HOUSER'S SUCCESS BRINGS JOY TO AMERKS
May 6, 2021By Ryan J. Harr
April showers bring smiles for days for Michael Houser. Despite only six days into May, the Rochester Americans and Buffalo Sabres organization have a lot of positives after a tough end to April.
The Sabres lost their final four games of April, plus one more on the first day of May, and the Amerks had dropped seven consecutive going into last Saturday’s contest in Syracuse. But in spite of that, the one bright spot has been the recent play of Houser and the resounding impact he has on his teammates across the entire organization.
Houser’s Impact Here In Rochester
When the Amerks began their historic 65th season in the American Hockey League on Feb. 5, goaltender Michael Houser was listed as the team’s third goaltender behind veteran and two-time Calder Cup Champion Dustin Tokarski and highly touted prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Following the trade of Jonas Johansson, Buffalo needed a third goaltender for its taxi squad as the team only had Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton, so Houser was signed to a one-year NHL contract for the remainder of the season.
“I am absolutely thrilled for him,” said head coach Seth Appert. “He is guy that quietly goes about his work. Guys have a lot of respect for him by the way that he conducts his business. He is one of the first ones on the ice and last off, which is typical of goaltender who was in the situation he was in.”
Houser, who was recalled on March 19, spent the majority of the time on the taxi squad or serving as backup for either Hutton or Ullmark for his first two months with the big club. Unfortunately, as both suffered injuries, Buffalo recalled Luukkonen. Luukkonen not only made his NHL debut and earned the win, but just four games into his young NHL career, he, too, suffered an injury.
This past Monday, after spending his first eight seasons as a pro either in the ECHL or the AHL, Houser, 28, was finally making his NHL debut for Buffalo against the New York Islanders. The Youngstown, Ohio, native not only made his long-awaited debut, he made 34 saves to earn his first NHL win, in not only his first appearance this season at any professional level, but first since March 7, 2020.
“He works, trains, and completes every day like he still believes that he will make the National Hockey League,” Appert said when he recalled a conversation he had with goaltending coach, Seamus Kotyk. “That is exactly what Michael does and has done prior to earning this opportunity.”
“It is a cool story.”
“I, like the rest of the guys are, am incredibly happy for ‘House’,” said Michael Mersch, who spent the 2015-16 season with Houser as members of the Ontario Reign. “Michael did the right thing every day, quietly went about his business just waiting for his opportunity. He is really capitalizing on his chance and we are certainly happy for him.”
WATCH: SETH APPERT AFTER WEDNESDAY PRACTICE
Staying Active During Layoff
Rochester began the month of May with a 3-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch last Saturday. The Amerks not only snapped their seven-game losing skid but also snapped Syracuse’s six-game point streak in the process.
“We had a big win the other night against Syracuse,” explained Mersch. “We can build off that game and stay focused heading into these last few games of the season.”
The Amerks returned home to the Flower City and were set to face-off with the Utica Comets Monday night. However, Monday afternoon, the American Hockey League announced that the game was being postponed out of an abundance of caution in accordance with AHL COVID-19 protocols.
“It was a little disjointed,” Appert described Monday and the plans of the unexpected night off. “We did not find out that the game was going to be canceled until after we had our optional pregame skate. We did not want to call guys back to the rink and we already had a day off Tuesday.”
“It’s just the nature of this year,” continued Appert. “Our guys have adjusted and have been competitive as heck all year long, so we will have two good days before our game Saturday night."
As a result of the postponement, the Amerks will have to wait until Saturday, May 8 to return to the ice as they close out their season-series with the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at 7:00 p.m.
WATCH: MICHAEL MERSCH AFTER WEDNESDAY’S PRACTICE
TEAM BONDING AS SEASON WINDING DOWN
In a year like no other, with masks, daily testing, socially distancing and a shortened season at that, it has not been easy with the constant flow of roster changes to build and come together as a team off the ice.
Many players, like Mersch, rather than trying to find a place to live for a few months, have been living out of a hotel room.
“A lot of guys are living at the hotel, which is fun because normally you would not get the chance to get to know the younger guys, at least for me, {as I am married}. We have a group text going and we are talking a lot when at the rink, such as Houser’s story. With big wins on the road, we celebrate accordingly with the protocols. It’s all the little things like that that helps brings the team together in a season when there is not much going outside the rink.”
With nearly 40 players to appear in one game this season for Rochester, trying to not only remember everyone’s name, but to get to know everyone on a personal level has been tough with the protocols set forth by the league.
Looking ahead
The Amerks close out their season-series with the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Saturday, May 8. The contest will also serve as the front-half of the final road trip of the season for Rochester as they visit the Utica Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center on Wednesday, May 12.
Both of the 7:00 p.m. contests will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.