2/17 Recap: Byron Flows

Paul Byron potted his 30th goal of the season to go along with an assist as Gatineau pounded last-place Drummondville, 9-2. Les Olympiques got most of their mileage out of a Matthew Pistilli hat trick and a four-assist effort from Claude Giroux (PHI) to win their fifth game in a row. Byron, on the other hand, is in the midst of a six-game point streak that has seen him go 9-4-13. Benjamin Breault scored his 26th goal of the season on the power play in Baie-Comeau's 5-3 loss to Chicoutimi. Breault was also pocketed an assist in the game against Marek Zagrapan's former club. Despite the two points, the former seventh rounder was -2 for the Drakkar. In Rochester, the Amerks out-shot defending AHL champion Hamilton 34-21, but could only find the back of the net once in a 4-1 loss. Dylan Hunter scored the lone Amerks goal, his 11th of the season, and Adam Dennis made 18 saves in the loss. Marc-Andre Gragnani notched another assist to extend his point-streak to a season-high seven games. The line: Hunter - goal, +1, 2 PIM Gragnani - assist, +1 Mancari +1 Weber - 6 PIM Zagrapan -1 Funk -1 Sekera - even Dennis - 18 saves

2/14 Recap: Shooting Efficiency

Today, Jhonas Enroth made 37 saves in SSK's 4-3 OT loss to Farjestad. SSK currently owns a tiebreaker with Skelleftea for the eighth and final SEL playoff spot, and can ill afford any late season losses. Enroth has kept a 2.11 GAA this season, stopping 572 of 615 shots along the way for a league-best .930 save percentage. He'll need to maintain his sparkling play down the stretch for SSK to hold that spot. In Germany, Felix Schutz did not connect with any of his three shots on goal as Ingolstadt defeated Augsburger, 4-2. The center is shooting at an 11.3% clip on the season, with nine goals on 80 total shots. To some, shooting efficiency is the ugly step child of statistics. It's just "there", right at the end of the stat line. To others, it's a good indication of a player's "hands". Regardless, it's only viewed properly when taking into consideration how many shots on goal the player actually has. Prospect tweener Patrick Kaleta is hitting on 11.9% of his tries while on recall, good for sixth on the Sabres, but he's only taken nine shots all year long. His time in Rochester reveals a better sampling, where he's a 4% shooter (25 shots). In combined time for 2007-08, he is scoring on 5.9% of his shots (2/34). The Sabres have some prospects who really like to shoot the puck. Nathan Gerbe has fired 149 times this season in just 27 games, with most of them coming from close range. That's an impressive 5.5 shots per game for a 5'5 left wing. Gerbe is shifty, using that smallish frame to get down low and convert quality chances. He leads the nation in points per game (1.59) while carrying a 14.8 shooting percentage. Simply put, Gerbe produces. Another player known for getting to the net, Tim Kennedy leads Michigan State with 13 goals on 84 shots. He takes about half the number of shots Gerbe has (2.7 shots per game), but connects at a better clip with a 15.5 shooting percentage. Other top shooting percentanges amongst Sabres forward prospects with at least forty shots on goal include: Dylan Hunter - 15.9% (63 shots) Marek Zagrapan - 14.9% (101 shots) Benjamin Breault - 13.9% (180 shots) J.S. Allard - 12.8% (117 shots) Corey Tropp - 12.8% (47 shots) Cologne's Philip Gogulla, who is having his finest season as a professional with 36 points, currently connects just 9.9% of the time. However, Gogulla's 27 assists are tied for second on the Sharks, rendering him rather effective in a broader offensive sense. Who is the most efficient shooting forward in the Sabres prospects ranks? Gatineau center Paul Byron has scored 26 goals on 125 shots this season. That computes to 20.8% success, a total that is ninth-best among Q players with a minimum of 100 shots. Shooting percentage isn't indicative of a player's overall value. It's just another shade used to paint a picture of a player's game.

2/10: Dennis blanks Griffins

Adam Dennis made 33 saves to post his 2nd shutout in a week and third of the season as Rochester eeked out a 1-0 win over Grand Rapids. Scoreless after two periods, Marc-Andre Gragnani stole a puck at the Amerks blueline and sprinted down the ice to bury his own rebound against Adam Berkhoel for the game's only goal. The shorthanded marker would hold up, giving the Amerks their first winning streak since late November. The line: Gragnani goal (6), 4 PIM Zagrapan 4 PIM Hunter +1 Weber -1, 15 PIM, checking from behind major Mancari, Sekera, Funk - 0's Dennis 33 saves, shutout In Camrose, the Kodiaks finally caught up with the league's top goaltender, Brad Eidsness, to defeat Okotoks, 5-2. Eidsness made 26 saves in the loss, as his Oilers now trail Camrose by five points for the top spot in the AJHL's South Division with just five games remaining. Drew Schiestel continued his solid defensive play with a +2 as Niagara rode another Michael Swift (undrafted) hat trick to a 5-2 win over the Mississaugua-St.Michael's Majors. Philip Gogulla picked up another assist at the Skoda Cup in Germany's 4-1 win over Slovakia. German C Felix Schutz failed to get on the score sheet for the second straight game. Gogulla played in all three games for Germany, collecting three assists. With the Slovakia loss, Switzerland takes the title in the round robin tourney.

