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January (Page 4)

Archive for January, 2010

Johnson and Taffe Lead Amerks to a Win

January 11, 2010 - By

The Amerks game on Sunday was a game that they had to win and they did just that defeating the Binghamton Senators by the score of 6-1, the biggest margin of victory all season.  With the win they snapped a five game losing streak and moved back into second place in the North Divison.  The win also seemed to give them a boost of confidence and possibly get a little bit of that swagger back that they have been missing.

The team came out onto the ice for warm ups with no helmets on, even the goalies skated out with out helmets on.  It was not a move that was going to make them win.  It wasn’t going to put any fear into their opponent.  But it was something that had the whole team on the same page.

Jamie Johnson led the team with three goals for the second hat trick of the season to be scored by the Amerks on home ice.  Jeff Taffe assisted on all three goals and Daniel Steiner assisting on two as well.  The line of Johnson, Taffe, and Steiner was the best line on the ice, a great rebound after [...]Read More

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Bonneau vs Spencer Fight Video; Team Stands Tall Together

January 11, 2010 - By

The Amerks did something on Sunday night that I don’t think they have done a lot of throughout the season, sticking up for each other when the Binghamton Senators started hitting hard.

Jamie Johnson scored the first goal of the game at 7:53 of the first period to take a 1-0 lead.  On the ensuing face off the puck dropped and Jimmy Bonneau and Tim Spencer dropped the gloves (video below).  The obvious point of the fight was for the Binghamton Senators to try and gain some momentum.  It didn’t work.

About five minutes later Denis Hamel hit Jeff Taffe hard in the corner and put a little elbow in there as well for good measure.  Jamie Johnson was quick to skate in go after Hamel in the corner.  Jeff Taffe also got into the mix along with Tomas Kudelka of the Binghamton Senators.  It was in the corner and tough to see but it looked like a few jabs were probably thrown with a lot of pushing and shoving.

That’s something that is supposed to happen in a hockey game.  You’re teammate gets hit hard and you go in and defend him.  Unfortunately I think [...]Read More

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Amerks Looking to Start a New Streak on Sunday

January 9, 2010 - By

Lake Erie Monsters handed the Amerks their 5th straight loss Saturday afternoon and narrowed the distance between the two teams in the standings to eight points.  It wasn’t too long ago that the distance in the standings between the two teams was a solid 20 points.  The Abbotsford Heat in fourth place are only three points behind the Amerks.

If there was ever a time to start it a new winning streak it would on Sunday afternoon against the Binghamton Senators.  I think we’ve all heard enough of the excuses.  The first half of the season has taken us on a roller coaster ride from excitement to disgust, the last thing that’s needed is to end it with a sixth straight loss.  It’s time that the players tell each other and themselves that anything short of a win is unacceptable at this point in the season.

The coach and team on Saturday talked about some positives about the game.  Even though I wasn’t at the game there’s only two positives that I can think of.  One is that the winning goaltender for the Lake Erie Monsters was a Rochester native, Billy Sauer allowing only one goal [...]Read More

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Grand Rapids Trounces Amerks; Time to be Concerned?

January 9, 2010 - By

The Amerks lost the first game of a three game home stand to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday night by the final score of 6-3.  As the game entered the third period it was still a 2-2 game and it was still anyones game.  Grand Rapids took matters in their own hands and with four goals in the third period.

After the game Jimmy Bonneau said what a lot of us already know saying, “We have major problems and we have to switch things around really quickly.  I think it’s everybody.”

One of the problems is not Jimmy Bonneau.  He’s playing his role.  In the second period he put defenseman Logan Pyett into the boards hard, Pyett was slow to get up and made his way to the bench.  Later in the same period he leveled Evan McGrath and right after that hit Ryan Stokes dropped the gloves to fight him.  Bonneau got an extra two minutes for interference but it was a penalty worth taking as he tried to create a spark in the team.  It didn’t work.  A video of the fight will be uploaded soon.

“Lately it seems that we’re doing the [...]Read More

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Jimmy Bonneau vs Ryan Stokes Fight Video

January 9, 2010 - By

The Amerks were down and in need of a spark and that’s what Bonneau was trying to do. In the second period he put Logan Pyett hard into the boards. Pyett was very slow getting up and went right to the bench. Later in the period he leveled Evan McGrath at the blue line and Ryan Stokes was immediately on him to drop the gloves. We’ve questioned here in Rochester how much the coach has said to not drop the gloves and if that’s the case Bonneau did the next best thing, forced the other team to do it first.

Unfortunately his fight did nothing to spark the Amerks and the Grand Rapids Griffins won 6-3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XZXfnXlEJ8

Enjoy!

