AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Continue Road Trip In Manchester Tonight

January 16, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans take Game 2 of their current three-game road trip into New England tonight as they face the Manchester Monarchs at Verizon Wireless Arena. The 7:30 p.m. contest is the second and final meeting between the two teams this season and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.

Rochester dropped a 4-2 decision in the previous meeting with the Monarchs on November 21st at The Blue Cross Arena. Dan Collins netted Rochester's pair of goals to pick up his first and second tallies on the season. The Amerks are winless this season against the Monarchs and are 3-2-0 all-time against the Los Angeles Kings' affiliate.

Rochester (13-24-0-3, 29 points), the winners in four of its last six and three straight at home, enters the contest after falling short in a 4-1 loss to the Binghamton Senators Wednesday night at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. Rookie forward Michael Duco scored Rochester's lone goal as the Amerks dropped their third straight to the B-Sens this season. Goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu made 24 saves in the losing effort in his first start since December 27th.

Fourth-year left wing Stefan Meyer collected an assist Wednesday night in Binghamton for his team-leading 21st point, while his 11 goals are currently a team-best. First-year defenseman Jason Garrison has a team-high 15 assists and remains Rochester's top scoring defenseman.

Duco is first on the team with 101 penalty minutes (PIM), with Tanner Glass a close second at 87 PIM. Mike Brodeur, who has started 15 of the last 17 games for Rochester, boasts a 10-4-1 record in 15 games between the pipes for the Amerks. His 1.94 goals-against average and .936 save percentage are currently the second best in each category among American Hockey League netminders. Further, his two shutouts also tie him for fourth in the league.

Amerks General Manager Jody Gage announced today that the Florida Panthers have reassigned forward Andrew Sweetland and defenseman Luke Beaverson to Rochester from the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Sweetland returns to the Amerks for the second time this season after recording nine points (4+5) in 12 games with the Everblades. The Bonavista, Newfoundland, native has one point in 23 games with the Amerks. Beaverson makes his first stop back to Rochester since being assigned to Florida earlier this season, where he racked up three assists in 18 games on the blueline. He has one assist in eight games with the Amerks this season.

Manchester (17-18-0-5, 39 points), on the eve of a five-game road trip, comes into the matchup on the losing end in five of its last six, which include back-to-back losses to the Norfolk Admirals as part of a two-game set.

The Monarchs' offense is currently led by third-year forward Trevor Lewis, who shows a team-high 10 goals and 26 points. Forwards Gabe Gauthier and Marty Murray are tied with a team-best 17 assists. Drew Bagnall ranks first on the team and 15th in the league with 107 PIM and is one of just three Monarch skaters to appear in all 40 games for Manchester thus far. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier has seen the majority of time between the pipes this season, posting a 10-11-3 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in 24 games. Further, he is currently the top AHL netminder in the shootout category with four wins and a .65 percentage.

Rochester returns home on Thursday, January 22nd to play host to 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 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 $10.00. 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. 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, 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.

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