Feb 9, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (21-16-3-1) are back from the AHL’s All-Star break and start a home-and-home series with the Syracuse Crunch (24-14-3-2) tonight at Blue Cross Arena.
“The pro schedule is such that whenever the break is, you take it and you relish it,” said Amerks head coach Seth Appert. “Whenever there’s a break, whether you’re humming or you’re struggling, you’ve got to take the break and take the rest and use it to your advantage.”
Rochester entered the break on a high note, earning a 3-1 win in Laval last Saturday. Tonight is the sixth of 12 encounters with Syracuse for the Amerks, who have gone 2-3-0-0 in the five previous matchups. The road team has won each game in the season series thus far.
Following Saturday’s win in Laval, the Amerks went on an AHL-mandated break in their schedule, which prevented teams from gathering for practices until Thursday. With the exception of Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich (who attended the All-Star Classic in San Jose), the remaining Amerks received four days away from Blue Cross Arena.
“It was nice to spend time with my family,” said Appert. “It’s nice to take a step away for a couple days, but I think all coaches start to have their minds spin after a couple days off. You start thinking of things you can get better at individually or collectively. Now it’s time to get back after it.”
“I got to go to Toronto for a couple of days,” said Brandon Biro. “It was nice to get away and reset. You have to (take advantage of rest), especially with our schedule coming up here. There’s not really time for breaks from here on out. We’re going at it the rest of the year, so I think it’s important physically and just as much mentally to get away. It’s something I’ve come to appreciate more as my years have gone on in this league.”
Beginning Feb. 14, the Amerks will enter a daunting stretch in which the team plays seven games over 11 days, with five coming in the span of just seven days from Feb. 18-24.
“It’s important just mentally to get a little refresh,” said Kale Clague. “This is the last push of the season, so to get a little recharge is big.”
The Amerks have found themselves in a bit of a funk on their special teams of late. The power-play in particular has labored, with the team going two for its last 31 man-advantages…
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