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Posts tagged 'Amerks' (Page 3)

Posts Tagged ‘Amerks’

This is OUR City and This is OUR Team

October 16, 2009 - By

Dear Rochester, This is OUR city and the Rochester Americans are OUR team.  The local media has been trying to tell you that the success of the Rochester Americans depends on the Buffalo Sabres, I’m here to tell you to stop listening to them.

Curt Styres believes in the City of Rochester.  Styres believes in these teams.  Curt Styres spent about $500,000 on player salaries for this season, last year he probably lost millions.  If he didn’t care about the Knighthawks why would HE pay for bus loads of fans to go to a playoff game in New York City?

This team is full of quality veterans and prospects.  This team is predicted by every media outlet and fan to make the playoffs with a real chance of going beyond the first round.  This team has an exciting duo of goaltenders that should be great throughout the season.

This is the Rochester Americans playing their 54th season in the American Hockey League.  This team is different this year.  This is OUR city.  This is OUR team.  We are our own city, we’re not the armpit of Buffalo.

The Amerks play at home tonight Friday October 16th [...]Read More

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Victor Oreskovich Finally Cleared to Play

October 15, 2009 - By

Victor OreskovichThe Florida Panthers signed Victor Oreskovich to a contract on October 9th and he’s finally been cleared to play.  He has not practiced with the team since the end of the preseason so it will be interesting to see if he plays on Friday night.

Could he really be any worst than Andrew Sweetland or Brady Calla right now?  Those two have not been bad, but they have not stuck out in any way.

The hold up was getting his work visa approved by homeland security.  Apparently they aren’t in a rush to get things like this taken care of for new players at the beginning of the season.

If a player is traded from one team to another late in the season a rush is usually put on these things.  Someone should think of calling Chuck Schumer next time to get these things taken care of quickly.

If you want to know more about Oreskovich read the story I wrote about him, “Victor Oreskovich Fortunated for a Second Chance.”

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Bonneau Back in Rochester

October 15, 2009 - By

Jimmy BonneauJimmy Bonneau is on his way back to Rochester (according to his profile on Facebook) after being released a week ago.

The Amerks have seven games remaining for the month of October.  The team plays Syracuse twice and also plays Binghamton twice, two teams known for playing a physical and tough game.

This brings up the question, does management really see the need for some toughness or did they give in to the demands of fans?

Ok, giving in to the demands of fans is a stretch.

The Amerks did just fine on Monday night against the Crunch which seemed to quite the debate, at least for two days.  The question now will be to see where and how they fit him in.

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Shawn Matthias Assigned to Rochester

October 14, 2009 - By

In a somewhat surprising move today the Florida Panthers sent Shawn Matthias back to Rochester on Wednesday.  All signs and reports (that I had read) out of Florida seemed to indicate he was playing well and earned a spot with the big club.

The Rochester Americans have a great roster and Matthias makes it even better.

He was widely criticized by everyone for his poor performance last season but he’s not likely to go back in time.  Matthias lost 20 pounds over the summer and got himself into better shape.  He’s leaner, faster, stronger, and mentally prepared for the season ahead.

Here’s what Peter DeBoer told George Richards over at On Frozen Pond:

The Panthers returned Matthias to their minor league team on Wednesday, coach Pete DeBoer saying everyone within the organization is where they should be. DeBoer wants Matthias to dominate play in the AHL although my bet is he’ll be back soon enough.

He needs to earn his ice time and score some goals,” DeBoer said. “He had a good training camp but hasn’t had a good season in the [AHL] yet. He needs to do that.”

Matthias is well aware of the [...]Read More

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Cheesy Title Time.. Amerks Crunch Syracuse!

October 13, 2009 - By

If the Amerks can continue the style of game they played on Monday night they should be able to start winning some fans back into the building.

Everyone scored who is supposed to score.  The four goals were scored by Chris Taylor, Graham Mink, Jeff Taffe, and Michal Repik.  Four players that are here for that reason.

The goaltending was exciting to watch.  Alexander Salak was all over the ice… literally.  Sprawling all over the place with his arms, his legs, his stick, his body.  To say he played with an unorthodox style is an understatement.  He’s likely to raise the blood pressure of everyone in attendance.

Crunch goaltender Dan LaCosta stopped 11 of 12 shots faced in the second and a majority of those were great saves.  The Amerks were throwing pucks at him from all over the place and he continued to stop them.

Continuing on with the Amerks….

The Amerks killed off six Crunch power play opportunities, two of those were 5 on 3′s.

They were not pushed around by a “tougher” team.

They scored two power play goals.

Eight out of 18 skaters (excluding the goalies) for the Amerks scored a point in the game.  If [...]Read More

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Florida Panthers Return Jason Garrison to Rochester

October 11, 2009 - By

Jason Garrison was reassigned to the Rochester Americans today.  The Florida Panthers had called him up to fill in for Bryan Allen in Saturdays Panthers game against the New Jersey Devils.

Garrison had 12:19 in ice time during Saturday nights Panthers vs Devils game.  The Devils won 3-2.

The Amerks defense missed Garrison on Saturday night in their 6-1 loss in Albany.  I doubt Garrison would have been the difference for the Amerks having a different outcome but he was missed.

According to Steve Gorten we should expect to see Garrison called up often this season:

He was called up Saturday so the Panthers could give Bryan Allen, who’s coming off major knee surgery, the night off with the team playing back to back games. Coach Pete DeBoer has said the team will be cautious not to put too much on Allen’s knee, especially early in the season, and that Garrison would be called up regularly to help out.

