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AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks to begin six-game homestand

November 6, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... Following their two-game road trip to New England this past weekend, the Rochester Americans return home this Friday to play their first game of a season-high six-game homestand. Rochester is currently riding a three-game winning streak, and leads the North Division with 20 points and a record of 10-1-0-0. The Amerks' .909 winning percentage is the best in the American Hockey League.

The Amerks also learned today that forwards Daniel Paille and Drew Stafford have been sent back to Rochester after playing in Buffalo's 4-3 overtime win at Madison Square Gardens last night. Stafford, playing in the first National Hockey League game of his career, assisted on Daniel Briere's game-winning goal in the win over the New York Rangers. With the assist, Stafford became just the second player in league history to pick up his first NHL point in the overtime period of his NHL debut. Tim Sweeney was the first to accomplish this feat with Calgary on October 4, 1990. Paille had just over 11 minutes of ice time and finished the day with two shots on net.

This week, Rochester begins its longest homestand of the season, as they are home for six straight games from Friday, November 10th to Friday, November 24th. The home stretch includes games against Binghamton, Chicago, Manitoba, Springfield, Milwaukee and Iowa.

The November home slate begins with the second trip to Rochester by the Binghamton Senators. The Amerks will celebrate "Red, White and Blue Night" on Friday, November 10th as the organization honors the military. All veterans will receive a free ticket to the game and the first 10,000 fans will take home a magnet schedule courtesy of Bonn, Shortsleeve and Ray. The 7:35 p.m. contest will be broadcast on Hot Talk 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and B2 Networks. The game will also air on Time Warner Cable Channel 98 on Friday, November 10th at midnight and on Saturday, November 11th at 3:00 p.m.

The game is the third meeting between the two teams this season. In early October, Rochester swept a home-and-home series with the Senators. The Amerks earned their second consecutive come-from-behind win, defeating visiting Binghamton 2-1 in a sudden-death shootout on October 13th at The Blue Cross Arena. Amerks rookie David Booth scored Rochester's only goal in regulation, while fellow rookies Drew Stafford and Franklin MacDonald contributed one goal apiece in the shootout. The following night, rookie Adam Dennis made 40 saves in his professional debut to defeat Binghamton 3-2. The Senators and the Amerks meet five more times this season.

The Chicago Wolves make their only trip to Rochester on Sunday, November 12th for a 6:05 p.m. contest. The Amerks lead the all-time series with a 3-2-1 record. The game is part of a six-game road trip for the Wolves. The contest will be broadcast on Hot Talk 1280 WHTK, whtk.com and B2 Networks. After the game, fans can attend the official postgame party at The Distillery, located at 1142 Mt. Hope Ave.

Rochester enters the games after earning two wins on their tour of New England last weekend. On November 3rd, the Amerks traveled to the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., to take on the Springfield Falcons for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Despite a late rally by the Falcons, Rochester hung on to eek out a 5-4 victory. Michael Ryan (2+1) and Drew Stafford (1+2) led the Amerks in their narrow win. Jean-Marc Pelletier stopped 24 of Springfield's 28 shots to nab his second win in as many starts this season.

On November 4th, the Amerks completed their sweep of the New England teams with a 2-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Center. Goals by David Booth and Stefan Meyer, and rookie Adam Dennis' 26 saves helped Rochester to their league-leading 10th win of the season.

Two of the keys to Rochester's success so far this season have been stellar goaltending and discipline play. The Amerks currently boast the AHL's lowest team goals-against average, allowing just 2.00 goals per game. This feat is even more astonishing considering that Rochester goaltenders face the most shots per game in the AHL, averaging just over 33 shots against per contest.

Craig Anderson leads all Amerk goaltenders, and the league, with a 1.23 GAA and a .959 save percentage. Anderson was 4-0-0-0 on the season before suffering an injury on October 20th. Since Anderson's injury, Pelletier and Dennis have been carrying the load in net. Pelletier has won his first two starts of the season, including an impressive 25-save effort in a 2-1 shootout win over the Syracuse Crunch at The Blue Cross Arena on October 29th. Dennis has looked like anything but a rookie, winning four of his first five games in the AHL. The Toronto native's 2.40 GAA is good enough for 10th in the league, and his .937 SV% is fourth best among AHL goaltenders.

In addition to having quality play between the posts, the Amerks have managed to keep themselves out of penalty trouble so far this season. Rochester is currently the third least penalized team in the AHL, averaging just 14.8 penalty minutes per game. Only Binghamton (14.3 PIM/GM) and Lowell (13.7 PIM/GM) have managed to stay out of the penalty box better.

Upcoming Player Appearances

The Amerks and the Monroe County Libraries are again partnering to provide the "Reading Power Play," which teams Amerk players with local public librarians in support of reading. Amerks forward Drew Larman and the Amerks Moose will kick off the program tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Central (Downtown) Library. The event is the first of 20 reading appearances this year by the Amerks. During the 2006-07 hockey season, Amerk players will continue to visit participating libraries to read to youth, talk about the importance of reading, and give a hockey demonstration. Each appearance also features a raffle for Amerk memorabilia and an autograph session by the visiting player and The Moose.

Amerks Reading Program Schedule

Monday, November 6 - Central (Downtown) Library @ 7:00 PM

Tuesday, November 7 - Scottsville Library @ 6:45 PM

Wednesday, November 8 - Ogden Library @ 6:45 PM

TEAM NOTES:

- The Rochester Americans (10-1-0-0, 20 points) are in first place in the North Division and have the best winning percentage (.909) in the league after earning wins over Springfield and Manchester this past weekend.

- The Amerks have the lowest team GAA in the AHL, allowing an average of 2.00 goals per game.

- Craig Anderson's 1.23 GAA and .959 SV% still lead the AHL.

- Drew Stafford (5+4), Michael Ryan (5+4), Clarke MacArthur (4+5) and Janis Sprukts (3+6) lead the Amerks in scoring with nine points each.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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