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2009 (Page 2)

Archive for 2009

Monsters Scare Away Amerks; Rochester Drops Fourth Straight

December 22, 2009 - By

The Amerks dropped their fourth straight game on Tuesday night heading into the Christmas break.  I’m changing my wish list to ask for one thing, two big wins this coming weekend.  A lot of things are not going well for this team right now.  There’s also a lot of things that are contributing to things not going well.  There’s been a real lack of good practice time due to the schedule.  The lineup is all mixed up.  No one has faith in Chris Beckford-Tseu yet Ryan Mior was called up and expected to carry the game, something he did not do.

The team has off through Saturday for Christmas break so what we can hope for is a well rested team on Saturday along with hopefully some players returning from Florida.  A decent crowd is expected on Saturday night, hopefully it’ll be enough to put some energy in the team to pull out a win.

I saw 95% of the game but not enough to write a decent recap, so here’s the Amerks press release recapping the game:

(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Americans extended their season-high losing streak to four games tonight, following a 6-2 loss [...]Read More

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Alexander Salak Out Two Weeks

December 21, 2009 - By

I think everyone in Blue Cross Arena on Sunday evening for a brief moment saw the entire season go down the drain when Alexander Salak was laying on the ice injured. His replacement was booed before he even reached the goal crease.

Well, the good news is that he is only expected to miss two weeks with an “upper body injury.” The bad news is that the Amerks have nine games in the next two weeks, six of those games against divisional opponents.

Another goalie is going to be brought in, not sure who at this time. An early guess would be Ryan Mior who played well a couple weeks ago vs Abbotsford. Chris Beckford-Tseu does not appear to be going anywhere. He needs to play better and that is something that has been said since he arrived, unfortunately it has not happened.

By the time Salak returns, if he returns on time, the Amerks will be going into the second half of the season already. It’s time for the offense and defense to start playing smarter hockey and making less mistakes. The lineup is depleted and players are injured but that doesn’t mean you give [...]Read More

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Amerks Monday Morning Injury Update

December 21, 2009 - By

The Amerks started out a strong team and have since turned into a team depleted by injuries and call ups. Straight to the point, Benoit Groulx said after the game Sunday evening that he does not expect anyone back in the next 10 days to two weeks. Still not a clear timeline but the fact he said that doesn’t paint a very good picture.

Here’s an update on who is hurt:

Alexander Salak (shoulder) – left the game on 12/20 with a shoulder injury. He is expected to visit a doctor today to find out what is wrong.

Luke Beaverson (shoulder) – he was injured on 11/6 and has missed the previous 19 games. Hurt by a nasty hit from Kevin Harvey.

Tyler Plante (knee) – he was injured on 10/21, played again on 11/28 but his knee acted up again. There has not been anything official said about what’s wrong with his knee. He has tried practicing several times but everytime he does his knee acts up again. He has missed 23 games.

Rory Fitzpatrick (hernia) – he last played on 11/12 and has missed a total of 17 games since. He has a missed a total of 23 [...]Read More

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Salak Hurt; Bulldogs Move to First Place with OT Win

December 21, 2009 - By

The Amerks took the Hamilton Bulldogs to overtime but in the end the Bulldogs were the ones that scored and won the game to take two points away.  The game had it’s ups and downs and twists and turns.  I think the game took us on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Heading into the game the Amerks and Bulldogs were tied with 41 points each, with the win the Bulldogs take over position of first place.  Based on the celebration on the ice and the cheering and excitement in the Bulldogs locker room it’s obvious they enjoyed the win.

The biggest news of the game was that Alexander Salak went down injured at 9:28 of the first period after Benoit Pouliot scored the first goal of the game.  He left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return.  The extent of his injury will be known more on Monday after he visits the doctor, but considering the fact he left the game in pain I expect he’ll miss some games.

Jamie Johnson talked about the injuries saying, “It just seems to keep coming if it’s up top or down here, someone within the organization [...]Read More

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Amerks Sign Schulz; Panthers Send Back Three and Take Two

December 20, 2009 - By

A quick update with some roster changes for tonights game vs the Hamilton Bulldogs.  The Panthers have sent Keaton Ellerby, Jeff Taffe and Michal Repik back to the Amerks.  They also called up Mike Duco and Steve MacIntyre.

Keaton Ellerby was called up on Friday night but he never let Rochester.  His flight was scheduled to leave Saturday morning but due to the storm on the coast he would not have made it to Carolina in time for the Panthers game on Saturday.

Jeff Taffe has been calledup to the Panthers since December 2nd and Repik had been called up December 12th.  They should be a big help on the offense with some speed up front.

The Florida Panthers are playing the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night and have called up Mike Duco and Steve MacIntyre for the game for some extra grit.  It would’ve been nice if they could have given the Amerks a favor and at least let Duco play today.  I know all about not wanting to risk a player being injured, but it would’ve been a nice gesture.

The Amerks have also signed David Schulz from the Johnstown Chiefs to a PTO.  [...]Read More

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Gameday: Amerks vs Bulldogs, Battle for 1st in North Division

December 20, 2009 - By

We’ve talked about a lot of games that were going to be a test for the fast skating Amerks earlier in the season but tonight is the first game that has some real meaning.  The Amerks and Hamilton Bulldogs are tied for first place in the North Division with each team at 41 points.  The Amerks are 4-6 in their last 10 games.  The Bulldogs are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 games.  It’s easy to see which team has been trending in the right direction and which one the wrong direction.

The two teams have played twice this season with the Amerks winning both games.

