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AHL Rochester Americans

Game Day: Amerks Host First-Place Moose Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

April 1, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans usher in the final month of the 2010-11 American Hockey League season as they take on the first-place Manitoba Moose for the third time in four nights at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:35 p.m. contest will be the eighth and final meeting this season between the North Division rivals and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

Promotions: The first 5,000 fans will take home a 2010-11 Amerks Team Photo. 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 third straight game this week and last of the campaign between the divisional foes this season. Rochester is 2-3-0-2 this season against Manitoba after dropping back-to-back games to the Moose as part of a two-game road set earlier this week. Home-ice advantage has certainly played a factor in the season series for each team, especially the Moose, who show an unblemished 4-0-0-0 record in Winnipeg. The Amerks, conversely, are 2-0-0-1 and have collected five of six points when wearing their home whites. Manitoba also maintains the upper hand with a 32-20-3 all-time record against Rochester. Dating back to last season, the Moose have taken eight of the last 10 games against the Amerks and bring with them an 18-6-2-1 record in Rochester to The Blue Cross Arena, where they have only lost on three occasions since March 28, 2008.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 14-21-4-2 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 16-15-0-2 mark against non-divisional rivals. Home ice has not been very welcoming for the Amerks, who are just 13-19-2-3 within the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena. Conversely, Rochester fares better on the road with an even 17-17-2-1 mark.

Milestone Watch: Veteran forwards Mark Cullen and Hugh Jessiman each tabbed career milestones on Rochester's recent road trip, starting with Cullen's 500th career American Hockey League game Tuesday night against his former team. With his assist on Mike Kostka's second-period tally on Wednesday, Jessiman earned his 200th professional point and now sits just four away from reaching the century mark.

Make It or Break It: Amerks forward Michael Duco is six games away from either making team history or breaking a 55-year long streak as the team enters the final month of the regular season. Since the team's inception in 1956, at least one player from each season has scored 20 or more goals, a streak piloted by Bronco Horvath's 37-goal output in the franchise's inaugural season in 1956-57. With 19 goals on the campaign coming into this evening, Duco sits just one tally shy of joining an elite group or becoming the first Amerk in franchise history not to reach the single-season 20-goal plateau.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (30-36-4-4, 68 points) enters the contest after posting consecutive losses to the Moose earlier this week, including its most recent 5-4 setback via a seven-round shootout in the second leg of the two-game set. The loss extended the Amerks' winless streak to a season-high seven games, giving Rochester a 1-9-1-1 showing in its last 12 outings as it remains in the basement of the American Hockey League's North Division. The Amerks trail Manitoba by 22 points in the divisional standings.

Special Teams Breakdown: Rochester currently has the eighth best power-play in the league (19.0 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28thout of the 30-team AHL with a 78.5 success rate. Rochester's power-play unit has proven to be more effective on the road as its 23.5 percentage is presently second best in the AHL. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed a league-worst 15 shorthanded goals against, nine coming at home and six on the road.

Team and League Leaders: Defenseman Mike Kostka leads the Amerks with 50 points (14+36) and is currently tied for fourth among AHL defensemen in overall scoring. His 14 goals are the second most among league rearguards. Ten of his 14 goals this season have been scored on the man-advantage, the most among any other player at his position in the AHL. He finished the month of March with 10 points (4+6) in 13 games and is the only Amerk this season to appear in all 74 games thus far. The third-year blueliner also ranks 14th in the league with 20 power-play assists.

Having already captured new AHL career-highs in both goals (19) and points (29), Duco continues to maintain the team lead with a team-high 19 goals, including 11 on the power play, good enough for 10th in the AHL in that category. First-year forward Eric Selleck, who recently returned from a four-game suspension, ranks third among league rookies and 12th in the league with 196 penalty minutes.

With starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom out with injury and Tyler Plante presently on NHL recall with Florida, rookie netminder Marc Cheverie has been shoved into the starting role for the Amerks. Cheverie, coming off a season-high 43-save performance at Manitoba Tuesday night, has been between the pipes for three straight games for Rochester, including four of the last five. Since being recalled from Cincinnati (ECHL), the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native has appeared in nine games for Rochester, compiling a 1-4-1 record to go along with a .900 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.69.

