With October came the beginning of the 2019-20 American Hockey League season, and now it’s time to take a look back at the accomplishments and setbacks through the first month of the season for the Rochester Americans. The Amerks earned five wins, saw their first three-in-three road trip, a coaching change and much more in just the first month of regular-season play. Here are your top 10 takeaways for the Amerks successful start to the new campaign.
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1. SWITCHING THINGS UP BEHIND THE BENCH
Just three days before the Amerks were getting ready to kick off their 64th AHL season, a major coaching change took place due to unfortunate circumstances with the team’s big club.
Sabres assistant coach Don Granato was forced to take a medical leave due to pneumonia-related complications. Amerks head coach Chris Taylor joined the Sabres coaching staff in the interim, opening the door for Amerks assistant coach Gord Dineen to assume the head coaching responsibilities in Rochester. The Amerks then added Adam Mair, one of the Sabres development coaches, to fill out the bench alongside Dineen and Toby Petersen for the start of the season.
With a similar coaching style and techniques that both Dineen and Taylor share, the transition seemed as flawless as possible after the Amerks first month of play. Dineen led the red, white and blue to five victories in the month of October and began to feel more comfortable in his newfound position as the interim head coach, really focusing on which strategies need to be implemented in order to get more wins on the board.
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