AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Look For Nine Straight Tonight Against Syracuse

Published on November 6, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans take their eight-game winning streak into the month of November as they host the Syracuse Crunch at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the first of a three-game homestand for the Amerks and the fourth of 10 scheduled meetings between the longtime rivals this season. The matchup will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be televised live on Channel 98.

Promotions: The game marks the return of Amerks' Scoro! During the second intermission, contestants will have the opportunity to win prize packages from Harro East, Time Warner, Conolly Printing, The Original Charbroil House, Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack and World Gym.

The Traveling Pair: The Amerks will be without the services of forwards Michal Repik and Jeff Taffe after the Florida Panthers recalled the pair this week. Taffe remains with Florida after a midweek call-up. He made his Panthers debut in Florida's 6-5 shootout win over the Dallas Stars last Friday night. Repik heads to South Florida for the second time in a week after an early morning summons from the Panthers today. Both will be in the lineup tonight as Florida hosts the Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m. at the BankAtlantic Center.

Head-to-Head: The Amerks are 3-0-0-0 this season and have outscored the Crunch 10-3 through the previous three encounters. The I-90 rivalry was renewed last weekend when the two teams combined for 171 penalty minutes as part of a home-and-home series. Rochester is 85-75-15 all-time against the Columbus Blue Jackets' affiliate.

Looking For Nine: Rochester is in search of its ninth straight win, a feat the team last accomplished in a 13-day span from February 13th to February 26th during the 1999-00 season. The Amerks also started that same season winning nine straight from October 1st to October 23rd.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (9-1-1-0, 19 points) enters the week currently tied for first overall in the AHL with the Manchester Monarchs, one point ahead of the Hamilton Bulldogs and Manitoba Moose. The Amerks are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, which include five straight at home, after posting a 4-2 win over the Binghamton Senators Friday night at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

The win also extended Rochester's road winning streak to four games. Forwards Jamie Johnson (2+0), Victor Oreskovich (1+1) and Chris Taylor (1+1) each chipped in with two points apiece as rookie goaltender Alexander Salak earned his sixth win with a season-high 38 saves, helping Rochester to its longest winning streak since an eight-game run from January 25th to February 8th, 2005. The last time the Amerks started the season with nine wins and 19 points was during the 2006-07 campaign. Rochester earned seven consecutive wins to kickoff the season and were victorious in 14 of the first 15 games.

The Amerks, who are tied for second in the AHL with four shorthanded goals, have outscored their opponents 29-13 in the last eight games and have allowed the second fewest amount of goals in their division with 24.

Repik (6+5) and Taylor (2+9) currently share the team lead with 11 points apiece, each averaging over a point per game. Repik has registered nine points (5+4) in his last seven appearances. His team-high six goals tie him for fourth in the league, while he also currently ranks tied for seventh in overall points in the AHL. Teammate David Brine is tied for fifth in the league with five goals, two of which have been shorthanded.

Taylor, presently riding a five-game point streak (1+6), earned his team-leading ninth assist in the win over Binghamton to move within three assists of surpassing Dick Gamble into the No.4 spot on the franchise's all-time list. Additionally, Taylor sits just five goals and 11 points away from moving ahead of Craig Charron and Norm "Red' Armstrong for 15th and seventh on the all-time list, respectively. The power play extraordinaire has accumulated four of his nine helpers on the man advantage, tying him with fellow special teams line mates Clay Wilson and Mike York for fourth best in the league in that very category.

Despite presently being on recall with the Florida Panthers, third-year forward Kenndal McArdle remains first on the team and tied for eighth in the league with 54 penalty minutes. Tough-guy colleague Jimmy Bonneau is a close second with 49. Bonneau, who presently ranks tied for 12th in the AHL in PIM, has dropped the gloves seven times in his last five games. Wilson and defenseman Jason Garrison each have two goals and four assists for six points in the fight for Rochester's top scoring defenseman. The duo is currently tied for ninth in scoring among league blueliners.

Salak, who was named the AHL's Reebok/AHL Rookie of the Month for October, shows a flawless 6-0-0 record with 198 saves in just seven games. His 1.66 goals-against average and .947 save percentage are currently fifth among league netminders, respectively, while his six wins tie him for the league best. Salak has started the last four games for Rochester, posting a perfect 4-0-0 record with 126 saves and just five goals against. In just seven games, Salak has only allowed 11 goals.

Further, York and Johnson enter the matchup boasting three-game point streaks. York, who led Syracuse in scoring as a member of the Crunch in 2008-09, has picked up four assists in his last three games to establish his first extended point run this season. Conversely, Johnson has potted a goal, including two in his most recent affair, in his last three outings.

Syracuse Notes: Syracuse (4-5-1-1, 10 points), finishing up a four-game road swing tonight, comes into the matchup after dropping a 5-0 decision to the Adirondack Phantoms last Sunday. The loss was Syracuse's third in its last four games, which included back-to-back setbacks to Rochester. The Crunch's only win during the stretch came in a 2-0 defeat over the Norfolk Admirals the night before Halloween.

The Crunch will be without all-star forwards Derek MacKenzie and Alexandre Picard, who were recalled to National Hockey League this week by the Columbus Blue Jackets. MacKenzie leaves with a plus-four on-ice rating, good enough for second on the team, averaging .82 points per game with a team-high 37 shots on goal. Picard, a fifth-year pro, heads to the big club with a team-high six goals and tied for first overall on the Crunch in points.

With Picard in Columbus, fifth-year pro Pascal Pelletier (3+6) presently leads the Crunch offense with a team-high six assists and nine points. Tough-guy forwards Jon Mirasty (80), Tom Sestito (60) and Kevin Harvey (54) are first, second, and third on the team in penalty minutes, respectively. In addition, the trio holds the first, sixth and eighth rankings in the AHL in the same category. Fourth-year netminder Dan LaCosta has seen the majority of time in net thus far, sporting a 3-4-1 record with a 3.32 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in eight games. The Crunch currently sit tied for fourth in the AHL's East Division after making the jump to the Eastern Conference this season.

Next Game: The Amerks remain home on Saturday, November 7th as they take on the Toronto Marlies in a 7:05 p.m. North Division showdown. Powerhouse vocalist and songwriter Lou Gramm will sing the U.S. and Canadian National anthems. He will also sign autographs during the first intermission. The matchup will be third of eight this season between the divisional foes and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Fans can also tune in to watch the game live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26. Rochester is 2-0-0-0 this season and have outscored the Marlies 9-5, despite owning a14-21-1 lifetime record against Toronto.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 6, 2009


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