Sad season comes to an end for Amerks

By Dan Kaye
Staff Writer

To say that the Rochester Americans’ 2007-08 season was a trying one may fall a bit short of an understatement. Randy Cunneyworth did his best to give his take on the season as a whole.

“It was very disappointing,” he said in the locker room after the final game of the season.
“The numbers aren’t very good. It’s not really a season to be proud of. But we can go back, and make ourselves stronger. You learn a lot when you win, but you also learn a lot when you lose.”

On the ice, the numbers speak for themselves. They gave up 291 goals, most in the American Hockey League. Combine that with an anemic offense that scored 197 goals, second lowest. Only the Lowell Devils lit the lamp less.

Throughout the months of December and January, the Amerks mustered only two victories. Losing streaks of 10 games, six games and nine games over that span practically eliminated the club from the playoff race before Groundhog Day.

The final game for Rochester was Sunday, April 13. They ended the season on a positive note, with a 6-5 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters. It was a match-up of teams with nothing to play for, as far as the standings were concerned.

A surprisingly strong crowd showed up for the finale, with 7,571 fans filling the Blue Cross Arena. Attendance had been declining steadily throughout the season, and as the end of the season approached, only about 1,500 to 2,000 fans frequented the arena for a majority of the games.

The loyal fans were awarded with their money’s worth of action: 11 combined goals and Rochester skating away with a victory.

Mark Mancari hit the back of the net twice. After the game, he was contemplative about his time in Rochester, for he may have played his final season in the red, white and blue
uniform.

“There were so many ups and downs this season,” Mancari said. “A lot of things just didn’t go our way. I’ve been here three years, I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to be here with. I loved it here. The thought that I was playing my last game here definitely crossed my mind. Great fans, coaching staff has been amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to come to.”

Having to put a roster together while being part of a dual affiliation was tough. The Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers supplied the team with plenty of young talent, but a lack of veteran leadership hurt the team in the long run.

Players were shuffled in and out of Amerk uniforms. Players like 23-year-old Paul Baier, who got his first professional goal in the season’s last game, and Derek Whitmore, the 23-year-old Greece native who joined the club in late March, made their Amerks debut.

Others, like Clarke MacArthur and Pat Kaleta, spent a good amount of time in Buffalo.
As for the future of the team, it remains to be seen. Ownership problems have become public issues over the past few months. The Rochester Sports Group, which owns the Rochester Americans, has fallen on severe financial difficulties. Coach Cunneyworth touched on the uncertain outlook.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Cunneyworth said. “It’s all up in the air right now. We’ll see what happens.”

It’s hard to imagine a winter in Rochester without the Amerks, a club that’s been a staple in the community for more than 50 years, and has six Calder Cup titles. But just as the Rochester Rhinos found a way to save their season, perhaps the Americans can somehow find a way to skate into the fall of 2008.

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