Rochester, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Rochester Americans are back in the Calder Cup Playoffs, and will open their first round series at home on Wednesday. The fourth place Belleville Senators are the opponent in a best-of-three series.
The Amerks will get some reinforcements from Buffalo, as Peyton Krebs and Casey Fitzgerald are down from the Sabres.
Mattias Samuelsson was also sent down, but an ankle injury will keep him out of Game 1. Amerks head coach Seth Appert hopes to have him available for the weekend.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is out 1-2 weeks with a lower-body injury, so goalie Aaron Dell gets the call in net. He played 22 games this season in Rochester, going 12-7-1 with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
Michael Houser was called up from the Cincinnati Cyclones to be Dell’s backup. Because of the call up, Houser had to miss Game 7 of the Cyclones' playoff series with the Toledo Walleye, which Cincinnati lost, 4-2.
Rookie forward Jack Quinn is going to try to build on his stellar season. In just 45 games, Quinn scored 26 goals with 35 assists for 61 points.
Fellow rookie winger JJ Peterka had 28 goals and 40 assists for 68 points in 70 games. He led Rochester in scoring overall this season.
After Krebs was traded to Buffalo from the Vegas Golden Knights as part of the Jack Eichel deal, he played 18 games with Rochester, scoring four goals and 11 assists for 15 points. If you add in his two games with the Henderson Silver Knights, Krebs played 20 AHL games with four goals and 16 assists for 20 points.
Meanwhile, Fitzgerald participated in 28 games with the Amerks, and Samuelsson played 22 games.
Rochester had to win its last game on Friday night, while the Toronto Marlies had to lose their last game on Saturday in regulation in order for the Amerks to clinch a playoff berth.
Appert joined the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on Wednesday, and says the team is excited to get the chance to compete in the playoffs.
"It’s been a grind for three months," Appert said with Jeremy White and Nate Geary on WGR. "We had a pretty beat up lineup for about two months, and then the last month has been tooth-and-nail to get in. We’re healthier, we get a little help from Buffalo, so we’re excited about our opportunity.”
During Friday’s game, Luukkonen got rammed into the post and had to leave the game.
“He’ll be out for this series," Appert confirmed. "He’s getting better. It’s a lower-body [injury]. So hopefully we can win this series and extend our playoff push long enough to get 'Uppie' back.”
Luukkonen has had an up-and-down season with the Amerks, but Appert says when it counted, he was good.
“In the last month, he’s been excellent,” he said.
Between the injuries and going up-and-down from Buffalo, Appert says it makes it hard to be consistent at a young age.
“As the time went on here, his consistency really started rising,” the Amerks head coach said of his No. 1 goalie.
Fans have been very interested in both Quinn and Peterka, who made the AHL All-Rookie team. Appert says he can’t wait to see how those two respond to the playoffs.
“Winning is part of development," Appert said. "They need to go hand-in-hand, and we designed our roster this year where we have some mid-20-year-olds and enough veterans around to have help and leadership around our young guys. But we have to be driven by our young guys.”
When it comes to Quinn, Appert talks about work ethic and competitiveness with the 20-year-old.
“Nothing really surprises me with Jack, because if you challenge Jack, he just goes and attacks it. He really absorbs teaching,” Appert said.
I’ll be live from Rochester at 6 p.m. ET with Schopp and the Bulldog to preview Wednesday’s game.
