AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Host Toronto Tonight At The Blue Cross Arena

Published on October 16, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans kickoff a two-game weekend as the Toronto Marlies make their first trip to The Blue Cross Arena this season. The 7:05 p.m. North Division showdown will be the first leg of a home-and-home series and the first of eight scheduled meetings between the divisional rivals this season. The matchup will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk and will also be televised live on Time Warner SportsNet Channel 26.

Head-to-Head: The contest is the first of eight between Rochester and Toronto this season. In eight meetings last season between the two teams, the Amerks finished with a 2-5-0-1 record, which included a 2-1-0-1 performance away from the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena. Coming into the matchup, Rochester is 12-21-1 lifetime against the Toronto Maple Leafs' affiliate.

Inside The Numbers: During the 2008-09 campaign, it took Rochester six games to win its first game, 12 games to get its second win and 14 games to earn five points. The 2009-10 Amerks have two wins and five points after just four games (2-1-1-0). With two games in two nights against Toronto this weekend, Rochester has a chance to do something that took it 20 games to do last season: win its third game.

Last season after starting the year off 0-5-0-0, the Amerks picked up their first win, 5-4 over Quad City, in their sixth game. Six games later after another five-game skid, the Amerks grabbed their second win, 3-2 over Houston before clinching five points two days later in 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago. It wasn't until the 20th game of the season where Rochester would earn its third win of the season, 2-1 over Lake Erie.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (2-1-1-0, five points) enters the contest currently in second place in the American Hockey League's North Division after earning a 5-2 win over longtime regional rival Syracuse Crunch Monday night on home ice. After falling behind 1-0, the Amerks, who sit three points behind division-leading Manitoba, quickly responded scoring four-unanswered goals, including three in the third period, to improve their home record to 2-0-1-0.

Veteran forwards Chris Taylor and Graham Mink each found the back of the net for their first tallies of the season as Jeff Taffe and second-year pro Michal Repik each contributed insurance goals. Rookie goaltender Alexander Salak, fresh off making both his NHL and AHL debuts last weekend, backstopped the Amerks with a 30-save performance to earn his first professional win in his first pro start between the pipes. Salak boasts a 2.55 goals-against average along with a .913 save percentage in two games of service coming into tonight.

Repik, Taffe and Mink currently share the team lead with four points each, with both Repik and Taffe averaging 1.33 points per game thus far. Mink paces Rochester with a team-high three assists and is second on the team with 15 penalty minutes. Second-year forward Kenndal McArdle, one of four players with two goals for the Amerks, leads the team with 17 penalty minutes, averaging 4.25 per game. Clay Wilson remains Rochester's top scoring defenseman with three points (1+2). Taffe, whose two goals have come on the man advantage, ranks tied for second in the AHL in both power play and game-winning goals. Third-year netminder Tyler Plante has seen the majority of time in net for the Amerks, who enters the weekend showing a 1-2-0 record with a .319 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.

Player Moves: Forward Victor Oreskovich, who signed a two-year two-way contract with the Florida Panthers last week, joined the Amerks on Thursday after receiving clearance to officially start skating with the team. The former University of Notre Dame product was forced to return to Canada last week in order to obtain a valid work visa for the United States. Oreskovich, 23, played one season under current Panthers Head Coach Peter DeBoer as a member of the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League in 2006-07.

The Amerks also announced Thursday the team has brought back hard-nosed forward Jimmy Bonneau on a 25-game professional tryout agreement. The 24-year-old Bonneau made his AHL debut with the Amerks on October 3rd against Lake Erie. In 62 AHL games with Hamilton, Portland and Rochester, the Baie-Comeau, Quebec, native has one goal and six assists for seven points along with 186 PIM. An eighth-round selection (241st overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in 2003, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound forward has skated in 191 pro games, tallying 24 points (4+20) and 473 PIM.

Toronto Notes: Toronto (2-1-0-0, four points), coming off a three-game homestand to kickoff the campaign, comes into the matchup after receiving its first loss of the season, a 5-3 decision to the Rockford IceHogs, last Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum. Fourth-year forward Jiri Tlusty scored two goals in the defeat, while defenseman Jonas Frogen added the other. The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Marlies, who overcame Hamilton and Grand Rapids to begin the season.

Tlusty currently leads the Marlies with a team-high three goals and four points, and currently sits tied for third in the AHL in goals. Forwards Alex Berry and Ben Ondrus are tied for the team's lead in penalty minutes with seven each, while Berry also paces the Toronto offense with two assists as well. Goaltender James Reimer has gotten two starts this season (1-1-0-0), and holds a 3.53 goals-against and a .873 save percentage. Toronto also added 26-year-old netminder Adam Munro to their roster for tonight's game. Last season with Toronto, Munro finished 12-11-2 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 26 appearances. The Marlies currently sit in fourth place in the AHL's North Division.

Next Game: On Saturday, October 17th, the Amerks head north of the border en route to Ricoh Coliseum for the second of back-to-back tilts with the Marlies. Fans can tune into the 3:00 p.m. matinee and listen live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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