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Posts tagged 'Matt Duffy'

Posts Tagged ‘Matt Duffy’

Grading the 2009-2010 Amerks Player by Player

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May 4, 2010 - By

One week ago today we were mentally preparing for game 7 against the Abbotsford Heat and hoping for a legendary game.  It certainly turned out to be a legendary game, unfortunately not in favor of the Amerks.  As sports fans, it’s the type of loss that will live with us forever until another Calder Cup is won.  Until that happens next season, there’s still a number of things to discuss about the one that just ended and I’ll start by grading each of the players.

Thanks to Eric Bourgeois (frequent reader, supporter and die hard Amerks fan) who contributed to this.  There’s a couple things I disagreed with him on and noted.  You may agree or disagree yourself on a lot of things said and I’d love to hear your thoughts.  These grades are based on a lot more than just a stat sheet.

Starting with highest grade to lowest:

Jason Garrison: A-
– He’ll have a full time job in the NHL soon enough.  Eric had him listed as a B+ but I gave him an upgrade.  The Amerks defense had issues all season and without Garrison in the lineup for the post season (2g+7a) things may have [...]Read More

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Contract Status for Amerks Players Heading into Next Season

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April 29, 2010 - By

Now that the season is over for the Rochester Americans it’s time to take a look and see who is still under contract with the Panthers or Amerks, who is and who is not still likely to sign.  I grouped players by signed, likely to sign and RFA and UFA.  Under each category I put some guesses about the status of the players.

Currently Under Contract for 10/11:

Coaches: Benoit Groulx and Jason Cipolla

Goalies: Alexander Salak, Marc Cheverie

Defense: Michael Caruso, Keaton Ellerby, Adam Comrie, James DeLory

Forwards: Evgeny Dadonov, Michal Repik, Brady Calla, Graham Mink, Chris Taylor, Shawn Matthias, Victor Oreskovich, Eric Selleck, AJ Jenks

One Way: Clay Wilson and Jeff Taffe are signed but to one way contracts with the Florida Panthers.  If they don’t fit into their plans it’s still possible the Panthers will try and have them clear waivers to be sent to the Amerks.

***** Shawn Matthias has probably played his last game in the AHL and should be able to earn a job with the Panthers going forward.  Keaton Ellerby will be trying to earn a job as well but he has some work ahead.  It’s amazing that James DeLory is still under [...]Read More

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Gameday: Last Regular Season Home Game and Pink Jerseys

April 9, 2010 - By

Preview of Amerks Pink Jerseys

It’s really hard to believe that tonight is the last regular season home game of the 2009-2010 season for the Rochester Americans.  It really does feel like just a few weeks ago that everyone was excited about the start of the season.  It’s been a long roller coaster of a season but the bottom line is that the Amerks have spent the majority of it in second place and considered a top team in the league.

The Amerks are undefeated in regulation this season against tonight’s opponent the Toronto Marlies.  The Marlies did win the last game between the two teams in a shootout on March 28th.  The magic number for first round home advantage is one point in one of these final two games.  The other possible scenario is that the Abbotsford Heat need to lose one of their final two games.

Clay Wilson will be back in the lineup for the Amerks after playing in two games for the Florida Panthers.  Wilson has been the teams leading scorer against the Marlies this season with 4 goals and 6 assists in 7 games played.  The return of Wilson also meant that Matt [...]Read More

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Griffins Double Up Amerks to Halt Winning Streak

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April 8, 2010 - By

The Amerks had the odds stacked against them against Grand Rapids with majority of the teams defense either called up or injured.  The Griffins were able to score six goals against the Amerks in their 6-3 win which also denied the Amerks the chance to clinch home ice advantage.  The magic number is now one point.  The Amerks need either one point in one of their last two games to clinch home ice.  The other possibility is that they need the Abbotsford Heat to lose once in regulation in one their final two games.

Jordan Henry and Michael Caruso were the teams top two defensemen on Wednesday and had assistance from Luke Beaverson, Matt Duffy, Carl Hudson and Corey Syvret.  Those guys work hard at what they do but that’s more of an ECHL calibre defense than that of a 2nd place AHL team.  Rory Fitzpatrick did not make the trip, I assume he’s resting up his groin for the weekend.

Here’s the teams official recap:

For Immediate Release
April 7, 2010

GRIFFINS DOUBLE UP AMERKS TO HALT WINNING STREAK

(Rochester, NY)… The Grand Rapids Griffins scored twice in each period en route to a 6-3 win over the [...]Read More

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Amerks Extend Win Streak in Shootout Win Over Bulldogs

April 4, 2010 - By

The Rochester Americans are doing everything right at the right times and it’s paying off, the Amerks extended their win streak to three games with a huge shootout win against the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday night on the road.  Tyler Plante was perfect in the shootout stopping four Bulldogs and Evgeny Dadonov and Maxime Gratchev to lead the Amerks to their third straight win.

This resurgence of the Amerks started last Wednesday and they have not shown any signs of letting up since then.  Tyler Plante has been superb in net and Graham Mink is finally getting the puck to hit his stick.

Matt Duffy was called up from the Florida Everblades on Saturday and he wasted no time back in his role on the power play with an assist on the first goal.  Duffy shot the puck from the blue line at Graham Mink tipped the puck past Cedrick Desjardins only 57 seconds into the second period.

