|
Struggling Amerks sweep Monsters as F, Eric Cornel makes his pro debut |
|
|
|
|
|
Head coach Chadd Cassidy's Rochester Americans came into "the Q" last night on a four-game losing streak. They were playing the last game of a four-game road trip and were facing a Lake Erie Monsters team that was still in playoff contention, yet despite that, a little relief was in sight as the Amerks were coming into the contest looking for the season sweep.
In the first three meetings the Amerks outscored the Monsters by a cumulative 14-4 score and last night ended up no different as the Amerks skated to a 5-1 victory in front of 6628 in Cleveland. "It's just one of those things where you just match up well against a team or you just have confidence," said Cassidy after pulling off the sweep. "We've got a lot of new players in our lineup and finally had a long week of practice where we got everyone on the same page.
The parade of new faces in Rochester began before the NHL trade deadline but exploded as the big club shipped out assets and purged Rochester to fill it's ranks of those traded. The team is still feeling the effects of having six of their forwards on recall right now. Forwards Johan Larsson, Phil Varone, Mikhail Grigorenko, Zac Dalpe, Jerry D'Amigo and Matt Ellis totaled 72 goals for the Amerks this season. Two other top-six Amerks forwards, Luke Adam and Joel Armia, were traded during the season as well leaving the team not only bereft of top-end talent, but bodies as well. They've been scouring the college ranks, ECHL and whatever organized hockey leagues they could lately to fill their own roster.
When I asked the coach how he was holding up with the multitude of changes that has beset his club, he said matter of factly that he was taking it all in stride. "It's been interesting," he said with a wry smile. "I keep telling people that it's obviously frustrating with where we're at in the standings, but it makes you a better coach because it you always have to be coaching and you've got to find ways to get guys to play the way you need them to."
One of those who played that way Cassidy needed him to was goalie Andrey Makarov.
Makarov held up real well early in the game when the ice was decidedly tilted towards the Amerks end and shut the door after allowing only one goal. The Monsters put six high-quality shots on him in the first four minutes but came up empty. They would finish the period with 13 shots and only one would get by Makarov as Tomas Vincour snuck in behind the Amerks defenders to put away a cross-ice pass from Colin Smith.
"They were buzzing early and playing with a lot of desperation," said Cassidy. "They're trying to get into the playoffs and pushed early, but we got through the push."
They not only got through it, but Rochester began to turn the game around when Alan MacPherson scored on the powerplay with less than five minutes left in the opening period. The Amerks created plenty of traffic on the play and a strong drive to the net and full extension by defenseman Matt Prapavessis set up the goal as he tipped the puck to MacPherson.
Prapavessis is one of many Amerks players on an ATO after finishing his college career at Bemdiji State University. The 6'1" 183 lb. defenseman lead the Beavers in scoring with nine goals and 15 assists and was named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-star team. It was his first point in his sixth game as a pro.
Another one of those "new players" Cassidy was talking about was Jayden Hart who signed his ATO the same day that Prapavessis did. The big, tough 6'2" 205 lb. power forward lit the lamp for the second time this season as he pounced on an egregious turnover in the Monsters end and fired it home putting the Amerks up 4-1. Hart finished his final season in junior last month for Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League. He had 22g, 27a and 94 penalty minutes for the Raiders.
But the most intriguing of the "new players" last night was as green as they came. Forward Eric Cornel, a 2014 second round pick (No. 44 overall) of Buffalo played in his first professional game and he got the start last night on a line with veteran Justin Mercier and center Tim Schaller.
After logging some decent minutes early in the game, Cornel found himself on the bench through no fault of his own. From midway through the first period to the end of the second period, special teams ruled as eight minor penalties were called. But when things settled down in the third the Schaller/Mercier/Cornel line found some ice-time and logged some quality minutes.
Cornel is an excellent skater who plays a 200' game, something that was evident on the Amerks third goal by Mercier. He's a part of the next wave of Sabres draft picks who will soon be populating the Amerks roster as they learn the game. At 6'2" and 191 lbs. he still needs to grow into his body but when you combine his skating ability with his drive, he has the makings of a pretty good package.
On one shift Cornel found himself near the Monsters crease with the puck starting to head the other way. He got on his horse and broke up a scoring chance in front of Makarov then turned it back up-ice with the Amerks in control. He took his man to the crease to provide a screen while Schaller and Jake McCabe worked the puck to Mercier who fired it home to put Rochester up 3-1.
A shift like that looks to be what he's all about.
"For his first pro game he was solid," said Cassidy of Cornel. "He had a lot of adrenaline. He was probably pretty nervous, but we had a good week of practice to kind of build him up to this game."
"Yeah, I was pretty nervous going into [the game]," admitted Cornel. "It's good to get the first game out of the way."
The biggest adjustment for young players is the speed of the game compared to junior or college and Cornel was no exception. "It took a little bit to get used to," he said, "it's quite a bit different than junior, that was the biggest thing, the speed and size and stuff, but overall I felt pretty good."
Even though he didn't hit the score sheet on the Mercier goal, Cornel acknowledged the importance of his backcheck and has a good idea as to what's important at this level and beyond. "That's the little things you can do when you're just getting started," he said. "Work hard, work hard on the backcheck. Those are the little things you can do to help you get better at this level."
As with all young players, one "solid" game does not a pro career make. Consistency is the goal but getting off to a good start and knowing what needs to be done can go a long way in the pros.
A lot of credit should be given to Cassidy and the way he's handled his players and the events of this season. Coaching in the AHL is always full of roster turnover, but this was a particularly difficult season as the parent club has parted ways with fiver roster players and traded two top-six Amerks forwards while incurring a multitude of injuries. A once promising season for Rochester went south last calendar year and the rug was pulled right out in 2015. But to his credit Cassidy just keeps on keepin' on.
"Even if you have guys that don't normally play in this league or if you have guys who are new to this league," said the coach, "you've got to find a way to get it done because nobody cares about your excuses."
Join the Discussion:
»