Compiled by Craig Potter
Today’s SportsROC Report includes stories on the Rochester Red Wings 1-run loss, the Buffalo Sabres NHL Day 2 draft picks, the Rochester Rhinos and Rochester Rattlers victories.
The Rochester Red Wings stranded 11 runners on base, and a pair of ground-rule doubles cost the Wings 2 runs in the 3-2 loss to the Louisville Bats before the largest crowd of the season, 11,138 at Frontier Field on Saturday night.
The Bats grabbed a 2-0 on Rochester starter Andrew Albers with 2 runs in the second.
The Wings battled back to tie the game with solo runs in the fourth and fifth on a bases-loaded hit by James Beresford, and a solo homer by Kennys Vargas, respectively. However, the Wings left the bases loaded in the fourth and ninth innings.
Louisville scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the sixth off Albers (6-2).
Rookie reliever D.J. Baxendale made his Triple-A debut in the sixth and retired all 7 hitters he faced. He struck out 3.
Rochester and Louisville conclude their series with an afternoon game on Sunday, starting at 1:35.
Rochester (45-31) maintained its International League North Division lead over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (44-32) by 1 game, but Lehigh Valley (44-32) also is just 1 game behind as well.
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The Buffalo Sabres acquired defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft (33rd overall) from the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman Mark Pysyk, a second-round pick in 2016 (38th overall) and a third-round pick in 2016 (89th overall) to start Day 2 of the NHL Draft being held in Buffalo.
Kulikov (24, 6-foot-1, 204 lbs.) completed his seventh NHL season with the Panthers in 2015-16, totaling 17 points (1+16) and a plus-8 rating in 74 games while logging 21:02 of ice time per game. In 460 career NHL regular-season games, Kulikov has recorded 138 points (28+110) and 300 penalty minutes, ranking second among Panthers defenseman in goals, assists and points during that span. Kulikov has also appeared in 13 career NHL playoff games, tallying five points (1+4) in those contests.
Prior to being selected by Florida with the 14th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, Kulikov played one season for the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL), where he recorded 62 points (12+50) in 57 games in 2008-09. He added 19 points (2+17) in 19 QMJHL playoff games to help lead the Voltigeurs to a QMJHL championship. His season in Drummondville earned him several honors, including QMJHL Rookie of the Year and QMJHL Defenseman of the Year.
Kulikov, a native of Lipetsk, Russia, has represented his country at several levels, including the IIHF World Championship, the IIHF World Junior Championship and the IIHF Under-18 World Championship. He has also been named to Russia’s roster for the inaugural World Cup of Hockey, to be held in September 2016 in Toronto.
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The Buffalo Sabres selected nine players on the second day of the 2016 NHL Draft at First Niagara Center. These nine selections join Buffalo’s first-round pick, forward Alexander Nylander, to complete the team’s 2016 draft class, which includes six forwards and four defensemen. The Sabres also acquired defenseman Dmitry Kulikov from the Florida Panthers during the second round of the draft.
With their first pick of the second round (33rd overall), which was acquired from the Panthers along with Kulikov, the Sabres selected forward Rasmus Asplund. Asplund (18, 5-10, 176 lbs.) finished the 2015-16 season ranked fourth among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting after recording 16 points (4+8) in 46 games in his second season with Farjestad in Sweden’s top professional league. He represented Sweden in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship as the youngest player on Sweden’s roster, tallying five points (3+2) in seven games while playing on a line with Nylander, Buffalo’s first-round selection.
The Sabres used the first of two third-round picks (69th overall) to select forward Cliff Pu. Pu (18, 6-2, 192 lbs.) recorded 31 points (12+19), a plus-12 rating in 63 regular-season games during his second OHL season in 2015-16. The Richmond Hill, Ontario native added 13 points (8+5) in 18 OHL playoff games with the London Knights and another three points (1+2) in four Memorial Cup games, helping the Knights to an OHL Championship and a Memorial Cup win.
