AMERKS TOP FIVE FACTS FROM THE MONTH OF JANUARY
Feb 1, 2022By Suzie Cool
The flip of the calendar brought with it several highs for the Rochester Americans. From having 13 games in 31 days with eight of those matchups at home, to having seven goaltenders on the roster at one point to the highly anticipated National Hockey League debut of forward Jack Quinn, the month of January was certainly one to remember.
That’s not all, though. Here’s a close look at some of the more memorable moments and top performance from the month of January.
1. FIGHTING FOR POINTS AT HOME
In the first calendar month of the year, the Amerks were in action on 13 different occasions with eight of their games on home ice.
Rochester’s overall record in January sat at 5-5-2-1 but managed to take away points in six of its eight home matchups. After the Amerks began the month with a regulation loss, they went on to embark on a six-game point streak on home ice.
As the Amerks rounded out the month with a 4-2 loss against the Utica Comets on Saturday, they closed out January going 3-2-2-1 at The Blue Cross Arena.
2. QUINN CONTINUES TO TEAR THINGS UP
After not appearing in a game with Rochester the entire month of December due to a bout with mononucleosis, Amerks rookie forward Jack Quinn was finally back in action come the first week of January.
Upon his return, Quinn went on to appear in seven games, racking up 11 points with seven goals and four assists. Of Quinn’s seven games in January, three were multi-point performances with two four-point nights in the same week on Jan. 12 against Utica and Jan. 15 against Belleville.
During that Jan. 15 game against Belleville, Quinn recorded four goals to become the first Amerk to have a four-goal outing since forward Derek Whitmore did so on Nov. 25, 2011.
Additionally, Quinn became the 101st AHL player this season to make his NHL debut when he took the ice in Buffalo’s 6-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 11. During his debut, Quinn finished with a team-high three shots, six shot attempts and logged 16:30 total ice time. Quinn also became Buffalo’s eighth player taken with the first two rounds of the NHL Draft under the age of 25 to appear in a game with the Sabres this season.
After bouncing back-and-forth between Rochester and Buffalo for the remainder of the month, Quinn’s last game was with the Sabres on Jan. 20 as they took on the Dallas Stars. Although Quinn would leave the game due to injury, he still managed to rack up his first multi-point effort in the NHL with a goal and an assist on the night.
3. MacINNIS MAKING HIS MARK
Of the Amerks 13 games in January, forward Ryan MacInnis played in eight of them, missing a few mid-month contests due to being in COVID-19 protocols.
However, even with the absence of five games, MacInnis began to find his form. In eight games, MacInnis registered six goals for six points. In two of MacInnis’ eight contests, he registered a pair of two-goal outings, including the game-winning buzzer-beater on Friday, Jan. 28 to help the Amerks prevail 2-1 over the Syracuse Crunch.
4. THREE-IN-FOUR ON REPEAT
Of the 31 days in January, the Amerks were tasked with 13 games over that span, meaning every week was a busy one.
After kicking off the month with back-to-back games on Jan. 1 and 2, the Amerks went on to have three games in four days for three of the four full weeks in January. Aside from the final full week of the month where the Amerks finally got to have two consecutive off days before they had three days of practice, they’d end the month with back-to-back matchups against divisional opponents.
5. GOALTENDING CAROUSEL CONTINUES
Arguably the craziest storyline to come out of the first calendar month of the year is that of the goaltending carousel that continues to hit the Buffalo organization from top to bottom.
In Rochester alone, there were seven different goaltenders that were on the roster at some point. Netminders Tyler Parks, Hayden Hawkey and Charles Williams were all signed to professional tryouts at one point, while emergency backup goaltender Bryan Haude made his second spur-of-the-moment appearance on Jan. 12 against the Comets. Haude was also signed to a PTO, however, his was just for one contest.
Additionally, goaltender Mat Robson became a mainstay for the Amerks in the month of April. Robson manned the net for six of the Amerks’ 13 games, going 3-1-2 over that span.
Veteran netminders Michael Houser and Aaron Dell were also with the Amerks at one point or another during January.
Dell missed the first couple of games following the birth of his son, Jaxon, before getting called up to Buffalo to bounce back-and-forth between the roster and taxi squad. Houser, on the other hand, earned his second NHL contract for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign on Jan. 12. Houser has gone on to continue to, once again, prove that patience is key as he’s notched two wins in his first two starts with the Sabres.