Amerks

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA It was odd to be sure, from the eerie emptiness of the arena to the players during the roster introduction pretending to acknowledge the applause of the fans who didn't exist. From the spray-bottle disinfecting of the boards, glass, benches and penalty boxes between periods to nothing but the sound of the fog horn after goals by the home team. But it … [Read more...] about There was finally Amerks hockey again, strange as it was

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA He had just been fired after 11 years at what had been a dream job, being the head coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. But before Seth Appert could really ask himself, "What now?", former Rochester Americans assistant coach John Wroblewski was providing an answer. Wroblewski, a head coach with the United States National Team Development Program (NTDP), … [Read more...] about New Amerks coach Appert ready for challenge of development while winning

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA Their hockey team may not win, ever, but give Buffalo Sabres owners Kim and Terry Pegula credit for one thing: They can terminate employees — some whose time had come, others who held the key to success — like no other management duo in the NHL. Unfortunately for hockey fans in Western New York, when all you do is fire C-Suite personnel, you end up with … [Read more...] about When all the Sabres do is fire personnel, the result is an endless dumpster fire

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA Four days after reviving their chances for a run at their first division title in 15 years, the Rochester Americans promptly said they'd rather not add a banner to the rafters. At least that's pretty much what they indicated with their effort on Wednesday night. The streaking Binghamton Devils made quick work of the Amerks, building 2-0 and 3-1 leads en … [Read more...] about Amerks offer little resistance to streaking Devils

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA Throughout the season, Rochester Americans general manager Randy Sexton had said the development process for a young goaltender is a marathon, not a sprint. You can't rush them through any phase. You can't be fooled by a stretch of strong play and think they're farther along than they really are. We saw this week how very true that is for Ukko-Pekka … [Read more...] about Disappointing week ends for Luukkonen and the Amerks