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Archive for April, 2009

AHL Division Finals Preview

April 29, 2009 - By

The Amerks season ended about two and a half weeks ago but the season continues for eight other teams in the American Hockey League.  The Division Finals started on Tuesday night with the Providence Bruins defeating the Worcester Sharks by the final score of 3-2 in OT.

The question to be asked though is, outside of the eight cities competing for the Calder Cup, does anyone else really care or know the games are going on?

The first round of the Stanley Cup finals have been very exciting to watch, the second round is even more highly anticipated.

How was the first round in the American Hockey League?  No idea. Highlights are available for free on the AHL Live site.  A lot of players currently in the NHL playoffs have played in the AHL at some point (even this season), why can’t the league get highlights mixed in with NHL highlights anywhere of future stars?

Here’s a preview of the Division Finals from the league:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The original field of 16 has been reduced to eight as the Division Finals round of the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs got underway on Tuesday night.

The division semifinals wrapped up [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Glens Falls, Austin, and Abbotsford Join AHL

April 29, 2009 - By

The American Hockey League announced on Wednesday that three new cities would be joining the league for the upcoming season.  The Quad City Flames are moving from the Quad Cities region to Abbotsford, British Columbia.  The Philadelphia Phantoms are moving to Glens Falls, NY.  The Dallas Stars have their wish with a new team in Austin, Texas.  All three cities will begin play in the upcoming 09/10 season.

All of this change brings up hopes that the divisions will be realigned to put the Rochester Americans back into the Eastern Conference and all of the New York teams (Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Glens Falls, and Binghamton) into the same division.

With two teams (Austin and Abbotsford) playing further West than Rochester and Syracuse, the idea does not seem that far fetched.  The topic won’t officially be discussed until this summer so any changes at this point are just a hope.

The only other issue that needs to be addressed other than division alignment is the schedule format.  Even if a division of New York teams is established it will still be frustrating if two teams play each other 12 times during a season.  The dedicated still go to games but one [...]Read More

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FREE Bus Trip to New York City

April 24, 2009 - By

Rochester Americans and Knighthawks Owner Curt Styres has donated five buses to transport Knighthawk lacrosse fans to New York City on Friday May 1st to support the ‘Hawks in their first round playoff game against the New York Titans.

What’s the catch?  You just have to buy a $10 ticket.  That’s it.  $10 will get you a bus ride to New York City to watch the Knighthawks at the legendary Madison Square Garden.  Along with the bus trip you also get a t-shirt as well!  This sounds like a Billy May’s infomercial for something that’s too good to be true but it isn’t.

This is one dedicated and devoted owner.  I’m going to be doing everything I can to try and get out of work on Friday.  I hope that 247 other people can do the same as well.

Here’s the rest of the details from the Knighthawks Press Release:

(4/24/2009)   (Rochester, April 24)… The Rochester Knighthawks will be bringing “Teal A-peel” to the Big Apple on Friday, May 1st. Knighthawk fans can join the party and travel to New York for FREE on five buses donated by Knighthawks owner Curt Styres. The East Division Semifinal Playoff Game against [...]Read More

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Amerks Influence on Everblades Advancing

April 22, 2009 - By

(Rochester, April 22)… The Florida Everblades are through the first round of the 2009 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs and they did it with the help of seven players who spent time in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans this season.

Forwards Ross Carlson, Jacob Micflikier, Andrew Sweetland, Mathieu Roy, Kevin Baker and defensemen Doug O’Brien and Matt Duffy helped the Everblades to a 4-1 series win over the Gwinnett Gladiators in the best of-seven South Division semifinals. Florida will now meet the South Carolina Stingrays in the division finals, beginning on Friday, April 24th as the top-seeded Everblades host the Stingrays in Estero, Florida for back-to-back contests.

Carlson, who appeared in three games with the Amerks this season, leads Florida with four goals this postseason, while his five points overall are third best on the team. The Duluth, Minnesota, native made his Amerks debut on January 30th at Grand Rapids and was the lone scorer in the 3-2 shootout win. The following night, Carlson posted a two-point performance (1+1) against the Griffins, which included his first goal as an Amerk. He finished the regular season with 36 points (14+22) in 52 games with the Everblades.

