(Rochester, NY)... After claiming six out of a possible eight points to close out their busy holiday week, the surging Rochester Americans have once again regained the top spot among the American Hockey League standings. This week, Rochester ushers in the month of December with another busy four-game week as it continues its season-long six-game road trip where two-game sets against divisional rival Manitoba and Abbotsford await the Amerks.Joining the team on the road this week will be goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu. The 25-year-old returns to the Amerks for his second time in two weeks after recording a 3-2-1 record with a 2.71 goals-against average and.913 save percentage in eight games this season with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. In one AHL contest with Rochester, the 6-foot-2, 201-pound netminder has made nine saves to go along with a 2.32 goals-against average and a.900 save percentage.
Rochester enters the final month of 2009 with back-to-back tilts with the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday, December 1st and Wednesday, December 2nd. Both contests are slated for 8:30 p.m. EST starts at the MTS Centre and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The two-game set will be the first and second of only four meetings this season between the North Division rivals. In 2008-09, the Amerks were 2-4-0-2, which included a 2-2-0-0 record on the road, in the season series against the Moose. Rochester is 17-24-3 all-time against the Vancouver Canucks' affiliate.
From there, the Amerks head to Canada's western coast for a pair of encounters with the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday, December 5th and Sunday, December 6th. The games will mark the first-ever meetings between Rochester and Abbotsford, one of three new expansion teams in the AHL. Opening faceoff for both contests are scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST starts at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.
Rochester (17-3-1-0, 35 points) enters the week currently first overall in the AHL with a one-point lead over the West Division Texas Stars. The Amerks still maintain a two-point lead over the Manchester Monarchs, in addition to a three-point cushion over the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. The Amerks have won 16 of their last 18 games, including 10 straight at home, and own the league's best winning percentage (.833).
The Amerks capped Thanksgiving week adding three more victories to their league-leading win column. After posting back-to-back wins against Hamilton (5-2) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (4-3) Tuesday and Friday night, respectively, the Amerks were held scoreless in a 5-0 loss to the Binghamton Senators Saturday evening. The loss was Rochester's first since November 12 th at Portland and the first against the B-Sens since a 3-2 shootout loss on March 28, 2009.
Rochester concluded the weekend with a 7-4 win over the Syracuse Crunch yesterday afternoon at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Veteran forward Chris Taylor scored a goal and assisted on two others to surpass Dick Gamble into the No.4 spot on the franchise's all-time assist list with 267. With the goal, he also tied Craig Charron for 15th all-time with 121.
The Amerks, who are tied for third in the AHL with five shorthanded goals, have outscored their opponents 68-41 in the last 17 games and have allowed the second fewest number of goals in their division with 52. Additionally, their 76 goals for are also the most in the division. Rochester currently ranks third in the AHL with a 22.9 power-play percentage and ninth with an 86.8 penalty-killing percentage.
Veteran forwards Jamie Johnson (9+10), Mike York (5+14) and Taylor (6+13) currently share the team lead with 19 points apiece. The trio is presently is tied for seventh in overall point production. Johnson scored a pair of goals and had one assist in Sunday's win against Syracuse that snapped a four-game scoring drought. He has now picked up nine goals and six assists for 15 points in his last 11 games, averaging just under a point per game. The power-play extraordinaire has accumulated five of his 10 helpers on the man advantage, tying him with fellow special teams line mate Jeff Taffe for sixth best in the league in that very category. Further, his nine goals are equal to that of teammate David Brine for the team lead, which are also fourth best in the league.
York, who has seven assists in his last seven outings, paces the Amerks offense with a team-high 14 assists and continues to be the team's frontrunner in the power-play assists table with eight. A veteran of 579 NHL games, York is tied for third in the AHL with eight power-play helpers, while his four goals on the man advantage also tie him for fourth in the AHL. Further, his 14 assists tie him for fifth in the league.
With Taylor moving ahead of Gamble into the No.4 spot on the all-time assist list and currently tied with Craig Charron for 15th on the all-time goal list, the 18-year pro sits just three goals and four points away from moving ahead of Gordie Clark and Norm "Red' Armstrong for 14th and seventh on the all-time list, respectively. He needs just three games to leapfrog the 390-game benchmark set by Amerk legend Don Cherry.
Amerks tough-guy Jimmy Bonneau is first on the team and seventh in the league with a team-high 86 penalty minutes after dropping the gloves 13 times in his last 15 games. Defenseman Clay Wilson (3+10) stands just two points ahead of fellow blueliner Jason Garrison (2+9) in the fight for Rochester's top scoring defenseman. The duo is currently ranked seventh and tied for ninth in scoring among league blueliners, respectively. Wilson is also tied for fourth in the AHL with seven power-play assists. Third-year defenseman Jordan Henry owns the team's best on-ice rating with a plus-10.
Salak, who made 12 consecutive starts between October 23rd and November 27th, shows a 14-1-0 record with 440 saves in just 16 games. His 2.10 goals-against average and.932 save percentage are currently eighth and seventh among league netminders, respectively, while his 14 wins are presently a league best. Additionally, despite tabbing his first and only loss of the season three weeks ago, the Rochester netminder still holds the best record in the AHL among active goaltenders. Salak has started 13 of the last 14 games for Rochester, posting a 12-1-0 record in that time with 368 saves and 26 goals against. In 16 games, Salak has only allowed 32 goals.
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