AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Look For Third Straight Win Tonight In Hamilton

Published on November 24, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... Tonight, the Rochester Americans kickoff their busy holiday week as they head north of the border to face the Hamilton Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. The 7:30 p.m. contest will be the first in Hamilton this season and the second of 10 meetings between the North Division rivals. The game will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Veteran forward Jeff Taffe will set a personal milestone tonight as he skates in his 500th professional game.

The matchup is the second between Rochester and Hamilton this season. The Amerks earned a 4-1 in the previous encounter between the two teams on November 10th at The Blue Cross Arena. Rochester is 1-0-0-0 this season and 64-50-9 all-time against the Montreal Canadiens' affiliate.

Rochester (14-2-1-0, 29 points) enters the contest currently second overall in the AHL and trail the West Division Texas Stars by three points. The Amerks still maintain a two-point lead over the Manchester Monarchs, Lowell Devils and Hershey Bears, in addition to a three-point cushion over the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The Amerks come into the holiday week after earning a 5-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena. Second-year defenseman Keaton Ellerby notched his first career hat trick, scoring a goal in each period, including two on the power play. He became the first player to net three goals in a game on home ice since Stefan Meyer did it in December of 2006. The former first-round draft pick entered the night without a goal in his first 16 games this season, and in one night, matched the three goals he scored in 75 games as a rookie for Rochester last season.

The Amerks, who are tied for third in the AHL with four shorthanded goals, have outscored their opponents 52-27 in the last 13 games and have allowed the fewest number of goals in their division with 38. Their 60 goals for are also the second most in the division. Rochester currently ranks second in the AHL with a 25.0 power-play percentage and seventh with an 88.3 penalty-killing percentage.

Sixth-year pro Jamie Johnson, coming off a three-game point streak, remains Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 16 points. Johnson currently ranks tied for 10th in overall point production, while his seven goals are equal to that of teammate David Brine for the team best. Johnson has picked up seven goals and five assists for 12 points in his last nine 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.

Mike York, currently on a three-game assist streak (0+4), paces the Amerks offense with a team-high 11 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 11 assists tie him for eighth in the league.

Veteran forward Chris Taylor, whose 15 points are tied for 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 seven 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 11 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 seventh and eighth in scoring among league blueliners, respectively. Garrison also has the team's best on-ice rating with a plus-eight.

Salak, who was named the AHL's Reebok/AHL Rookie of the Month for October, shows an 11-1-0 record with 345 saves in just 13 games. His 1.88 goals-against average and.938 save percentage are currently sixth and fourth among league netminders, respectively, while his 11 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 10 games for Rochester, posting a 9-1-0 record in that time with 273 saves and just 17 goals against. In 13 games, Salak has only allowed 23 goals.

Hamilton (11-4-1-3, 26 points) returns home after a four-game road trip last week. During that stretch, the Bulldogs posted a 2-2-0-0 record, with their last game being a 5-4 overtime win against the Manitoba Moose to split a two-game series. In Saturday's win, defenseman P.K. Subban netted the game-winning goal with just over a minute left to play in the extra period. Hamilton held a 3-0 lead during that game, but Manitoba was able to gain a point with the forced overtime.

Center Brock Trotter, who recorded an assist on Saturday, currently leads Hamilton with 15 points (4+11), while Trotter's 11 assists are also a team best. Sergei Kostitsyn, who just his received his first promotion of the season to Montreal, sits in second with 13 (4+9).

Mathieu Darche is leading the team in goals with seven, and has a total of ten points on the season. Darche has also recorded two game-winning goals this season. His plus-seven is the most on the team. Right wing Eric Neilson leads the Bulldogs with 63 penalty minutes, while Subban leads all league rookies with 13 minor penalties.

Hamilton goaltender Curtis Sanford currently sits in fourth and sixth in the league with a 1.08 goals-against average and a.934 save percentage, respectively. With a 7-2-2 record, his win total is fourth among league netminders. Counterpart Cedrick Desjardins (4-3-1) holds a 2.24 goals-against average and a.916 save percentage so far this season, good enough for 12th and 17th in the league, respectively. Desjardins started in both of last week's losses for the Bulldogs, with Sanford coming in on relief during both.

The Amerks return home on Friday, November 27th as they welcome the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to town for the first time since the 2005-06 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.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 24, 2009


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