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September (Page 3)

Archive for September, 2009

Amerks Unveil Jerseys and Radio Info

September 11, 2009 - By

The Amerks showed off the changes to their jerseys today for the upcoming season and also announced radio details.

The change in the jerseys is the return of the horizontal stripes across the bottom of the jerseys along with bringing back the blue jerseys for road games.  The striping had originally disappeared because Rbk said they were not possible which it turns out wasn’t true.  The jerseys look a lot better with them back on.

The team also announced that the Amerks signed a 3yr deal with Clear Channel to air games on WHTK-AM 1280 which is now also being simulcasted on WROO-FM 107.3 in Rochester.  The team will also being airing the in arena pre and post game shows on the radio where they’ll be recapping games, conducting interviews, and also have the ability to take phone calls.

Also announced was that Ted Nolan will have a weekly show with John DiTullio at 4:05pm to talk hockey.  Nolan said the show will, “give fans a chance to vent but hopefully it’ll be talking about excitement with the team.”  The show will debut on September 30th.

Talking about Mike Sgroi, Ted Nolan said that Jody Gage [...]Read More

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Tough Guy Mike Sgroi Invited to Amerks Camp

September 11, 2009 - By

The calls for an enforcer for the upcoming season could be answered, tough guy Mike Sgroi has been invited to the Amerks training camp on a tryout contract.  Thanks to Lyndsay Kramer (covers the Syracuse Crunch) for reporting the info.

Apparently Ted Nolan has shown interest in Sgroi and called to invite him to camp.  In Kramers blog he quoted Sgroi talking about Nolan saying, “He’s done his homework,” Sgroi said. “He’s called everyone I’ve known or played with.”

Sgroi has made the rounds over the past decade playing for 20 different teams, the Amerks will be team number 21.  In the American Hockey League Sgroi has played for the Syracuse Crunch, Binghamton Senators, Chicago Wolves, Rockford IceHogs, Albany River Rats, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and the Norfolk Admirals.

Doing some research on Sgroi the few reasons I can find for him bouncing around so much is due to injuries and some of his “side show” antics with his fights.  I’m not really sure what that means, but if he can stay healthy and play smart he sounds like a great player fans would love to see every night.

One thing that separates him from other enforcers is that he’s also [...]Read More

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Cleve Kinley to Attend Amerks Camp

September 9, 2009 - By

The list of players that will be attending the Amerks training camp should be available any day now, prior to that I’ll be relying on articles posted elsewhere.

The first name I’ve come across is defenseman Cleve Kinley.  Kinley was just signed by the Florida Everblades as their 15th player under contract.  There’s little chance he’d make the Amerks roster but he will part of a list of potential call ups if there becomes a need whether it’s due to injury or poor play by others.

Kinley is an undrafted player who graduated from UMass-Lowell in 2006-2007.  The Grand Rapids Griffins signed him to a 1yr contract for the 07/08 season but quickly sent him to the ECHL where he played for the Texas Wildcatters.

Kinley seems like a skilled defenseman at the ECHL level but since he’s graduated from college he has not gotten the attention of anyone higher.  If you’re interested in any news about the Everblades check out the link below, the Naples Daily News has a lot of information about the team.

Here’s some info reported by the Naples Daily News:

“The Everblades’ reputation is well known in the hockey world,” Kinley said. “They have [...]Read More

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Amerks Games to Air on FM Radio

September 9, 2009 - By

A common complaint from Amerks fans in Rochester has been taken care, games will now be broadcast on FM radio, WROO-FM (107.3).  Sports Radio WHTK-AM (1280) announced today that it is simulcasting all its content on WROO-FM (107.3) starting midnight Wednesday.

Amerks games have been broadcast on WHTK-AM (1280) and that agreement is expected to be continued and announced at a press conference on Friday.

The signal strength of WHTK-AM (1280) has often caused issues for fans in and outside of the city who still listen using good old fashioned radios.  This change should help attract more listeners who scan the FM dial but rarely click over to AM.

Local talk show host John DiTullio will be moving his show from 9am – Noon up to air from 3pm – 6pm.  DiTullio has always done a great talking Amerks hockey, some positive hockey talk at that time of day could help encourage more people to attend games.

The move to FM radio and the expected news of the post game show from the arena being aired is even more good news from the Amerks this summer.

There’s still one story that can break for the off season to be [...]Read More

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Panthers Finish Day 1 of Rookie Camp

September 8, 2009 - By

It was an exciting day for hockey fans on Monday as a number of teams including the Florida Panthers started their first official practices for the rookies.  Here’s a couple of reports out of camp, I don’t have plans to post updates often unless something spectacular is reported out of camp so check the links.

We have reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming season along with reasons to not get our hopes up just yet.  We’ll know more when October arrives, the lineup is complete, and games have started being played.  Until that happens we’ll continue to read how great everyone looks and the potential they have.

From Litter Box Cats:

A few quick thoughts: Evgeny Dadonov appeared in game-ready condition; he’s a smaller guy, but quick and possessing a nice wrister. Dmitry Kulikov is similar in size, with a Keith Ballard-ish stature and a hint of what may be toughness. Certainly was not out of place among his brethren. A number of participants seemed to be a half-step behind the drills, but I had to continually remind myself that this is Day One; midseason form we ain’t gonna get. Michal Repik remains the speedster he was at [...]Read More

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Florida Panthers Rookie Camp Opens Today

September 7, 2009 - By

The Florida Panthers open their rookie camp on this morning down in Florida at Incredible ICE, but I prefer to call it the warm up to Amerks training camp on September 24th!