Byron nets winner; Amerks take shootout

A quick update on a pair of afternoon contests... 2007 sixth-round pick Paul Byron scored the game winning goal on the power play and assisted on another in Gatineau's 3-0 shutout of Quebec. The goal was Byron's 26th on the year, and only his fifth with the man advantage. The Ottawa native also won 80% of his draws this afternoon, and has kept his shooting percentage above 20% all season. Adam Dennis stopped 16 shots, and four of five in the shootout, as Rochester defeated San Antonio, 3-2, in a matinee at the BCA. Sabres properties Andrej Sekera (+2), Marc-Andre Gragnani (+1), and Mark Mancari (+1) all picked up assists as the Amerks came from behind to win their fourth game in their last 30 tries. The rest: Hunter +1 Funk even Weber -1 Zagrapan -1 Keep it here for updates as seven games featuring nine Sabres picks are just getting underway.

Dennis cracks Marlies code

In a late afternoon game, the Rochester Americans rode a 28-save shutout performance by Adam Dennis to defeat the Toronto Marlies, 3-0. Mark Mancari had a hand in all three goals, scoring the game winner in the final minute of the second period, and setting up two others in the third to cement the win. Skating as a forward, Marc-Andre Gragnani scored off a Mancari pass to make it 2-1 at 11:03 of the third. Dylan Hunter potted an empty netter with with :23 left on the clock. Dennis bounced back well from his last outing, which saw him pulled by Randy Cunneyworth after allowing goals on the first three shots of the second period in a 7-2 loss to Cleveland. Playing in front of his hometown crowd, Dennis entered today's game 0-9 with a 4.11 GAA since the beginning of December. RUNDOWN Dennis - 28 saves Mancari - goal, two assists, +3 Hunter - goal, assist, +3, 2 PIM Gragnani - goal, assist +2 Sekera - assist, +3, 4 SOG Weber - +1, 2 PIM Zagrapan - 4 PIM Three Stars 1. RCH - 53 Adam Dennis 2. RCH - 26 Mark Mancari 3. RCH - 21 Marc-Andre Gragnani Rochester ended a nine game losing streak with the win. They'll look to begin a streak of a different flavor at the BCA on Wednesday against Syracuse.

Amerks pick up where they left off

Rochester returned from the All-Star break Friday at the BCA, losing in overtime to Toronto, 3-2. The loss was the Amerks' ninth in a row, and 25th in their last 27 games. Down 1-0 at the end of two, Marek Zagrapan knotted the score 2:48 into the third. The Slovakian pivot took the return feed from David Brine on the give-and-go and deposited a shot over Justin Pogge's shoulder for his 15th goal of the season. Just over five minutes later, Mark Mancari would crash and bury a loose puck for an unassisted goal to give the Amerks the 2-1 lead. As is the case recently, the Amerks couldn't hold on to it. The Marlies would eventually tie the game, and later score off a turnover 1:20 into the extra session to seal the deal. Michael Funk didn't play tonight due to the infamous upper-body injury, and is out for at least a week. Mike Card remains out due to a serious concussion. The Amerks line: Zagrapan: goal Mancari: goal, 2 PIM Sekera: +1 Gragnani: +1 Weber: -1, 2 PIM Hunter: zeros Tomorrow afternoon, Rochester will attempt to beat the same Marlies club for the first time in seven tries.

1/25 Recap: Gerbe Disturbs; Amerks Continue Slide

#6 Michigan State opened the weekend's marquee match-up by escaping a hostile Yost Arena with a 1-0 win over #1 Michigan. The line of Justin Abdelkader (DET) centering Sabres prospects Tim Kennedy and Corey Tropp generated ten shots on goal, but could not connect. The Munn will rocking tomorrow as the clubs head back to E. Lansing to complete another installment of the biter rivalry.

With Hobey Baker front-runner Kevin Porter of Michigan posting blanks for just the fourth time all season, Nathan Gerbe had a chance to ease the gap in a showdown against old-friend Ben Bishop and Maine. Instead, the left wing himself put up zeros as the Eagles and Black Bears played to a 3-3 tie. BC banger Andrew Orpik was also in action, but did not register a point for the tenth consecutive game.