11/10/2009 – Amerks won 4-1 in Rochester
11/24/2009 – Amerks won 5-2 at Hamilton

Things are a little different this time around.  The Amerks are without four players who were big contributors in both of those games.  Those players being Graham Mink, Mike York, Jeff Taffe, and David Brine.  Unless a miracle happens none of those guys will be playing.  The Amerks will also be without Keaton Ellerby and Jason Garrison.  In there places are Nick Tarnasky, Ernie Hartlieb, A.J. Thelan, Daniel Steiner, and Daniel Tkaczuk.  Four of those five [...]Read More

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Late Comeback Not Enough, Bears Win 5-4

December 20, 2009 - By

The one positive out of Saturday nights game on the road against the Hershey Bears is that it was a better game than the previous two.  Evgeny Dadonov, Chris Taylor, Jamie Johnson, and Daniel Steiner all had two point games.  In the end the Bears were able to take advantage of a weak defense and scored a few easy goals.

There was no scoring in the first period and it was a pretty even period with the Amerks having more scoring chances.

Jimmy Bonneau and Grant McNeill dropped the gloves at 2:57 of the third period and put on a good fight.  Both players got a few good punches in.  I’d give the edge to Bonneau since a couple of his punchs appeared to buckle McNeills knees.

For the second game in a row the Amerks followed up a fight with a goal.  Evgeny Dadonov scored his fourth goal of the season at 3:26 of the second picking a top corner off a great pass by Chris Taylor from the high slot.

It only took Bears Captain Bryan Helmer a measly 38 seconds to score unassisted and tie the game 1-1.  Oskar Osala followed up nine [...]Read More

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Chris Taylor Tallies 1,000 Career Points

December 19, 2009 - By

Congrats to Chris Taylor who has 1,000 career points after tallying two assists against the Hershey Bears on Saturday night.

Taylor’s resume speaks for itself.  He’s a proven leader on and off the ice and always plays hard.

We all know the Amerks have been hit hard with injuries and call ups but that hasn’t slowed Taylor down.  One player can only do so much and I think he’s doing what he can.

I just wanted to make a post for his accomplishment without the negativity that will go with the postgame writeup.

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Amerks Sign forward Daniel Steiner

December 19, 2009 - By

Steve MacIntyre is sick and did not make the trip to Hershey which leaves the team in search of help, that help will come from Daniel Steiner.  The Amerks signed him to a PTO this afternoon.

Steiner has spent his pro career overseas up until this season.  No idea why he has shown up to play hockey in North America, but the Amerks need all the help they can get against the Bears tonight.  With the snow storm hitting that area I imagine it wasn’t too easy finding a player to bring in.

Stop by the live chat tonight during the game at letsgoamerks.com/livechat, if you need a link to watch the game online stop by and it’ll be shared!

Here’s a copy and paste from the press release:

Steiner, 29, currently in his 11th professional season, arrives in Rochester after scoring 11 goals and 19 assists for a total of 30 points in 21 games this season with the Reading Royals of the ECHL. The Bern Switzerland, native, made his North American hockey debut this year after spending the last 10 seasons playing in the Swiss-A league with teams in Langnau, Zurich and Rapperswil-Jona. Before joining Reading, the [...]Read More

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Ellerby Called Up; MacIntyre Sick; Mike York Update

December 18, 2009 - By

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Florida Panthers played another game and another player was injured.  Not sure of the details but the Panthers Twitter feed said that Dmitry Kulikov left the game with a “lower body” injury.  So after the game Keaton Ellerby packed his bags and is getting called up.

Update: Adding this update an hour after the original post.. some Panther fans have stated that Jason Garrison played a rough game on Friday night.  The call up could be for Ellerby to replace Garrison.  Even if that is the case I’m not sure Garrison could rejoin the Amerks in Hershey with the huge storm hitting that area.  Garrison had originally been called up to give Bryan Allan a night off.

Steve MacIntyre left the game after his second period fight and did not return in the third period.  Benoit Groulx said after the game that MacIntyre was not feeling well and decided he wasn’t feeling well enough to return.  Groulx said that he wasn’t sure if Mac would make the trip on Saturday.

And for the last update, I’ll talk about Mike York.  Groulx was asked after the game about Yorks [...]Read More

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Steve MacIntyre vs Grant McNeill Fight Video

December 18, 2009 - By

Steve MacIntyre vs Crunch 11-20-2009Steve MacIntyre dropped the gloves with Grant McNeill of the Hershey Bears on Friday night and the footage is below.  MacIntyre gets the obvious decision with a couple of good punches.  The winning fight for MacIntyre appeared to spark something in the team since they were able to score a goal a few minutes later.  It turned out to be the only goal of the game.

MacIntyre did not return after the fight because he was not feeling well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S16AhyBXET8

You can check out all of the videos I have uploaded at http://youtube.com/letsgoamerks.  If you’ve taken some video at a game please send me a link so I can share it!

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Gameday: Amerks Host the Hershey Bears; 12 Days of Hockey

December 18, 2009 - By

It’s another gameday in Rochester and it’s against the Hershey Bears, the longest existing member club of the American Hockey League.  There was a time when games between the Amerks and Bears were something to look forward to.  A game that had people excited and the barn would be filled but not so much anymore.

The Bears have had off since last Saturday when they easily defeated the Amerks by the final score of 6-2.  The last game for the Amerks was on Tuesday night when they beat the Syracuse Crunch by the score of 5-3.

On paper the Bears have the better lineup but if Graham Mink and Mike York are able to play they could help even things out.  Mike York practiced with the team on Thursday morning but is questionable for the game tonight.  Graham Mink hurt a back muscle last Saturday and has not been on the ice since then.  Mink had said he hoped to return this weekend, hopefully it’s tonight.

If Nick Tarnasky can play at the same level he did on Tuesday night along with other players like Mike Duco and Brady Calla getting goals there could be some [...]Read More

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