AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks, Monsters Square off Again Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

Published on January 16, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans look to snap their three-game losing streak as they return home to face the Lake Erie Monsters for the second time in three nights at The Blue Cross Arena. The 5:05 p.m. North Division showdown will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Fans will also be able to watch the game live 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. Fans can also purchase the "Sunday Funday Pack" for the game exclusively through the Amerks Facebook page. Fans can get a ticket, T-shirt and a pass to the Party Deck for just $25! Click on the 'Amerks Nation' tab to purchase the pack. Immediately following the game, fans can head down to The Distillery (1142 Mt. Hope Ave.) to meet the entire team at the Amerks' official postgame party.

Head-to-Head: The contest is the fourth of eight scheduled get-togethers between the two teams this season. The Amerks are 1-2-0-0 this season following their 3-1 loss to the Monsters just 48 hours ago on home ice. Rochester is also 10-11-1 all-time against the Colorado Avalanche's affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 7-10-2-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 10-10-0-2 mark against non-divisional rivals. Home ice has not been very welcoming for the Amerks, who are just 6-13-1-2 within the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena. Conversely, Rochester's road dominance is prevalent with an 11-7-1-0 mark. Excluding their 4-3 win over Lake Erie on January 4th, Rochester has been held to two or fewer goals in nine of its last 10 games.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor needs just one more goal to eclipse former fan-favorite Scott Metcalfe for 10th on the all-time goals list. Already on his list of achievements this season includes moving ahead of Stan Smrke for fifth on the all-time points list, appearing in more games than Bronco Horvath and scoring more career goals than Jim Pappin and Barry Merrell.

All-Star Bound: The American Hockey League announced Tuesday that Rochester Americans defenseman Clay Wilson and forward Michal Repik have been named to the Western Conference All-Star team for the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, which will be held January 30th-31st at the Giant Center in Hershey as a tribute to the league's 75thanniversary season. The league also announced that Amerks athletic trainer Kent Weisbeck will serve in the same capacity for the Western Conference All-Star team.

Ellerby Heads to South Florida...Again: The Amerks will be without the services of Keaton Ellerby tonight following the defenseman's fifth NHL recall this season by the Florida Panthers. Ellerby, 22, has played in 17 games with the Panthers this season, registering four assists with a plus-five on-ice rating. For his career in the National Hockey League, he has appeared in 39 games, all with Florida, recording four points (0+4) and eight penalty minutes. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenseman has played in 14 games with Rochester this year, recording three points (1+2) and four penalty minutes. Ellerby was drafted by Florida with their first choice (10 th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (17-20-2-2, 38 points) enters the contest after coming up short in a 2-1 setback to the Syracuse Crunch last night at the War Memorial at Oncenter. The Crunch broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal from Patrick Maroon in the final minute of regulation that held on to prove to be the game-winner. Fourth-year goaltender Tyler Plante shined with a 36-save losing effort to garner second star accolades. Ellerby scored his first goal of the season on the power-play, the lone goal of the game for Rochester. The Amerks have now lost three straight and five of their last six to fall back in the basement of the American Hockey League's North Division, though remaining just five points out of fourth place. Rochester has scored the second most goals among any other divisional opponent with 117 and is third in the North with 720 penalty minutes. Rochester currently has the ninth best power-play in the league (20.1 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 29th out of the 30-team AHL with a 77.8 success rate. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed a league worst 10 shorthanded goals against, five coming at home and five on the road.

Team and League Leaders: Third-year forward Michal Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 28 assists and 35 points. Playing at just under a point-per-game pace, Repik is currently fifth in the AHL in assists, while also being tied for 15th overall among the league's top scorers. The Vlasim, Czech Republic, native is coming off three consecutive games without a point, the longest of such a streak this season.

Following his return from injury a month ago, Michael Duco has taken over the team lead in goals with 12, despite being held scoreless the last five games. Seven of Duco's goals have come on the man-advantage, ranking him first on the team and ninth in the league. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-high 109 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 15th in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category. Selleck is also tied for fourth in the league with 17 major penalties.

Defensemen Clay Wilson is currently second overall on the team with 27 points (7+20) and sixth among American Hockey League defensemen in overall scoring. Fellow blueliner Mike Kostka remains at a close second with 26 points (5+21), good enough for third on the team and sixth among AHL rearguards. Further, the special teams extraordinaires share the team lead in power-play assists, each with 13.

First-year goaltender Jacob Markstrom, coming off four straight starts for the Amerks, boasts a 12-16-1 record with one shutout, a 3.14 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in 29 appearances. His 12 wins rank him 17th among AHL netminders, while he has the second most saves with 823. Tyler Plante, fresh off his first start since New Year's Day, shows a 5-6-1 record with a 3.21 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage in 12 games of service.

Who's Hot: Wilson saw his five-game point streak come to an end Friday night against Lake Erie, yet still shows six points (1+5) in his last seven games, while Kostka has six helpers in his last 10 appearances. Forward Kenndal McArdle has assisted on Rochester's only two goals of the weekend thus far in back-to-back games and has notched four points (1+3) in his last six outings.

Lake Erie Notes: Lake Erie (18-19-3-4, 43 points), finishing up a season-long seven-game road trip tonight, comes into the matchup after earning an impressive 3-2 shootout win over the defending back-to-back Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears last night at the Giant Center. Hershey built a 2-0 lead by the early phases of the second period, but Mark Olver's goal at 18:03 of the middle frame cut Lake Erie's deficit in half. Trailing 2-1 in the final minute of regulation, Ben Walter scored the game-tying goal, his second in as many nights, to force overtime. After a scoreless extra session, it was Olver and Patrick Rissmiller's tallies that lifted the Monsters to their second straight win in as many nights. Following their back-to-back wins, Lake Erie now sits tied for fourth with the Abbotsford Heat in the North Division, five points ahead of Rochester.

Team and League Leaders: The Monsters come to the Flower City fueled by veteran forward Ben Walter, who paces the Lake Erie offense with a team-high 30 points (12+18). Second-year centerman Ryan Stoa, a 2011 AHL All-Star, leads the Monsters with 14 goals this season, including five on the power-play which are also a team best. Julian Talbot has a team-best 19 assists. First-year forward Mark Olver is off to a banner start to his professional career, scoring 24 points (13+11) in just 39 games this season. Olver, who has three points (2+1) in his last two games, presently ranks fourth on the team in point production and ninth among AHL rookies. Fellow rookie Mike Carman has potted six of his eight goals while the team was shorthanded, currently tops in the league in that category. Veteran netminder John Grahame, who has started the last two games for the Monsters, is among the elite at his position. The former Stanley Cup winner shows a 7-7-2 record with one shutout in 17 games. His 2.31 goals-against average and .919 save percentage currently rank him 10th and 11th among AHL goaltenders, respectively.

Bit of a Homecoming: Lake Erie defenseman Kevin Montgomery "returns home" this evening, although the 22-year-old will be dressing in the visiting team's locker room. Montgomery, who grew up in Gates and started his career in the Rochester Youth Hockey program, is currently in his second full season with the Monsters and leads all team defensemen in scoring with 16 points (1+15) in 35 games. The blueliner has already more than doubled his offensive output from a year ago in half as many games. A former member of the U.S. National U-18 Team, Montgomery has registered 24 points (2+22) in 110 career games, all with the Monsters. This season, he also earned his first promotion to the National Hockey League, though not seeing any action with the Avalanche.

Next Game: The Amerks head north of the border on Tuesday, January 18thfor a 7:00 p.m. bout with the North Division-leading Hamilton Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. The contest will be the sixth of 10 meetings this season between the longtime rivals and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 16, 2011


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