Micflikier, who recently [...]Read More

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Portland to Host 2010 AHL All-Star Classic – Updated

April 22, 2009 - By

According to The Maine Hockey Journal, the Portland Pirates and American Hockey League have announced a 2:00pm press conference for Thursday to announce that Portland will be hosting the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic.  The city of Portland last hosted the event in 2003.

We had a great opportunity this past season to be able to travel to the All-Star Classic in Worcester to cover the event which was a lot of fun.  Everything from the skills competition, All-Star luncheon, the game itself, and all of the after parties were a blast.  It was a great opportunity to not only meet a lot of players, but dedicated hockey fans as well.

The 2011 game will be the 75th anniversary of the AHL, we’re still hoping that Rochester makes a bid for it.

Updated: Here’s additional information that was announced about the event.

PORTLAND, Maine … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews has announced that the Portland Pirates have been awarded the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic, to take place Jan. 18-19, 2010. In addition, Time Warner Cable was unveiled as the title sponsor for the event.

“The American Hockey League is excited to be returning our All-Star showcase [...]Read More

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Q&A with Matt Duffy

April 21, 2009 - By

Defensemen Matt Duffy arrived in mid March as another college kid making an appearance in the AHL once his season was over at the Univeristy of Maine, no one really knew who he was or what to expect but once he finished the season with the Rochester Americans he had shown a lot of promise that has everyone interested in next season.  Before he returns though he’ll have to be offered an entry level contract by the Florida Panthers.  The fourth round draft choice of the Florida Panthers in 2005 (104th overall) should have nothing to worry about.

Duffy made an impact with the Amerks getting two assists in his first professional game followed by his first goal in his second game.  He finished out the season playing in nine games and finishing with two goals and four assists.

The coaches were impressed with his play as well considering he had a lot of ice time on the power play.  Jason Cipolla commented that Duffy has great “hockey sense” which allowed him to adapt quickly.

Duffy is currently with the Florida Everblades in their quest for the Kelly Cup in the ECHL.

Holly Gunning recently caught up with Duffy for [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Panthers to visit Rochester in 2010?

April 21, 2009 - By

The Florida Panthers could be making a visit to Rochester prior to the start of the 2010/11 season when the Amerks and Panthers enter the third year of their affiliation agreement. I had read or heard somewhere about this being a possibility so I asked Jacques Martin when he was in Rochester recently and he confirmed it’s something they’d be looking into.  It would not be an option for the start of the 2009 season because the Panthers will be opening their season in Helsinki, Finland.

I would think for this to happen that the Buffalo Sabres would have to agree to any type of game within their market.

Why would they be doing this?  Try and grow the Panthers brand.  The Panthers have had an interest in the Rochester market since 2005 yet very few people care about them or can even name more than a few players on the team.

This is nothing more than idea at this point, but it’s one I’d welcome.

The Panthers need to do one thing before any Amerks fans would welcome them into town and that is to produce a winning environment.  If next season is anything like the one that just [...]Read More

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Amerks Look Forward During Locker Cleanout

April 14, 2009 - By

To discuss the 2008/2009 season in detail with anyone who has followed the Amerks this season knows it’s like beating a dead horse, it’s time to look forward to next season.  That’s what the players and coaches did in talking with the media during Tuesday afternoons locker cleanout.  It’s not just about looking forward to next season, but also heading into the season expecting to make the playoffs and be contenders.

Some players left Rochester earlier today, some in the coming days, and others are sticking around for a short time.  Riley Emmerson and Stefan Meyer are on a 40 hour road trip back to Saskatchewan, Janis Sprukts is heading back to Latvia, and Rory Fitzpatrick just had a short trip back to Irondequoit.  Jordan Henry is on his way back to Calgary where he’ll be training with some players from the Flames as well as take in some playoff games.

Besides looking forward to a long summer of working out and getting stronger, a lot of the guys were just excited to see family and friends that they have not seen since September.

