Posts Tagged ‘Doug Janik’

Griffins 3 Goals in Under 3 Minutes Defeats Amerks; Gongalsky vs Piche

January 26, 2012 - By
Griffins 3 Goals in Under 3 Minutes Defeats Amerks; Gongalsky vs Piche

The Amerks lost on Wednesday night and there’s two ways you could look at the standings after this game.  The glass half empty way is that the Amerks are following the Buffalo Sabres lead and slowly sinking in the standings.  There’s only four points that separates the Amerks from the Rockford IceHogs who are in last place in the conference.  They’re also only six points from last place in the league.  The glass half full way is that the Amerks are only two points from eighth place in the conference and four points from sixth place.  The good news is that the Amerks play nine out of 12 games in February on home ice so if there was ever a time to really turn things around it’d be in February.  The ship hasn’t sunk but there’s reason for concern.

The real downfall has been the inconsistencies.  Everything from goal scoring to goaltending to wins and losses.  This is a hard working group of hockey players with a lot of potential how much they can really accomplish is the question.  The hope for any sports team is to get into the playoffs and then anything can happen.  It’s going to take [...]Read More

Gameday Thoughts and Lineup: Griffins at Amerks

October 16, 2011 - By
Gameday Thoughts and Lineup: Griffins at Amerks

The Amerks are coming off of their first win on the season on Friday night when they defeated the Lake Erie Monsters by the score of 3-1.  The team played a better game offensively connecting more passes which resulted in less costly turnovers.

The Griffins and Pirates didn’t play each other at all last season so there’s no real head to head matchup comparison available.

The first two losses of the season were split by David Leggio and Drew MacIntyre, both allowed some questionable goals but neither game would be considered bad.  David Leggio did play a better game on Friday night against and the Lake Erie Monsters and because of that will likely get the start tonight.  The Griffins were the first AHL team that Drew MacIntyre played for from 2004-2006.

If Travis Turnbull can continue to go after the puck and not back down from players he’ll continue improving.  If Derek Whitmore continues with his same effort and energy he’ll continue to put points on the board along with helping Zack Kassian grow.  The key is Mark Voakes playing a leading role as the teams number one center, something he may not be ready for but is being [...]Read More

Amerks Spoil the Griffins Streak, Salak Wins his Tenth

November 15, 2009 - By

Photo by Mark Newman at GriffinsHockey.com

The Amerks played spoilers on Saturday night by defeating the Grand Rapids Griffins and ending the Griffins nine game winning streak and also handed the Griffins their first home loss of the season.

Alexander Salak won his 10th game of the season by saving 33 of the 34 shots he faced.  Is it too early to vote a most valuable player of the season?  Salak had a rough game on Thursday but was back to being himself with a number of impressive saves.

I’m sure that the defense thanks Salak after every win since he he keeps the heat off of them for mistakes made that allow for such quality shots to be taken on net.

Logan Pyett ruined Salaks bid for a shutout with a power play goal with 42 seconds left on the clock, assisted by Jeremy Williams and Doug Janik.

The Griffins had just killed off a two minute penalty late when Jason Garrison was called for cross checking.

At the end of the 08/09 season Matt Duffy had been a key player on the blue line but was not very impressive in the preseason.  In [...]Read More

Florida Panthers Draft Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov

June 26, 2009 - By

The Florida Panthers drafted defenseman Dmitry Kulikov with their first round pick (14th overall) in this years NHL draft.  Kulikov is only 18 years old which means he would not appear in an Amerks uniform until at least the 2010-2011 season.  The 2008-2009 season in the QMJHL with Drummondville was his first in North America.  He moved to North America to learn the game with the goal of playing in the NHL.

Kulikov will be competing with Keaton Ellerby and Jason Garrison for a spot on the Panthers roster out of training camp in September.  It’s not likely that Kulikov will be ready for the NHL, but it was draft day so Scott Luce hyped him up.  That’s what you’re supposed to do, sell the player you just drafted in the first round.

If the Amerks can get a veteran player on defense next season it will help add some stability to a solid blue line.  It’s rumored that former Amerk Doug Janik could be returning.

The defensive core for the Rochester Americans includes Rory Fitzpatrick, Keaton Ellerby, Jason Garrison, Michael Caruso, Matt Duffy, and Jordan Henry.  Peter Aston and Luke Beaverson will also be competing for a spot on [...]Read More