The Amerks got out to a slow start on Monday night on the road against the Abbotsford Heat but came back in a big way ending the game with an 8-4 win.  Abbotsford had a 2-1 lead up until 8:03 of the second period when Shawn Matthias tied the game and that opened up the scoring.  By the end of the game  Shawn Matthias, Graham Mink and Clay Wilson each had two goals and Mike York and Jason Garrison each had three assists.

The win gives the Amerks a 2-1 lead in the series heading into the next game on Wednesday night.  The win also guarantee’s at least one more Amerks home game whether it’s the end of this series or the next round.  Keep the ice cold and the locker room doors unlocked, the Amerks will be coming back home!

I wrote prior to game one that Shawn Matthias has the big game experiences this time of year and it doesn’t come down to just the veterans and he’s proving that.  Mike York and Graham Mink are also playing huge but Matthias has been the one to step up in these past two games.

David Shantz was pulled in the game and replaced by Leland Irving before Shantz was put back into the net.  Getting into the minds of the opposing goalie is certainly something that will favor the Amerks.  Tyler Plante stood tall again even though four goals were scored against him.  We’ll always be left to wonder, “what if” he had started in the first place.

The game should give the Amerks a lot of confidence that they can play hard, score goals and feed off of each other.  It should not only give the players confidence but every fan as well that this team should just be starting to gain some steam as the playoffs go on.

Unfortunately my real job is interfering with me covering these late night away games in depth like I usually do so here’s some links on over to Hockey O-Zone – Check out his live game log and also his follow up with quotes from players.

Here’s a couple quoted quotes:

Matthias was terrific all game. Actually, he has been terrific all series. He looks very much like an NHLer, which he was for half the season.

“I like being on this team,” he said. “I don’t want an early summer.”

Said York: “He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”

Said Groulx: “Shawn was a big factor in the games in Rochester and tonight with York and Taffe, those three were our best line.”

Enjoy the rest of the quotes in the link above!!

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Rochester Americans 8 At Abbotsford Heat 4 – Status: Final
Apr 19, 2010 – Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre

Rochester 1 4 3 – 8
Abbotsford 2 0 2 – 4

1st Period-1, Abbotsford, Backlund 1 (Weller, Lammers), 1:44 (pp). 2, Abbotsford, Rheault 1 (Pelech, Murray), 17:56. 3, Rochester, Wilson 1 (Garrison, Taylor), 18:57. Penalties-Wilson Rch (tripping), 1:09; Henry Rch (roughing), 13:17; Wahl Abb (roughing), 13:17.

2nd Period-4, Rochester, Matthias 1 (York, Taffe), 8:03. 5, Rochester, Henry 2 (Mink, York), 10:01 (pp). 6, Rochester, Wilson 2 (Matthias, York), 13:54. 7, Rochester, Mink 2 (Johnson, Garrison), 19:52. Penalties-Henry Rch (roughing), 4:06; Sutter Abb (unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:35; Murray Abb (slashing), 10:01; Henry Rch (roughing), 12:02; Bancks Abb (roughing), 12:02; Johnson Rch (fighting), 20:00; Spurgeon Abb (fighting), 20:00.

3rd Period-8, Abbotsford, Sutter 1 (Baldwin, Seabrook), 3:32. 9, Rochester, Matthias 2   6:04. 10, Rochester, Mink 3 (Garrison), 7:47. 11, Rochester, Ellerby 1   8:09. 12, Abbotsford, Sutter 2 (Wahl, Backlund), 12:23 (pp). Penalties-Meyers Abb (fighting), 0:00; Repik Rch (roughing), 3:32; Wilson Rch (roughing), 3:32; Backlund Abb (roughing), 3:32; Seabrook Abb (roughing), 3:32; Henry Rch (roughing, fighting), 8:09; Cunning Abb (holding), 12:23; Duco Rch (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:14; Hudson Rch (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:14; Oreskovich Rch (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:14; Baldwin Abb (elbowing, misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:14; Murray Abb (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:14; Seabrook Abb (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:14.

Shots on Goal-Rochester 7-15-6-28. Abbotsford 12-9-15-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Rochester 1 of 4; Abbotsford 2 of 3.
Goalies-Rochester, Plante 2-0-0 (36 shots-32 saves). Abbotsford, Shantz 1-1-0 (19 shots-14 saves); Irving 0-1-0 (9 shots-6 saves).
A-3,010
Referees-Kyle Rehman (37).
Linesmen-Kiel Murchison (35), Nathan Vanoosten (96).