Who's Hot: Kostka enters the contest with nine points (4+5) in his last 10 games, a stretch that includes a pair of three-point outings. Veteran forward Patrick Rissmiller, currently on NHL recall with Florida, is presently riding a five-game point streak (2+5) and has collected a point in every game in an Amerk uniform since he arrived from Lake Erie. Bill Thomas is in the midst of a four-game point streak (3+1), scoring a goal in three games during that span. Tim Kennedy has three assists in as many games since racking up his first multi-point game as an Amerk last Saturday in Syracuse.

Manitoba Notes: Manitoba (42-27-1-5, 90 points), kicking off a three-game road trip tonight, comes into the matchup as the AHL's top team in the North Division following its two-game sweep over Rochester on home ice earlier this week. The win spotted the Moose a two-point lead over the Lake Erie Monsters for divisional supremacy, though the Monsters have one game in hand. Manitoba returns to Western New York riding a four-game winning streak and has now won five of its last six entering the final month of play. The Moose's recent play vaulted them into a prime position for postseason contention. With a win tonight over Rochester and a Grand Rapids regulation loss to Abbotsford, Manitoba will secure a berth in the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Special Teams Breakdown: Coming into tonight, the Moose have allowed just 45 power-play goals against, among the fewest in the AHL, which can be attributed to two factors. One is that Manitoba's penalty killing unit has the second best efficiency rating in the league (86.0%). The Moose are also among the league's least penalized teams, having only been assessed 1053 penalty minutes, the third lowest in the AHL.

Team and League Leaders: Second-year pro Sergei Shirokov currently paces the Moose in all offensive categories in goals (20), assists (33) and points (53), in addition to owning a plus-five on-ice rating. He's the only player among Manitoba's active roster to reach the 20-goal plateau this season. A 2011 AHL All-Star, Shirokov has also netted four power-play goals, second most on the team, while averaging .75 points-per-game. Shirokov, who set a new franchise record earlier this season with a 12-game point streak, has one goal and two assists in his last six appearances. He also had a four-assist night on February 12th, giving him eight points (1+7) in six games and the first four-point game of his young career in the AHL.

First-year winger Bill Sweatt is second on the team and tied for seventh among AHL rookies with 45 points (19+26) and is the only member of the Moose to appear in all 75 games thus far. Mario Bliznak leads Manitoba with an impressive plus-17 on-ice rating.

Only 49 games into his professional career, rookie netminder Eddie Lack has already established himself among the elite at his position. Coming into tonight, Lack, who was recently named to the 2010-11 AHL All-Rookie team, shows a 27-19-3 record with 1,368 saves and five shutouts. His 2.16 goals-against average and .928 save percentage presently rank him fourth and third among league goaltenders, respectively. Further, he is presently third in wins (27), second in minutes played (2,945) and saves (1,386) and seventh in shutouts (four). Lack also boasts a 7-3 record when challenged in the shootout, the third best rating in the league when it comes to the skills competition.

Local Product in 'The Show': The Moose own a piece of Rochester in forward Chris Tanev, who is currently on NHL recall with the parent Vancouver Canucks. Prior to turning pro and joining Manitoba this season, Tanev played his only season of collegiate hockey during the 2009-10 campaign at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). In 41 total games for the Tigers, the Toronto, Ontario, native scored 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points. Upon earning a promotion to the Canucks over a month ago, he became the first RIT graduate to play for an NHL team. Since his call-up, Tanev has one assist in 28 games with the Canucks.

Next Game: Rochester closes out the weekend on Saturday, April 2nd as the Amerks exchange pleasantries with the league-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The Pens are currently the AHL's top team and were the first to not only clinch a playoff berth, but were the first team in the league to claim a division crown. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's 107 points are 13 more than the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears in the East Division, making them unreachable with just six games to go. Fans can tune into the 7:05 p.m. contest live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Despite having been held winless against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, Rochester maintains the upper hand with a 12-11-6 lifetime showing versus the Baby Pens.

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