similar to Mike Duco.

Tags: ι ι Categories: Amerks

Amerks Pink in the Rink

March 26, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans ice crew painted the ice at Blue Cross Arena pink on Thursday afternoon in preparation for the teams “Pink in the Rink” promotion.  All proceeds raised will be going to breast cancer research. As part of the festivities, the Amerks players will don special pink jerseys that will be auctioned off throughout the game, last I heard the silent auction bidding would start at $150.

“We recognize that breast cancer is a very serious matter but we are hoping to have some fun at our Amerks and Knighthawks’ with our ‘Pink in the Rink” theme,” said Amerks and Knighthawks President Lewis Staats. “Also some of the players on both teams will be sporting pink hair and the coaches will be dressed in pink ties. We are hoping to raise a significant amount of money from each of the games to donate toward breast cancer research and development. So put on something pink and come on down to The Blue Cross Arena on Friday and Saturday night for some exciting hockey and lacrosse action and support a worthwhile cause as well.”

The Amerks will host the Lake Erie Monsters on Friday night at 7:35 p.m. at The Blue [...]Read More

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Jason Garrison Leads Amerks to Shootout Win

March 26, 2009 - By

The defensive duo of Jason Garrison and Matt Duffy led the Rochester Americans to a shootout win on Wednesday night against the Albany River Rats at Blue Cross Arena.  Jason Garrison scored two goals, his first two goal game, and Matt Duffy playing in his first American Hockey League game assisted on both of Garrisons goals.  Karl Stewart scored at 16:42 of the third period to tie the game at three.  Brett Parnham, playing in his second AHL game, scored the first goal in the shootout along with Janis Sprukts and Karl Stewart to lead the Amerks to a win.

I’d be making things up if I had anything to say about the first 24 minutes of the hockey game.  Apparently it’s ok if you’re a sports writer to write about things you didn’t see, but I don’t believe in that.  Our son had hockey practice, so we were late to the game.

Anyways, picking things up halfway through the second period.

Jason Garrison finally got the Amerks on the scoreboard at 10:21 of the second period, assisted by Matt Duffy and Michal Repik.  Repik had passed the puck across the ice to Duffy who then passed it down the [...]Read More

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Recognition Experts Vacating Amerks/Knighthawks Team Store

March 24, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans and Rochester Knighthawks will have a new supplier of team merchandise for the 2009/2010 season.  The current supplier of gear, Recognition Experts, will not be returning.  Currently all merchandise in the store and online is 30% off, so if there’s anything you’ve been looking for now is a good chance to save a few bucks.

While this is far from breaking news of any sort, it’s some sort of news that probably won’t even make the radar of most local media outlets.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of changes are made.  I’ve always enjoyed the quality of materials used for merchandise that has been sold, the design and what’s actually offered has left something to be desired..

It seems rare to ever see anyone outside of an Amerks game wearing any sort of Amerks gear, which is more likely due to the team having been in last place in recent years and not a lack of Amerks paraphanalia.

The only product I’ve thought they should have sold was Amerks player tshirts, similar to that of Knighthawk players.  It’s easier for people to buy a tshirt with a players name on it than a [...]Read More

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Tanner Glass and Jacob Micflikier Injury Updates

March 23, 2009 - By

Tanner Glass and Jacob Micflikier have both been on the injured list and both players are still at least two and a half weeks away from being ready to play.  Tanner Glass is recovering from shoulder surgery, and Jacob Micflikier is still recovering from a sprained ankle.  After the Amerks 2-1 win against the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday night head coach Benoit Groulx commented about the time frame for their return.  They have been on the ice participating in practices, but not in game shape.

Assuming they’re ahead of schedule, if they are to see any action it would be in the last week of the season.

Tanner Glass has only played in 44 games this season but is still 4th on the team in penalty minutes with 100 for the season.  He has four goals and nine assists during that time as well.  We may have been harsh on Tanner earlier in the season, but take all that back now that we know he was playing injured for most of it.

In the 39 games that Jacob Micflikier has played in he has four goals and 12 assists.  He’s a small player, but he’s great with the puck and [...]Read More

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