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Evan Rankin Signed to an AHL Contract

March 5, 2012 - By

(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Americans announced today that the team has signed forward Evan Rankin to an American Hockey League contract. Rankin originally joined the Amerks on a professional tryout on Nov. 25, 2011.

Rankin,25,has appeared in 18 games with the Amerks this season,recording 15 points on eight goals and seven assists. Prior to joining the Amerks,Rankin played in 15 games for Toledo of the ECHL and registered 18 points (10+8),which led the team and ranked 10 th in the ECHL as of Nov. 25.

In 143 career ECHL games with Toledo,Rankin collected 130 points on 65 goals and 65 assists. The 6-foot-1,195-pound Rankin,a native of Portage,Michigan,has appeared in 32 career AHL games with Rochester,Grand Rapids Griffins and Manitoba. He also played four seasons of collegiate hockey at Notre Dame from 2004 to 2008.

For more information or to purchase tickets to an upcoming Amerks game,call 1-855-GO-AMERKS or visit www.amerks.com.

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Predicting the Amerks Clear Day Roster Due at 3pm Today

March 5, 2012 - By
Predicting the Amerks Clear Day Roster Due at 3pm Today

Today is one of the more important days for all 30 teams in the American Hockey League since by 3pm a 22 man roster has to be submitted of players eligible to play for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs.  Teams can also list players as in residence to be used for players missing due to injury or recall.  This could change if any moves are made today to either loan or trade players within the AHL.

Here’s what the league says about the clear day roster:

** Each Clear Day roster consists of a maximum of 22 players. According to AHL by-laws, only those players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the 2011-12 AHL regular season and in the Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.

** Teams may also add signed draft choices and players signed to amateur tryout contracts, provided that their respective Junior seasons are complete.

The 22 player roster is also for payouts for the playoffs.  The AHL-PHPA CBA states:

How is the Playoff Pool structured?  The distribution of the playoff pool shall be made [...]Read More

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Amerks Steal Shootout Win from the Marlies (with shootout video)

March 4, 2012 - By
Amerks Steal Shootout Win from the Marlies (with shootout video)

After a Friday night loss on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins the Amerks completed the unexpected, two straight wins over the division leading Toronto Marlies.  They were able to hold on to a 2-1 lead on Saturday evening in Toronto and then battle back from a 2-0 deficit on Sunday night to eventually win in the shootout.

The Marlies went up 2-0 but never had complete control of the game where anyone should have thought that it was over.  Philippe Dupuis was given credit for the first Marlies goal even though credit should go to Alex Biega and Luke Adam.  Adam had tried to put the puck into the pads of Leggio for it to be covered up and when that didn’t work out Biega tried to clear it but it went into the net.  The second goal for the Marlies was scored by Nazem Kadri on a fast break down the ice after Paul Szczechura had been hit in the face with a high stick.  Neither of the ref’s saw the high stick and the Marlies scored on the break down the ice that followed.

TJ Brennan blasted home a shot with six seconds left in the [...]Read More

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Amerks Look for Back to Back Wins vs Marlies; MacKenzie Up from Gwinnett

March 4, 2012 - By
Amerks Look for Back to Back Wins vs Marlies; MacKenzie Up from Gwinnett

The Amerks are back at home tonight at 6:05pm against the Toronto Marlies for the second of a home and home series.  The Amerks beat the Marlies 2-1 on Saturday afternoon in Toronto, Paul Szczechura scored the game winning goal at 8:57 of the third period on the power play.  Brayden McNabb passed the puck to Szczechura at the Amerks blue line and Szczechura went straight down the ice past three Marlies to score on the breakaway.  David Leggio had 21 saves in the win.  Evan Rankin had scored the first goal for the Amerks when he was parked in front of the Marlies net and put away a rebound off a shot that Phil Varone took.

Ron Rolston told the D&C:

“We were putting pressure on them (on the previous power plays) and didn’t get a lot of great looks,” Amerks coach Ron Rolston said. “(On the goal) we got a breakout and on the entry we got the puck in middle. It was a great individual effort by Paul. Just what we needed to get us a win tonight.”

Marcus Foligno was called up on Saturday afternoon by the Sabres as an extra forward in Vancouver, he [...]Read More

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Four Teams Make Moves Around The AHL

March 3, 2012 - By
Four Teams Make Moves Around The AHL

The deadline is Monday at 3pm for American Hockey League teams and their parent clubs in the NHL to make deals and four teams have already done so.  The four teams are the St Johns IceCaps, Portland Pirates, Peoria Rivermen and Texas Stars.

