Amerks Host Griffins Tonight
April 5, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
Tonight, the Rochester Americans return home to close out their three-game weekend as they host the Grand Rapids Griffins in the sixth and final meeting of the season between the North Division rivals. Faceoff is slated for 6:05 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.
Promotions: The game falls on Rochester's final Red Hot Sunday of the season. All fans who wear red to the game can receive tickets for as low as $5.00 for 200-End seating and best available seating for just $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. 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. After the game, head down to The Distillery at 1142 Mt. Hope Ave. to join the Amerks for the official postgame party.
Tonight marks the 13th night of the Amerks' and Dick Ide "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 two 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.
Thomas M. Nichols Scholarship Winners: The Amerks will honor six local senior high school hockey players during the first-period intermission tonight. Quinn Morrison, Brandon Miner, Brian Kelly, Kyle Mark, Graham Earle and Brent Sanderson have been selected as the 2008-09 Thomas M. Nichols scholarship winners. All six scholarship winners will receive financial aid toward the upcoming school year.
Head-to-Head: The matchup is the sixth and final meeting of the season between the divisional rivals. Grand Rapids has outscored Rochester 21-9, including 8-1 in two wins at The Blue Cross Arena, throughout the previous five contests and owns a 4-1-0-0 record this season against the Amerks. Rochester is 17-19-3 all-time against the Detroit Red Wings' American Hockey League affiliate.
Amerks Notes: Rochester (27-41-0-8, 62 points) enters the contest after dropping a 3-2 decision to the Syracuse Crunch last night at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Veteran forward Janis Sprukts and Randall Gelech provided Rochester's pair of goals while goaltender David Shantz kicked away 33 saves in the losing effort. The goal was Sprukts' fifth point in two games after posting a four-assist effort Friday night in the Amerks' 4-2 win over the Binghamton Senators.
First-year forward Michal Repik, who shows 28 points (11+17) in his last 31 games, currently paces Rochester's offense with a team-high 47 points through 71 games and remains 13th among AHL rookies in scoring. Further, his 18 goals put him in a three-way tie with Karl Stewart and Stefan Meyer for the team lead. His 29 assists are equivalent to that of Sprukts, who is second on the team with 45 points overall. Rookie defenseman Jason Garrison remains Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 34 points overall, good enough for fourth on the team and 18th among league defenseman.
Rookie forward Michael Duco is first on the team with 147 penalty minutes (PIM). Goaltender Mike Brodeur, who has started five of the last eight games between the pipes for Rochester, boasts an 18-13-4 record in 38 games for the Amerks. His 2.45 goals-against average and .921 save percentage currently rank him 12th and seventh among AHL netminders, respectively.
Grand Rapids Notes: Grand Rapids (42-23-6-6, 96 points), completing a franchise-record eight-game road trip as well as their final three-in-three of the season, comes into the matchup currently on the heels of a four-game losing streak, with the most recent coming in 4-2 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs last night at Copps Coliseum in the second game of back-to-back tilts as part of a two-game set.
Grand Rapids captain Darren Haydar currently leads the Griffins in all offensive categories in goals (30), assists (47) and points (77). His 77 points are sixth best in the AHL. Further, his 30 goals are ninth among the league's top goal scorers, while 15 have come on the man advantage, good enough for eighth in the AHL. Aaron Downey leads the team with 105 PIM. Goaltender Jimmy Howard has seen the majority of time between the pipes for the Griffins this season, posting a 20-17-4 record with 2.59 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in 43 games. Grand Rapids presently holds a third place standing in the AHL's North Division and is one of three teams within the division to clinch a berth in the 2009 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs.
Next Game: The Amerks remain at home on Friday, April 10th for their final home game of the season as the Syracuse Crunch make their way to The Blue Cross Arena for the first of back-to-back games between the longtime rivals. The 7:35 p.m. contest will be the 11th of 12 scheduled meetings this season and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live. That night, the Amerks will announce the club's 2008-09 award winners during a pregame ceremony. The first 5,000 fans that night will take home an Amerks team photo, courtesy of Connors and Ferris. Rochester will conclude the home-and-home series and its regular season as it travels to the War Memorial at Oncenter for its final encounter of the season with Syracuse on Saturday, April 11th. Faceoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.
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