Pride in the Americans

The Rochester Americans swept a weekend home-and-home set against the Toronto Marlies. After winning the first contest 5-2 at home, they fought back from a 0-3 deficit in Game 2, and eventually won 4-3 in overtime thanks to a goal by former 'Making the Cut' winner, David Brine. McKeen's correspondent Gus Katsaros was on hand and has notes prospects Shawn Matthias, Kenndal McArdle, Michal Repik and Keaton Ellerby.

Shawn Matthias (Fla), C/W, Rochester

Big body goes hard to the net without the puck and stays in front .. played wing to start the game and seemed confused at times with positioning, taking a center's position low in the zone, instead of a wingers spot protecting the point .. good stickhandler, shifty and quick, with good vision and distribution skills .. finds sneaky ways to get to open ice .. can become unbalanced if he hurries his stride or if speeding too fast .. can operate with blinders at times, over handling the puck .. is a much better center than winger, and confusion all game seemed evident .. uses long reach to dangle the puck that draws defensemen to him before using a change of pace on the outside and moving the puck past them for a quick shot in motion .. very creative and aggressively drives defensemen .. high-risk/high-reward type of move .. struggled with positioning and lack of linemates to get him the puck on the rush, or to finish his plays.

Kenndal McArdle (Fla), LW, Rochester

Was the final player off the ice after warm ups, taking more shots on the open net and working on stickhandling drill .. kills penalties and plays a good defensive game, good awareness and ability to check his opponents .. skating continues to be a weakness, but has upgraded his first step acceleration and no longer hopping off the start, looking less sloppy .. took exception to a play along the boards and turned in a spirited fight .. strong upper body strength allows him to fight harder to get to the front of the net, but he doesn't take advantage of that much .. a thorny, aggravating opponent, gets under players skin, very smartly too .. made a pass for the first goal and did all the work under the goal line for the Amerks second goal .. actually quite quick for his skating stride .. may have had a big offensive game (0-3-3) but he was used more for his defensive acumen than in scoring situations.

Michal Repik (Fla), RW, Rochester

Started the game on the second unit powerplay, and didn't play much early in the contest, as the Amerks went with a veteran lineup early on .. moved to the first unit as the game progressed, especially after scoring two even strength markers .. smallish, quick and darty .. hit hard into the boards and in disgust threw his broken stick into the center of the zone .. started the second period .. seemed relegated to a checking unit .. took an easy shot on goal with no traffic in front when he had other options and lots of time, hurrying the play for no reason .. however, he kick started the comeback from a 3-0 deficit with a good low shot .. played a mostly quiet game prior to that point, yet still figured prominently scoring two goals .. was all fired up after his goal and almost had another when left in front alone and made a toe drag that beat the goaltender but lost momentum before crossing the line .. quietly successful contest.

Keaton Ellerby (Fla), D, Rochester

Puck rushing defenseman with soft hands and good vision .. stays in front of the net and doesn't chase the puck .. uses his long reach to take away space .. plays left/lower diamond spot on the penalty kill, and recognizes the shift in formation and who his assignment is due to the shift very smartly .. dependable .. will pinch on the weak side, off the rush but not as much - if at all - with offensive zone pressure .. keeps close and doesn't look at the puck when handling the man off the rush, taking his man aggressively to the boards .. takes the body at every turn .. had better hands than first thought, with some nifty stickhandling and developing outlet passing ability .. should be given an audition in Florida by the end of the season.