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.

2/6 Recap: Byron gets tricky; Persson returns

In his most dominant performance of the season, Gatineau center Paul Byron scored a goal in each period to lead les Olympiques to a 5-1 victory at Victoriaville. The hat trick raises Byron’s goal total to 25 in just 38 games, and his 44 total points are equal to last season’s 68-game output. Besides burying three of his game-high seven shots on goal, the crafty pivot also blocked seven Tigre shots. The night’s “Mr. Everything”, Byron would also prove skilled in the face-off dot, where he was successful in 18 of 23 draws. Dennis Persson returned to the Nykopings lineup, manning the second defensive pair with his brother Robin in their 2-1 OT loss to Boras. The Sabres first pick in 2006 was out of action for two weeks with a neck injury. In Rochester, the Amerks were out-hit, out-worked, and ultimately, outscored in their 3-1 loss to Syracuse. The Crunch set the physical pace early, and the Amerks didn’t have an answer. Regarding Sabres prospects, Andrej Sekera and Marc-Andre Gragnani assisted on the lone Amerks goal in the third. On the power play, Gragnani fired a shot that was tipped in by Panthers prospect, Drew Larman. Adam Dennis made 26 saves in the loss. Gragnani: 1a, -1 Sekera: 1a, -1 Mancari: -2 Zagrapan: 2 PIM Weber: -1 Hunter: -1, 5 PIM Dennis: 26 saves, L

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.