AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Battle Crunch Tonight

January 9, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans open their home slate of the New Year as the Syracuse Crunch travel west down the I-90 interstate to The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:35 p.m. North Division contest will be the fifth of 12 scheduled meetings between the longtime foes this season and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.

Promotions: The game features the next installment of the Amerks' $7.00 Fridays, where fans can purchase 200 Upper End and 200 Balcony tickets for just $7.00. It's also a RARES Discount Night. The RARES discount is valid for all RARES members by logging onto www.rares.org to review their discounts. For more information, call Nathan Snyder at 454-5335 x-3006. Lastly, the game falls on Wendy's Night. Anyone can pick up a Wendy's Buy One, Get One ticket voucher at any area participating Wendy's locations and can redeem your vouchers directly at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office.

Mike Bliss Night: 'Mike Bliss Believe' supporters, along with families and friends, are encouraged to attend the Amerks game to help Mike in his recovery process. Mike will be presented with an Amerks jersey and a check from the organization at the game. The presentation will be in honor of his courageousness and hard work to fight his paralysis. To find out more information about Mike and his efforts, please log onto www.mikeblissbelieve.com. All supporters can purchase discounted tickets with a portion from the sales going directly back to the Michael Bliss Trust Fund. Tickets are just $15 and can be purchased by calling the Amerks office at (585) 454-5335. Also, monies raised from the Shooting Stars intermission promotion will be donated to the Fund. All donations to the fund are used solely to pay for his recovery.

Head-to-Head: The matchup is the fifth of 12 meetings between the divisional rivals. Rochester earned its first win of the season against Syracuse in a 1-0 whitewash in the previous encounter between the two teams on December 14th at The Blue Cross Arena. The win snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Crunch dating back to last season. The Amerks are 1-3-0-0 this season and 79-70-15 all-time against the Columbus Blue Jackets' affiliate.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (11-22-0-3, 25 points) enters the contest in search of its third straight win after claiming all four points in a two-game sweep over the Manitoba Moose at the MTS Centre last weekend, capping the weekend set with a 3-2 shootout win. Stefan Meyer, coming off a three-point weekend (2+1), currently paces Rochester's offense with a team-high nine goals and 17 points. Rookie defenseman Jason Garrison has a team-best 12 assists and continues to remain Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 14 points overall, good enough for fourth best on the team. Veteran defenseman Cory Murphy, in just two games with Rochester as part of his conditioning stint from the Florida Panthers, netted his first career American Hockey League goal and assisted on two others to pick up his first AHL points. First-year forward Michael Duco is first on the team with 95 penalty minutes (PIM), with Tanner Glass a close second at 78 PIM. Goaltender Mike Brodeur, who has started 12 of the last 13 games for Rochester, including nine straight, boasts an 8-3-1 record with a 1.59 goals-against average and .944 save percentage in 12 games between the pipes for the Amerks. His two shutouts also tie him for third among AHL netminders. Brodeur will join Amerks captain Rory Fitzpatrick at the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic as the AHL announced Tuesday that the 25-year-old will be one of the three goaltenders to man the pipes for the Canadian All-Stars.

Syracuse Notes: Syracuse (17-16-2-3, 38 points), playing Game 5 of a six-game road trip, comes into the matchup the winners in its last two, with the most recent coming in a 2-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Wednesday night. Veteran forward Mike York presently pilots the Crunch offense with a team-high 27 points and 19 assists, while his eight goals is tied for the team best as well. The Crunch's Jon Mirasty, although pointless through 37 games, is first on the team and sixth in the league with 124 PIM. Goaltender Dan LaCosta is among the top goaltenders in the AHL. His 2.72 goals-against average and .914 save percentage rank him 18th, while his 12 wins ties him for sixth. Syracuse currently holds the fifth place standing in the AHL's North Division, 13 points ahead of Rochester.

Next Game: The Amerks head south to Broome County Veteran's Memorial Arena to take on the Binghamton Senators on Saturday, January 10th. Faceoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live. The game will be the second of eight between the two teams this season, with the B-Sens gaining a 3-1 victory over the Amerks on October 12th. Rochester is 19-24-4 lifetime against Binghamton.

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