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AHL Rochester Americans

Game Day: AHL's Two Oldest Teams Meet Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

February 18, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the oldest rivalry in the American Hockey League will be renewed as the back-to-back defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears make their second and final stop this season at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:35 p.m. matchup will be the fourth this season and 442nd meeting in league history between the AHL's cornerstone franchises as Rochester takes aim at its fourth straight win. Fans can tune in for all the live action on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

McArdle Heads to South Florida: The Amerks will be without the services of forward Kenndal McArdle tonight after the fourth-year pro earned his second NHL recall from the Florida Panthers earlier this morning. McArdle returns to the Panthers after appearing in five games with big club to start the season. In 27 career NHL games, all with Florida, the Toronto, Ontario, native has scored one goal and added two assists for three points. A 2005 first-round selection (10th overall) of the Panthers, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward has played in 43 games with the Amerks this season, recording 22 points (12+10) and 87 penalty minutes.

Promotions: The first 5,000 fans through the doors this evening will receive hockey stick noise makers, courtesy of Time Warner Cable. Tonight's game also falls on the next installment of the "Dollar Dogs 'N' Drinks" promotion, presented by Molson Coors. Friday, and now during every Friday night home game for the rest of the season, fans can purchase Zweigle's Hot Dogs and select draft products for just $1.00. Starting this season, however, fans will also have the opportunity to enjoy any fountain Pepsi products for $1.00. Further, the game features the Mark's Family Value Night special, offering fans four tickets, four T-shirts, one large one-topping pizza, two orders of jumbo wings and one two-liter bottle of soda for just $69.00 from any area participating Mark's Pizzeria location. Fans can purchase the package online at ticketmaster.com or in person at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office. For more information, please call the Amerks office at (585) 454-5335 and speak with a ticket sales representative today.

Head-to-Head: The contest marks the fourth and final this meeting this season between the league's two oldest teams. The Amerks show a 1-2-0-0 record in the season series with the Bears and are 183-205-53 lifetime against the Washington Capitals' affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 11-14-3-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 13-12-0-2 mark against non-divisional rivals. Home ice has not been very welcoming for the Amerks, who are just 10-17-1-2 within the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena. Conversely, Rochester's road dominance is prevalent with a 14-9-2-0 mark.

Milestone Watch: After waiting more than four months to get back on the ice after recovering from injury, veteran forward Mark Cullen needs just five more points to reach 400 in his professional career. Bill Thomas is two assists shy of hitting the century mark, while newcomer Hugh Jessiman, who scored his first goal in an Amerk uniform Wednesday night, is six points away from eclipsing the 200-point plateau.

Taylor Nears 500 Games: The 2010-11 season has been one to remember for veteran forward Chris Taylor, who has spent the first 50 games of the campaign moving up the franchise's all-time lists and capturing several other career milestones. Having already scored more career goals than former fan-favorite Scott Metcalfe and recording more points than Stan Smrke, the 19-year pro is only seven games away from 500 as an Amerk, a feat only accomplished by five others in team history.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (24-26-3-2, 53 points) enters the contest riding a three-game winning streak, its third of the season, following its 6-4 win over the Worcester Sharks Wednesday night on home ice at The Blue Cross Arena. The six goals tied a season-high at home, matching the same total the Amerks put up in a 6-5 win over Syracuse on December 3rd, as Rochester collected its 10th home win of the campaign. Defenseman Clay Wilsonassisted on three goals and finished with a plus-three on-ice rating and Tyler Plante earned his third straight win with a 34-save effort. With wins in three straight and six of its last nine, Rochester has moved within just eight points of third place in the American Hockey League's North Division, where only a mere two points separates them from one of six teams currently ahead of them in the standings. After being held scoreless in back-to-back outings last week, Rochester's offense has accounted for 12 goals in its last three games and has outscored its opponent 24-18 through its last nine contests. The Amerks aim for their fourth straight win tonight where a victory can potentially lift them out of the basement of the North Division.

Special Teams Breakdown: Rochester currently has the seventh best power-play in the league (20.1 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 24thout of the 30-team AHL with a 79.9 success rate. Rochester's power-play unit has proven to be more effective on the road as its 27.8 percentage is presently tops in the AHL. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed a league-worst 13 shorthanded goals against, eight coming at home and five on the road.

Team and League Leaders: Coming off his first multi-point game in close to a month, Michal Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 33 assists and 42 points. Playing at just under a point-per-game pace, Repik is currently tied for seventh in the AHL in assists, while also being among the league's top scorers. The 2011 AHL All-Star also paces the Amerks with a team-best 165 shots on goal, the eighth most in the AHL.

Third-year forward Michael Duco still maintains the team lead with 14 goals, despite not having found the back of the net in six games. Eight of Duco's goals have come on the man-advantage, ranking him first on the team and 10th in the league. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-high 135 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 15th in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category. Selleck is also tied for fourth in the league with 21 major penalties. Triston Grant is right on his heels with 124 penalty minutes, good enough for 20th among the league leaders who frequent the sin bin.

