AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Host B-Sens Tonight at the Blue Cross Arena

Published on March 1, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Game Notes: Tonight, the Rochester Americans return home to The Blue Cross Arena for the second leg of a home-and-home series with the Binghamton Senators. The 6:05 p.m. matchup will be the sixth of eight scheduled meetings between the intra-state rivals this season and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.

Promotions: The game falls on the next installment of the Amerks' Red Hot Sunday promotion. All fans who wear red to the game can receive tickets for as low as $5 for 200-end seating and best available seating for $10. As part of the festivities, the Amerks will be wearing their red jerseys.

Fans can take advantage of the Zweigle's Family Four Pack, which consists of four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for $55. The package can be purchased through Ticketmaser.com or at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office. Call the Amerks at (585) 454-5335 for more details.

Fans can also enjoy the Buy One, Get One Half-off special. 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 only through Ticketmaster.com.

It's also the next Tickets for Troops night. Active military and veterans can present a Military ID, VA Card or an American Legion or VFW membership card and receive premium seating for just $10 or 200 End seats for $5, at least a savings of $12.25 per ticket. All tickets can be purchased directly at the Box Office window at The Blue Cross Arena.

Lastly, the game falls on RARES Night. The RARES discount is valid for all RARES members by logging onto www.rares.org to review their discounts.

Tonight also marks the fourth night of the Amerks' "Star Toss," with all net proceeds of the promotion going toward the recovery of Rochester police officer Anthony DiPonzio. The promotion will run during the second intermission through the Amerks' remaining 11 home games. Stars can be purchased at any Amerks home game for just $1 each or in groups of six for $5. The 23-year-old Officer DiPonzio was shot in the line of duty on January 31st. He faces a long recovery following brain surgery.

Head-to-Head: The matchup is the sixth of eight scheduled meetings between the two clubs this season. The B-Sens still hold the advantage in the season series with a 4-1-0-0 record and have outscored the Amerks 17-10 in the five previous encounters. Rochester is 20-27-4 all-time against the Ottawa Senators' affiliate.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (23-33-0-5, 51 points), the winners of four in its last seven, enters the contest after dropping a 4-3 decision to Binghamton in the first game of the home-and-home series last night at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. It was a night of firsts as rookie forward Andrew Sweetland scored his first professional goal. Forward Jarret Lukin, who signed a PTO with the team earlier in the day, collected his first pro point with an assist on Randall Gelech's goal in his American Hockey League debut.

Rookie forward Michal Repik (14+23) and veteran centerman Janis Sprukts (15+22) are once again locked in a first-place tie with a team-leading 37 points apiece. Sprukts, currently on a four-game assist streak, is also locked in a tie with Karl Stewart with a team best 15 goals. Repik, who shows 18 points (7+11) in his last 16 games, is presently ranked 14th among AHL rookies in scoring. Rookie defenseman Jason Garrison has a team-high 25 assists and remains Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 29 points overall, good enough for third on the team. Further, his 29 points rank him 19th among league defenseman.

Michael Duco is first on the team with 125 penalty minutes (PIM), with Tanner Glass a close second at 100 PIM. Brodeur boasts a 16-7-3 record in 29 games for the Amerks. His 2.29 goals-against average and .926 save percentage currently rank him third among AHL netminders in both goaltending categories, respectively. Further, his two shutouts tie him for fifth in the league. Tyler Plante is 4-4-0 since his return to the Amerks and is 4-9-0 on the season with 3.06 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

Binghamton Notes: Binghamton (32-20-5-3, 72 points), kicking off a six-game road trip, comes into the matchup the winners in three straight, which includes last night's 4-3 win over Rochester. Ilya Zubov scored a goal and added a pair of assists and Zach Smith chipped in a pair of points (1+1) to guide the Sens to their third straight home win. Zubov paces the Sens' offense with a team-high 43 points. Mattias Karlsson is first on the team and 17th in the AHL with 35 assists, 23 of which have come on the man advantage, a league best. Former Amerk and current Binghamton captain Denis Hamel has found the back of the net 21 times this season for the team lead. The special teams' extraordinaire has scored 50 percent of his goals on the powerplay, good enough for 12th best in the league. Matt Carkner is first on the team and 15th in the AHL with 156 PIM. Goaltender Jeff Glass is 8-11-2 with a 3.43 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage in 22 games for the B-Sens. Binghamton currently holds a fourth place standing in AHL's East Division.

Next Game: Rochester travels to Quicken Loans Arena for a two-game set with the Lake Erie Monsters on Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th. Both contests will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.

Next Home Game: The Amerks return home on Sunday, March 8th to host the Providence Bruins at The Blue Cross Arena. The 6:05 p.m. contest will be the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2009


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