"Odd Man Rush"
Written by Ben Rawdon
|
Sabres: Rough Times in Western New York
Feb. 9th - Looking to continue their recent dominance over the opposition at HSBC Arena, the Buffalo Sabres returned home on Wednesday, February 3rd to take on the surging Ottawa Senators, who entered the game with a 9-game win streak. With clutch scoring from two of their top weapons on offense, the Senators set a franchise record for consecutive wins as they won their 10th in a row in a 4-2 win over the Sabres.
Buffalo was on the verge of taking a 1-0 lead in the first period when a wrist shot from center Jochen Hecht was saved by Ottawa goaltender Brian Elliott, but the puck flipped over Elliott and came down dangerously close to the goal line where defenseman Chris Phillips swiped it away before the puck clearly crossed the line. The play was reviewed by the video officials in Toronto, but was ultimately upheld by referee Brad Watson. After one period of play, the game was scoreless.
The first goal would not be scored until the 13:38 mark of the second period when in the defensive zone, Senators right wing Ryan Shannon dished a pass to center Jason Spezza, who skated down the right side of the ice and shot a wrister from the face-off dot to the left of goaltender Ryan Miller and beat the Sabres’ netminder to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead.
A high-scoring third period began at 5:59 as a Buffalo turnover created an opportunity for Spezza, who faked a shot to Miller’s left and the ensuing snap shot went top-shelf. After some hesitation by both sides, Ottawa celebrated the goal and their 2-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, the Sabres finally lit the lamp when on a feed from right wing Jason Pominville, defenseman Andrej Sekera skated circles around the Ottawa defense and beat Elliott on a point-blank wrist shot to cut Buffalo’s deficit to 2-1. Just 27 seconds later, the game was squared as center Tim Connolly took a pass from Hecht, skated into the Ottawa zone, and shot a wrister from the point past Elliott to tie the game at 2-2. After several close opportunities, the Senators would register the go-ahead goal with one minute left in regulation as a slap shot from defenseman Erik Karlsson was saved by Miller, but right wing Daniel Alfredsson was right there to pick up the rebound in the goal mouth and beat Miller on the open left side to give the Sens a 3-2 lead. Alfredsson would tally an empty netter 37 seconds later and the Senators handed the Sabres their first regulation loss on home ice since December 7th, a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
After head coach Lindy Ruff made some changes to his defense pairings, the Sabres returned to action on Friday, February 5th as they played host to the Carolina Hurricanes. The majority of the game was an evenly matched battle with both teams responding with a goal after the other scored one, but the Hurricanes would pull away late in the third period and escape Buffalo with a 4-3 victory over the Sabres at HSBC Arena.
Carolina opened the scoring 13:07 into the first as center Zach Boychuk dished a pass from behind the net to defenseman Aaron Ward, who fired a wrister from just inside the point to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. Towards the end of the period, Buffalo struck back as Andrej Sekera blasted a slap shot from inside the blue line at the point that eluded Carolina goaltender Manny Legace to tie the game 1-1 at 18:35. The goal was originally awarded to Jochen Hecht, but the official scorer later gave the goal to Sekera with assists from Jason Pominville and defenseman Chris Butler.
After a scoreless middle stanza, Carolina opened the third with a goal 34 seconds in as newly appointed captain Eric Staal skated from the corner to the left side of Ryan Miller and beat him on a wrister to give the Hurricanes their second lead of the game at 2-1. Only 24 seconds later, the Sabres pulled even as left wing Thomas Vanek fed a one-timer to right wing Drew Stafford that deflected off the knee of center Derek Roy and into the net to tie the game 2-2 less than a minute into the third. Exactly two minutes later, Buffalo took their first lead of the night as Stafford connected on a one-timed pass from Sekera and the shot was initially stopped by Legace, but the puck bounced into the air, deflected off Legace’s back, and landed past the goal line to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead at 2:58. Carolina would tie the game again at 8:23 when right wing Tom Kostopoulos completed a one-timer from left wing Sergei Samsonov and the pretty wrist shot beat a sprawling Miller to even the score at 3-3. At 16:43, the Hurricanes would net the go-ahead tally as left wing Jussi Jokinen picked up the loose puck in the neutral zone and skated into the Buffalo zone, where he fired a slap shot that flew right by Miller and into the corner of the net to give Carolina a 4-3 lead that would not be relinquished.
