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Amerks Weekly – Oct 22-Oct 28

Posted on by Steve Lopez

Amerks Games This Week

  • Friday 10/26 – 7:05pm – vs Utica Comets
  • Saturday 10/27 – 7:05pm – vs Laval Rocket/

AHL North Division Standings as of October 22nd

By claiming five of six possible points last week, the Amerks have vaulted themselves into the North Division lead. Division newcomers Cleveland trail by a point with a game in hand.

What Happened Last Week?

Record Oct 15-Oct 21: 2-0-1-0

The Amerks maintained their momentum from the previous week and achieved the team’s first five-game winning streak since April of 2014 with wins over Utica and Toronto before losing in their first visit to Belleville in this young season.

Bright Spots

  • Victor Olofsson – Leads the entire league with 14 points. He was recently named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week. Two goals and four assists in 3 games, including a four-point outing at Utica on Wednesday.
  • Zach Redmond – Two more goals and three more assists. A great start to the season has Redmond sitting right behind Olofsson for second in the league with 12 points. He leads all defensemen in the league.
  • Lawrence Pilut – Despite missing two games, Pilut is currently 4th in the league with 10 points. He’s second in defensemen behind only Redmond. He’s also a whopping +7 through only six games.
  • Alexander Nylander – Another strong week for Alex with two goals and assist in three games. More importantly, he’s demonstrated a willingness to get dirty in front of the net and in the corners and he was more careful moving the puck in transition. Everyone expects the points to be there so we’ll continue to look for steady improvements in the other aspects of his game./

William Borgen – This week was Borgen’s coming out party, with his first professional assist on Friday followed by his first goal on Saturday. His defensive play continues to impress and any offensive contributions he can provide to the team will just be gravy. He’s not on the team to throw punches (that’s what Dalton Smith and Tyler Randell are for), but from what I’ve seen so far I think it’s only a matter of time before Borgen gets his first professional scrap.

Brendan Guhle – A five-game point streak, two fantastic goals, and an assist have Guhle returning to form. He loves to join the rush and both of his goals were a result of his speed and hockey IQ.
Friday in Rochester (notice his speed racing up the center to take the pass):

Saturday in Belleville (more speed, reading the play, and joining the rush):

  • The Power Play ranks first in the league. The Amerks are rolling at an astounding 35.5 PP%. At first glance, that rate does not seem sustainable – and it probably isn’t – but if the roster doesn’t get raided by injuries or callups, then it could very well stay above 30%. PP1 has consistently featured Wayne Simpson, Kevin Porter, Victor Olofsson, Zach Redmond, and Lawrence Pilut. While PP2 has seen C.J. Smith, Rasmus Asplund, Alexander Nylander, Danny O’Regan, and Brendan Guhle./

Room For Improvement

  • The Amerks’ Penalty Kill has been awful. They currently rank 29th in the league with a measly 68.6% kill rate. In each of the last two games the team lost a lead by giving up PP goals and the game ultimately went to overtime . They’ll need to clean this up if they want to avoid future third period collapses./

Look Ahead

The Amerks have reached an odd point on the schedule in which they only have nine games on the schedule over the next thirty days. This weekend they’ll continue their divisional play by welcoming Utica and Laval to the BCA for games on Friday and Saturday night. One good thing about 21 off days is it should give the team plenty of time to practice and hopefully improve their penalty kill.

Transactions

10/16/2018 – Matt Tennyson from Buffalo to Rochester

Video Room

Game 6 – 10/17/2018 – Away Win at Utica Comets

Game 7 – 10/19/2018 – Home Win vs Toronto Marlies

Game 8 – 10/20/2018 – Away Loss at Belleville Senators

Injury Report

  • Sean Malone – Knee – Week to Week
  • Jack Dougherty – Lower Body – Day to Day
  • Lawrence Pilut – Upper Body – Day to Day
  • Myles Powell – Unknown – Day to Day
  • Andrew Oglevie – Unknown – Day to Day/

Farmville

Early in the ECHL season the Cincinnati Cyclones are 2-1-0-0. Jonas Johansson is 1-1 with a 3.00 GAA and an .880 SV%.

Old Friends

  • Matt Moulson: 2+6=8 in 7 games with Ontario.
  • Nicholas Baptiste: 3+1=4 in 7 games with Milwaukee.
  • Colin Blackwell: 1+0=1 in 1 game with Milwaukee.
  • Cliff Pu: 0+1=1 in 6 games with Charlotte.
  • Seth Griffith: 2+2=4 in 6 games with Manitoba.
  • Jordan Nolan: 0+2=2 in 6 games with San Antonio.
  • Hudson Fasching: 1+1=2 in 6 games with Tucson./

Talking Points