The team has two more sets of back to back games this month — the 23rd and 24th at Pittsburgh and Philly and the 30th and 31st at Dallas and St. Louis — and will play [...]Read More

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Jason Garrison Recalled and Salak Returned

October 10, 2009 - By

Jason GarrisonThe Florida Panthers recalled Jason Garrison today.  He played in Friday nights 5-2 Amerks win over the Lake Erie Monsters and had one assist in the game.  Peter Aston will likely be the sixth defenseman for the Amerks tonight in Albany.

The Panthers also reassigned goalie Alexander Salak to the Rochester Americans.  Salak played in his first NHL game on Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes after Tomas Vokoun was pulled in the third period.

Salak had been filling in for Scott Clemmensen who was away from the Panthers to deal with family matters.

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Amerks Win off Strong Goaltending and Five Goals

October 10, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans defeated the Lake Erie Monsters in a rematch of last weeks opening night contest  The Amerks won the game off of a strong performance in net from Tyler Plante as well as five goals scored by the offense.

Waitaminute… Strong goaltending and five goals leads to a a win.  I don’t think I’ve written that since I’ve started this site.

Benoit Groulx notices the play of Tyler Plante saying, “He’s competing really hard.  This is what we needed tonight to win this game.  It’s fun to see that Tyler is having this start.”

In only two games Tyler Plante has showed that he’s taking his job very seriously this season.

The down side to the night?  There was only 2,213 people at the game.  That’s a completely different topic that I’ll be addressing soon.  Anyone REALLY concerned needs to remember it’s still only the second game.  Again, more on that soon.

One of things talked about after the opening night loss was how the roster was going to be different this week and it sure was.  Six players played tonight that did not last week.  The additions of Jeff Taffe, Michal Repik, Mike [...]Read More

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Amerks have Three Games in Four Nights

October 9, 2009 - By

The Amerks have three games in four nights coming up and we’ll get the chance to see what this team is made of.  Last weekend some key players were missing that will be back.

Here’s my guesses for changes in the lineup this weekend:

Out of the lineup: Matt Duffy, Dan Collins, Peter Aston, Jimmy Bonneau, Jon Landry, and Luke Beaverson.

In the lineup: Rory Fitzpatrick, Jason Garrison, Mike Caruso, Michal Repik, and Mike Duco.

With Oreskovich still getting work visa issues straightened out I’m assuming we’ll see James DeLory in the lineup to fill the final spot.  Luke Beaverson was not very effective so I hope DeLory is given a chance.

A full lineup should be exciting to watch.  The Amerks will have more offense with Repik and Duco on the ice.  The question mark will be with James DeLory to see how he plays.  The defense will also be stronger.

Tyler Plante will get the start in net on Friday night.  Assuming he plays as well as he did last weekend he’ll probably play all weekend.

The key to winning these games will be a strong transition game and the defense preventing the opposition from getting to the [...]Read More

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Panthers Sign former Avalanche draft pick Victor Oreskovich

October 9, 2009 - By

Victor OreskovichThe Florida Panthers announced on Thursday that they have agreed to terms with RW Victor Oreskovich on a two way contract.  Oreskovich has been in Rochester waiting for the contract to be finalized and is now waiting for visa issues to be cleared up so that he can play.

Oreskovich had retired from hockey in 2007 after he lost his passion for hockey due to a couple of injuries he had suffered.  After he graduated from Notre Dame he regained his passion for hockey and was looking for a chance to get back into the game.

His answer to getting back into the game?  Geting in touch with his former coach and current Panthers coach Pete DeBoer.  Oreskovich arrived at Panthers camp and proved he could play.  He obviously played well for the Panthers to offer him a two way contract.

I wrote an article last week about Oreskovich and his history, check it out:

Victor Oreskovich Fortunate to get a Second Chance

http://www.letsgoamerks.com/2009/10/02/victor-oreskovich-fortunate-to-get-a-second-chance/

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Amerks Release Bonneau; Limited Roster Spots

October 8, 2009 - By

The Amerks announced on Wednesday that they released forward Jimmy Bonneau from his PTO contract after only one regular season game.  It’s probably safe to assume that management was unhappy with his performance during the home opener against the Lake Erie Monsters.

There were a number of players who did not perform well during that game but Bonneau must not have been the “enforcer” the team was looking for.

The surprising part about Bonneau being released is that the team had started training camp with three experienced enforcers and now they’re down to none.

I could be the jinx in this situation.  I wrote an article about Mike Sgroi, he was released.  Last week I was about to post one about Trevor Gillies and then he signed with Bridgeport.  This week I was going to post something about Bonneau and now he’s gone.

Ted Nolan had talked over the summer about creating a “safe working environment,” but as of right now it seems far from it.  I put in a call to Ted Nolan to get more information about why and what they’re looking for but as of writing this have not received a call back.  [...]Read More

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Dan Collins Assigned to ECHL

October 8, 2009 - By

Dan Collins Rochester AmericansThe Florida Panthers reassigned forward Dan Collins to the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL away from the Amerks on Wednesday afternoon.

This move does not come as a surprise at all.

Dan Collins, from Syracuse NY was selected by Florida Panthers in round 3 (#90 overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.  Collins put up some good numbers when he played in the Ontario Hockey League as well as in the ECHL for the Florida Everblades but was not able to produce points while playing in the American Hockey League.

He often seemed slow, out of shape, and out played every time he stepped onto the ice.

The 2009/2010 season is the third and final year of his entry level contract, hopefully the Panthers release him at the end of the season to free up a roster spot.

Here’s his career stats:

As you may be able to notice I’m not a fan of Dan Collins the hockey player.  Nothing personal against him, but he’s not effective on the ice and very rarely has been.

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