With regular starter Cam Ward back in Raleigh after suffering a leg laceration two nights earlier in Calgary, Manny Legace stepped into the Carolina crease and made 28 saves despite playing only 7 minutes since December 23rd, a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
The following night, the Sabres traveled through heavy snow and eventually found their way to Columbus, Oh. where they took on the host Columbus Blue Jackets in an important game for both teams at Nationwide Arena. In their second game since interim coach Claude Noel took over behind the bench for Ken Hitchcock, who was fired as head coach on February 3rd, the Blue Jackets exposed holes in Buffalo’s top-ranked penalty kill unit as two key power play goals complimented 28 saves by goaltender Steve Mason in a 4-0 win for Columbus.
After a scoreless first period, the Blue Jackets started their scoring onslaught in a strange way 2:17 into the second when a clearing attempt from center ice by defenseman Milan Jurcina took a bounce off the glass in the corner and bounced to Sabres goaltender Patrick Lalime, where the puck deflected off his leg and went off the inside of the right post into the net to give Columbus a 1-0 lead. The score was doubled to 2-0 at 15:32 when on a power play opportunity, superstar right wing Rick Nash, involved in a battle with defenseman Tyler Myers, collected a pass from left wing R.J. Umberger and somehow shot a wrister as he was being knocked down to the ice by Myers that beat Lalime for his team leading 25th goal of the season.
The Jackets resumed their scoring 46 seconds into the third as a pass from the right side of the Buffalo net by center Derick Brassard found the stick of defenseman Anton Stralman, who shot the one-timed wrister from the slot and past Lalime for a 3-0 lead in favor of Columbus. Just over a minute later at 2:09, the lead became insurmountable for the Sabres as a backhanded pass from right wing Jakub Voracek cross the goal mouth and went to left wing Raffi Torres, where the ensuing snap shot went through the legs of Buffalo defenseman Craig Rivet and past Lalime to put Columbus up 4-0 to snap the Blue Jackets’ two-game losing skid and extend Buffalo’s own streak to four games.
The Sabres would not return to action until Tuesday, February 9th when they returned home to host the Boston Bruins for the final time this season. On a night where former player and broadcaster Jim Lorentz and former coach Joe Crozier were inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, the modern players in blue and gold came out flat right from the start and the Bruins stepped closer to a return to the playoff picture thanks in large part to a former Sabres winger with a 3-2 win over Buffalo in a shootout.
Boston drew first blood just 4:51 into the opening period when left wing Daniel Paille, who started the season in Buffalo and was traded to the Bruins on October 20th for two draft picks, collected a short pass behind the net from center Marc Savard and scored on the wrap-around past Ryan Miller to put the Bruins up 1-0 early on. The score was expanded to 2-0 at 11:58 when defenseman Zdeno Chara ripped a slap shot from the point that was tipped into the net by Paille for his first multi-goal game in a Boston uniform as the Bruins took the 2-0 into the locker room after 20 minutes.
A role reversal highlighted the second period as Buffalo ended a two-game scoreless drought at 4:35 when Tim Connolly sent a cross-ice pass to the slot, where Derek Roy picked it up and beat goaltender Tuukka Rask on a high wrist shot to bring the Sabres to within a goal at 2-1. Tyler Myers would continue to make his case for the Calder Trophy (top rookie in the NHL) at 18:35 when the rookie defenseman collected the loose puck at center ice, skated into the Boston zone, and sent the ensuing wrist shot past Rask to square the game at 2-2 after two.
After both teams were held scoreless in the third period and overtime, the game went to a shootout. Jason Pominville and Bruins left wing Marco Sturm would score on each team’s opening shot, tying the shootout at 1-1 after one round. The goaltenders then took control as Rask stopped Jochen Hecht, Tim Connolly, and Drew Stafford, while Miller denied Michael Ryder and Marc Savard in succession. Needing a goal to win the game in the fourth round, Bruins center David Krejci scored on a simple wrist shot to give his Boston club a 3-2 win in the shootout, their second straight win after snapping a 10-game winless streak that had plagued them as of late.
