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Amerks in the balance. Don Stevens talks Rochester Americans |
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The Rochester Americans are a few games into the second half of their season and are still trying to pull themselves out of a muddy first half. They were the highest scoring team in the league and were rolling along to begin the season but since that strong 6-2 start they've gone 11-21-1-0. The Amerks went from the top of the conference all the way to the bottom now sit second to last with 35 points, seven points out of a playoff spot.
"It was a huge surprise," said long time Amerks broadcaster, Don Stevens. "In looking at the roster at the start of the season and with the way they started, I thought it was going to be an outstanding year.
"But the wheels fell off."
Particularly troublesome was that they played a good chunk of their home games already and have managed only four wins on the road thus far, two of them coming last week. Before that three-game trip, the Amerks were on a 10-game road losing streak. But, ironically, the road may be where things began to turn around.
It's been a slow, arduous climb back to a semblance of respectability for Rochester and last week's three-game road trip was a big step forward. While still mired in a deep funk they managed to overcome a three-goal deficit and forge out a come from behind victory over the defending Calder Cup champion Texas Stars. Johan Larsson scored the game-winner with 1:33 left in the third.
After a loss three days later in San Antonio they followed up with a shootout win in Oklahoma City. In a see-saw battle the Amerks found themselves down 7-5 with about seven minutes to play against the Barons. Late in the third Zac Dalpe and Joel Armia scored 12 seconds apart to send the game to the extra session before Dalpe won it with the lone goal in the shootout.
Where this all leads them is yet to be determined, but doing what they did against quality opponents, including the league-leading OKC Barons is a good sign. "The real impressive thing," said Stevens, "was winning two out of three on this trip. They were the absolute worst road team, by far, in the league with only two road wins coming in and winning those two out of three made for a great week."
Stevens figures that the Amerks will need around 85-86 points to get into the playoffs which means Rochester will need to grab at least 50 more points to have a chance. And they'll need to do most of their work away from Blue Cross Arena. After Friday's tilt against the Adirondack Flames they hit the road again for eight straight. In light of how they fared last week, being on the road might not necessarily a bad thing.
"I think the history of the team, it seems, especially when the teams struggle early on the year," he explained, "when they get out on a road trip it sparks something for some reason and it gets them going and they've gone on some long runs.
"Whether or not that happens right now, we'll just wait and see, but what has happened in the past is that they come back and start firing on all cylinders."
With 35 games remaining they'll need to maintain a strong pace to have a shot at the post season and maintaining a newfound confidence-level will be the key moving forward for both individuals and the team as a whole.
During a disastrous November which continued well into December, the losing was eating away overall team confidence. "Sometimes when you get on a bad roll, you start finding ways to lose," said Stevens. "It's what they were doing somewhat, and, as they say, they were gripping the stick tighter. But as their confidence grows they start making their own breaks and that's what's happening, I think."
It's not bad having veteran defenseman Drew Bagnall back in the lineup lately, albeit intermittently, as the veteran brings a strong presence to the ice. He also brings some desperately needed sandpaper on the back end as well. "The one thing [the Amerks] lack is aggressiveness not only in front of the offensive net but aggressiveness in front of their own net," remarked Stevens. "I think [the Amerks] goaltenders have been abused at times."
Stevens says that the defense without Bagnall and Nick Petrecki, has been "doing well," but the opposition is taking advantage of them. "I don't think they're big and strong enough in front of the net. Some of the rebounds are there and they might tie up the player, but not the stick. Another thing is that the opposition is crashing in on the goalie. He's getting bumped and banged quite a bit and I think that they need to address that situation."
That defense and it's design can be mostly attributed to previous GM Darcy Regier who was big on puck-movers and offensive acumen. Chad Ruhwedel, who's 12th in the AHL in scoring with 21 points (7+14) and Mark Pysyk are very similar players in style and demeanor. Rookie Jake McCabe is a bit bigger and stronger and plays with more of an edge but is not a beast in front of the net forcibly moving out the opposition.