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Daniel Steiner is Living the Dream

January 8, 2010 - By

Daniel Steiner started playing hockey at the late age of eight years old in Switzerland and was always told he was already too old and was never going to make it.  Growing up it was a dream to play hockey in North America.  He always wanted to compete and to play in the best league in the world, he’s getting that chance this year.

“I never played in the World Junior Championships and never got drafted which is tough but I have to prove them wrong every time,” he said. Being told he was too small, started too late, and didn’t fit the mold has built Steiner some character.  “That’s what built who I am and I don’t mind it.  You can use it in every situation of life and that makes it my way.  I’m 29 and in pretty good shape so why not.”

He always had a dream to play in North America.  Playing hockey in the best league in the world is on always on the mind when you’re a kid playing hockey.  At the age of 29 he decided it was time to live the dream. He did not want to worry [...]Read More

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Mink Says No Excuses, Amerks Injuries Healed

January 5, 2010 - By

The excuses for the Amerks going 5-8-1 through the month of December ranges from the depleted lineup due to injuries and call ups, the travel, the fatigue, and the lack of practice.  As of practice this morning there is not a single player on the Amerks list of injured players, everyone has been cleared to play.  That includes Alexander Salak, Tyler Plante, Mike York, Mike Duco, Shawn Matthias, Rory Fitzpatrick, and Luke Beaverson.

I had planned to write more about all of those things in the first sentence but Graham Mink did all the work for me after practice on Tuesday morning.  I asked Mink if the lack of practices has had anything to do with the recent skid to which he replied, “We need to start playing better hockey, there’s no doubt about it.  Maybe it does (losing due to no practices), i don’t know.  We’ll see this weekend.”

Asking about the injuries and call ups he said,”There’s always injuries and call ups.  I’ve played against teams that have been missing a lot of guys and played really well.  We cant use that as an excuse we’ve got to look in the mirror and play [...]Read More

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Updates on Amerks Injuries and Player Moves

January 4, 2010 - By

The story for the Amerks throughout the month of December was injuries and player moves, both up to the Panthers and fill ins from ECHL teams. The new year brings what should be some more stability to the team with a number of players returning Friday January 8th.

Here’s a quick update on injuries and player moves:

Daniel Steiner rejoined the Amerks on Saturday after playing in the Spengler Cup tournament in Switzerland. In four games with the team he has three goals and one assist, one of those goals was scoring moments into the game on Saturday. His status with the team going forward could be in question because of his veteran status.

Daniel Tkaczuk was released today from his PTO. In 10 games he had two assists.

Shawn Matthias took a shot off the knee last Thursday against Lake Erie was scheduled for xrays today, hopefully its just a bruised knee.

Mike Duco was expected to put skates on and practice this morning. It was reported he had broken a bone in his foot so the skate going back on is the test to see if its healed. If all goes as planned he [...]Read More

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Gameday: Amerks @ WB/S Penguins at 7:05pm 1/2/10

January 2, 2010 - By

The Amerks are back in action tonight on the road against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05pm and looking to end a two game losing streak.

Rochester is coming off of a 5-1 loss to the Lake Erie Monsters on New Years Eve and a 4-1 loss the night before against the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Amerks are 5-9-1 since they last played the Pens on November 27th winning that game 4-3. The Amerks had a 4-0 lead after two periods and sat back as the Pens scored three third period goals to make it close. After the game the Amerks were 18-2-1 and getting ready for the long road trip.

It’s easy to look back at the game and notice things changed. After that game the players talked about taking it easy the second half of that game as they looked towards the long trip. A lot has happened since that game I think mentally as well as injuries and call ups. The team has also had very few practices that has hurt chemistry and the ability to try and reconnect.

The Penguins are coming off of a 3-2 loss on Friday night but as Pens beat [...]Read More

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Amerks Lost Second in a Row on New Years Eve

January 1, 2010 - By

The Amerks lost their second in a row on New Years Eve against the Lake Erie Monsters.  I was on my way out of town and barely caught any of the action so the Amerks press release is below recapping the game..  They’re back in action on Saturday night on the road against the W-B/S Penguins.  The live chat will start around 7pm.

(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Americans ushered in the start of 2010 on the losing end this evening, dropping a 5-1 decision in a New Year’s Eve matinee to the Lake Erie Monsters at Quicken Loans Arena. The loss was Rochester’s second straight on its current three-game road trip as the Amerks fell to 22-12-2-0. With the win, the last-place Monsters improve to 14-18-0-3.

Second-year forward Michal Repik netted Rochester’s lone goal as goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu posted 28 saves in the losing effort.

Lake Erie’s Darren Haydar, Brian Willsie and Marty Sertich each scored a goal and assist for the hometown Monsters who have now won five of their last six. T.J. Hensick assisted on two goals and fifth-year pro Tyler Weiman garnered his 12th win of the season with a 14-save effort between [...]Read More

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