As if the current winless skid wasn’t bad enough, the Sabres are dealing with two additions to their injured list over the past week. Defenseman Steve Montador suffered an upper body injury after taking a hit during Buffalo’s game on February 6th against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He missed the team’s most recent game against Boston, but the veteran defender returned to practice on February 10th and is expected to return in time for the team’s game on February 11th in Raleigh, N.C.
The defense corps also had a scare against the Bruins as Tyler Myers was hit on the right side of the neck on a shot from Daniel Paille with 42 seconds left in regulation. He did not return to the game, but skated during practice the following afternoon and is considered day-to-day.
Right wing Patrick Kaleta (bruised foot) continues to improve after suffering his injury during the team’s game on February 1st against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He briefly skated on the ice at Amherst Pepsi Center on February 10th before the team commenced practice, but did not have any gear on. The current status for Buffalo’s hard-nosed, rugged forward is day-to-day.
Currently on a five-game losing streak, the Sabres have dropped to an overall record of 32-18-8 and remain at 72 points, which is tied with the Ottawa Senators (34-22-4, 72 points) for first place in the Northeast Division, but the Sabres hold the #3 spot in the Eastern Conference standings because they have two games in hand over the Senators. Buffalo is just two points behind the New Jersey Devils (36-20-2, 74 points), but everyone is trailing the Washington Capitals (41-12-6, 88 points), who are on a franchise-record 14-game win streak, which is the third longest in league history, and are one point ahead of the Western Conference leading San Jose Sharks (39-11-9, 87 points) for the best record in the NHL.
With three points in four games over the past week, Tim Connolly continues to lead the team in points with 53 (14 goals, 39 assists). Rounding out the top five in scoring for the Sabres are Jason Pominville (42 points), Derek Roy (41), Thomas Vanek (37), and Tyler Myers (32). Vanek’s 17 goals and Connolly’s 39 assists lead the team in those particular categories, while other leaders in scoring categories are Vanek in power play goals (8), Patrick Kaleta in shorthanded goals (2), and Roy in game-winning goals (5). With Henrik Tallinder’s rating dropping over the past week, Pominville and Connolly are tied for the lead in the plus/minus category with a +8 rating.
Between the pipes for Buffalo, Ryan Miller now holds an overall record of 29-14-6 with a 2.15 goals against average, a .931 save percentage, and five shutouts. His save percentage is tied with two other netminders for the league lead in that category, Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Tomas Vokoun of the Florida Panthers. Behind him on the depth chart, Patrick Lalime sports a record of 3-3 with a 3.21 GAA and a save percentage of .896.
The Sabres have two games remaining prior to the Olympic break, starting with a matchup on Thursday, February 11th with the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. Two nights later (Saturday, February 13th), the team returns home for a highly anticipated rematch with the San Jose Sharks at 7:00 p.m. to close out the pre-Olympic portion of their schedule.
After the Sharks visit HSBC Arena, the Sabres will not return to the ice until Tuesday, March 2nd when they make their final regular season visit to Mellon Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:30 p.m.
View Sabres Schedule
Purchase Sabres Tickets
View Sabres Team Roster
RIT: Favot Leads Tigers to Series Split
Feb. 8th - After splitting a series at home against the Bentley Falcons, the Rochester Institute of Technology men’s hockey team traveled to Milford, Conn. on Friday, February 5th for a two-game weekend series against the Sacred Heart Pioneers, who entered the game with a 12-game undefeated streak. Led by a career-high four points from junior forward Andrew Favot, the Tigers snapped one of the nation’s longest unbeaten streaks with a 5-2 win over the Pioneers.
