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Amerks Weekly – Feb 4-Feb 10

Posted on by Steve Lopez

Amerks Games This Week

  • Wednesday – 2/6 – 7:05pm – vs Syracuse Crunch (27-13-2-1)
  • Friday 2/8 – 7:05pm – vs Springfield Thunderbirds (21-17-6-4)
  • Saturday 2/9 – 7:00pm – at Utica Comets (24-19-3-2)/

AHL North Division Standings as of February 4th

The Amerks went 2-0-0-0 last week and maintained their North Division lead. The Points Percentage (PCT) column is where we should really be looking at this point, as each team still has discrepancy in number of games played (GP).

Overall, the Amerks remain in second place in the Eastern Conference and climbed a spot to second place in the league.

What Happened Last Week?

Record Jan 28-Feb 3: 2-0-0-0

The Amerks were trailing 2-0 midway through the second period on Friday night in Binghamton before the fourth line sparked the team to a dramatic comeback victory; Yannick Veilleux scored a short handed goal and Tyler Randell tied the game a few minutes later. The score remained even until late in the third when Victor Olofsson would score a trademark PP goal to give the Amerks the win; it was his 15th goal and 38th point of the season.

The Amerks carried their momentum into Hartford the next night and continued their strong road play with a 4-1 victory. Jonas Johansson earned a classic “Ryan Miller Shutout,” giving up a goal with under 3 minutes to play in the third, ultimately putting up 34 saves on 35 shots. C.J. Smith and Eric Cornel each scored two goals, including this pretty breakaway by Smith to open the scoring.

Bright Spots

  • Yannick Veilleux (F), Tyler Randell (F), Eric Cornel (F) – An extended injury to Sean Malone accompanied by a sickness for Taylor Leier opened the door for these guys to get increased ice time and they responded with a heck of a game on Friday night. Wayne Simpson was banged up in the game and that opened the door for a promotion for Cornel, who took advantage of the opportunity to play on a line with C.J. Smith and Kevin Porter and he capitalized with a strong two-goal game.
  • Jonas Johansson (G) – He’s been yo-yoing between Rochester and Cincy this season, but he has put up an impressive 4-1 record for the Amerks, including a 2.26 GAA and .926 SV%. Combined with a strong season in Cincy, as this season progresses it’s clear that Jonas will be in line to split starts in Rochester next year, joined by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen./

Room For Improvement

Wayne Simpson (F) – This guy missed another game. Can you believe this crap? The gall to take a night off after playing in 231 consecutive AHL games…

Jokes aside, that’s a heck of an achievement in the AHL. Congrats to Wayne.

  • Tough to complain about much right now, so let’s take a week off from the negativity./

Look Ahead

It’s another three-game week. Syracuse rolls into town on Wednesday for a huge game between the North Division’s top teams; this is one of their eight remaining head-to-head games.

Friday night is a matchup against Springfield team that is desperately trying to claw its way into playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The only other matchup between these teams this season was an embarrassing 9-4 loss for the Amerks in Springfield – hopefully that will serve as inspiration to return the favor on home ice.

Saturday night the team will travel to Utica to face fourth-place Utica in another tough divisional matchup.

Transactions

  • January 30, 2019 – Jonas Johansson (G) ⬆️ from Cincinnati to Rochester.
  • February 2, 2019 – Jonas Johansson (G) ⬇️ from Rochester to Cincinnati.
  • February 3, 2019 – Remi Elie (F) ⬇️ from Buffalo to Rochester.
  • February 4, 2019 – C.J. Smith (F) ⬆️ from Rochester to Buffalo./

Video Room

Game 44 – 2/1/2019 – Away Win at Binghamton Devilsmets

Game 45 – 2/2/2019 – Away Win at Hartford Wolf Pack

Injury Report

  • Andrew Oglevie (F) – Concussion – Indefinite
  • Sean Malone (F) – Unknown – Unknown
  • Zach Redmond (D) – Lower Body – Week to Week/

Farmville

The Cincinnati Cyclones are 29-8-3-3 (!!!), remain in first place in their division, and second overall in the ECHL.

Jonas Johansson (G) is 13-5-1-2 with a 2.79 GAA and an .900 SV%.

Old Friends

Question of the Week

Does the potential success of the Amerks matter to you as a Sabres fan?

Talking Points