Sunday, October 9, 2011

Amerks fall in opener

Newly signed Jonathan Parker scarfed up a rebound for his first professional goal, but the highlights were few as Rochester opened the 2011-12 campaign with a 5-2 loss at Hamilton.

T.J. Brennan and Zack Kassian, his first AHL point, earned assists, while Corey Tropp also added a helper while logging his first fighting major of the year. Tropp topped all Sabres prospects last season with nine tussles.

Drew Schiestel, playing his first game since last January, appeared to have injured his knee in the third period after falling awkwardly but early signs suggest that no damage was done.

Defensemen Matt MacKenzie and Nick Crawford were among the healthy scratches.


The Rundown:
Parker - 1PPG, 2 SOG, -1
Kassian - 1A, 5 SOG
Tropp - 1A, 2 SOG, -1, fighting major
Brennan - 1A, 2 SOG, -1
McNabb - 2 SOG (paired w/ Morrisonn)
Biega - even
Persson - 1 SOG
Szydlowski - even
Boychuk - 1 SOG
Foligno - 2 SOG, -1
Schiestel - -2

We'll turn it over to Kevin O. of the Rochester D&C for the game story:

Rochester Amerks open season with 'sloppy loss'

"The easiest lesson from tonight: We've got a lot to work on," said veteran left winger Colin Stuart, who wore the captain's "C."

"In order to be the team we want to be, we need to do a lot of things better."

Of course, with eight rookies in the lineup and just one preseason game against a collegiate team from Canada, the Amerks weren't exactly in real-game mode.

"It was pretty sloppy, that's pretty safe to say," defenseman T. J. Brennan said. "We have a lot of guys still getting their feet wet. It's a change. That's why it's Game 1 of 76, not the Calder Cup already."


Rochester kicks off the home schedule Thursday against Wilke-Barre.