AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks Host Crunch at Blue Cross Arena

Published on November 21, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, one of the fiercest rivalries in the American Hockey League will be renewed as the Syracuse Crunch journey west down the I-90 Interstate to The Blue Cross Arena. The 5:05 p.m. contest will mark the first of 10 encounters between the longtime foes and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Fans can also tune into the live telecast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

Promotions: Fans can take advantage of the Zweigle's Family Four Packand purchase four tickets to the game, four hot dogs and four sodas all for one low price of just $52.00. Additionally, Amerks Hall of Famer Geordie Robertson will be on hand to help kickoff the second annual Seneca Gaming Legends Series. Robertson will sign autographs from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. prior to the contest. After the game, fans can head down to The Distillery (1142 Mt. Hope Ave.) to meet the entire team at the Amerks' official postgame party.

Welcome Back: The matchup features the return of former Amerks defenseman Nathan Paetsch. Paetsch started the 2010-11 campaign in an Amerk uniform, collecting three points (1+2) in nine games before being reassigned to Syracuse last month.

Head-to-Head: The game is just the first of 10 get-togethers this season for the I-90 neighbors. The Amerks posted an impressive 9-1-0-0 record against the Crunch in the season series a year ago, including an unblemished 5-0-0-0 count on home ice. Rochester defeated Syracuse nine consecutive times during that stretch, before falling in the final game of the regular season. The Amerks are 91-76-15 lifetime against the Crunch.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 2-6-1-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 6-4-0-0 mark against non-divisional foes. The Amerks have played 11 of their first 17 games on the road, but they will now play nine of their next 11 contests at home, where they show a 1-7-0-0 record.

I Love New York: With a win tonight over Syracuse, Rochester will become the first New York State based team this season to earn a victory over the four other NYS AHL franchises.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor is on the move again up Rochester's all-time lists. The next goal he scores will be his 135 th as an Amerk, sliding him into the No. 11 spot ahead of Barry Merrelland Jim Pappin on the all-time goals list. On Friday night, the 19-year pro skated in his 457th game in an Amerk uniform, thus leapfrogging Dan Frawley into ninth all-time. Taylor is a mere five points shy of surpassing Stan Smrke for fifth on the points list and needs just one more assist to eclipse the 300 mark in the red, white and blue.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (8-10-1-0, 17 points) enters the contest currently on a four-game skid following its 4-0 loss to the Albany Devils last night at The Blue Cross Arena. The loss was also the Amerks' fifth straight at home as the club remains at the bottom of the American Hockey League's North Division, two points from the sixth-place Grand Rapids Griffins. Rochester currently has the eighth best power-play in the league (19.8 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28th out of the 30-team AHL with a 75.3 success rate. The Amerks have scored the second most goals among any other divisional opponent with 58. Rochester also owns the most penalty minutes in the Division with 381.

Team and League Leaders: Despite presently being on recall with the parent Florida Panthers, third-year forward Michal Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 18 assists and 22 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently ranks second in the league in assists, while being tied for third overall among the league's top scorers. Repik also has a team-best eight assists on the power-play, good enough for second in the league. Bill Thomas, also on NHL recall with Florida, paces the Amerk offense with a team-high seven goals and sits at a close second with 17 points. With forward Triston Grantsidelined with an injury, rookie left wing Eric Selleck is among the league leaders in penalty minutes. His 57 penalty minutes are currently a team-best, while he also ranks second among AHL rookies in that category.

First-year defenseman Colby Robak reigns as Rochester's top scoring blueliner with 11 points (2+9) in 19 games. Further, the Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, native is presently tied for 10th and 12th in overall scoring among league rearguards and rookies, respectively. He is also currently Rochester's point-leader as a result of its top two performers playing with the big club.

Rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far. Markstrom, who has started six of the last nine games for the Amerks, boasts a 6-8-0 record with a 3.66 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage. His six wins tie him for ninth among AHL netminders, while he has the fourth most saves with 380.

Syracuse Notes: Syracuse (6-7-1-3, 16 points), coming off its recent four-game homestand, comes into the matchup on a four-game losing streak of its own after coming up short in a 5-4 setback to the Springfield Falcons last night on home ice. The Crunch are just 1-4-0-0 in their last five games, with their only win in that stretch coming in the form of a 3-0 whitewash of Albany back on November 12th. Syracuse, currently holding the seventh place spot in the East Division standings, is in its first season as the primary affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.

Team and League Leaders: Rookie forwards Kyle Palmieri and Nicolas Deschamps lead the way for the Crunch, each with a team-best seven goals apiece this season. Averaging more than a point per-game, Palmieri, who recently returned from an NHL stint with Anaheim, paces Syracuse with 11 points (7+4) through just 10 games with the Crunch. The Smithtown, NY, native had a career-best five-game point streak from October 22nd to October 30th, scoring six goals and two assists en route to earning Reebok/AHL Player of the Week honors. Palmieri also currently ranks tied for 12thoverall among AHL first-year players.

Forward Trevor Smith is first on the team and second overall with eight assists, while defenseman Mark Mitera owns a plus-six on-ice rating. Tough-guy forward Jon Mirasty is back for his fifth season with the Crunch and has picked up right where he left a year ago. Coming off a personal-best 269 penalty minutes in 2009-10, Mirasty presently leads the team and is third in the AHL with 67 penalty minutes, averaging 5.58 minutes per game.

Despite rookie netminder Timo Pielmeier seeing more time in net, his counterpart, Jean-Philippe Levasseur, shows better numbers. In just eight games this season, Levasseur is 2-3-2 with one shutout and 247 saves. His 2.37 goals-against average and .929 save percentage currently rank him 12thand eighth among league goaltenders, respectively.

Next Game: Rochester remains at home on Friday, November 26th as it closes out its four-game homestand against the Toronto Marlies at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:35 p.m. North Division contest will be the second of eight scheduled meetings this season between the two teams and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will be also televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2010


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