AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks, B-Sens Meet Again Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

Published on December 19, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Game Notes: Tonight, the Rochester Americans look for their straight win as they exchange pleasantries with the Binghamton Senators in a non-divisional matchup at The Blue Cross Arena. The 5:05 p.m. contest will be the second meeting in as many weeks and the fourth of eight this season between the intrastate rivals. 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 the fourth of eight encounters between the non-divisional foes this season. Last weekend, Rochester and Binghamton each earned shootout victories on the road on consecutive nights as part of a home-and-home series. The Amerks are 2-0-0-1 against the B-Sens this season, with both wins coming on the road. Binghamton, however, maintains the upper hand with a 32-30-5 all-time record against Rochester.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 5-8-2-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 9-6-0-1 mark against non-divisional rivals. The Amerks will play two of their next three contests at home, where they show a 5-10-1-1 record. Ten of Rochester's last 12 games have been decided by one-goal margins, including back-to-back games with Binghamton where it's been tested in a shootout. The Amerks are 7-2-0-1 this season against the AHL's four other New York State based teams, outscoring their fellow Empire State opponents 42-37.

Milestone Watch: Newcomer Bates Battaglia skated in his 900thprofessional game against his former team Saturday afternoon in Toronto since lacing up the skates for the first time this season over a week ago. Defenseman Joe Callahan is just a mere two points shy of hitting the century mark in his professional career.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor needs all but four games to surpass Bronco Horvath for seventh on the franchise's all-time games played list. Already on his list of accomplishments this season includes moving ahead of Stan Smrke for fifth on the all-time points list, appearing in more games than Amerk Hall of Famers Dan Frawleyand Gerry Ehman and scoring more career goals than Jim Pappin and Barry Merrell. Coming into tonight, he sits just two goals away from eclipsing former fan-favorite Scott Metcalfe for 10th on the all-time goals list.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (14-14-2-1, 31 points) enters the contest after claiming a two-game sweep with back-to-back wins over the Toronto Marlies as part of a home-and-home series between the division rivals. Rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom shined in Game 1 of the miniseries, backstopping the Amerks to a 2-0 victory with a 27-save performance to notch his first American Hockey League shutout. Michael Duco piloted the Amerks in Game 2 yesterday afternoon, scoring two goals, assisting on another and even dropping the gloves to help the Amerks to a 6-5 shootout victory at Ricoh Coliseum. For the second time in a week, AJ Jenks scored the lone goal in the shootout to seal the win for the Amerks. The win gave Rochester its first set of wins in two months, and with another tonight, it can match its season-high three-game winning streak since its last three-game run in late October. Sweeping Toronto also moved the Amerks into a sixth-place tie with the Grand Rapids Griffins and within three points of third place in the AHL's North Division, returning their winning percentage to an even .500. The Amerks have scored the most goals among any other divisional opponent with 97 and are fifth in the North with 539 penalty minutes. Rochester currently has the seventh best power-play in the league (20.6 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28th out of the 30-team AHL with a 77.1 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 27 assists and 31 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently leads the AHL in assists, while being tied for eighth overall among the league's top scorers. Repik also has a team-best 10 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. In just seven games back from injury, Duco has taken over the team lead in goals with 11 after posting three straight games with single tallies from December 8th to December 11th, while adding a pair in Saturday afternoon's win at Toronto. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-high 82 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 14th in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category. Selleck is also tied for third in the league with 12 major penalties. Coming off his shootout goal Saturday in Toronto, Jenks has now gone a perfect 3-for-3 in shootout attempts with two of them proving to be game-winners. He is the second best shooter in the AHL when it comes to shootouts.

Defensemen Clay Wilson (6+14) and Mike Kostka (5+15) are presently tied for eighth in overall scoring among league blueliners with 20 points apiece, good enough for second overall on the team. The power-play extraordinaires also have a combined 19 assists on the man-advantage between the two of them this season. Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far, boasting a 10-12-0 record with a 3.28 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage in 22 appearances. His 10 wins tie him for 11th among AHL netminders, while he has the fourth most saves with 611. Tyler Plante, who has started four of the last six games for Rochester, shows a 4-4-1 record with a 3.49 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in nine games of service.

Who's Hot: Despite a two-game scoring drought starting with Rochester's loss to Abbotsford on Tuesday, Duco, Taylor and Wilson have quickly found the scoresheet again. After scoring goals in three straight games since returning to the lineup on December 8th, Duco now has five goals in his last seven games. Taylor has 10 points (1+9) in his last nine games, while Wilson shows five points (1+4) in six outings. Repik has nine assists in eight games since returning from the National Hockey League. Kostka has registered five points (2+3) in his last four appearances.

Binghamton Notes: Binghamton (13-13-2-2, 30 points) comes into the matchup with a 3-1-0-1 record in its last five games, shutting out both Albany and Syracuse with 5-0 and 7-0 scores, respectively. The Senators' most recent loss came last night following their 4-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on home ice. The Sens are currently fifth in the East Division and are 11thoverall in the Eastern Conference. Binghamton presently has the fourth best power-play unit in the league (21.6 percentage), while its road penalty killing unit its tops in the league with an AHL-best 90.7 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 36 points (11+25), while also being tied for fourth in the league lead in assists (23) and third 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 16 goals and is tied for third overall among AHL rookies in scoring with 24 points (16+8). His 16 goals are also second 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 third among league rearguards in scoring with 22 points (2+20) through 30 games. Tough-guy forward Francis Lessard leads the AHL with 142 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 22 games, the sixth-year pro is 10-10-1 with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage, good enough for 13th among AHL goaltenders. Brust also has three shutouts on the season, which ties him for second. He currently leads the league with 656 saves.

Next Game: The Amerks remain at home on Sunday, December 26th as the Syracuse Crunch make their post-Christmas Day trip to The Blue Cross Arena. The 5:05 p.m. contest will be the third of 10 get-togethers this season between the longtime rivals and 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 19, 2010


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