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AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Ready For Two-Game Set In Abbotsford This Weekend

December 4, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... After splitting their two-game set with the Manitoba Moose earlier this week, the Rochester Americans conclude their season-long six-game road trip with a pair of encounters with the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday, December 5th and Sunday, December 6th. The games will mark the first-ever meetings between Rochester and Abbotsford, one of three new expansion teams in the AHL. Opening faceoff for both contests are scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST starts at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

Rochester (18-4-1-0, 37 points) enters the weekend currently first overall in the AHL with a three-point lead over the West Division Texas Stars. The Amerks still maintain a four-point lead over the Manchester Monarchs, in addition to a five-point cushion over the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. The Amerks have won 17 of their last 20 games, including 10 straight at home, and own the league's best winning percentage (.804).

The Amerks, who are tied for third in the AHL with five shorthanded goals, have outscored their opponents 73-44 in the last 19 games and have allowed the second fewest number of goals in their division with 55. Additionally, their 81 goals for are also the most in the division. Rochester currently ranks third in the AHL with a 23.1 power-play percentage and seventh with an 87.0 penalty-killing percentage.

Veteran forward Chris Taylor (6+15) currently paces Rochester's offense with a team-high 15 assists and 21 points, with Jamie Johnson at a close second with 20 points (9+11). The duo is presently is tied for seventh and eighth in the league in overall point production, respectively. Taylor each earned his fourth assist and fifth point in his last three games in the Amerks' 2-1 loss to Manitoba Wednesday night. Taylor, currently riding a three-game point streak, is on pace averaging close to a point-per-game this season. His 15 assists are also presently fifth best in the AHL.

With Taylor moving ahead of Gamble into the No.4 spot on the all-time assist list and currently tied with Craig Charron for 15th on the all-time goal list, the 18-year pro sits just three goals and two points away from moving ahead of Gordie Clark and Norm "Red' Armstrong for 14th and seventh on the all-time list, respectively. He needs just one more game to leapfrog the 390-game benchmark set by Amerk legend Don Cherry. Lastly, Taylor is just four points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau and just 32 games away from the 1,200 professional games milestone.

Johnson has now picked up nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in his last 13 games. The power-play extraordinaire has accumulated five of his 11 helpers on the man advantage, tying him with fellow special teams line mate Jeff Taffe for sixth best in the league in that very category. Further, his nine goals are equal to that of David Brine and Graham Mink for the team lead, which are also fourth best in the league.

A veteran of 579 NHL games, Mike York is tied for sixth in the league with 14 assists and remains even with Mink for third on the team with 19 points. York, who has seven assists in his last nine outings, is tied for third in the AHL with eight power-play helpers, while his four goals on the man advantage also tie him for fourth in the AHL.

Amerks tough-guy Jimmy Bonneau is first on the team and tied for fifth in the league with a team-high 93 penalty minutes after dropping the gloves 14 times in his last 17 games. Defenseman Clay Wilson (3+12) stands just three points ahead of fellow blueliner Jason Garrison (3+9) in the fight for Rochester's top scoring defenseman. The duo is currently ranked tied for fifth and eighth in scoring among league blueliners, respectively. Wilson is also tied for second in the AHL with nine power-play assists. Third-year defenseman Jordan Henry owns the team's best on-ice rating with a plus-11.

Despite currently being on recall with the Florida Panthers, first-year goaltender Alexander Salak boasts a league-best 15-1-0 record with 464 saves in just 17 games. His 2.03 goals-against average and.934 save percentage are currently seventh and fifth among league netminders, respectively, while his 15 wins are presently a league best. Salak has started 14 of the last 16 games for Rochester, posting a 13-1-0 record in that time with 392 saves and 27 goals against. In 17 games, Salak has only allowed 33 goals.

Second-year forward Michael Duco made his National Hockey League debut with the Panthers Wednesday night in Florida's 6-5 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche at the BankAtlantic Center. Further Jeff Taffe, who has collected 10 points (3+7) in his last eight games with Rochester, logged his first point as a Panther with an assist at Washington last night.

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