Stay tuned to see if the Sabres and/or Ron Rolston think that any moves are needed to help the Amerks down the final stretch.  The Sabres are likely listening closely to what Rolston has to say and working with him as needed.  Chris Roy of the Maine Hockey Journal wrote on Facebook, “As much as Portland folks loved the Sabres organization, they were never proactive about Portland.”  This Amerks team has had needs since prior to training camp starting but nothing was ever done.  Any moves made now that can help down the stretch would be accepted but the hope is that it won’t be too little too late.

Here’s the moves so far:

The Winnipeg Jets have assigned Peter Mannino and Kenndal McArdle from the St John’s IceCaps to the Portland Pirates.

The Phoenix Coyotes have assigned Brock Trotter from the Portland Pirates to the IceCaps.

The Jets also assigned forward Michael Forney and the IceCaps [...]Read More

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Amerks Blow Two Goal Lead and Lose to the Griffins

March 2, 2012 - By
Amerks Blow Two Goal Lead and Lose to the Griffins

What happened on Friday night in Grand Rapids is exactly what the team didn’t need to happen.  They got out to an early lead but couldn’t hold on to it and went on to lose 4-3 to the Griffins.  The Amerks remain in 10th place and the Griffins are now four points behind them in the standings with three games in hand.  They’ll take the bus to Toronto and play against the Marlies at 5pm Saturday afternoon.

(Photo by Bobby Pulte Griffins Hockey)

Here’s the teams press release game summary:

AMERKS DROP 4-3 DECISION TO GRIFFINS

(Grand Rapids, MI)… The Grand Rapids Griffins rode a three-goal third period en route to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Rochester Americans at Van Andel Arena on Friday night. The loss snapped Rochester’s three-game winning streak.

Colin Stuart (0+2) and Phil Varone (0+2) chipped in two assists apiece for Rochester, with Brayden McNabb (1+0), Luke Adam (1+0), and T.J. Brennan (1+0) providing the goals. Netminder David Leggio turned away 28 of 32 Griffins shots between the pipes in his fourth straight start.

Joakim Andersson (2+0) led the way offensively for Grand Rapids with a two-goal performance, while Francis Pare (1+1) contributed a [...]Read More

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Amerks Gameday vs Griffins; Moves Possible Before 3pm Monday Deadline

March 2, 2012 - By
Amerks Gameday vs Griffins; Moves Possible Before 3pm Monday Deadline

The Amerks are on the road tonight against the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7pm for what should be a pretty competitive hockey game.  The two teams are both currently riding three game winning streaks.  The two teams are fighting towards a playoff spot.  The Griffins are currently six points behind the Amerks in the standings but the Griffins also have three games in hand on the Amerks.

Rochester has the upper hand this season winning three out of four games played.  The results from those games are:

Rochester 1 @ Grand Rapids 4 (Jan 25 2012) Final

Rochester 4 @ Grand Rapids 3 (Jan 21 2012) Final SO

Grand Rapids 1 @ Rochester 2 (Nov 12 2011) Final

Grand Rapids 2 @ Rochester 7 (Oct 16 2011) Final

After the game tonight they’ll play one more time on April 10th in Rochester.

Jacob Lagace is the only injury right now and did not make the trip, he’s out with a wrist sprain.  Shawn Szydlowski was called up as his replacement.  Michael Ryan is also out injured but at this point in the season I think everyone has written him off.  It’s unfortunate because he wanted to play and contribute but [...]Read More

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Zack Kassian: The Legendary Player that Never Was

March 2, 2012 - By
Zack Kassian: The Legendary Player that Never Was

When trade deadline day started earlier this week on Monday there wasn’t much talk about Zack Kassian going anywhere.  He was a player with a lot of hype and a lot of potential.  He was a player that Rochester Americans fans and Buffalo Sabres fans thought highly of and of what he was going to become.  Kassian was supposed to be this hard hitting, gritty, agitating forward that no one would want to play against.  For whatever reason he wasn’t really any of those things.  Some people seemed to notice and care.  Others were fine that he wasn’t those things at least in The AHL because he was scoring.  In terms of his legacy in the Buffalo Sabres organization he’ll go down as a disappointing player who in 30 games played with the Amerks and 27 games with the Sabres never fulfilled his role.