The Amerks took a 2-0 lead at 3:42 of the second period when Andrew Sweetland took the puck down the right side boards and the shot he took was kicked out to the front of the net, off one of the Bulldogs [...]Read More

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Amerks Send Mior, Duffy, and King Elsewhere

December 8, 2009 - By

With the completion of the long road trip the Amerks announced some roster changes on Tuesday.

Goaltender Ryan Mior was released from his PTO and he’ll return to the Dayton Gems of the IHL.  Mior played well in his two games with the Amerks and I expect he’ll be kept on speed dial if he’s needed.  Mior played in two games for the Amerks.  He made 30 saves in the teams 2-1 win on Sunday night in Abbotsford.  He also played last Wednesday in the teams 2-1 loss in Manitoba where he made 22 saves.

Colt King was on loan and returned to Rapid City.  In the two games he played for the Amerks in Abbotsford he did not really make any kind of impression.  He deserves a break though considering the distance traveled and not getting a chance to really practice with the team.  He was signed to a two way deal so we can expect to see him back at some point this season.  He was not the power forward providing toughness that was expected, but then again the games he played in were not very physical.

Matt Duffy was reassigned to the Florida [...]Read More

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Amerks Depleted Lineup Leads to 6-2 Road Loss

December 5, 2009 - By

If you’re going to lose you may as well lose big.  That seems to be the motto of the Rochester Americans this season.  They lose by the final score of 6-2 on Saturday night on the road against the Abbotsford Heat.

Shawn Matthias scored first for the Amerks on a great breakaway and was able to sneak a shot through the pads of Matt Keatley.  The only other Amerks goal was scored by Keaton Ellerby with less than seven minutes left.

That ends the highlights for Rochester.

Chris Beckford-Tseu stopped 33 of 39 shots.  A few of the early goals were because he was not able to sit on the puck hard enough.  It either passed through his pads or the Heat continued jamming at it and got it through.  Hopefully it was his last game ever in an Amerks uniform.

They were outplayed in every way.  The Heat outshot the Amerks 39-24.  They scored three goals on five power play opportunities.  They skated faster.  The controlled the puck more.  They played a tighter defense.  The list could go on.  The Amerks just could not get any real offensive attack going.

As bad as the game [...]Read More

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Steve MacIntyre Returns and Tuesdays Practice

November 17, 2009 - By

The big news out of Amerks practice on Tuesday morning was the arrival of Steve MacIntyre.  It was deja vu seeing him back on rink 1 for practice.  During the summer of 2008 the Florida Panthers signed him to play in Rochester but he was pulled off the same rink just after practice started when the Edmonton Oilers claimed him off of waivers.

There’s a good reason his nickname is “Big Mac.”  He’s not just tall but he’s big.  Some hockey players you stand next to are tall but seem like everyone else, but not this guy.

MacIntyre got a “taste” of the NHL and is going to be working hard to get back up there.  He has only played 26 games since the start of the 2008 season so he knows he has some work to do.  He wants to continue to work on his hockey skills but said he also knows what got him here.  More on him later tonight!

It’s a different site seeing the players smiling while practicing.  They’re having fun playing a sport they love and getting paid to do it.  The team is also in [...]Read More

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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

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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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Duffy to the Blades; Salak to the Panthers

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October 7, 2009 - By

The regular season is less than a week old and players are starting to collect some frequent flyer miles.

Alexander Salak was called back up to the Florida Panthers after he had already landed in Rochester.  I should have known Tuesday morning that something was up when he was not in the locker room but Duco, Repik, and Garrison were.

Current Panthers backup goalie Scott Clemmensen had to attend to some family business this week.  The Panthers next game is on Friday against Carolina and with the uncertainty of when Clemmensen will return they needed a second goalie.

The Amerks next game is Friday night as well against the Lake Erie Monsters and even if Salak stayed here or does return I think Tyler Plante will be getting the start in net.

Defenseman Matt Duffy was handed a plane ticket as well for his assignment to the Florida Everblades.  Duffy had a strong few games at the end of last season when he joined the Amerks.  Duffy has a promising career ahead of him, he was just an odd man out with the current roster.

The Amerks top six defenseman will be Rory Fitzpatrick, Clay Wilson, [...]Read More

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Amerks Season has High Expectations

October 3, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans open their 54th season in the American Hockey League tonight against the Lake Erie Monsters at Blue Cross Arena.  The past is the past.  It’s a clean slate.  It’s a new season.  It’s time for the actions of the dream team to finally pay off.

What is the dream team you ask?  It’s Curt Styres, Ted Nolan, Jody Gage, and Kerry Atkinson.  Four individuals that have proven with actions over the summer that they want to win and bring back some pride to the City of Rochester.

Ted Nolan has talked all summer about how he loves to win.  Kerry Atkinson has talked about the Amerks being the best organization in any league that provides the best entertainment for fans.  Jody Gage has been busy making sure the roster is one that believes in Amerks pride and tradition.  Curt Styres opened his wallet and invested a lot of cash to make everything happen.

“We’ve lost our identity as a city, it’s not just the Rochester Americans that lost their identity,” Jody Gage said at a media luncheon this summer.  “How do we get the Amerks back to the headlines?”  That’s a question that [...]Read More

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