Amerks Host Crunch Tonight
January 22, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
Tonight, the Rochester Americans play host to the Syracuse Crunch in a midweek divisional battle at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. North Division contest will be the sixth of 12 scheduled meetings between the longtime rivals this season and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live. The intra-state battle can also be heard live on the NHL Home Ice channel (XM 204, Sirius 208) on XM Radio and XM Canada.
Promotions: 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. 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.
Head-to-Head: The matchup is the sixth of 12 meetings between the thruway neighbors. Rochester earned its second straight win of the season against Syracuse in a 3-1 affair in the previous encounter between the two teams on January 9th at The Blue Cross Arena after dropping the first three. The Amerks are 2-3-0-0 this season and 80-70-15 all-time against the Columbus Blue Jackets' affiliate.
Amerks Notes: Rochester (15-24-0-3, 33 points), the winners in six of its last eight, enters the contest in search of its third straight win after claiming all four points in a pair of road wins against the Atlantic Division's Manchester Monarchs and Providence Bruins last weekend to improve to 10-4-0-1 in its last 15 games. Janis Sprukts, coming off an eight-point weekend (4+4), currently paces Rochester's offense with a team-high 12 goals and 28 points. Rookie defenseman Jason 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. Further, his 22 points presently ranks him 14th among American Hockey League blueliners.
First-year forward Michael Duco is first on the team with 103 penalty minutes (PIM), with Tanner Glass a close second at 87 PIM. Goaltender Mike 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. Brodeur will join Amerks captain Rory Fitzpatrick at the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic on January 25th and 26th in Worcester Mass.
Syracuse Notes: Syracuse (20-18-2-2, 44 points), in between a pair of homestands, comes into the matchup the winners in three of its last four, with the most recent coming in a 6-3 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs at the War Memorial at Oncenter on Monday afternoon. Veteran forward Mike York currently pilots the Crunch offense with a team-high 31 points and 23 assists. Derek Mackenzie, recently sent down from the Columbus Blue Jackets, is currently tied with teammate Craig MacDonald with 9 goals for the team lead. The Crunch's Jon Mirasty, although pointless through 42 games, is first on the team and second in the league with 173 PIM, with Aaron Rome and Tom Sestito not too far behind with 121 and 117 PIM, respectively. Goaltender Dan LaCosta, among the top goaltenders in the AHL, has seen the majority of time in net for the Crunch, posting a 13-11-2 record in 29 games. His .913 save percentage ranks him 15th, while his 13 wins put him in 17th place. Syracuse currently holds the fifth place standing in the AHL's North Division, 11 points ahead of Rochester.
Next Game: 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.
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