After a brief skate this morning in Rochester the Amerks will be boarding a bus this afternoon and travel to Buffalo for a preseason game against the Toronto Marlies at Harborcenter.

The Amerks played Thursday night and lost a 4-1 game against the Syracuse Crunch at RIT. The Crunch had at least eight or nine players that’ll likely be on their opening night roster compared to the Amerks who had five.  [ Game Recap ]

After practice this morning Chris Taylor said that he liked the forecheck and scoring chances in the first period. He also said he liked the way the defense was up into the play. What happened after the first period could be classified as a learning experience.

Toronto’s lineup tonight will likely be unrecognizable compared to what it will be on opening night. The last time the two teams played was in the playoffs last season when the Marlies swept the Amerks in the first round with three wins.

What the coaches are looking for tonight out of the younger players and also players on tryouts is to see who can play a second game in a row and maintain a high level of play. The Amerks coaching staff is now in their third season in Rochester and one of many things that they have stressed is that mistakes will happen but it’s how you learn and bounce back from them. The lineup tonight looks like it’ll probably have 11 of the same forwards and three of the same defenseman to show they can do just that.

Jacob Bryson will be playing his first game in a Rochester Americans uniform tonight. He was around the team at the end of last season as he learned more about the pro lifestyle after graduating from college. Even though he didn’t play in any playoff games he was around the team and felt the pain of the losses.

Expect to see CJ Smith in the lineup tonight and likely playing with a chip on his shoulder back in Buffalo. He was the first forward to be assigned to Rochester out of Sabres training camp. He’s said it enough in interviews that he’s in Rochester to play and perform, not skate around with a bad attitude.

Jonas Johansson and Michael Houser will be the two goalies again for Rochester.

Tickets to the game at Harborcenter are $10 and puck drops at 7pm. The game will not be streamed online or broadcast on the radio. If you are going to the game make sure to plan some extra time for parking inside the Harborcenter or anywhere else nearby. There is a concert at KeyBank Center at the same time as the Amerks game.

Roster sheet for tonight:

20190927AmerksMarliesRosters