Familiar Story, Amerks Lose to Crunch

Kaleta vs CrunchThe Amerks got runover by the Crunch on Sunday night losing by the final score of 10-3, with six of the 10 goals coming in the third period. 

The Amerks also broke a franchise record with 43 losses in regulation.  As there are only four games remaining let’s see if they can muster a winning streak to end the season as they also failed to gain any ground on the Lowell Devils and Norfolk Admirals to not end the season in last place in the league.

Dylan Hunter gave the Amerks an early 1-0 lead as he scored his 20th goal of the season as his dad, Dale Hunter, watched from the stands.   Johan Kroll and Mark Mancari were credited with assists.  Dylan Hunter tied Stefan Meyer as each are now at 20 goals.  Mancari continues to lead the team in points with 53.

The game was close at the 10:22 mark of the second period when Tanner Glass tipped in a shot from Martin Lojek to make it a 3-2 game.  It was all downhill from there.

The next seven goals were scored by six different Crunch players.  The final three were scored in a span of three minutes, the final one coming short handed.

The Amerks continue to build there league lead with allowed short handed goals, now at 20.

David Brine scored the third goal for the Amerks with help from Dan Collins and Franklin MacDonald as there was only five seconds left on the clock.

Patrick Kaleta got his first start back with the Amerks after being called up by the Buffalo Sabres on February 5th, he tallied five penalty minutes after a fight with Derek Dorsett of the Crunch.

The Crunch had 13 out of 17 players in the positive in the +/- category, while everyone except Dan Collins was in the negative for the Amerks.

As the Crunch were on a six goal scoring streak in the third period, Tyler Plante should have been pulled from the net, and even a possible time out called to slow play, neither happened.

Rochester Americans inducted Craig Charron and Gates Orlando as the 43rd and 44th members of the Amerks Hall of Fame tonight at The Blue Cross Arena. The event was presented by Rochester Lead Works.  More Info from Amerks.com

Steve Donner congratuated the two in the locker room prior to the induction.  It was a smart move considering how President Bush was booed as he threw out the first pitch in Washington D.C. for the baseball game, Donner may have met a similar fate.

In their next game the Amerks travel to the Copps Coliseum for the last time this season when they take on the Hamilton Bulldogs on Wednesday night. The 7:30 p.m. away game will be broadcast live on Hot Talk 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and B2 networks.

The season wraps up next weekend with the Crunch at home on Friday, in Toronto on Saturday, and the final game on Sunday against the Lake Erie Monsters.