Posts Tagged ‘Victor Oreskovich’

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

Victor Oreskovich Fortunate to get a Second Chance

October 2, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans have a lineup that is making the rest of the league turn heads and realize this Amerks team is nowhere near the same team they faced last season.  The addition of players like Chris Taylor, Graham Mink, Mike York, Jamie Johnson, and Jeff Taffe are an offensive threat against every team they’ll face.

The Florida Panthers are currently talking with Victor Oreskovich about signing a contract, a player who could turn out to be a big surprise. I was going to wait until after I knew he was signed but it sounds like things are going well so hopefully I don’t jinx the process.

My guess is that he’s offered a two way NHL deal with the Florida Panthers. I have absolutely nothing to base that on except from what I’ve learned about the kid. The Panthers are still under the 50 player limit to NHL deals so there’s a chance for him.

Updated 10/8/2009 – On October 8th the Panthers officially signed Oreskovich to a two way NHL contract, an amazing opportunity for a player that took two years off.

Oreskovich signed a two way NHL contract with the Florida Panthers

[...]Read More

Bonneau Signs, Friday Morning Practice, Party Deck

October 2, 2009 - By

The Amerks are on the ice this morning for possibly the last practice before their first game on Saturday night at home against the Lake Erie Monsters.  As of right now Benoit Groulx has tomorrow morning scheduled off but that could change any at any minute.

Post Practice Update: Jimmy Bonneau and Jon Landry signed a PTO contracts with the Amerks prior to practice this morning which allowed them to be on the ice.  Victor Oreskovich and Trevor Gillies are still negotiating with the team with discussions going well.  I’m sure both will be signed soon.  Goalie Ryan Mior was released.

The first thing you’ll probably notice in the arena tomorrow is the new “Party Deck” located behind at the zamboni entrance end of the arena.  The deck includes sections 103, 102, 101, 129, and 128.  The seats have been taken out and a platform is setup for group rentals.  Lewis Staats said that one of the things they noticed last year traveling around the league was that Rochester was one of the few arenas that did not have an area where fans could be right near the action.  The team was able to work with [...]Read More

Amerks vs Crunch 09-29-2009 Pictures

October 1, 2009 - By
Victor Oreskovich during the Amerks vs Crunch game on 9/29/2009

Victor Oreskovich during the Amerks vs Crunch game on 9/29/2009

Here’s my pics from the Amerks vs Crunch game on 9/29/2009 in Syracuse.

The Amerks won 4-2 (game recap)

I don’t consider myself a professional photographer at all and chances are you may have a better camera than me.  After two seasons of taking thousands of pictures I’m finally getting around to uploading the decent ones.  Just about all of the pictures you see used on this site are my own.

You can view all of my pics at http://flickr.com/letsgoamerks, I’ve tried to start labelling a lot of them so if you’re looking for a specific player you can do a search.

Lastly, if anyone out there uses a Canon PowerShot S5 IS and can offer me any tips I’ll take them!  Here’s the pics:

Amerks Defeat the Crunch with a Strong Performance

September 30, 2009 - By

The Amerks won a game on the road in Syracuse.  Amazing.  What an odd drive home that was talking about how well the team played instead of the other way around.  With two minutes left in the game my sons face lit up with excitement that he finally saw a win in Syracuse, something he’s never witnessed before in his life.

Ok, back to ground level, it was only a preseason game.. but I’ll take it.

The team that played on Tuesday night in Syracuse was a completely different team than the one that played on Sunday night.  The team had some chemistry, some cohesion, the passes were crisp, bodies were thrown around, goals were scored, and there was blood.  What more can you ask for in a hockey game?

I knew we were in for a good game when players were chirping at each other during warmups.   Trevor Gillies for the Amerks was stretching near the red line at the end of warmups when a couple of pucks came across the ice in his direction.  How did they get there?  Kevin Harvey of the Syracuse Crunch.  Warmups ended with Gillies tossing a puck back towards Gillies and the two [...]Read More

Jeff Taffe, Preseason Game #3 vs Crunch, End of Camp

September 29, 2009 - By

The Amerks wrapped up training camp this morning at the always freezing cold ESL Centre in Henrietta.  The team will also finish there preseason with a game tonight in Syracuse against the Crunch at the On Center.  The puck drops just after 7pm and I’ll be there.  Tickets are $5, no idea if they’ll charge more at the door.

The Florida Panthers today placed Jeff Taffe on waivers.  There’s very little chance he’ll be claimed off of waivers based on his current contract.  He’s signed to a two way deal this season and a one way NHL deal in 2010/2011.  I doubt an NHL team see’s that much value in him, or at least we can hope.  I’ll try to find out tonight if there’s any chance he’ll fly back on his own to join the Amerks.

Tonight’s game is an opportunity for the first two lines to try and continue building some chemistry on the ice.  It’s also a game for a few players to get a last look by the team prior to either being released or offered deals to go play with the Everblades.

The line of Dadonov, Taylor, and Mink looks to be our top line [...]Read More

Amerks Open Training Camp With A Scrimmage

September 24, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans opened the 2009 training camp getting right to the point, playing hockey!  There was not any skating, passing, or shooting drills.  The players got on the ice, skated a few laps and went right into playing a scrimmage.  It feels like a it was only a few weeks ago that the Rochester Americans cleaned out their lockers and went home for the summer.

Who were half those players out on the ice?  I have no idea and neither did a lot of other people.  They don’t have numbers or names on the practice jerseys and it’s the first time a lot of them have met.

After a brutal preseason travel schedule with the Florida Panthers the more recognizable players that we’ll be expecting the most from were given the morning off.  Those players were Graham Mink, Mike York, Kenndal McArdle, David Brine, Jamie Johnson, Jordan Henry, and Clay Wilson.  Rory Fitzpatrick was on the ice this morning prior to everyone else putting in some skating.  Assuming nothing crazy happens those players are all guaranteed roster spots for opening night.

Looking back at the start of 2008 training camp we were all hopeful [...]Read More