Despite going pointless, Gerbe still managed to make some noise on the ice. Midway through the third, the goaltender Bishop took exception as he skated into the crease after the whistle. The netminder shot right at the smaller Gerbe, setting off a slight melee. Gerbe ended up with the extra penalty for his efforts, and Maine would proceed to score on the ensuing power play to earn the tie.

Seeing Bishop lose his cool is not surprising when recalling the 5'5 agitator's attempt to show him up last February. After scoring a goal, Gerbe taunted the Blues draft pick instead of celebrating with teammates, leading Bishop to drop Gerbe to the ice. Needless to say, the two are not fans of each other.

Regardless of your opinion on Gerbe's methods, you have to admire his taste for larger targets. At 6'7, 210 pounds, Ben Bishop is an oak tree in the crease. Two seasons ago, Gerbe blew a fuse in a fight with 6'2, 200-pound Jordan Hart of Merrimack. Gerbe's fearlessness is an uncommon trait in the Sabres' prospect stable.

Elsewhere, Nick Eno got his third consecutive start as #21 Bowling Green traveled to South Bend to take on #9 Notre Dame. Outshot 16-2 in the first period, the freshman was buzzed for three goals while making several tough saves against the hungry Irish. Eno would let two more past him in the second, eventually giving way to Jimmy Spratt to finish out the 6-1 ugly loss. The loss lowers the Howell, MI native's record to 8-4 on the season.

Rounding out NCAA play, Matt Generous was +1 in the Saints' 3-1 loss to Union. A stabilizing cog on the Saint Lawrence blueline, the Cheshire, CT native is now a team-best +14 with the next best total being a distant +5. Generous is the only drafted player on the SLU roster.

Moving north, Benjamin Breault scored a pair of goals as Q pace-setters Baie-Comeau defeated Acadie-Bathurst, 4-3 in a shootout. The game's #1 star has six points in his last three games, and looks to add to his total Sunday against a Victoriaville club that has given up the third most goals in the league.

The other Sabrecentric game on the Q slate featured Paul Byron, who had a power play assist in Gatineau's 6-0 shutout of Val d'Or.

In Omaha, Drew MacKenzie assisted on the only Black Hawks goal in their 3-1 loss to the Lancers. The Taft product has doubled his production of late with seven points in his last 14 games after posting five points through his first twenty.

Drew Schiestel was +1 as Niagara rode a five-point night from Jordan Foreman to a 6-3 win over last place Kingston.

In Germany, Philip Gogulla was quiet as the third-ranked Cologne Sharks lost to Augsburger, 2-1. Felix Schutz was equally quiet in Ingolstadt's 4-3 loss to Berlin.

Also of note, more Russian Super League stats were recently posted. Artem Kriukov, the infamous first round pick of the 2000 draft, has cooled after his nice start for SKA. Now age 25, the center has scored seven goals for 15 points - a total he seems to have been stuck at for the past fifteen games. All in all, it's an improvement over the four points he had all of last season.

Also in Russia, defenseman Vjacheslav Buravchikov has gone pointless with a -4 in 34 games for Ak Bars.

***

Finally, the sinking ship that is the 2007-08 Rochester Americans season endured another loss last night against Lake Erie. The Amerks started quickly, sprinting out to a 3-0 lead after one. Dylan Hunter had two assists in the opening frame, with Marc-Andre Gragnani, Rej Sekera, and Michael Funk also picking up helpers.

The Avalanche affiliate would claw their way back, scoring three goals of their own in the second. Still deadlocked through the end of OT, the Amerks failed on all five shootout attempts against Tyler Weiman. Meanwhile, Jamie Lundmark beat Tyler Plante to seal the 4-3 Monsters win.

Marek Zagrapan remained out of the lineup as he clears himself of illness, while Marc-Andre Gragnani (+2) shifted back to defense for the entire game.

On a happier note in Rochester, congratulations go out to Mark Mancari, who today was named to his first AHL All-Star game in place of the near-graduated Clarke MacArthur.

Amerks Lose Basement Battle

The frustrating season for the Rochester Americans continued in Des Moines with a battle of last place teams. The result, another 4-2 loss to the Stars, is no longer shocking. The Amerks closed out a four-game road swing, securing one of a possible eight points while away from the BCA. They're now 1-8-1-1 in their last eleven contests. It was close through two, with Iowa scoring the only goal of the game in the second period. The third opened with three goals in the first 7:30. The problem is that two of them were scored by the Stars. The sole noteworthy event fitting this space's purpose is the assist picked up by Mike Funk on the first Amerk goal. I can only hope that Marek Zagrapan and his -3 was still feeling the effects of the bug that kept him out of yesterday's game. The rest: Sekera - even Gragnani -2 Weber -2 Mancari -1 Hunter +1 The Amerks are a hard-working group of kids, but they're simply not strong enough to compete night-in and night-out. To be fair regarding the title, Iowa's point total would be good for third place in the North Division. The Amerks return home for games Wednesday and Friday night.