AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Host River Rats Tonight

Published on March 25, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans remain home as the Albany River Rats make their final visit this season to The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the fourth and final meeting of the season between the intra-state rivals 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' Winning Wednesdays promotion. If the Amerks WIN, you WIN a FREE ticket voucher to the Amerks home game on Sunday, April 5th against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The game also 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.

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.

Tonight also marks the 10th 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 five 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 fourth and final meeting of the season between the two New York State rivals. The Amerks look to even the season series with Albany after suffering a 3-0 whitewash in the previous encounter with the River Rats back on January 24th at the Times Union Center where the Amerks have been held winless this season. Rochester is 1-2-0-0 this season and 45-41-9 all-time against the Carolina Hurricanes' American Hockey League affiliate.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (25-39-0-7, 57 points) enters the contest after earning a 2-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch Sunday night, snapping a season-long eight-game winless streak and ending Syracuse's five-game winning streak. Defenseman Keaton Ellerby and forward Randall Gelech scored Rochester's pair of goals while goaltender Mike Brodeur made 30 saves to grab his 17th win of the season.

First-year forward Michal Repik, who shows 23 points (11+12) in his last 26 games, currently paces Rochester's offense with a team-high 18 goals and 42 points. His 42 points presently rank him 15th among AHL rookies in scoring. Rookie blueliner Jason Garrison has a team-best 26 assists and remains Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 31 points overall, good enough for fourth on the team.

Rookie forward Michael Duco is first on the team with 141 penalty minutes (PIM). Brodeur boasts a 17-12-4 record in 36 games for the Amerks. His 2.40 goals-against average and .922 save percentage currently rank him ninth and fourth among AHL netminders, respectively. Tyler Plante is 5-5-1 since his return to the Amerks and is 5-10-1 on the season with a 3.25 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage.

Further, veteran forward Janis Sprukts has assists in back-to-back games since his return to the lineup against Syracuse last Friday night after missing nine games with an injury. He enters the week currently riding a six-game assist streak, the longest of the season for the Latvian native.

Albany Notes: Albany (31-32-3-3, 76 points), comes into the matchup the winners in two of its last three, with the most recent coming in a 2-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Phantoms on Sunday evening at the Times Union Center. Goaltender Justin Peters posted his second consecutive shutout (32 saves) of the weekend after backstopping the Rats to a 1-0 whitewash over the Providence Bruins Friday night to give him four on the season.

Jakub Petruzalek currently pilots the River Rats offense with a team-high 33 assists and 50 points. Jerome Samson is Albany's top goal-scorer with a team-high 20 goals. Mike Angelidis leads the way in penalty minutes with 142, followed by Nicolas Blanchard and Trevor Gillies with 132 and 125, respectively. Peters has seen the majority of time in net for the Rats, posting a 17-24-3 record with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in 47 games. He is currently tied for third in the AHL in shutouts with four on the season. Albany currently holds the sixth place standing in the AHL's East Division, 11 points ahead of Rochester.

Next Game: The Amerks remain home on Friday, March 27th as they host the Lake Erie Monsters at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:35 p.m. contest will be the sixth and final meeting of the season between the division rivals and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live.

That night, the Amerks will be hosting their "Pink in the Rink" promotion in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness night with all proceeds raised going to breast cancer research. As part of the festivities, the Amerks players will don special pink jerseys that will be auctioned off throughout the game. The ice surface at The Blue Cross Arena will also be painted pink in honor of the night.

All fans who wear pink to the game are entitled to a $10 ticket. Tickets can be purchased the day of the game only at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office. Prior to the game, all breast cancer awareness supporters, along with their families and friends, can purchase discounted tickets to see a special women's hockey pregame contest.

Friday night will also be the Amerks' annual Hall of Fame Night, as former defenseman Larry Hillman will be inducted as the 45th member of the team's Hall of Fame. Hillman, 72, played in six seasons (1961-62, 1963-68) with the Amerks, scoring 14 goals, 108 assists for a total of 122 points in 169 games played. He still ranks 12th on the team's all-time points list for defensemen. Hillman also helped the Amerks win their first Calder Cup in 1964-65 as the team's captain. In addition, he earned First Team AHL All-Star honors that season.

Check out the Rochester Americans Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central