Fresh off six consecutive wins, the Rochester Americans are rested and fortified as they visit Hershey for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight.
The Amerks have also added forward Matthew Savoie, who went to the parent Buffalo Sabres as the ninth overall pick in last year’s National Hockey League Draft. Savoie, 19, just finished his Western Hockey League season with the Winnipeg Ice, where he had 94 points (38 goals, 57 assists) in 62 regular-season games to tie for sixth overall in scoring. He then added 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 19 playoff games as Winnipeg advanced to the WHL final before being eliminated by Seattle on Friday night.
Savoie joined the Amerks for practice Monday morning at Blue Cross Arena before they headed to Hershey. He is one of three recent Buffalo first-round picks on the Rochester roster, joining forwards Jiri Kulich (28th overall in 2022) and Isak Rosen (14th overall in 2021).
“It’s been a quick turnaround,” Savoie told reporters after Monday’s practice, “but I couldn’t be happier and more excited to be here. This opportunity is really exciting and really looking forward to it. I think the group has done a great job in reaching out and just making me feel really welcome.”
Amerks head coach Seth Appert did not have a timeline for when Savoie might make his professional debut.
“He’s had a busy last couple of months,” Appert told reporters. “I think right now we want to get him acclimated to a new organization and to our culture, get him comfortable with the guys, get him comfortable with our team play. We anticipate him being available for us at some point in this series.”
Appert also said that he expects to have forward Linus Weissbach in action tonight. Weissbach, who missed the last two games of the division finals against Toronto, has five points (one goal, four assists) in six playoff outings.
― Patrick Williams
