AHL Rochester Americans

Beckford-Tseu Joins Amerks As They Drive For Five In Albany

Published on October 23, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans will try to win five straight games for the first time since the 2006-07 season tonight as they take on the East Division Albany River Rats at the Times Union Center at 7:00 p.m.

Joining the team in Albany tonight will be goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu, who was reassigned to Rochester Thursday from the Florida Panthers. The Toronto, Ontario, native returns to the Amerks after appearing in one game this season with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

The contest will be the second of four encounters this season between the two teams. Rochester looks to even the season series with the Rats after dropping a 6-1 decision in the first matchup back on October 10th. The Amerks are 0-1-0-0 this season and 46-42-9 all-time against the Carolina Hurricanes' affiliate. The game will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Fans can also watch the game live for free on AHL Live.com as part of the AHL's free preview night. Log onto http://ahl.neulion.com/team to catch all the action.

Rochester (5-1-0-0, 11 points) enters the contest currently tied for second place with the Abbotsford Heat. The Amerks are in the midst of a four-game winning streak after posting a 4-2 victory over the Binghamton Senators Wednesday night at The Blue Cross Arena to move within one point of division-leading Manitoba. The win was Rochester's fourth straight and fifth in its last six games. The last time the Amerks started the season with five wins and 11 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.

Rookie forwards Victor Oreskovich and Evgeny Dadonov shined in Rochester's win over Binghamton, each scoring a goal and assisting on another. Oreskovich netted his first pro goal (in his first professional game) and Dadonov scored his first of the season to jumpstart the Amerks to an early 2-0 lead, before veteran forwards Graham Mink and Mike York finalized the scoring. Tyler Plante made 28 saves to claim his third win of the season.

The Amerks, fueled by second-year forward Michal Repik, have outscored their opponents 17-8 in the last four games and have allowed the second fewest amount of goals in the division with 19. Rochester has also scored a league-high four shorthanded goals this season, while Amerks centerman David Brine presently shares the American Hockey League lead in that very category with two.

Repik, coming off a three-game point streak, enters tonight's contest as the Amerks' leader in goals (5) and points (8). He also currently ranks tied for fifth in overall points and tied for second in goals in the AHL. Teammate Jeff Taffe is tied for third in the league with four goals. Chris Taylor's two-assist performance on Wednesday night propelled him into the team lead in that category with a team-high five. The 18-year pro is six assists away from surpassing Dick Gamble on the all-time list. Additionally, Taylor needs just three games to pass former defenseman Doug Janik. Jason Garrison and fellow blueliner Clay Wilson remain Rochester's top scoring defensemen with five points each and are currently tied for fifth in scoring among league defensemen.

Third-year forward Kenndal McArdle is first on the team and second in the league with 38 penalty minutes. Rookie goaltender Alexander Salak shows a flawless 2-0-0 record with 72 saves in just three games. His 2.34 goals-against average and .923 save percentage currently rank him 15th and 10th among league netminders, respectively. Plante is tied for third with three wins.

Albany (4-2-0-0, eight points), playing in its first of a two-game homestand, comes into the matchup after winning four of its last five to sit tied for first in the East Division. The River Rats' only loss in that stretch came in a 5-3 setback to the Worcester Sharks in their most recent action last Sunday. Pat Dwyer scored a pair of goals and Jamie McBain scored his first of the season to provide the scoring for the Rats. Third-year forward Jerome Samson leads Albany in all offensive categories in goals (four), assists (six) and points (10) and is tied for third in the league in overall points. His four goals and six assists tie him for third and fourth in the AHL, respectively. Goaltender Justin Peters has seen the majority of time between the pipes this season for the Rats. Peters boasts a 3-1-0 record with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in four games.

On Saturday, October 24th, Rochester will make its first stop of the season at the War Memorial at Oncenter for a 7:30 p.m. battle with the Syracuse Crunch. The game will be the first leg of a home-and-home series between the regional rivals. The Amerks skated past the Crunch with a 4-1 win in the previous get-together on October 12th at The Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks are 1-0-0-0 this season and 83-75-15 all-time against their arch rivals.

Rochester will return home on Sunday, October 25th for its second of back-to-back tilts with the Crunch. Opening faceoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. Fans can tune into to listen live to all the action on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester Sports Talk. The contest will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

That night, in the spirit of Halloween, the Amerks will again host their third annual "Sweets in the Suites" promotion, courtesy of BJ's Wholesale Club. Wear your Halloween costume to the game and receive best-available seating for as low as $10.00. Kids can trick-or-treat, be selected to carve pumpkins or have a chance to win trick-or-treating with The Amerks Moose or Eagle, R. Thunder. All trick-or-treaters will receive a bag to fill with candy courtesy of the Subway location on East Main Street in downtown Rochester. The highlight of the evening is the Best Costume Contests with fan voting selecting the winners. As part of "Sweets in the Suites," all children can trick-or-treat during the first intermission of the game in the suite level of The Blue Cross Arena. Three people will also be selected to compete in a pumpkin carving contest during the second period.

The game also falls on the first installment of the Amerks Red Hot Sundays, courtesy of Zweigle's. This season marks the second season that the Amerks have partnered with Zweigle's to offer the "Red Hot Sundays" promotion. The promotion allows fans to purchase a Family Four Pack, which includes four hotdogs, four soft drinks and four tickets, for the low price of $44. In conjunction with Savor Catering at The Blue Cross Arena, the Amerks will offer this great promotion to the fans 10 times this season. Packages can be ordered by calling the Amerks office directly and speaking with a ticket sales representative. After the game, fans can head down to The Distillery located at 1142 Mt. Hope Ave. for the official postgame party.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 23, 2009


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