Amerks Ring in the NEw Year with a Two-Game Set in Manitoba
December 29, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans ring in the New Year with a two-game set on the road this weekend against the Manitoba Moose to conclude a four-game road swing.
Rochester will meet Manitoba (21-9-0-1, 43 points) for the fifth and sixth time this season with games scheduled for Friday, January 2nd and Saturday, January 3rd at the MTS Centre. Both games are slated for an 8:30 p.m. EST start and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL Live. The Amerks look for their first win this season against the first-place Moose, having lost all four previous encounters, with the most recent coming in a 5-1 loss on November 10th at The Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks are 0-4-0-0 this season and 15-24-1 all-time against the Vancouver Canucks' affiliate.
Rochester enters the week after an up- and-down three-game weekend which saw the Amerks claim three out of a possible six points, beginning with a 2-1 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs on home ice. Peter Aston netted his first goal of the season to go along with one assist while goaltender Mike Brodeur made 36 saves to earn first and second star honors, respectively. The win gave Rochester its first win against Hamilton this season, snapping a three-game losing streak. The Amerks have now won six of their last 11 games and have picked up points in six of their last nine.
After falling short in a 3-2 loss to the Albany River Rats Saturday night at the Times Union Center to kickoff a four-game road swing, Rochester ended the weekend last night picking up a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to Hamilton at Copps Coliseum. Karl Stewart powered the Amerks' offense with a two-goal performance, while David Brine also chipped in with a pair of assists as both players finished the weekend with four points each.
Janis Sprukts, coming off a two-point weekend (1+1), currently paces Rochester's offense with 16 points, while his seven goals also puts him in a four-way tie for the team lead. Rookie defenseman Jason Garrison has a team-high 12 assists and continues to remain Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 14 points overall, good enough for third best on the team.
First-year forward Michael Duco is first on the team and tied for 13th in the league with 95 penalty minutes (PIM), with Tanner Glass a close second at 76 PIM. Brodeur, who has started 10 of the last 11 games for Rochester, including nine straight, boasts a 6-3-1 record with a 1.62 goals-against average and .946 save percentage in 10 games between the pipes for the Amerks. His two shutouts also ties him for third among American Hockey League netminders.
Rochester returns home to host the Syracuse Crunch in a 7:35 p.m. North Division showdown on Friday, January 9th at The Blue Cross Arena. The battle of the longtime I-90 neighbors will be the fifth of 12 scheduled meetings between the divisional foes this season and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and AHL live.
The game features the next installment of the Amerks' $7.00 Fridays, where fans can purchase 200 Upper End and 200 Balcony tickets for just $7.00. It's also a RARES Discount Night. The RARES discount is valid for all RARES members by logging onto www.rares.org to review their discounts. For more information, call Nathan Snyder at 454-5335 x-3006. Lastly, the game falls on Wendy's Night. Anyone can pick up a Wendy's Buy One, Get One ticket voucher at any area participating Wendy's locations and can redeem your vouchers directly at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office.
AMERKS WEEKLY SCHEDULE
DAY TIME LOCATION
Monday, December 29th Day Off ----
6:30 Power Play Radio Show Winton Rd. Distillery
Tuesday, December 30th 9:00 a.m. practice ESL Sports Centre
Wednesday, December 31st 10:00 a.m. practice ESL Sports Centre
Thursday, January 1st Travel Day ----
Friday, January 2nd 8:30 EST game @ Manitoba MTS Centre
Saturday, January 3rd 8:30 EST game @ Manitoba MTS Centre
Sunday, January 4th Travel Day ----
*schedule subject to change*
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