AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Host Penguins Tonight At The Blue Cross Arena

Published on November 27, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans welcome the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to town for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The 7:05 p.m. Black Friday contest will be the first of four meetings this season with the Baby Pens and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The matchup will also be televised live on Channel 98.

Taffe Reaches 500:

The Amerks will honor veteran forward Jeff Taffe in a pregame ceremony tonight. The former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin set a personal milestone Tuesday night in Hamilton, skating in his 500th professional game. In recognition of his achievement, the Amerks will present Taffe with a plaque commemorating his career benchmark.

Amerks Get Help on Blueline: Florida Panthers General Manager Randy Sexton announced today that the club has assigned defenseman Ville Koistinen to Rochester. Koistinen, 27, has played in 17 games with Florida this season scoring one goal with three assists and eight PIM. For his career in the National Hockey League, he has played in 103 NHL contests for Nashville (2007-09) and Florida (2009) registering 35 points (8+25).

Head-to-Head:

The matchup is the first of four between Rochester and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season. The Amerks are 10-6-6 all-time against the affiliate of defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Amerks Notes:

Rochester (15-2-1-0, 31 points) enters the contest currently second overall in the American Hockey League standings and trail the West Division Texas Stars by three points. Texas, however, has played five more games than Rochester. The Amerks still maintain a two-point lead over the Manchester Monarchs, in addition to a three-point cushion over the Lowell Devils, Hershey Bears and Manitoba Moose. The Amerks are in the midst of a three-game winning streak after defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-2 Tuesday night at Copps Coliseum. The Amerks have won 14 of their last 15 games, including nine straight at home, and own the league's best winning percentage (.861).

The Amerks, who are tied for fourth in the AHL with four shorthanded goals, have outscored their opponents 57-29 in the last 14 games and have allowed the fewest number of goals in their division with 40. Their 65 goals for are also the second most in the division. Rochester currently ranks third in the AHL with a 24.2 power-play percentage and sixth with an 88.0 penalty-killing percentage.

Veteran forward Mike York (4+12) and sixth-year pro Jamie Johnson (7+9) currently share the lead with 16 points apiece. The duo presently is tied for 10th in overall point production. Despite being held scoreless in Hamilton, Johnson has picked up seven goals and five assists for 12 points in his last 10 games, averaging just under a point per game. The power-play extraordinaire has accumulated five of his nine helpers on the man advantage, while fellow special teams line mate Clay Wilson is tied for fourth best in the league in that very category with six.

York, currently on a four-game assist streak (0+4), paces the Amerks offense with a team-high 12 assists and continues to be the team's frontrunner in the power-play assists table with seven. A veteran of 579 NHL games, York is tied for third in the AHL with seven power play helpers, while his three goals on the man advantage also tie him for fifth in the AHL. Further, his 12 assists tie him for eighth in the league.

Fourth-year pro David Brine potted his team-leading eighth goal Tuesday night Hamilton to leapfrog Johnson and regain the team lead in that category. Brine also remains tied for first in the league with two shorthanded goals.

Veteran forward Chris Taylor, whose 15 points are second best on the team, sits just two assists away of surpassing Dick Gamble into the No.4 spot on the franchise's all-time list. Additionally, Taylor sits just two goals and eight points away from moving ahead of Craig Charron and Norm "Red' Armstrong for 15th and seventh on the all-time list, respectively. He needs just six games to leapfrog the 390-game benchmark set by Amerk legend Don Cherry.

Amerks tough-guy Jimmy Bonneau is first on the team and tied for 12th in the league with a team-high 71 penalty minutes after dropping the gloves 11 times in his last 12 games. Wilson (2+9) stands just one point ahead of fellow blueliner Jason Garrison (2+8) in the fight for Rochester's top scoring defenseman. The duo is currently tied for 10th and 11th in scoring among league blueliners, respectively. Garrison also has the team's best on-ice rating with a plus-11.

Salak, who will play in his 100th pro game tonight, shows a 12-1-0 record with 373 saves in just 14 games. His 1.89 goals-against average and.937 save percentage are currently fifth among league netminders, respectively, while his 12 wins are presently a league best. Additionally, despite tabbing his first loss of the season two weeks ago, the Rochester netminder still holds the best record in the AHL among active goaltenders. Salak has started the last 11 games for Rochester, posting a 10-1-0 record in that time with 301 saves and just 19 goals against. In 14 games, Salak has only allowed 25 goals.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Notes:

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (10-6-1-1, 22 points), who is in the middle of a four-game in five-night stretch, comes into the matchup on the heels of a two-game winning streak, with its most win coming in a 3-1 defeat over the Norfolk Admirals Wednesday night at Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. Tim Wallace found the back of the net twice and Wyatt Smith scored a goal and added two assists. Luca Caputi chipped in a pair of assists and John Curry's 20-save performance earned him his ninth win of the season.

Second-year forward Dustin Jeffrey pilots the Penguins' offense with a team-high 18 assists and 19 points, while his plus-eight on-ice rating is also a team best. His 18 helpers rank him second in the league, while six of those have come on the man advantage, good enough for fourth best in the AHL. Jeffrey is on pace averaging 1.12 points per game.

Ryan Bayda leads the Pens with eight goals, despite playing in only 14 games thus far this season. Caputi, who sits just one goal behind of Bayda with seven, is tied for third in the league with five power-play goals. Veteran forward Wade Brookbank, back for his second stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, leads the team with 41 penalty minutes, averaging 2.93 minutes per game.

Curry has seen the majority of time this season between the pipes for the Penguins. Curry, who has started the last four games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, boasts a 9-5-1 record in 15 games. His 2.12 goals-against average and.927 save percentage rank him 10th in the league, respectively. Further, his nine wins are currently tied for third among AHL goaltenders.

Next Game:

The Amerks hit the road for a season-long six-game road trip starting on Saturday, November 28th with a 7:05 p.m. matchup with the Binghamton Senators at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The matchup will be the third of eight meetings this season between the intra-state rivals and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Rochester is 2-0-0-0 this season and 24-27-5 all-time against the Ottawa Senators' affiliate.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2009


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