R.I.T. opened the scoring 6:50 into the contest when junior forward Tyler Mazzei collected a pass from Favot at the blue line and fed sophomore defenseman Chris Haltigin, who shot a high wrister from the slot that eluded Sacred Heart goaltender Steven Legatto to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The score was doubled on a power play opportunity just 58 seconds later as Favot blasted a slap shot from the slot and went through the screen, deflected off a Pioneer defender, and landed in the net for a 2-0 Tigers lead at 7:48. Sacred Heart got on the board a little over three minutes later when a wrist shot from forward Matt Gingera hit the bottom of the crossbar and fell behind R.I.T. senior goaltender Jared DeMichiel into the net to cut the deficit to 2-1 after one.
The second period scoring would start at 5:07 when on another power play chance, sophomore forward Cameron Burt ripped a shot from the point that deflected off the stick of Favot and into the net to bump the Tigers’ lead to 3-1. R.I.T. would then get into penalty problems that would come back to haunt them at 12:16 when Sacred Heart, skating 5-on-3 with a two-man advantage, got back to within one after defenseman Paul Ferraro fed a cross-ice pass to forward Erik Boisvert, who ripped home a one-timed slap shot to bring the Pioneers’ to within a goal at 3-2. Five minutes later, the Tigers would burn the Pioneers on another power play opportunity as sophomore forward Tyler Brenner capitalized on his own rebound from in tight to double the lead once again to 4-2.
The third period was a physical stanza highlighted by open-ice hits and a combined 7 minor penalties for both teams, R.I.T. with four and Sacred Heart with three. The Tigers would put the game on ice however as Favot completed the best game of his collegiate career by winning a faceoff in the Sacred Heart zone that resulted in another goal from Brenner just seconds later for the Tigers’ fifth goal of the contest at 18:54. Despite being shorthanded 11 times, the Tigers would allow only one goal on Sacred Heart power plays in a game that featured 28 combined penalties for a total of 72 minutes.
The two squads re-convened the following afternoon at the Milford Ice Pavilion for another high-scoring affair, but the Tigers could not hang on despite netting four goals as they fell to Sacred Heart by a score of 5-4 to earn a split in the weekend series.
In front of a sparse crowd of only 438 fans, R.I.T. struck first at the 13:26 mark of the opening period when sophomore forward Scott Knowles collected a pass from freshman forward Adam Hartley in the neutral zone and shot a wrister from a bad angle that caught Steven Legatto napping and beat him on the short side off his skates to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later, the Pioneers would pull even at 1-1 as forward Nick Johnson fed a cross-ice pass to linemate Patrick Knowlton, who brought home the one-timer in the goal mouth for the goal at 14:41. Sacred Heart would take the lead with 15 seconds left in the period as a delayed offside against the Pioneers was never called and they capitalized on the blown call when forward Dave Jarman fired a shot from the left point that went through the screen and beat Jared DeMichiel to put the Pioneers up 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Sacred Heart would increase their lead early in the second as a 2-on-1 opportunity resulted in a shot from Knowlton that was saved by DeMichiel, but defenseman Corey Laurysen picked up the rebound and scored on a snap shot into a somewhat-open net to give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead at 1:18. The Tigers would strike back three minutes later when Tyler Brenner worked the give-and-go with Chris Haltigin and scored his sixth goal in the last six games to cut the R.I.T. deficit down to 3-2 at 4:08. The two sides would then play defensive, physical hockey that ultimately resulted in Jarman receiving a 10-minute misconduct at 13:26 due to a violent slash. The Tigers would take advantage on the ensuing two-man advantage as Andrew Favot continued his hot play by collecting a pass from Cameron Burt, faked a shot that played with the mind of Legatto, and beat the netminder on the low left side to tie the game at 3-3 after two.
Sacred Heart would tally the go-ahead goal 5:11 into the third as Erik Boisvert skated down the left side on a rush and dished a pass to Paul Ferraro, who crashed the net and tipped the puck past DeMichiel and into the net to give the Pioneers a 4-3 lead. Five minutes later, they would net an insurance marker as Johnson scored in transition on a low shot from the left wing for his NCAA-leading 22nd goal of the season and a 5-3 lead for Sacred Heart. The Tigers would not go down easy though as Haltigin would bring R.I.T. back to within one at 11:44 when he took advantage of a shot from senior forward Brent Alexin that was blocked and scored on the ensuing pickup and shot. The Pioneers would clamp down on defense the rest of the way and the offense out-shot the Tigers 34-31 in a 5-4 win for Sacred Heart, keeping them to only one loss in their last 14 games.
