2/20 Recap: Grags bags another; Dennis comes up big

Marc-Andre Gragnani scored short-handed to force overtime in Rochester's 2-1 win over Albany. Skating at a forward position, Gragnani's seventh goal of the year extends his streak to eight consecutive games with a point, and his three shorties are now tops among AHL rookies. Adam Dennis earned the win by stopping 39 River Rat shots (33 in the first forty minutes), while Andrej Sekera added an assist on the Gragnani goal. The rundown: Gragnani - goal, +1 Sekera - assist, +1 Weber - 2 PIM Hunter - +1 Zagrapan - 4 PIM Funk - even Mancari - even Dennis - 39 saves In the Q, Ben Breault picked up a goal and an assist before getting tossed from the game in Baie-Comeau's 7-1 rout of Quebec. With just under seven minutes to go in the second period, Breault was whistled for a dangerous check from behind on Remparts defenseman Samuel Groulx. The hit earned Breault five and a game, and luckily Groulx, ranked #161 on CSB's mid-term list for next June's draft, seemed uninjured on the play. In Sweden, Dennis Persson had a power play assist as Nykoping did some routing of their own with a 7-1 win over AIK. Persson now has points in three consecutive games, and is playing steady defensively with the increased ice time he's seeing in HockeyAllsvenskan.

2/15 Recap: Kennedy, Persson "back"; Gerbe snaps

Friday was rather stacked in terms of the Sabres prospects schedule. Let's take a trip around the rinks for an update on over twenty Sabres properties to hit the ice in fifteen different games. Marek Zagrapan scored his 16th goal of the season in Rochester's 4-2 win over Hershey. Marc-Andre Gragnani assisted on the Zagrapan goal to extend his point streak to five games while the Amerks won their third straight. Adam Dennis made 29 saves for the win, and has now been in net for 13 of the team's 16 victories. Andrej Sekera was a game-best +3. Earlier in the week, it was learned that Amerks defenseman Mike Weber was suspended for two games following a checking him from behind major in the final minute of play on Sunday. He'll again sit out tomorrow's contest with Syracuse, then return to the lineup on Sunday against Hamilton. Elsewhere, Tim Kennedy scored a short-handed goal and added an assist in Michigan State's 3-0 shutout of Western Michigan. Kennedy's third period goal ends a career-long thirteen game drought. 2007 third rounder Corey Tropp, who was re-united with Kennedy and Justin Abdelkader (DET) for this one, did not register a point. The win gives the Spartans a first-round bye in the CCHA tournament. The two clubs will play it back tomorrow at Western. Dennis Persson scored his first goal of the season and assisted on another in Nykopings' 4-3 loss Nybro. The Sabres first round pick in 2006, Persson now has three points in his last two games after a quiet offensive season to date. Gatineau's Paul Byron had a goal and an assist the Olympques pounded Shawinigan, 8-1. The 5'10 center, who had five blocked shots to go along with his power play marker, was named the game's #3 star. Harvard sophomore Alex Biega followed a nice showing in the Beanpot final on Monday with two assists tonight in the Crimson's 3-2 win over Princeton. The Montreal-born defenseman has a goal and four assists in his last three games. Nathan Gerbe and Andrew Orpik were both held scoreless as Boston College lost to Lowell, 3-1. In the second period, Gerbe lost his cool by punching a Lowell player in the head to earn a roughing minor. On his way to the box, a few choice words for the official earned himself another ten minutes of "time out". With the Eagles trailing, the frustrated Gerbe has to know better than to hurt his team's comeback chances with a senseless misconduct. In the DEL, Philip Gogulla assisted on the game-tying goal as Cologne went on to defeat Sinupret, 3-2 in overtime. Under contract with Buffalo, Gogulla now has 28 assists and 37 total points this season with the Sharks. Chris Butler was -1 as Denver stumbled in a 5-4 loss at North Dakota. Butler was beaten late on a great wraparound play by T.J. Oshie (STL) to set-up the game winner. North Dakota trailed the Pios 4-1 in the second before scoring four unanswered goals for the win. Matt Generous was -1 as St. Lawrence lost to Yale, 4-3. T.J. Brennan and J.S. Allard both were without points as St. John's fell to PEI, 4-1. Brennan was +1 with five shots on net, while Allard was only able to muster one of the Foggies 52 shots on goal. Benjamin Breault was -1 with five shots on goal in Baie-Comeau's 4-1 loss to Halifax. In the AJHL, Brad Eidsness made 40 saves in a 4-3 OT loss to Olds. The loss was the Sioux recruit's fourth on the year against 26 wins. Drew MacKenzie had three shots on goal in Waterloo's 4-2 win over Des Moines. Drew Schiestel was -3 as Niagara put forth a disappointing effort in their 5-2 loss at Erie. Nick Eno had the night off in Bowling Green's 5-3 loss to UNO.

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.

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.