One thing that everyone can agree on is that the team needs offense and [...]Read More

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Riley Emmerson vs Kevin Harvey Fight Video

April 13, 2009 - By

Riley Emmerson may have fought his last fight as a Rochester American on Saturday night when he fought Kevin Harvey of the Syracuse Crunch during the first period.  When the Amerks lost Steve MacIntyre off waivers they still needed someone to play the role of the fighter on the team and that player turned out to be Riley Emmerson.

Emmerson had been assigned to the Florida Everblades at the start of the season and then loaned to the Amerks by the Wild for the season.  It was Emmersons first year playing in the AHL and he didn’t do too bad.  He may have lost some fights, but also wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves.  He earned a lot of respect for not only his fighting skills, but also being able to play a regular shift when needed.  Often when the team ‘goon’ gets into a fight he doesn’t play the rest of the game.  Benoit Groulx wasn’t worried about that and regularly gave Riley a decent amount of time on the ice.

He’s heading into the summer as a free agent, even if the Panthers or Amerks don’t give him an offer I doubt it’ll be the last we see [...]Read More

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Drew Larman vs Alexandre Picard Video

April 12, 2009 - By

It only took five seconds into the final game of the season between the Rochester Americans and Syracuse Crunch for a fight to occur on the ice.  The Amerks and Crunch are each others biggest rival, which is only natural considering it’s a short drive down the thruway and they also play each other 12 times a year.

Drew Larman and Alexandre Picard had been wanting to fight for the previous few games but did not have the chance until Saturday night.  Picard was on the starting lineup for the Crunch, Larman was not for the Amerks.  All it took was Picard explaining to McArdle who was on the ice.  McArdle agreed, after the puck dropped he jumped off the ice and Larman hopped on.

By definition this was one of those “staged fights” that both the AHL and NHL seem to be on a mission to put an end to.  I asked Larman about this being a staged fight and he hadn’t heard anything about things like this considered a bad thing.  Larman said, “He’s a good player.  To get him off the ice for five minutes is an advantage.”

Drew Larman isn’t a fighter, but he certainly did [...]Read More

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Amerks Win Ruins Post Season Hopes for the Crunch

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April 11, 2009 - By

Rochester Americans goalie David Shantz earned the win on Friday night against the Syracuse Crunch in a big way.  Not only did he stop all 30 shots fired at him but the Amerks win also knocked the Syracuse Crunch out of any post season dreams.  In order to keep their season alive the Crunch needed at least a point, they were denied.

That was an excellent final home game to end a pretty lousy season.  The arena was packed.  The action on the ice was exciting.  The crowd was loud.  The Amerks played for pride tonight and it paid off.

Here’s my three stars of the game:

Drew Larman scored at 14:37 of the second period which turned out to be the game winning goal.

David Shantz had a shutout.

And Jason Garrison for laying out Alexandre Picard in front of the Amerks net late in the 3rd period.  Picard has been a nuisance the past few times these teams have played, was nice to see someone finally stop him.

I wrote an article back in November that talked about throwing in the towel on the season.  The team hit rock bottom during that month.  Once December rolled around and [...]Read More

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Amerks vs Crunch; Final Weekend of Season

April 9, 2009 - By

The Syracuse Crunch and Rochester Americans face off on Friday and Saturday night in the final weekend of the regular season in the American Hockey League.  The games have a lot more meaning for the Syracuse Crunch who are in a battle with the Toronto for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Division.  Two wins by the Amerks would be a great way to end a horrible season by knocking out their biggest rival in the league.

The chances of a good fight in one of these final two games isn’t very likely.  The Crunch are on a mission to make the playoffs.  The Amerks want to play the role of spoiler and also reach 30 wins on the season.  If the Amerks get a good lead going in either of the games it’s the only way anything could possibly happen.

These two games could possibly be the best two games of the season played between the two teams.

This could very well be the last weekend in an Amerks uniform for players like Drew Larman, Stefan Meyer, David Shantz, Randall Gelech, Jacob Micflikier, and Riley Emmerson.

The only player I could possibly see coming back is [...]Read More

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