AMERKS TOP FIVE FACTS FROM THE MONTH OF APRIL

May 3, 2022

By Suzie Cool

If we had to pick one word to describe the month of April for the Rochester Americans, we’d “dramatic” would most likely be the best choice. While the Amerks managed to clinch the final playoff spot in the North Division, it didn’t come easy or without many milestones along the way. Here’s a closer look at the Amerks five fast facts from the last month of the 2021-22 regular season.

The Amerks are back in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season, the last year the playoffs were even held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the road to get back into the playoffs wasn’t an easy one for Rochester.

While the AHL is requiring all teams in the league to play 72 games next season across the board, this year’s teams played a different number of games. Some stuck with a 76-game schedule, some 68 and you can’t count out the cancellations or postponements thanks to COVID.

This, in turn, made the league go by points-percentage this year rather than points, which made for a very dramatic entrance for the Amerks to clinch that final playoff spot in the North Division.

Going into the final week, Rochester was sitting in sixth place in the North with just one game left on its 2021-22 regular season schedule. 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, picking up three points along the way. Rochester then notched its final two points of the season on the strength of an absolute thumping in a must-win situation Friday against the AHL’s top team, but still had to wait it out until Toronto took on the Belleville Senators the next day. With Belleville’s 5-2 regulation win on Saturday over the Marlies, the Amerks punched their way…