AFTER STRESSFUL FEW DAYS OF WAITING AND WATCHING, AMERKS READY FOR POSTSEASON RUN
May 2, 2022By Suzie Cool
For the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, the Rochester Americans are back in the playoffs and set to square off against the Belleville Senators in the play-in qualifying round beginning this week. However, the Amerks didn’t reach this feat in the most easy, nonchalant manner.
And it most certainly wasn’t a given. It quite literally came down to the last day.
At the start of the season with a full roster, there was no question that the Amerks were a solid playoff contender. They had standout rookies, veterans with National Hockey League experience and a culture that had to be unlike any other locker room in the American Hockey League.
Just like any other season, though, there were the ebbs and flows of the 2021-22 campaign for Rochester. The implementation of the taxi squad at one point in the NHL, injuries among the organization, COVID, recalls to the Buffalo Sabres and players becoming dads.
You name it and the Amerks more than likely went through it this year, making the last three-month stretch a little more strenuous than anticipated.
WATCH: SETH APPERT FOLLOWING MONDAY'S PRACTICE
“Three months, like seriously, and I think that was part of the grind and the emotional toll,” stated Amerks head coach Seth Appert when asked how long he feels his team has been playing in playoff mode already.
“When you look three months ago at where our roster was, we had about half of our current roster. Even in mid-March, I was looking at a lineup card and there’s like seven guys on that roster that aren’t even here right now. Our lineup was so beat up three months ago that we were in playoff survival mode, trying to scrap and claw for wins to stay in the mix.”
Stay in the mix is exactly what the Amerks did, right up until the final day of the 2021-22 AHL regular season.
“It was a long week all week. I mean, I didn’t want to stop coaching this team,” stated Appert when asked about how dramatic the Amerks entrance to the playoffs was.
Amerks alternate captain Sean Malone added, “It was very dramatic. I think the point system the way it was, it definitely put more emphasis on those last couple of games because teams could actually move up and down as opposed to just moving up with points. So yeah, it was different, but I’m glad it turned out the way it did and it was definitely nerve-wracking.”
WATCH: SEAN MALONE FOLLOWING MONDAY'S PRACTICE
Going into the final week of the regular season, Rochester was sitting in sixth place in the North with just one game left to mark off the calendar. It came down to Rochester having to win Friday’s contest against the Utica Comets and the Toronto Marlies getting no more than three points in their three games that were still left on their schedule.
The Marlies played back-to-back nights against the Laval Rocket on Wednesday and Thursday, picking up three points along the way. Rochester then notched two points in a must-win on Friday against Utica, dominating the Comets from start to finish with a season-high eight goals in an 8-1 blowout, setting the stage for Saturday’s showdown between the Marlies and Belleville Senators. With Belleville’s 5-2 regulation win, the Amerks punched their way to the playoffs for the third straight year dating back to 2018 and 47th time overall in franchise history.
“We had so many injuries throughout the year and had to battle through so much. I think in our last game we showed that when we have a full lineup, and we play every line out there, how good our team can be. I think that was very important for the whole team, to see how good we can be,” said Amerks rookie JJ Peterka when asked how confident he was that the team would somehow punch their way into the postseason.
“I thought we were going to make it. I felt that way all along, even when it was bleak,” commented Appert about Rochester’s playoff odds. “I’m just happy that we took care of the business that we needed to take care of.”
Looking at Rochester’s history, they haven’t won a playoff series since 2005, a squad that featured former NHL stars like Jason Pominville and Ryan Miller as well as former Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill and previous Amerks head coach Chris Taylor, when they swept the Hamilton Bulldogs to advance to the second round.
WATCH: JACK QUINN FOLLOWING MONDAY'S PRACTICE
All-in-all, the Amerks have been a part of 84 playoff series over the years, in which they’ve compiled a 212-205 record in 417 games during that time. The Amerks are looking their first playoff series win since the 2005 postseason when they swept the Bulldogs in four games before dropping a five-game series to the Manitoba Moose in the second round.
Since then, the Amerks have only made seven playoff appearances, losing first-round matchups to Hamilton in 2007, the Abbotsford Heat in 2010, Toronto in 2012 and 2013, the Chicago Wolves in 2014, the Syracuse Crunch in 2018 and most recently in 2018 against the Marlies.
With history on the line, Malone and the team are just happy to have a second chance with a full roster that’s healthy and ready to go full throttle.
“We’re just happy to have a second life. We’re going to try and make the most of it.”
WATCH: MICHAEL MERSCH FOLLOWING MONDAY'S PRACTICE
The Amerks host the Senators in Game 1 of the best-of-three play-in round of the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs on Wednesday, May 4 at The Blue Cross Arena. The opening round series will mark the first-ever meeting in the postseason between the two teams.