On the morning of Monday, February 8th, Andrew Favot was honored by the Atlantic Hockey Association as their Player of the Week for the week ending February 7, 2010 after registering his third five-point weekend of the campaign, including four in Friday’s win over Sacred Heart. This was Favot’s second such honor of the season and fourth of his collegiate career to date.
With six games remaining in the regular season, the Tigers find themselves in the driver’s seat in the AHA standings with a chance to claim the conference’s regular season championship for the second straight year (first year outright). With an overall record of 16-11-1, a conference record of 16-5-1, and 33 points, R.I.T. holds a three-point lead over Air Force (12-6-6, 30 points), a six-point lead over surging Sacred Heart (12-7-3, 27 points), a 7-point lead over fourth place Mercyhurst (12-8-2, 26 points), and an 8-point lead over fifth place Canisius (11-8-3, 25 points).
After a big weekend, Favot retains his scoring lead on the team with 30 points (9 goals, 21 assists), four ahead of Cameron Burt’s 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists). Rounding out the top five in points are senior defenseman Dan Ringwald (23), senior defenseman Alan Mazur (20), and freshman defender Chris Tanev (18), fresh off earning AHA Rookie of the Week honors on February 1st. Burt’s 11 goals and Favot’s 21 assists lead the team in those categories while other statistical leaders include Burt in shots (97), Mazur in power play goals (6), Favot in game-winning goals (3), and Tanev in blocked shots (7) and plus/minus (+16).
In goal for the Tigers, Jared DeMichiel collected his second straight 1-1 weekend which moves his overall record on the season to 15-9-1 with an AHA-leading 2.29 goals against average, a .914 save percentage, and three shutouts. In addition, his .620 winning percentage is good for first in the conference amongst goaltenders, just .006 ahead of Sacred Heart’s Steven Legatto.
Next up, R.I.T. will make their final road trip of the regular season as they travel to West Point, N.Y. for a weekend series against the Army Black Knights on Friday, February 12th and Saturday, February 13th. Both contests are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. face-offs at Tate Rink, which is located inside the Holleder Center on the U.S. Military Academy campus.
The Tigers then play four games at Frank Ritter Arena to close out their schedule, two against the Air Force Falcons and two against the Canisius Golden Griffins.
View RIT Tigers Schedule
Purchase RIT Tigers Tickets
View RIT Tigers Team Roster
Amerks: Facing Familiar Opponents
Rochester Amerk making the rush
Feb. 5th - Looking to end their four-game home stand on a high note, the Rochester Americans returned to the ice on Friday, January 29th for a matchup against the Albany River Rats. The rivals from down the Thruway helped themselves by scoring three go-ahead goals to snap the Amerks’ win streak at two with a 4-3 decision.
Albany tacked the scoreboard first 9:26 in when off a turnover by Amerks defenseman Clay Wilson, center Stefan Chaput fired a slap shot from the blue line that was saved by goaltender Alexander Salak, but forward Mike Angelidis picked up the loose rebound and scored on the second chance opportunity to give the River Rats a 1-0 lead. Just 1:13 later, the Amerks struck back as right wing Daniel Steiner picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated into Albany territory, and beat goaltender Justin Peters on a wrist shot through the five-hole to tie the game at 1-1.
The River Rats would take the lead back at 4:16 of the second as center Zach Boychuk fed a behind-the-back pass to left wing Chris Terry on a breakaway, where he beat Salak to give Albany a 2-1 lead. On a power play opportunity just two minutes later, the Amerks would square the game when Wilson prevented the puck from leaving the Albany zone and fed a cross-ice pass to center Jamie Johnson, who fired a shot past Peters from the slot for the 2-2 tie.
