Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Amerks’ Jack Quinn found game late in playoffs, could graduate to Sabres

By the end of the Rochester Americans’ thrilling 10-game playoff run, winger Jack Quinn recaptured some of the slick form that made him a dynamic scorer during the regular season.

Three times in the final two games, including once in overtime of Wednesday’s season-ending, 6-5 loss to the Laval Rocket, Quinn, 20, had Cayden Primeau beaten but the puck hit the knob of the goalie’s stick or the post. On Monday, Quinn pumped a career-high ... Read the full article

Amerks’ season ends with triple OT loss: ‘An extremely special group’

ROCHESTER – The Americans battled adversity and beat long odds for weeks, eking into the Calder Cup Playoffs on the last day of the regular season before beginning their deepest and most memorable postseason run in 18 years.

They rallied to win games, earned four overtime victories and triumphed in a do-or-die Game 5 against a top seed.

So when the Amerks dropped the first two games on the road against the Laval Rocket in ... Read the full article

Amerks’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen nearly over injury, focused on consistency

ROCHESTER – Out of his element, up in the stands watching his Americans teammates compete in the Calder Cup Playoffs, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sometimes feels a little jittery.

“I think I’m 10 times more nervous watching it upstairs than when I’m in the goal,” Luukkonen told the Times Herald on Wednesday after the Amerks prepared for Game 3 of the AHL North Division final at Blue Cross Arena. “So that’s the tough part of it.”... Read the full article

After special season in Buffalo, Sabres’ Alex Tuch wants to reach higher level

BUFFALO – Nearly seven months later, the novelty of playing for the Sabres, the team he passionately rooted for growing up, hasn’t worn off for winger Alex Tuch.

In the back of his mind, Tuch had hoped an opportunity to join the Sabres would materialize someday, perhaps at the end of his career. Then on Nov. 4, the Vegas Golden Knights sent him to Buffalo as part of the blockbuster Jack Eichel trade.

Tuch, ... Read the full article

Loss to Rocket puts Amerks on brink of elimination from playoffs

The Rochester Americans are on the brink of elimination from the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Forwards Brandon Gignac, Louis Belpedio and Lucas Condotta scored Monday as the Laval Rocket defeated the Amerks 3-1 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five AHL North Division final.

Laval never trailed Monday at Place Bell – Gignac opened the scoring 5:17 into the game – and has outscored the Amerks 9-2 in the series.

... Read the full article

Sabres sign prospect Olivier Nadeau to entry-level contract

The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Olivier Nadeau, a fourth-round pick in 2021, 97th overall, to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Sunday.

Nadeau, 19, set career highs across the board this season, recording 35 goals, 43 assists and a team-high 78 points in 65 games for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Shawinigan Cataractes. His 17 power-play goals were tied for fourth in the league.

The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Nadeau also registered two goals, ... Read the full article

Top Sabres prospects, AHL role players contributing to Amerks’ playoff success

The Rochester Americans just won their second Calder Cup Playoff series, and winger Jack Quinn, the AHL’s top rookie, hasn’t scored a goal.

Injuries have sidelined goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, two of the Buffalo Sabres’ other top prospects, the entire postseason.

On Thursday, the Amerks, who eked into the playoffs, defeated the top-seeded Utica Comets 4-2 and clinched the North Division semifinal without their injured captain, Michael Mersch, a 26-goal ... Read the full article

Amerks rally to beat Comets, advance to next round of Calder Cup Playoffs

For the first time since 2004, the Rochester Americans have won two series in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Forwards Arttu Ruotsalainen, Sean Malone and Mark Jankowski scored third-period goals Thursday as the Amerks rallied to defeat the top-seeded Utica Comets 4-2 and win the best-of-five AHL North Division semifinal 3-2.

After Ruotsalainen’s power-play goal tied it at the 3:21 mark, Malone put the Amerks up at 6:45, beating Utica goalie Nico Daws from above the ... Read the full article

Amerks’ Peyton Krebs thriving in AHL playoffs after long stint with Sabres

ROCHESTER – Having last experienced the postseason in 2017, when he was playing midget hockey at home in Calgary, Peyton Krebs wanted this opportunity badly.

Krebs, 21, has performed dynamically for the Americans this month, showcasing his elite playmaking skills and compiling an AHL-high eight assists during the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Following a successful 48-game stint with the Buffalo Sabres, the center has buoyed the Amerks’ first postseason run since 2005, returning to the AHL ... Read the full article

Utica’s Nolan Foote scores a first-period goal on Rochester goalie Aaron Dell on Tuesday.

Amerks fall to Comets, can’t close out series: ‘Wanted to finish it off now’

ROCHESTER – In opening up a series lead and putting the Utica Comets on the brink of elimination from the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Americans hadn’t seen the best out of the AHL powerhouse.

The top-seeded Comets only showcased flashes of their slick regular-season form throughout the first three games of best-of-five AHL North Division semifinal. In a do-or-die scenario Tuesday, you figured they would come out roaring.

Well, in Game 4, the Comets gave ... Read the full article