Amerks’ coach Randy Cunneyworth got his 300th win last night in a 5-3 victory against the Iowa Stars.

Marc-Andre Gragnani had a four point game against the Stars.  Gragnani started his season in Rochester as a defenseman but when the Amerks had a shortage of forwards he was moved to left wing.  His play has improved since moving to that position, as he was struggling as a defenseman with the worst +/- on the team.

Dylan Hunter also tallied four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in the effort against the Stars.  He now has 33 points this season with 13 goals and 20 assists.  Last season in 67 games, Hunter has 28 points, showing his improvement.

Only 26 seconds into the first period it looked like business as usual when the Stars jumped to an early 1-0 lead when all-star center Toby Petersen put his 21st goal of the season past Tyler Plante.

The rest of the first period was a back and forth game between the teams.  Gragnani tied the game 1-1 with a PP goal at 2:59.  The Stars then took the lead again at 6:41 when Konstantin Pushkarev netted a power play goal.  Gragnani wouldn’t let that lead sit when he then tied the game again at 9:03, netting his 9th goal of the season.

After the first intermission, the game was in the Amerks’ hands.  When the puck was loose in front of the net in the second period, Stefan Meyer dove at the net, knocking the puck in at 1:41 making the game 3-2.  This was Meyer’s 17th goal of the season, making him only 3 goals away from being the Amerks’ only 20 goal scorer.

At 12:05, Dylan Hunter got his first goal of the night on a clean pass from Meyer.  The 2nd period ended with the Amerks ahead 4-2.  Fans of the Amerks have learned this season not to think that the game is in the bag with a two goal lead in going into the 3rd period so, fans were still in suspense.

Coming out of the gate strong, Hunter scored his second goal only 25 seconds into the 3rd period giving the Amerks a little more room with a 5-2 lead.  This is where the score sat for most of the remainder of the game.

At 18:44, Perttu Lindgren netted a worthless one for the Stars which only made their loss by one less goal.  The final score of the game was 5-3.

The Amerks will now spend the next two weeks on the road.  Next weekend, they will be in Texas where they will take on the San Antonio Rampage on Friday.  On Sunday they travel to Houston to take on the Aeros.  You can watch the games live on the B2 Network.

Next weekend, fans can take short drives to see the Amerks play.  On Friday the 14th, they head East on the 90 to take on the Syracuse Crunch.  The next night (the 15th), they travel south to Binghamton to take on the Senators.

Official Three Stars of the Game:

• 3 – Stefan Meyer (1 goal, 2 assists)
• 21 – Marc-Andre Gragnani (2 goals, 2 assists)
• 10 – Dylan Hunter (2 goals, 2 assists)

LetsGoAmerks Three Stars:

• 3 – Mike Funk (1 assist, +2 ranking)
• 10 – Dylan Hunter (2 goals, 2 assists)
• 21 – Marc-Andre Gragnani (2 goals, 2 assists)