Midway through the third period, after Amerks right wing Graham Mink was assessed a double minor for roughing in an altercation with River Rats defenseman Zach Fitzgerald, Albany took the lead once again at 9:03 when a one-timed shot from center Nick Dodge was saved by Salak, but the puck would bounce off of his pads and land on the stick of left wing Drayson Bowman, who tapped home the rebound on a power play to put Albany back on top 3-2. Albany defenseman Brett Bellemore tallied an empty net goal at 19:26 to double the lead to 4-2, but the Amerks were not done yet as right wing Victor Oreskovich blasted a shot from the point that flew past Peters at 19:43, but they would get no further as the River Rats left Rochester with a 4-3 win.
The Amerks returned to action the following afternoon as they traveled north to the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario for a Saturday matinee against the Toronto Marlies. The goaltending was the story of the day as backup netminder Tyler Plante made 22 saves to earn his first shutout of the season in a 2-0 win for the Amerks.
The scoring started 14:57 into the opening period when Clay Wilson fired a shot from the point that went through the screen and past Toronto goaltender Andrew Engelage to give the Amerks the lone goal of the period and a 1-0 lead.
The second and final goal of the contest was scored at the 12:43 mark of the middle stanza as Wilson fed a pass to Graham Mink, who was left alone in front and beat Engelage on the ensuing shot to double Rochester’s lead to 2-0.
Despite being on the losing end of the matchup, Engelage picked up 32 saves in the Marlies net as Toronto was outshot by the Amerks 34-22, including a 26-8 margin in the final two periods.
On the morning of Sunday, January 31st, the Amerks received word from the parent Florida Panthers that they would be receiving reinforcements in the form of left wing Kenndal McArdle, who had been with the Panthers since being recalled on October 26th, after left wing David Booth was cleared to return to the Florida lineup after missing three months with a concussion. In 19 games at the NHL level this season, McArdle has recorded a goal and two assists with 29 penalty minutes and a -4 rating.
For the second straight Sunday, Rochester pulled out the Blue Cross Arena welcome mat for the Adirondack Phantoms and for the second time in 7 days, the Amerks pulled out a win over their new rivals as a third period goal from center Jeff Taffe was the difference maker in a 2-1 victory over the Phantoms.
The scoring started early as a failed clear attempt from Adirondack right wing Andreas Nodl resulted in defenseman Jordan Henry collecting the puck at center ice and as he entered the Adirondack zone, he fired a wrist shot from the point that deflected off the glove of goaltender Johan Backlund and into the net to give the Amerks a 1-0 lead just 2:43 into the game.
The Phantoms would pull even very early in the second as just 29 seconds into the period, a shot from the blue line by defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori was stopped by Alexander Salak, but the rebound somehow bounced into the slot, deflected off the skate of right wing David Laliberte, and into the net to tie the game for Adirondack at 1-1.
After the two sides spent most of the third period in a netminding battle between Salak and Backlund, the Amerks would score the go-ahead goal at 13:51 when a turnover was forced by Jamie Johnson, who fired a shot that was saved by the Adirondack goaltender, but Taffe was right there to pick up the rebound and fire a wrister into the Phantoms net to give the Amerks a 2-1 lead. Salak would make a total of 37 saves as the Amerks picked up their 29th win of the season, tying their win total from last season in the 48th game of 2009-10.
The Amerks would return to the road on Wednesday, February 3rd as they traveled to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Oh. for the first of a three-game home stand for the Lake Erie Monsters. With a 2-0 lead in the second period, the Amerks’ defensive unit collapsed under the pressure as the Monsters tallied three unanswered goals and picked up a 3-2 win over Rochester.
Amerks left wing Jimmy Bonneau would open the scoring 8:04 into the first when he picked up a drop pass from forward Kenndal McArdle in the left faceoff circle and fired a low wrister that eluded Lake Erie goaltender Tyler Weiman to give the Amerks a 1-0 lead. At 17:12, the score was bumped to 2-0 as a shot from defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick was stopped by Weiman, but center David Brine batted the puck out of mid-air from behind the net and scored on a wrap-around backhand to put the Amerks up by two after one.