The 6'3" 215 lb. Bagnall is a much tougher defensive defenseman and Rochester goalies are better for it. Stevens mentions the team had been missing "a big body, one that punishes the other team's forwards who are camped on the doorstep." Bagnall is the type of defensemen, keep the goalies comfortable by clearing the crease. As a seasoned veteran, he's also a teacher and a strong leader.
"Teaching some of the young guys to stick up for their goalie and stand up in their own end of the rink is huge." said Stevens, but also "he's a great captain and he knows his role. He's in the mix with the defensemen and they're not panicking as much. When he's on the ice he calms down the defensemen, keeps them in order from the bench and seems to be the settling factor for the team."
Up front the Amerks have been getting contributions from a number of players who've begun to pick up their games. Amongst them William Carrier who had previously gone through a stretch where he had one point (a goal) in 23 games before hitting the stat-sheet for two goals and an assist in his last five games. Carrier's been in a checking role and Stevens believes the rookie's lack of production is more about "trying to figure out both ends of the game."
He also pointed out that the team has been getting contributions from many as of late. After a slow start, Daniel Catenacci has nine points in his last ten games. Dalpe has three goals in his last four games and Tim Schaller has three goals and an assist in the last three games and leads the team with 13 goals. After a one-game adjustment Armia had a goal and an assist in his second game back from injury.
The driving force lately, though, has been AHL Player of the Week, Mikhail Grigorenko. He had seven points (3+4) in three games last week and assisted on both game-tying goals in the Amerks victories.
Stevens has seen immense progress in Grigorenko's game, especially over the last few weeks. "I think he's made giant steps forward this year," he said. "His confidence-level has just been growing."
One of the knocks on Grigorenko has been his play away from the puck. He's always had the offensive skills but his defensive awareness wasn't quite there. Stevens has seen that aspect progress rather well. "It's been excellent this year," he said. "It's probably why he didn't put up a lot of points for the first part the season as he was spending most of his time taking care of his own end of the rink.
"He's been playing both ends of the rink much better. Much better overall--team-oriented both offensively and defensively."
If the Amerks want to get on a serious run post-All Star break, they'll need to generate some offense, at least for now. One of those "punishers" on defense that Stevens was talking about, Petrecki, is still injured and hasn't begun skating yet which means plenty of traffic in front of their goalie. Plenty of traffic makes for golden opportunities for the opposition.
Andrey Makarov has been the go-to guy in Rochester since Nathan Lieuwen went down. Makarov is still only 21 yrs. old and the 2012 free agent signee still has plenty to learn. As shown last year when the team won seven in a row with his hot hand in net, he knows how to win. During his last few games this season the team is pulling out victories despite them giving up tons of goals. In his last three games, all wins, the team has given up 14 goals, but Rochester has managed to score 18.
Makarov is 13-11 so far this season, including two shootout wins, with a 2.79 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.
Backing up Makarov is Matt Hackett who's coming of a serious knee injury that sidelined him until earlier this month. He played well in his first game back in a 2-0 loss, but faltered in a 5-3 loss in San Antonio.
The Amerks continue their long, uphill climb this weekend with a home-and-home against Adirondack and with the NHL on All-Star hiatus, they'll have the services of two veteran forwards, Phil Varone and Matt Ellis.
Varone should help add even more offensive punch to the lineup. He was leading the team once again in scoring with 29 points (8+21) before his January 12 call-up. Both he and Ellis will probably be back with the Sabres for their west coast trip which begins Tuesday in Calgary.
One thing that kept popping up while chatting with Stevens is confidence. The Amerks as a whole seem to be gaining more and more confidence. They hooked the winch to the tree and have started to pull themselves out of their rut. A record of 6-5 in their last 11 is a good start, but they'll need to do much more than that if they wish to make it to the post season for the third year running.
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