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AHL Rochester Americans

Game Day: Amerks Host Manitoba on Sharky Night

February 23, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans return home as they host the Manitoba Moose in the first of back-to-back home tilts at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. North Division contest will be the fourth of eight scheduled meetings between the two teams this season and will be broadcast live on Sports Radio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

Come Celebrate Sharky's Life: Amerks fans can share in the life of Craig Charron tonight at "Sharky's Celebration" and pay tribute to the Amerks Hall of Famer, who lost his battle with cancer last October. Tickets are $10 in the best available seating area and are available at all customer service centers at Eastview Mall, the Mall at Greece Ridge and The Marketplace Mall. All purchases made at the three Wilmorite Malls must be cash transactions. Fans can also purchase tickets to the game at The Sports Centre at MCC and at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Charron family from the Knighthawks/Amerks Charitable Foundation, Inc. Other fundraisers include a jersey and memorabilia raffle courtesy of the Rochester Americans Alumni Association to support Craig Charron's family. Fans will have the chance to win a jersey from NHL Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and a game-worn Dane Jackson Buffalo Sabres jersey. Other featured jerseys that night include AHL All-Star jerseys of Jason Pominville and Clarke MacArthur. There will be a limited number of raffle tickets sold for each jersey.

Promotions: Fans can purchase the "Wednesday Facebook Fan Pack" for tonight's game exclusively through the Amerks Facebook page. Fans can get a ticket and a T-shirt for just $15! Click on the 'Amerks Nation' tab to purchase the pack. It's also a Business Person Special, featuring the Buy One, Get One ticket offer for best available seating.

Head-to-Head: The contest marks just the fourth of eight get-togethers between the divisional foes this season. The Moose and Amerks have held a distinct home ice advantage through the first three games of the season series as the home team has won all three games. Rochester is 1-2-0-0 this season against Manitoba after earning a 2-1 win over the Moose in the last encounter back on January 28th at The Blue Cross Arena. Manitoba also maintains the upper hand with a 29-19-3 all-time record against Rochester. Dating back to last season, the Moose have taken five of the last six games against the Amerks. The Moose bring with them a 17-5-2-1 record in Rochester back to The Blue Cross Arena, where they have only lost twice since March 28, 2008.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 12-14-3-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 14-13-0-2 mark against non-divisional rivals. Home ice has not been very welcoming for the Amerks, who are just 11-17-1-2 within the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena. Conversely, Rochester's road dominance is prevalent with a 15-10-2-0 mark.

Milestone Watch: Veteran forward Mark Cullen needs just four more points to reach 400 in his professional career. Bill Thomas will officially reach the century mark century mark with his next assist, while newcomer Hugh Jessiman, who scored his first goal in an Amerk uniform last 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 four games away from 500 as an Amerk, a feat only accomplished by five others in team history.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (26-27-3-2, 57 points) enters the contest after earning a 4-3 shootout win over the North Division-leading Hamilton Bulldogs Monday afternoon at Copps Coliseum. Bill Thomas and Mark Cullen each scored goals during the skills competition and Tyler Plante stopped all four Hamilton shooters. Michal Repik scored a pair of goals during regulation and Taylor notched two assists in the victory. Coming off its season-high four-game winning streak, Rochester has now won five of its last six to move within seven points of fourth place in the American Hockey League's North Division, where only one point separates the top four teams. Hamilton, Manitoba and Lake Erie are currently locked in a three-way tie for first place with 66 points each, while Hamilton and Manitoba each have a division-high 30 wins on the season. Another win tonight can potentially lift the Amerks out of the basement of the North Division into a sixth-place tie with Grand Rapids.

Special Teams Breakdown: After going two-for-three on the man-advantage Monday afternoon, Rochester currently has the sixth best power-play in the league (20.5 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 24th out of the 30-team AHL with a 80.3 success rate. Rochester's power-play unit has proven to be more effective on the road as its 28.2 percentage is presently tops in the AHL. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed a league-worst 14 shorthanded goals against, nine coming at home and five on the road.

Team and League Leaders: Coming off his first multiple-goal game of the season, Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 34 assists and 45 points. Playing at under a point-per-game pace, Repik is currently tied for sixth 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 177 shots on goal, the seventh most in the AHL.

Third-year forward Michael Duco maintains the team lead with 15 goals, including a team-high nine on the power-play, placing him tied for ninth in the league in that category. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-best 137 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 18th in the league and third among AHL rookies who frequent the sin bin. Selleck is also sixth in the league with 21 major penalties. Triston Grant is right on his heels with 124 penalty minutes.

Though scoreless in his last three games, veteran defenseman Clay Wilson is currently second on the team and third 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 35 points (9+26), good enough for eighth among league rearguards. The trio of Wilson, Kostka and Taylor also share the team lead with 16 power-play assists, good enough 12th in the AHL. Kostka is also the only member among Rochester's active roster to appear in all 58 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 a season and career-high eight straight games between the pipes and boasts a 10-10-1 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 23 games. Despite missing the last eight games, Markstrom still presently ranks 17th among AHL netminders in wins (16) and is fourth in the league with 1,051 saves.

Who's Hot: Duco enters the contest in the midst of a three-game point streak (1+2), including back-to-back games with an assist. Taylor, fresh off his two-assist effort against Hamilton Monday, shows five points (3+2) in as many games, while Repik boasts the same offensive output in four outings. Defenseman Paul Baier has notched two assists in his last two games.

Manitoba Notes: Manitoba (30-20-1-5, 66 points), kicking off a season-long 11-game road trip tonight, comes into the matchup just 2-6-0-0 in its last eight games despite a recent 4-2 win over the Lake Erie Monsters this past Saturday on home ice. The Moose, one of three teams vying for the top spot in the North Division, have allowed an AHL-low 32 power-play goals against, which can be attributed to two factors. One is that Manitoba's penalty killing unit has the second best efficiency rating in the league (86.2%). The Moose are also among the league's least penalized teams, having only been assessed 796 penalty minutes, the second lowest in the AHL. The Moose have taken more penalties than their opponent in only 16 of 56 games this season.

Team and League Leaders: Second-year forward Sergei Shirokov currently paces the Moose in all offensive categories in goals (17), assists (25) and points (42), in addition to owning a plus-nine on-ice rating. A 2011 AHL All-Star, Shirokov has also netted a team-best four power-play goals this season while averaging .81 points-per-game. Shirokov, who set a new franchise record earlier this season with a 12-game point streak, is currently riding another streak of one goal and three assists in his last three appearances. He also had a four-assist night on February 12th, giving him eight points (1+7) in five 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 fifth among AHL rookies with 36 points (13+23) and is the only member of the Moose to appear in all 56 games thus far. Mario Bliznak leads Manitoba with an impressive plus-15 on-ice rating.

Just 35 games into his professional career, rookie goaltender Eddie Lack has already established himself among the elite at his position. Coming into tonight, Lack shows a 19-13-3 record with 922 saves and three shutouts. His 2.13 goals-against average and .925 save percentage presently rank him fifth and ninth among league netminders, respectively. Further, his 19 wins tie him for ninth in the league, while he also sits eighth in minutes played (2,117).

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 15 games with the Canucks.

Next Game: The same two teams meet again on Friday, February 25th to complete the two-game set. Faceoff is slated for 7:35 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena. The contest will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The first 3,000 fans will take home a Ted Nolan bobblehead and will have the opportunity to receive an autograph from the former NHL Coach of the Year as part of the final installment of the Ameks Legends Series Night, courtesy of the Seneca Gaming Corporation. Nolan will be signing autographs in the upper atrium prior to the game from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. Fans can tune in for all the live action on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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