Wilson is currently second on the team and tied for first in scoring among AHL blueliners with 39 points (8+31). His 31 helpers are the most among league defensemen. Fellow D-man Mike Kostka remains at a close second in that category with 34 points (9+25), good enough for eighth among league rearguards. Wilson and Kostka also share the team lead with 16 power-play assists, good enough 10th in the AHL. Kostka is also the only member among Rochester's active roster to appear in all 55 games thus far this season.

With rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom currently sidelined with an injury, Plante has readily taken over the starting duties for the Amerks. The fourth-year netminder has started the last five games between the pipes, a season-high, and boasts an 8-9-1 record with a 3.12 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. He also has four straight games with 20 or more saves. Despite missing the last five games, Markstrom still presently ranks 15th among AHL netminders in wins (16) and still leads the league with 1,051 saves.

Who's Hot: Wilson is in the middle of one of his best offensive spurts this season, entering the contest in the midst of a three-game point streak having recorded seven assists in his last three games. Forward PJ Fentonis also on the heels of a three-game point streak of his own, the first of the season, after scoring a goal Wednesday night against his former team. Taylor has scored the game-winning goal in three of the last four victories for the Amerks, including each of the last two. Thomas has five points (3+2) in his last four games, including three straight with a goal.

Hershey Notes: Hershey (34-16-1-3, 72 points), finishing up a three-game road trip tonight, comes into the matchup fresh off its 2-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals Tuesday night in Virginia. Sean Collins and Keith Aucoin provided the scoring for the Bears as Todd Ford turned away 29 of 30 shots in the win. Despite the two points, however, the defending champs have dropped two of their last three, including suffering a 7-1 rout at the hands of the league-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the only AHL team this season yet to fall in overtime or via the shootout. The surging Bears, who are on pace for their third straight Calder Cup championship, are currently second in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the AHL standings.

Road Warriors: Hershey brings the league's second best road record (17-7-1-1) with it to Rochester, one that includes 17 wins and 36 points, which is exactly half its point total for the 2010-11 season. Its 17 road wins is only second to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's 18.

Lending A Hand: Six players from the Bears roster have suited up in a combined 48 games for the parent Washington Capitals, including 22 for forward Jay Beagle (1+1). Keith Aucoin, Andrew Gordon (1+1), Brian Willsie (0+1) and Brian Fahey (0+1) have also seen NHL time. Gordon netted his first NHL goal during his December stint against the New Jersey Devils, beating the great Martin Brodeur. Netminder Braden Holtby started eight games for the Capitals early in the season, with Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth sidelined with injury. The 21-year-old accumulated a record of 4-2-2, with a 2.47 goals-against average and a save percentage of .908.

Team and League Leaders: The Bears own four of the league's top 12 point-producers in veteran forwards Keith Aucoin, Brian Willsie and Kyle Greentree, in addition to rising-star Andrew Gordon. Aucoin paces the high-powered Hershey offense with 54 points (15+39), despite playing in just 37 games. His six game-winning goals put him in a tie for the league-lead, while he also ranks second in assists (39), fourth in points (54) and third in power-play assists (22).

The Bears also have three other skaters with 40-plus points in Willsie (23+27), Gordon (22+24), and Greentree (20+26). The three aforementioned forwards all rank in the top 20 in goals, including Willsie's team-best 23 goals and a league-best 14 power-play tallies. Gordon sits at a very close second in that category with 22 goals (eighth in the AHL), with 12 on the man-advantage (second in the AHL). Jay Beagle currently sits in a tie for third in the AHL with four short-handed goals, while Willsie also sits atop the league with a plus-24 on-ice rating. Sean Collins (plus-23), 2010-11 AHL All-Star Brian Fahey (plus-21), Gordon (plus-18) and former RIT standout Steve Pinizzotto (plus-17) follow close behind with impressive plus/minus numbers as well.

Lawrence Nycholat currently leads all team defenseman with 27 points (5+22) in just 31 games, placing him 16th overall among league defensemen in scoring. Hershey's defensive corps is also anchored by three-time NHL-All Star Sheldon Souray. A veteran of over 650 NHL games, Souray has contributed 13 points (3+10) through 26 games since being loaned to the Bears by the Edmonton Oilers.

The Bears also own the league's top netminder in Braden Holtby, who currently leads the AHL with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. Holtby, who missed the last eight games with an injury, is also tied for second among AHL goaltenders with five shutouts this season. The third-year pro has been cleared to play and is expected to make his first start tonight since posting a 24-save shutout against Charlotte in his last start back on January 29th. Holtby currently shows a 12-5-2 record in 20 appearances between the pipes this season. His counterpart, Dany Sabourin, meanwhile, has amassed a record of 14-9-0 through 23 games, boasting a 2.45 goals-against average (13th in the AHL) to go along with a save percentage of .908. He, too, has missed the last eight games with an injury.

Next Game: The Amerks bring the week to a close on Saturday, February 19 th as they head east down the I-90 to exchange pleasantries with the Syracuse Crunch at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Faceoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Amerk fans in Rochester will also be able to watch the game live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

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