AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Host Undefeated Pens Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

Published on November 5, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans take aim at their fourth straight win as the undefeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins make their only visit to Western New York this season. The 7:35 p.m. contest will be the first of two meetings this weekend for the non-divisional rivals and the first of four this season as the Amerks kickoff a three-game in three-night stretch. Fans can tune into the live broadcast on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

Promotions: The matchup falls on the next installment of the "Dollar Dogs 'N' Drinks" promotion. Tonight, and now during every Friday night home game for the rest of the season, fans can purchase Zweigle's Hot Dogs and select draft products for just $1.00. Starting this season, however, fans will also have the opportunity to enjoy any fountain Pepsi product for $1.00. The first 5,000 fans that night will also take home an Amerks t-shirt. Further, the game kicks off the Mark's Family Value Nightspecial, offering fans four tickets, four t-shirts, one large one-topping pizza, two orders of jumbo wings and one two-liter bottle of soda for just $69.00 from any area participating Mark's Pizzeria location. Fans can purchase the package online at ticketmaster.com or in person at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office. For more information, please call the Amerks office at (585) 454-5335 and speak with a ticket sales representative today.

Amerks Turn Back the Clock: The Amerks will give a nod to the past tonight as they wear their third sweaters, which are the 1960s whites worn by the three Calder Cup teams of that era. The Amerks will wear the throwbacks for the remaining Friday night home games during the 2010-11 season.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor made his much anticipated return to the lineup last week in Abbotsford after missing the first eight games of the season with an injury. The next goal he scores will be his 135th as an Amerk, sliding him into the No. 11 spot ahead of Barry Merrell and Jim Pappin on Rochester's all-time goals list. The 19-year pro is six points shy of surpassing Stan Smrke for fifth on the points list and needs just seven more games to leapfrog Dan Frawley into ninth all-time. He is also two assists away from his 300th in an Amerk uniform.

Head-to-Head: The contest is the first of four scheduled meetings this season between the two teams. Rochester split the season series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a year ago, each team earning 2-2-0-0 marks while both wins coming on home ice. The Amerks own a 12-8-6 all-time record against the Baby Penguins.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (6-4-1-0, 13 points) enters the week currently in the midst of a season-high three-game winning streak after capturing seven out of a possible eight points this past week to return to the top of the North Division standings heading into the month of November. The Amerks currently rank seventh overall in the AHL and have scored the most goals among any other divisional opponent with 34, despite having the third best winning percentage (.591) among the North's seven teams. Rochester also owns the most penalty minutes in the Division with 218 and is 11th in the league with a 20.0 power-play percentage.

Team and League Leaders: Third-year forward Michal Repik currently paces Rochester's offense with a team-high 10 assists and 13 points, having skated in all 11 games of the season thus far. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently ranks fourth and tied for seventh in each category among the AHL's top scorers, respectively. This past week alone, Repik collected five points (2+3), including back-to-back game-winning goals, to extend his lead in the points table. Despite missing the last three games with an injury, forward Triston Grant is first on the team and third in the league with 46 penalty minutes, in addition to having the fourth most major penalties in the AHL with four. First-year defenseman Colby Robak is tied for eighth among league rookies with seven points (2+5).

Defenseman Mike Kostka currently reigns as Rochester's top scoring blueliner, showing eight points (1+7) overall and three assists in his last four appearances. Kostka has tabbed five of his seven helpers on the power-play, presently fourth best in the AHL. His eight points are good enough for eighth among league rearguards. His plus-four on-ice rating is also tied for the team best.

Fourth-year goaltender Tyler Plante made his season debut last Tuesday at Abbotsford and has already posted consecutive wins in his two starts between the pipes. In just two games, Plante has a 2-0-0 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Jacob Markstrom, Plante's counterpart, has started nine of the last 11 games for the Amerks and boasts a 4-5-0 record with a 3.34 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage. His four wins tie him for sixth among AHL netminders, while his 246 saves are fourth most.

Sharing The Wealth: Six skaters, including three defensemen, are among the top point-getters for the Amerks this season; each within a short distance from each other. Forwards Bill Thomas (3+5) and Evgeny Dadonov (4+4) are locked in a three-way tie with Kostka for second overall with eight points apiece. Similarly, Kenndal McArdle (4+3), Clay Wilson (3+4) and Robak (2+5) are all vying for the third spot with seven points each. Furthermore, Dadonov, McArdle and Michael Duco each share the lead with a team-high four goals.

Who's Hot: McArdle enters the week on a personal-best six-game point streak (4+3) after collecting at least one point in each game since returning to Rochester. Dadonov (3+2) and Repik (2+3) also have points in four straight games coming into November. Robak netted his first pro goal in a two-goal effort against Adirondack Saturday and Eric Selleck also recorded his first professional point in the same game with an assist. Thomas has six points (2+4) in his last four games, including a three-point (2+1) night against the Phantoms this past weekend.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Notes: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (8-0-0-0, 16 points), wrapping up a three-game road swing tonight, comes into the matchup as the league's top team fresh off a 6-2 rout over the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears last Saturday at Giant Center. The win was the Penguins' eighth straight since the start of the season, despite only playing in an AHL-low eight games so far. The league's only remaining undefeated club, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton currently has the best penalty-killing unit in the AHL with a 93.0 percent success rate. As a team, the Pens have only allowed three goals on 43 man-down situations and finished the month of October ranked first in the AHL in team defense, only allowing 1.88 goals per game.

Team and League Leaders: Fourth-year pro Nick Johnson and forward Dustin Jeffrey pilot the Penguins offense each with a team-high eight points (3+5) apiece having appeared in all eight games. Jeffrey also owns a team-best six assists, while Joe Vitale paces his team with five goals on the season. Additionally, Vitale leads the AHL in both shorthanded goals (two) and game-winning goals (three), in addition to being the only member of his team to lead in three different goal-scoring categories. Veteran forward Jesse Boulerice leads the Pens with 22 penalty minutes.

Dynamic Duo: The AHL announced Monday that Pens goaltenders John Curry and Brad Thiessen of the have been named co-winners of the Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month award for October. Curry and Thiessen split the goaltending chores and combined to go 8-0-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage as the Penguins remained the league's only unbeaten team. Thiessen and Curry have seen identical time between the pipes for the Penguins, who own the best goaltending tandem in the league. Curry currently leads all netminders with a 1.72 goals-against average and .940 save percentage, respectively, while showing a flawless 4-0-0 record. Thiessen, a 2008-09 Hobey Baker Finalist as the nation's top collegiate player, also boasts a 4-0-0 record with 107 saves in four games of service. His 1.96 goals-against average and .930 save percentage are presently fourth and ninth among AHL goaltenders.

Next Game: In between hosting the Penguins, Rochester will travel to the State Capital of New York on Saturday, November 6th to take on the newly formed Albany Devils at the Times Union Center. The 7:00 p.m. matchup will mark the first-ever meeting with the Devils since the team's relocation from Lowell prior to the start of the season. Fans can tune into the live broadcast on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2010


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