Buffalo selected their first defenseman of the draft next, choosing Casey Fitzgerald with their remaining third-round pick (86th overall). Fitzgerald (17, 5-10, 186 lbs.) led all Boston College defensemen and ranked third among Eagles freshmen with 27 points (4+23) in 39 games during the 2015-16 season, tying for the team lead with a plus-27 rating. His 27-point output ranked Fitzgerald 11th among NCAA defensemen and second among rookies, earning him a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.
With their fourth-round pick (99th overall), the Sabres selected forward Brett Murray. Murray (17, 6-4, 216 lbs.), who is committed to Penn State for his collegiate career, recorded 46 points (14+32) in 48 games in 2015-16 with Carleton Place (CCHL), adding 13 points (5+8) in 16 playoff games.
The Sabres opted for defensemen with each of their fifth-round picks, selecting Philip Nyberg (129th overall) and Vojtech Budik (130th overall) with back-to-back picks. Nyberg (19, 6-3, 189 lbs.), who tallied 18 points (4+14) and a plus-11 rating for Linkoping (Sweden – Jr.) in 2015-16, will attend the University of Wisconsin in the fall. In his first WHL season in 2015-16, Budik (18, 6-1, 189 lbs.) ranked third among Prince Albert rookies with 16 points (3+13) in 70 games.
Buffalo selected a forward in the sixth round, choosing Brandon Hagel with the 159th overall pick. As a rookie in 2015-16, Hagel (17, 6-0, 160 lbs.) tied for fifth among Red Deer (WHL) skaters with 47 points (13+34) in 72 games and logged 10 points (1+9) in 17 playoff contests.
The Sabres rounded out their 2016 draft class with a pair of seventh-round picks, selecting defenseman Austin Osmanski (189th overall) and forward Vasily Glotov (190th overall). A native of East Aurora, N.Y., Osmanski (18, 6-3, 196 lbs.) completed his first OHL season with Mississauga in 2015-16 after spending the 2014-15 season with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. Glotov (18, 5-11, 158 lbs.) recently completed his second season with Lvy St. Petersburg (Russia – Jr.), recording 55 points (23+32) in 42 games.
Buffalo Sabres 2016 Draft Class:
Round (Overall) – Player (Pos) / Amateur team
1 (8) – Alexander Nylander (LW) / Mississauga, OHL
2 (33) – Rasmus Asplund (C) / Farjestad, Sweden
3 (69) – Cliff Pu (RW) / London, OHL
3 (86) – Casey Fitzgerald (D) / Boston College, NCAA – Hockey East
4 (99) – Brett Murray (LW) / Carleton Place, CCHL
5 (129) – Philip Nyberg (D) / Linkoping Jr., Sweden (Jr.)
5 (130) – Vojtech Budik (D) / Prince Albert, WHL
6 (159) – Brandon Hagel (LW) / Red Deer, WHL
7 (189) – Austin Osmanski (D) / Mississauga, OHL
7 (190) – Vasily Glotov (C) / Lvy St. Petersburg 2, Russia (Jr.)
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The Rochester Rhinos returned to their winning ways on Saturday evening at Rhinos Stadium with a 2-1 victory over the the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Joe Farrell gave the Rhinos a 1-0 with a header in the 8th minute. The Riverhounds tied the game 1-1 in the 45th minute.
Mike garzi tallied his first goal of the season in the 60th minute, and it proved to be the game-winner for Rochester.
The Rhinos improved to 7-4-3 for 24 points as they trail first place Louisville City FC (10-1-4 for 34 points) by 10 points.
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The Rochester Rattlers won their fifth straight game with a 16-13 victory over the Ohio Machine in a seesaw game on Saturday evening in Columbus.
Ty Thompson had his best MLL game as he paced the Rattlers with 5 goals and 1 assist for 6 points.
Jordan Wolf continued his fine season with 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points. Jesse King added 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points for Rochester.
Also scoring goals for the Rattlers were: Jack Near, Jeremy Boltus, Jordan MacIntosh, and John Ranagan.
Goalie John Galloway recorded 16 saves in earning the win.
Rochester improved to 5-3 in the MLL and trail the first place New York Lizards (6-2) by 1 game.