Kassian played the first 18 games of his professional career with the Amerks before being called up for the first time on November 11th at the height of the Sabres injury riddled season.  Brad Boyes had been injured in a game against Boston which opened up a spot for Kassian.  At the time Kassian had 7 [...]Read More

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Szydlowski Back to the Amerks; MacKenzie and Fienhage to Gwinnett

February 29, 2012 - By
Szydlowski Back to the Amerks; MacKenzie and Fienhage to Gwinnett

Three minor moves this week for the Amerks moving players to and from the Gwinnett Gladiators.

Matt MacKenzie was finally cleared to play after missing 34 games with the Amerks and was sent to the Gladiators.  He had his leg sliced open by a skate in December and after a long recovery is finally ready for action again.  This was the first season for the rookie and has an entry level contract signed through the 2013-2014 season so we’ll see him again next season.

Corey Fienhage was also sent to the Gladiators after playing the role of the extra defenseman for most of the season for the Amerks.  In 17 games Fienhage had four assits and 20 penalty minutes.  He’s a defenseman who tries to use his size but at times was overmatched in the AHL.  He was only signed to an AHL contract.

Shawn Szydlowski also sent out a tweet that he’s headed back to Rochester.  In the past six games with the Gladiators he has scored one goal and also has three assists.

A few important dates related to the ECHL:

March 2012

5th AHL Clear Day Roster Deadline and AHL/ECHL Recall Deadline

7th Recall/Assignment Deadline (11:59 p.m. local [...]Read More

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Information about the Deadline for AHL Playoff Rosters

February 27, 2012 - By
Information about the Deadline for AHL Playoff Rosters

The NHL trade deadline is today (February 27, 2012) and any moves made can and usually do have some sort of impact on American Hockey League teams but that doesn’t mean moves are over.  Teams can still trade players in the AHL and any moves have to be done by the deadline of March 5th at 3pm eastern time which is when clear day rosters are due and usually announced a day or two later.  Also, any players in the NHL must be on an AHL roster today February 27 at 3pm to be eligible for inclusion.  Corey Tropp was already sent to the Amerks today and we can likely expect Zack Kassian to be sent down as well and then immediately called back up.

What is the clear day roster?  According to AHL by-laws, only those players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the 2011-12 AHL regular season and in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.

That still leaves plenty of room to make changes to the roster but it’s done to prevent teams from sending down half of [...]Read More

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Varone and Igor Lead the Amerks to a 15 Round Shootout Win (with shootout video)

February 26, 2012 - By
Varone and Igor Lead the Amerks to a 15 Round Shootout Win (with shootout video)

A week after a horrible weekend collapse the Amerks are now on a three game winning streak heading into the month of March and the final push for the Calder Cup playoffs.  The 15 round shootout win had a bit of everything and it all came together with Igor Gongalsky winning the game in the 15th round of the shootout, one round away from the AHL record.  David Leggio was yet again fantastic with 22 saves in regulation and 13 saves in the shootout.

This was the third straight win for the Amerks and a winning streak that they haven’t had since they won four straight between December 18th and the 28th.  The win bumps the Amerks into a tie for eighth place with the Peoria Rivermen.  It also puts them just three points behind the fourth place Chicago Wolves BUT every team between the Amerks and Wolves in the standings has at least a game in hand.  It’s amazing how things can quickly turn a corner with three wins in a row.

Phil Varone had an assist on all three goals and is now leads the team in points with 36 (8G + 28A) after this game.  Varone is [...]Read More

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David Leggio Leads the Amerks to a Second Straight Win

February 25, 2012 - By
David Leggio Leads the Amerks to a Second Straight Win

The Amerks are in need of a push to the playoffs and they gave themselves just that with their second win in a row on Friday night against the Adirondack Phantoms.  David Leggio played a superb game for his second shutout of the season with 27 saves.  There was also at least four or five additional saves given to the goal posts and crossbar.

The first period started getting physical with some extra shoves here and there following the whistles.  Jacob Lagace flattened Ben Holmstrom with a clean open ice hit.  Shortly after that Travis Turnbull and Ben Holmstrom shared a ‘friendly’ shoulder bump changing lines during a stoppage in play.  Matt Walker of the Phantoms also gave an extra shove on Luke Adam after a whistle.  Nothing else happened after those plays but both teams were proving they weren’t going to be pushed around.

Derek Whitmore scored the first goal and game winner at the 11 minute mark of the first period for his team leading 23rd goal of the season.  Joe Finley started the play with a long pass that bounced off of the stick of a Phantoms player and to Luke Adam.  Derek Whitmore was skating down the [...]Read More

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