A number of players were in Rochester this past week prior to heading down to Florida including David Brine who tossed out the first pitch at the Rochester Red Wings baseball game on Friday night.  With camp starting the season now even closer.

“The rookie camp provides our coaching staff the opportunity to work with our prospects in an environment that enhances skill development and accelerates the process to play in the NHL,” Florida Panthers Assistant General Manger Randy Sexton said. “This camp focuses on high-tempo on-ice and off-ice workouts that will prepare our prospects to compete in pre-season competition.”

Here’s a list of players that will be at the camp and their positions:

Defense: Keaton Ellerby, Dmitry Kulikov, Colby Robak, Jason Garrison, Adam Comrie, Michael Caruso

Right Wing: Michal Repik, Brady Calla, James DeLory, Evgeny Dadonov

Left Wing: Garrett Wilson, Kenndal McArdle, Mike Duco, Andrew Sweetland

Center: Shawn Matthias, David Brine, A.J. Jenks, Scott Timmins

Goalie: Tyler Plante, Alexander Salak

A few players not on the rookie [...]Read More

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Amerks to Unveil Jerseys and Announce Radio Broadcast

September 5, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans will be holding a press conference next Friday September 11 to unveil the jerseys the team will be wearing for the upcoming season as well as announcing the radio broadcast.

The team will be wearing white, blue, and stars and stripes jerseys for the 2009/2010 season.  The white and blue jerseys will have the horizontal striping around the bottom of the jerseys.  The stars and stripes jerseys are expected to be the same or similar to the ones the team wore during the 1995/1996 Calder Cup Championship season.

The details will also be announced about the Amerks radio contract with Clear Channel.  They’ll also be talking more about the post-game show and other promotional opportunities.

What is expected and what we’re all hoping to hear is that the Penalty Box post game show with Craig Schaller will no longer be on the air (or at least not directly following Amerks games).  The ideal situation is that the post game show with Ric Seiling will be broadcast from the arena live on the radio.  This will be excellent for fans to be able to tune in on the ride home from the game to listen to interviews and [...]Read More

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Emmerson, Dadonov, and other AHL News

September 3, 2009 - By

The Amerks are expected to release their training camp roster within a week, so until that happens we’re short on Amerks news but plenty of news from other places.

** Evgeni or Evgeny (depending on the day of the week it seems) Dadonov has officially signed his entry level contract with the Florida Panthers and it was accepted by the NHL.  He hasn’t played a game yet for the organization but he’s been in the news more than anyone else.

** Riley Emmerson signed a contract with the Springfield Falcons, affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers.  He improved throughout last season and earned plenty of ice time for an enforcer.  He never backed down from a challenge and always put up a good fight.  There’s pleny of videos of Emmersons fights in the video section of this site.  The Oilers signed Steve MacIntrye last season off of waivers from the Panthers/Amerks and this season they’ve taken someone else.  The Amerks had not shown any interest in Emmerson.

** 29 Teams in 29 Days is a series that Chris Rahn (a writer for Inside Hockey) just started over on his site about American Hockey League news.  He has [...]Read More

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Dadonov Practicing In South Florida

September 2, 2009 - By

That status of Evgeni Dadonov has gone back and forth this summer with all of us wondering if he was going to be playing in North America or if the threats of the KHL were going to keep him in Russia.  It looks as if it’s North America for Dadonov as he’s in Florida and working out with the team.  Assuming nothing strange happens we’ll be seeing Dadonov in Rochester this season.  When I say strange I mean the KHL dropping a massive law suit or Dadonov having an amazing camp and blowing everyone away.

I was critical of Dadonov in a previous article this summer so I’m really curious to see him play as well as get the chance to talk directly with him.  Here’s the article from the Panthers site:

Dadonov Practicing In South Florida
Koistinen ready for new start
Tuesday, 09.01.2009 / 7:00 AM / News
Florida Panthers

By Dave Joseph for floridapanthers.com

Panthers prospect Evgeni Dadonov, the subject of rumors this summer that he wouldn’t be able to leave Russia and his team in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), is not only in South Florida but working out with the rest of the [...]Read More

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A few Panthers/Amerks Related Stories

September 1, 2009 - By

The Florida Panthers open training camp in less than two weeks (Sept 12th) and most of the players are set to return to Florida next week (Sept 6th) so it’s time to share a few Panthers related stories (courtesy of The Litter Box) and how they relate to the Amerks.  The Litter Box is an excellent site that is part of the growing SB Nation, an excellent network of sports blogs.  Keep that site bookmarked if you want to stay up to date on the Panthers.

*** Panthers plan season without GM — This probably explains the lack of activity by the Panthers this summer.  On the flipside this summer has felt like a dream come true for Amerks fans compared to the previous few years.  The owner has been busy spending money signing players building a team that should be a contender, at least on paper.  One concern has been that the Panthers could call up some of these players should they need help, such as Jeff Taffe.

*** Panthers Roster — speaking of Taffe, the Panthers web site was updated with the teams roster to also include numbers and on that roster is Jeff [...]Read More

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