The Monsters would waste no time in their second period comeback attempt, capitalizing early on as left wing Tom Zanoski created a Rochester turnover in the Amerks zone and sending the puck into the slot where right wing Darren Haydar swooped in at the top of the crease and beat Alexander Salak through the five-hole to cut Lake Erie’s deficit down to 2-1. Less than three minutes later, with five seconds remaining on a two-man advantage, the Monsters would tie the game at 4:32 as a shot from the point by defenseman Derek Peltier was saved by Salak, but a missed rebound opportunity by right wing Matthew Ford would trickle to the stick blade of veteran winger Brian Willsie, who beat Salak on a wrister at the open side to tie the game at 2-2. Lake Erie took the lead 46 seconds later when defenseman Brett Skinner fed a one-timed pass to defense partner Brian Fahey that was kick-saved by Salak, but center Philippe Dupuis picked up the puck and shot the wrister over the sprawled goaltender to give the Monsters a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish.
The following day, in anticipation of the return of defenseman Mike Caruso (strained shoulder) to the lineup, the Amerks re-assigned defenseman Matt Duffy to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. Duffy had been recalled prior to the game on January 29th against the Albany River Rats and played four games in his most recent AHL stint.
On the injury front, the Amerks have had some recent movement as defenseman Keaton Ellerby (bruised finger) returned to the lineup prior to last Friday’s against Albany. New to the list are left wing Andrew Sweetland, who suffered a concussion during the game on January 30th against the Toronto Marlies, and goaltender Tyler Plante, who came down with an illness hours after his shutout win in Toronto and was scratched from his scheduled start against the Adirondack Phantoms on January 31st as a result.
Players who remain on the injured list include defenseman Jason Garrison (strained muscle in rib) and left wing Mike York (knee surgery), who is expected to be out of the lineup for 1-2 more weeks minimum as he continues to recuperate.
Now at 29-18-2-0, the Amerks remain locked in second place in the North Division standings with a total of 60 points, 11 behind the surging Hamilton Bulldogs (32-12-3-4, 71 points) who have won five in a row and six of their last 10. The Manitoba Moose (24-22-4-1, 53 points) sit in third place, 7 points behind the Amerks in the standings, while the Lake Erie Monsters (23-23-0-4, 50 points) have leap-frogged the Abbotsford Heat (21-23-4-3, 49 points) into fourth place.
With 50 points, Jamie Johnson (19 goals, 31 assists) leads the Amerks in overall scoring, as well as in both goals and assists. Rounding out the top five in scoring are Jeff Taffe (34 points), center Chris Taylor (34), Clay Wilson (33), and right wing Michal Repik (32), who is currently on recall to the Florida Panthers. Taylor continues to lead the team in power play goals with six, Repik and David Brine lead the squad in shorthanded tallies with two each, and Jordan Henry has surpassed the injured Jason Garrison in the plus/minus category, sporting a +16 rating that is three points ahead of Garrison’s +13.
Alexander Salak continues to lead the Amerks in all goaltending categories, holding an overall record of 22-8-0 with a 2.58 goals against average, a .920 save percentage, and one shutout. Off his shutout of the Toronto Marlies, backup netminder Tyler Plante now has a record of 4-4-0 with a 2.81 GAA, a save percentage of .907, and the one clean sheet.
Rochester returns to action on Friday, February 5th at 7:05 p.m. when they battle the Hamilton Bulldogs for the 8th time this season at Blue Cross Arena. Prior to the game, Willie O’Ree, the first African American to play in the National Hockey League, will perform the ceremonial puck drop. The former Boston Bruins forward is in the area to promote the “Hockey is For Everyone” campaign that provides support to youth hockey organizations in the United States and offers children from all backgrounds the opportunity to play hockey.
The Amerks then embark on a two-game road trip on Saturday, February 6th when they visit the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena for a game against the Binghamton Senators at 7:05 p.m. Four nights later (Wednesday, February 10th), the Amerks make their next stop at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, N.Y. to take on the Adirondack Phantoms at 7:00 p.m. The game marks Rochester’s first visit to Glens Falls since the Adirondack Red Wings folded after the 1998-99 season.
View Amerks Schedule
Purchase Amerks Tickets
View Amerks Team Roster
|
|
 |
| |
