AMERKS GEARING UP FOR BUSIEST STRETCH OF THE SEASON
Feb 22, 2023By Suzie Cool
Last week featured four games over a six-day span for the Rochester Americans, including the team’s first three-in-three of the 2022-23 campaign, and the upcoming schedule certainly doesn’t get any easier for the team.
After taking three out of a possible six points this past weekend, the Amerks are about to embark on their busiest stretch of the season with six more games on tap over the next nine days, including their longest road of the year.
We cover it all here, and more, with Amerks head coach Seth Appert in our Week 19 Roundup.
RELYING ON DEPTH
This past weekend saw the depth being tested on the Amerks roster. After Sunday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Syracuse Crunch, Appert said players like forward Brendan Warren and defenseman Mitch Eliot were some of the best on the ice in terms of the level of energy and hustle they brought.
A good indication we’ll probably see a lot more of these depth players in the lineup as the Amerks take on their final 25 games of the year.
“It's a really good thing that Buffalo has been as healthy as they've been, but sometimes the trickle down, second order effects of that are sometimes guys like that (Warren and Eliot), who are heart and soul guys here, aren't always in the lineup,” explained Appert when asked how these types of depth players can show how reliable they are down the stretch.
Warren and Eliot are in their third and second seasons with the Amerks, respectively. Eliot has helped man the blueline in 26 games this season, registering six points, while Warren, who has filled in at the center position whenever called upon, has appeared in 23 games overall.
Though, not in the lineup all the time, players like Warren and Eliot are extremely important down the stretch of a long season.
“Those guys bring toughness, reliability, the team first mentality. There are reasons that we sign those guys, but they're also very, very good hockey players. When their names are called, we know what they're going to bring.”
HOUSER READY WHEN CALLED UPON
With 25 games remaining on the Amerks 2022-23 schedule, that means all hands on deck, especially when it comes to who’s manning the pipes down the stretch.
“When you have a four-in-six, and when you have a six-in-nine, the goalies can't just go every night like that,” began Appert when asked how relied upon Houser will be in the back half of the season. “When you look at last week, it just made sense that Houser was going to play Friday and Sunday. When you look at this this coming week, we're going to need him at least two times, if not three in this six-game, nine-day stretch and that’s not a surprise at all.”
Since the turn of the New Year, Houser has appeared in just four games for the Amerks, two of which came this past weekend to bookend the team’s first three-game stretch of the season. Houser helped Rochester gain three points in the North Division standings with a win and an overtime loss along while combining for 50 saves over the course of the weekend.
“He delivers. He's always delivered. He delivers when he goes to Buffalo. He delivers when he’s in Cincinnati. He delivers when he's here with us.”
This isn’t something that is new to the 11th-year pro.
Last season, Houser bounced around from the top to the bottom of the Buffalo Sabres organization. While the Amerks netminder split most of the campaign with the Amerks and Cincinnati Cyclones, combining to go 11-13-1 in 29 appearances between the two clubs, Houser also appeared in seven playoff games with Rochester and Cincinnati, showing a 2-2-1 record in the 2022 postseason.
Originally, Houser was signed to an AHL contract with Rochester to begin the 2021-22 season but finished the campaign on an NHL contract with Buffalo for the second consecutive year. In two appearances with the Sabres in 2021-22, Houser posted a pair of wins to go with a .948 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average.
“Michael Houser, when you call his name, you know he's going to compete. You know, he's going to give you everything he has. You know, he’s going to be a great teammate, and whatever happens after that, you feel good about it,” finished Appert.
STAYING GROUNDED IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS
If you thought January was tough, the final months of the Amerks 2022-23 campaign prove to be some of the busiest this team has seen yet.
On Friday, the Amerks will kick-off six games over a nine-day span, which includes a season long eight-day road trip. This span also stretches from the end of February to the beginning of March, which is the busiest month for Rochester featuring 15 games over 31 days.
As Appert always harps, you have to stay in the moment, however, that could prove to be a tall task with what lies ahead for the Amerks.
“I'm a big believer in you win the day in front of you. You have to win the moment that's right in front of your face,” said Appert when asked how to live in the moment over this heavy stretch coming up. “Whether that's that shift, that practice, that weight room session, that video session, whatever that is.”
While it’s important to take each day and game one at a time, Appert and his staff have to look at the bigger picture and how to evenly distribute workload over the upcoming stretch.
“You're coming into a six-in-nine. You have to manage that. You have to manage that with how many days off do we have coming into the week? Where are the rest days in there? How are we going to travel? All of those things are things that, as a staff, we need to sort out behind the scenes so we can put our players in the best position to be successful.”
The Amerks begin their second straight weekend of three games in as many nights on Friday, Feb. 24 when they welcome the Rocket back to The Blue Cross Arena. All the action from the 7:05 p.m. contest will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV and CW Rochester.