AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks, B-Sens Complete Home-And-Home Series Tonight at BCA

Published on December 12, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans host the Binghamton Senators at The Blue Cross Arena in the second leg of a home-and-home series between the intrastate rivals. The 5:05 p.m. contest marks the first trip upstate to the Flower City for the B-Sens this season and third of eight scheduled meetings for the 2010-11 campaign. Fans can listen to all the live action on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be televised 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.

Head-to-Head: The contest marks just the third of eight encounters between the non-divisional foes this season. Coming off its 4-3 shootout win against Binghamton no more than 24 hours ago, Rochester owns a perfect 2-0-0-0 mark over the B-Sens this season, with both wins coming on the road. Binghamton, however, maintains the upper hand with a 31-30-5 all-time record against the Amerks.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 3-7-2-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 9-6-0-0 mark against non-divisional rivals. The Amerks have played 11 of their first 20 games on the road, but they will now play five of their next six contests at home, where they show a 4-9-1-0 record. Seven of Rochester's last eight games have been decided by one-goal margins, with four wins coming over key opponents in that stretch. The Amerks are 7-2-0-0 this season against the AHL's four other New York State based teams, outscoring their fellow Empire State opponents 37-31.

Milestone Watch: Defenseman Joe Callahan is just three points shy of hitting the century mark in his professional career. Newcomer Bates Battaglia needs four more games to reach 900 in 14-year career since lacing up the skates for the first time this season four nights ago.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor passed Gerry Ehman for eighth on the franchise's all-time games played list last night in Binghamton as he suited up for his 466th game in the red, white and blue. Prior to capturing that career benchmark, the 19-year pro surpassed Barry Merrell and Jim Pappin for 11th on the franchise's all-time goals list, in addition to moving ahead of Stan Smrke for fifth on the all-time points list.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (12-13-2-0, 26 points) enters the contest after earning a 4-3 shootout win over the B-Sens last night at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. It was the first time this season the Amerks were tested in a shootout, with AJ Jenks' lone tally proving to be the game-winner. Clay Wilson led the Amerks with a two-point (1+1) effort and Michael Duco scored his third straight goal in as many games with a single tally in regulation. Rookie netminder Jacob Markstrom earned his ninth win with a season-high 45-save performance. The win gave Rochester its second win in three games and third in its last five. With a win tonight, Rochester will capture its second straight since its last three-game winning streak from October 26th to October 30th. Despite that, however, the Amerks remain in the basement of the American Hockey League's North Division, just one point from the sixth-place Grand Rapids Griffins and eight from division-leading Hamilton. The Amerks have scored the second most goals among any other divisional opponent with 84 and are fifth in the North with 458 penalty minutes. Rochester currently has the third best power-play in the league (21.4 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28th out of the 30-team AHL with a 77.6 success rate. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed a league-high nine shorthanded goals against, four 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 23 assists and 27 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently ranks tied for the AHL lead in assists, while being tied for 11th overall among the league's top scorers. Repik also has a team-best nine assists on the power-play, good enough for ninth in the league. The Vlasim, Czech Republic, native has not gone more than two straight games without a point all season. Duco potted his team-leading ninth goal of the season last night in Binghamton, giving him goals in three straight games since returning from injury.

Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-high 73 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 15th in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category. Selleck is also tied for the AHL lead with 11 major penalties.

Wilson is presently tied for seventh in overall scoring among league blueliners with 18 points (6+12), good enough for second overall on the team, while fellow defenseman Mike Kostka remains at a close second with 15 points (3+12). Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far. Markstrom, who has started 12 of the last 17 games for the Amerks, boasts a 9-11-0 record with a 3.55 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage in 20 appearances. His nine wins tie him for 10th among AHL netminders, while he has the fourth most saves with 558. Tyler Plante, coming off back-to-back starts earlier this weekend, shows a 3-4-0 record with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

Who's Hot: Duco has recorded three consecutive games with goals since his return to lineup against Hamilton on December 8th. Jenks has five points (3+2) in his last seven many games, including a pair of multi-point nights. Taylor has seven assists in his last six outings and is currently in the midst of a three-game assist streak. Repik also has five assists in four games since returning from the National Hockey League. Wilson shows three points (1+2) in his last two appearances.

Binghamton Notes: Binghamton (11-12-2-2, 26 points) comes into the matchup on a bit of a skid after going just 1-5-0-0 in its last six games, with its only win in that stretch coming in a 5-0 whitewash over the Albany Devils on Friday night that snapped a four-game losing streak. The Senators' most recent loss came last night following their 4-3 shootout loss to the Amerks on home ice. Despite their recent slump, the Sens are currently fifth in the East Division and are 10th overall in the Eastern Conference. Binghamton presently has the fifth best power-play unit in the league (20.6 percentage), while its road penalty killing unit its tops in the league with an AHL-best 92.2 success rate.

Team and League Leaders: The B-Sens own the AHL's current leading scorer in sixth-year veteran Corey Locke. Locke, who's with his fourth AHL team in six years, currently paces the league with 32 points (9+23), while also being tied for the league lead in assists (23) and second in power-play assists (13). First-year forward Bobby Butler, who recently returned from an NHL stint with the Ottawa Senators, has a team-best 15 goals and is second overall among AHL rookies in scoring with 23 points (15+8). His 15 goals are also third most in the league, in addition to scoring a team and league-best five game-winning goals. Defenseman Andre Benoit, formerly of the Hamilton Bulldogs, leads all team blueliners and is tied for fifth among league rearguards in scoring with 19 points (1+18) through 27 games. Forward Francis Lessard is first on the team and second in the league with 125 penalty minutes.

Netminder Barry Brust, who's started three of the last five games for the B-Sens, has seen the majority of time in net thus far. In 20 games, the sixth-year pro is 9-9-1 with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage, good enough for ninth among AHL goaltenders. Brust also has three shutouts on the season, which ties him for second.

Goaltender Mike Brodeur makes his return to The Blue Cross Arena since calling Rochester his home in 2008-09. The 25-year-old netminder finished his service in the Flower City among the league's elite goaltenders, compiling an 18-13-4 record in 38 games. His 2.45 goals-against average and .921 save percentage were 11th and seventh best, respectively, at the conclusion of the regular season. Last season with Binghamton, the former AHL All-Star went 13-13-2 with a 3.06 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage in 36 appearances. He also made his National Hockey League debut last season with the Ottawa Senators, recording a 22-save win against the Minnesota Wild on December 19th.

Next Game: The Amerks remain at home on Tuesday, December 14th as the Abbotsford Heat make their first appearance of the season at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. North Division contest will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be shown live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 12, 2010


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