Compiled by Craig Potter
Today’s SportsROC Report includes stories on the Rochester Red Wings split a double header with Syracuse, the Buffalo Sabres announce summer development schedule, and previews of weekend games for the Rochester Rhinos and Rochester Rattlers.
The Rochester Red Wings split a double header with the Syracuse Chiefs on Thursday night before 5,366 fans at Frontier Field.
Adam Brett Walker won the first game with a walk-off grand slam to beat the Chiefs, 5-1, in 8 innings. It was the fourth Rochester walk-off grand slam in Frontier Field history, and the first one since Aug. 16, 2005.
Local product Chris Bostick, an Aquinas graduate who was brought up to the Chiefs from Double-A Harrisburg on Monday, accounted for Syracuse’s only run. In his first Triple-A appearance at Frontier Field, Bostick lined a single. He eventually scored on a fielder’s choice.
Bostick also made an outstanding defensive play in the bottom of the eighth when the Red Wings had the bases loaded with one out. With the Cheifs infield in, Eddie Rosario hit a soft liner that Bostick, who was playing at second, dove to his right to make the catch.
Walker then followed with his blast over the center field fence, 414 feet away.
Rochester tied the game 1-1 in the fifth inning when Logan Schafer tripled to right and scored on Wilfredo Tovar’s sacrifice fly to right.
In the nightcap, Bostick scored twice as he batted cleanup for the Chiefs, who posted a 6-1 victory. Bostick led off the second inning with a double down the left field line, and again scored the first run of the game on a double by Matt Den Dekker. He also switched from playing second base to playing left field in game 2.
In the sixth inning, the Chiefs paraded 8 batters to the plate and tallied 3 runs to secure the victory. Bostick drew a walk in the rally and eventually scored on a double by Caleb Ramsey.
The series resumes on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. with fireworks to follow the game.
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The Buffalo Sabres announced on Thursday that the team has signed forward Cole Schneider to a one-year, two way contract.
A native of Williamsville, N.Y., Schneider (25, 6-foot-1, 198 lbs.) appeared in his first two NHL games in April 2016 with the Sabres. He finished the 2015-16 season leading all Rochester Americans (AHL) skaters with 56 points (21+35) in 73 games in 2015-16, including 14 points (4+10) in 19 games with the Americans after being acquired by the Sabres from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 27.
In six AHL seasons with the Americans and the Binghamton Senators, Schneider has appeared in 282 regular-season games, recording 205 points (87+118), a plus-15 rating and 126 penalty minutes. He has totaled more than 20 goals and more than 50 points in each of his last three seasons.
The Buffalo Sabres also announced the team’s schedule for its annual summer development camp from July 6-12 at HARBORCENTER. All on-ice sessions will be held at HARBORCENTER for the first time this year after four years at First Niagara Center.
*The 2016 Development Camp roster is included as an attachment to this email*
On-ice camp sessions throughout the week will be open to the public and an intra-squad Blue & Gold Scrimmage will take place on Saturday, July 9 at 1 p.m. The French Connection Tournament, an intra-squad 3-on-3 tournament beginning at 9:15 a.m. will highlight the final day of camp on Tuesday, July 12. Ticket information for the Blue & Gold Scrimmage and the French Connection Tournament will be available at a later date.
The camp will feature 43 Sabres prospects, including all 10 players the team selected at the 2016 NHL Draft. Attendees will take part in both on-ice and off-ice workouts.
The goals of the camp are to show prospective players the fundamental ideas of the Sabres’ playing system and expose them to the conditioning programs of an NHL player. Camp participants will also study and examine NHL rules and the successful techniques a player must possess to become a professional athlete.
The full schedule of on-ice workouts open to the public at HARBORCENTER is below. All times are subject to change and any updates will be posted at Sabres.com.
Wed., July 6
2:15 to 3:30 p.m.
4:15 to 5:30 p.m.
Thu., July 7
9:50 to 11:20 a.m.
1:20 to 2:50 p.m.
Fri., July 8
9:50 to 11:15 a.m.
1:45 to 3:05 p.m.
Sat., July 9
Blue & Gold Scrimmage: 1 p.m.
Sun., July 10
Off Day
Mon., July 11
9:50 to 11:30 a.m.
1:30 to 2:50 p.m.
Tue., July 12
French Connection Tournament: 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
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The Rochester Rhinos (6-4-3) will take on the New York Red Bulls 2 (9-1-4) at Red Bull Arena at 4 p.m. on Saturday. This will be the second meeting this season as the first ended in a 0-0 draw.
Both teams are coming off wins – the Rhinos defeated the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2-1 at home last Saturday, and Red Bulls 2 defeated the Wilmington Hammerheads, 4-0, last Sunday. New York is unbeaten in its last 8 games (6-0-2).
This match will be streamed on the USL Match Center.
Farrell and Garzi led the Rhinos to victory in their match against Pittsburgh with a goal a piece. While Farrell and Volesky lead the team in scoring, a key contributor to the offense is consistently Steeven Dos Santos. Dos Santos leads the team with 31 shots and is someone to watch to make a difference on the score board as the season continues into the later half.
In their 0-0 draw against NYRBII back in April, the Rhinos fought hard but the advantage almost came to the Red Bulls. Stefano Bonomo of New York hit the post in the 38’ minute. Bonomo and the Red Bulls are in second place in the Eastern Conference while the Rhinos remain in the top eight at sixth.
The Red Bulls have only one loss this season. They fell to the Charlotte Independence back in May in a 2-0 defeat. The Rhinos have struggled against the Independence as well, in 2015 Charlotte handed the Rhinos their only loss of the season.
The Rhinos are 2-1-3 on the road this season.
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The Rochester Rattlers look to avenge their overtime loss to the Boston Cannons earlier in the season when the two teams square off at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Wegman’s Sports Complex at Aquinas Institute.
The Cannons beat the Rattlers, 16-15, on May 14 after Brodie Merrill’s hail-mary goal tied the game at 15 as time expired. Boston then scored the game-winner in overtime.
“This game is one of the most important I have had in my MLL career,” said Rochester goalie John Galloway, who was burned by that length-of-field shot. “After our loss to Boston, I had to take a serious look in the mirror. I needed to make sure mentally I could still prepare like I used to. This game is an opportunity to prove to myself that I am capable of coming in ready to compete at the highest level.”
Rattlers head coach Tim Soudan added, “We played really well against Boston and at times we had a couple of let ups and they got us in transition work and we just started talking a little bit more and more about managing the game and the flow of transition.
“Defensively we’ve been outstanding, John Galloway has been outstanding. Offensively, we have a lot of weapons, so we’re clicking,” Soudan commented on the winning streak.
The Rattlers are playing their first home game since June 2, when the beat the Ohio Machine. The win last Saturday in Columbus against the Machine moved Rochester (5-3) into second place in the MLL, one game behind first place New York Lizards (6-2).
The Rattlers will be idle next week as the MLL All-Star game is on Saturday, July 9. The Rattlers next play at home against the Charlotte Hounds on July 16 with faceoff at 4:30 p.m.