AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Close out January Home Slate this Weekend

Published on January 19, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... Coming off a three-game road trip which saw the Rochester Americans add two more victories to their win column, the Amerks return home for back-to-back tilts to close their January home slate before the 2009 American Hockey League All-Star break.

Rochester kicks off its three-game in three-night stretch this week on Thursday, January 22nd as it hosts the Syracuse Crunch in a midweek divisional battle at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the sixth of 12 meetings between the longtime rivals and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live. The Amerks defeated the Crunch 3-1 in the previous meeting between I-90 rivals back on January 9th for the second straight time to improve to 2-3-0-0 this season and 80-70-15 lifetime against the Columbus Blue Jackets' affiliate.

The game falls on a clevermethod Business Persons' Special, where fans can turn in their business cards at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office and receive any 100-premium seat for just $10. Offer is valid for all Amerks home games Monday through Thursday. Contact the Amerks Office at (585) 454-5335 for more information.

It's also Buy One, Get One Half-off night, where fans can purchase a ticket and get another for half the price in any seating section for any Sunday through Thursday game. Tickets can be purchased online through Ticketmaster.com.

Further, it's 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, it also marks the next Military Discount Night, in which active military and veterans can present a Military ID or an American Legion or VFW membership card and receive premium seating for just $10 or 200 End seats for $5, a savings of $12.25 per ticket. All tickets can be purchased directly at the Box Office window at The Blue Cross Arena.

The Amerks remain at home on Friday, January 23rd as the Manitoba Moose return to The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:35 p.m. contest will be the seventh of eight meetings between the North Division rivals this season and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live. The game will be the first reunion of the two teams since Rochester took a two-game sweep over Manitoba on January 2nd and 3rd at the MTS Centre. The Amerks are 2-4-0-0 this season and 17-24-1 all-time against the Moose.

The matchup falls on the next installment of the Amerks' $7 Fridays, where fans can purchase 200 Upper End and 200 Balcony tickets for just $7. The game also falls on AAA Discount Night. All AAA members can bring their cards to The Blue Cross Arena Box Office to receive 100-End Seating for $12 each (Reg. Price $18.25) or 200-End Seating for $9 each (Reg. Price $14.25).

Rochester hits the road for its last game before the All-Star break as it travels to the state capital of New York to take on the Albany River Rats at the Times Union Center. The game will be the third of four meetings as the Amerks look to rebound after suffering a 3-2 loss to the Rats on December 27th. The Amerks are 1-1-0-0 this season and own a 45-40-9 all-time record against the Carolina Hurricanes' affiliate.

Rochester (15-24-0-3, 33 points), the winners in six of its last eight, enters the week after earning a pair of road wins this past weekend to improve to 10-4-0-1 in its last 15 games. After falling short in a 4-1 loss to the Binghamton Senators last Wednesday to start a three-game road swing, the Amerks responded with a 5-3 win over the Manchester Monarchs Friday night and followed that up with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory against the Providence Bruins last night.

Veteran forward Janis Sprukts posted back-to-back four-point performances to lead Rochester over the weekend. His best outing came with three goals and an assist Friday night en route to earning first star honors, while rookie defenseman Jason Garrison notched a single-game best four assists to lift the Amerks over the Monarchs.

Sprukts continued the weekend, only this time picking up a goal and three assists, to have his hand in each goal as the Amerks downed the Baby Bruins. Drew Larman, Kenndal McArdle and Amerks captain Rory Fitzpatrick each contributed a goal and an assist as goaltender Mike Brodeur made 30 saves to garner his 12th win of the season.

Sprukts' eight-point output over the weekend puts him in the team lead with a team-high 12 goals and 28 points. Garrison has a team-best 19 assists and continues to remain Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 22 points overall, good enough for second on the team. First-year forward Michael Duco is first on the team with 103 penalty minutes (PIM), with Tanner Glass a close second at 87 PIM.

Brodeur, who has started 17 of the last 19 games for Rochester, boasts a 12-4-1 record in 17 games between the pipes for the Amerks. His 2.07 goals-against average and .933 save percentage presently rank him third and second among AHL netminders, respectively. Further, his two shutouts tie him for fourth in the league.

AMERKS WEEKLY SCHEDULE

DAY TIME LOCATION

Monday, January 19th Day Off ----

6:30 p.m. radio show Winton Road Distillery

Tuesday, January 20th 10:00 a.m. practice ESL Sports Centre

4:00 p.m. reading appearance Riga Public Library

Wednesday, January 21st 10:00 a.m. practice ESL Sports Centre

Thursday, January 22nd 10:00 a.m. gameday skate Blue Cross Arena

7:05 p.m. vs. Syracuse Blue Cross Arena

Friday, January 23rd 10:00 a.m. gameday skate Blue Cross Arena

7:35 p.m. game vs. Manitoba Blue Cross Arena

Saturday, January 24th 7:00 p.m. game @ Albany Times Union Center

*schedule subject to change

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American Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2009


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