AHL Rochester Americans

Game Day: Amerks Host Neighbors from the East at Blue Cross Arena

Published on February 27, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans close out their busy month of February as their neighbors from the East, the Syracuse Crunch, make their final appearance this season at The Blue Cross Arena. The 3:05 p.m. matinee will be the eighth of scheduled meetings between the intrastate rivals this season and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

Taylor Skates in Game No. 500 Tonight: With his first shift this evening, veteran forward Chris Taylor will join elite company as he officially plays in his 500th game in an Amerk uniform, becoming just the sixth player in franchise history to capture the career milestone. The 19-year pro will also move past former fan-favorite Scott Metcalfe for sixth on the Amerks' all-time games played list. Already on his list of accomplishments this season includes scoring more career goals than Metcalfe and recording more points than Stan Smrke.

Florida Calls Up Two: The Amerks will be without the services of forward Kenndal McArdle and Hugh Jessiman after the pair was summoned to South Florida earlier today. Both are expected to be in the lineup later tonight as Florida hosts the New Jersey Devils at 5:00 p.m. at the BankAtlantic Center. Jessiman, who can potentially make his Panthers debut, has scored one goal in 11 games with the Amerks since being acquired by Florida a few weeks ago. McArdle earns his fourth trip to the big club this season after notching 23 points (13+10) in 47 games with Rochester.

Welcome Aboard, Welcome Back: A few "new" faces will grace the Amerks lineup tonight, including two that have already spent some time in the Flower City this season. Forwards Chris Clackson and Michael Dubuc return to Rochester following respective stints in the ECHL. Clackson, who appeared in 16 games with the Amerks earlier this year, returns after registering 18 points (8+10) and 63 penalty minutes in 36 combined games with Cincinnati and Greenville of the ECHL. Dubuc, whose tallied two points (1+1) in four games with Rochester this season, signed his second professional tryout with the Amerks today. He returns to the club from the ECHL's Elmira Jackals, where he's amassed 32 points (18+14) in 30 games. The newest addition to the Amerks comes in the form of forward Tim Kennedy, who was acquired just yesterday by the Florida Panthers from the New York Rangers for Bryan McCabe and a third-round pick. Kennedy, a Buffalo native and the AHL's top scoring rookie in 2008-09, comes to Rochester after collecting 42 points (12+30) in 53 games for the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale. He was second among Whaler skaters in overall scoring at the time of his trade.

Promotions: Fans can take advantage of the Zweigle's Family Four Packand purchase four tickets to the game, four hot dogs and four sodas all for one low price of just $52.00. Fans can also purchase the "Sunday Funday Pack" for the game exclusively through the Amerks Facebook page. Fans can get a ticket, T-shirt and a pass to the Party Deck for just $25! Click on the 'Amerks Nation' tab to purchase the pack.

Head-to-Head: The contest marks the eighth of 10 get-togethers between the longtime rivals in the campaign. Rochester is 4-3-0-0 against Syracuse this season, including a 3-1-0-0 record on home ice. After dropping the first three meetings this season, the Crunch have taken three of the last four engagements, including a 7-1 rout over the Amerks eight days ago. The Amerks also own a 95-79-15 lifetime record against the Anaheim Ducks' affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 13-14-3-1 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 15-13-0-2 mark against non-divisional rivals. Home ice has not been very welcoming for the Amerks, who are just 12-17-1-3 within the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena. Most recently, however, the Amerks are 4-0-0-1 in their last five home games. Conversely, Rochester's road dominance is prevalent with a 16-10-2-0 mark. The Amerks are 11-8-0-2 this season against the AHL's four other New York State based teams, outscoring their fellow Empire State opponents 66-65. Rochester is 5-3 when ending in a shootout.

Milestone Watch: Veteran forward Mark Cullen reached the 400-point plateau on Friday night following his four-point (2+2) effort against Manitoba. Bill Thomas, currently on NHL recall with the Panthers, will officially reach the century mark with his next assist, while Jessiman, also on recall in Florida, is six points away from eclipsing the 200-point plateau.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (28-27-3-3, 62 points) enters the contest after earning a 3-2 shootout win over the Binghamton Senators last night at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. McArdle and Michael Duco potted regulation goals before McArdle scored the lone goal in the skills competition to lift the Amerks over the B-Sens. With the win, the Amerks got over the .500 mark for the first time since mid-November, in addition to climbing out of the basement of the American Hockey League's North Division. Rochester has now won two straight and has picked up points in eight of its last nine games, a stretch that includes just one regulation loss. Rochester, who currently ranks sixth in the divisional standings, is just six points out of third place and eight from first.

Special Teams Breakdown: Rochester currently has the sixth best power-play in the league (20.7 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 22nd out of the 30-team AHL with an 80.8 success rate. Rochester's power-play unit has proven to be more effective on the road as its 27.1 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: Despite presently being on NHL recall, Michal 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 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 181 shots on goal, the seventh most in the AHL.

Duco maintains the team lead with 16 goals, including a team-high nine on the power-play, placing him tied for 12th in the league in that category. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-best 147 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 16th in the league and third among AHL rookies who frequent the sin bin. Selleck is also fifth in the league with 23 major penalties. Triston Grant is right on his heels with 128 penalty minutes.

With three points (1+2) in his last two games, Clay Wilson is currently third on the team and second in scoring among AHL blueliners with 41 points (9+32). His 32 helpers are the second most among league defensemen. Fellow D-man Mike Kostka, who shows five points (1+4) in his last two appearances, remains at a close second in that category with 40 points (10+30), good enough for third among league rearguards. Kostka also has a team-best 18 assists on the power-play, 11th most in the AHL, while he is the only member among Rochester's active roster to appear in all 61 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 11 straight games between the pipes and boasts a 12-10-2 record with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in 26 games. More impressively, Plante is 7-1-0-1 in his last nine games. Despite missing the last 11 games, Markstrom still presently ranks 18th among AHL netminders in wins (16) and is fifth in the league with 1,051 saves.

Syracuse Notes: Syracuse (20-32-2-4, 46 points), kicking off a four-game road trip tonight, comes into the matchup after dropping two straight, with its most recent loss coming last night in a 3-2 setback to the North Division-leading Hamilton Bulldogs at the War Memorial at Oncenter. The Crunch, who are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 games, are currently at the bottom of the American Hockey League standings with just 46 points. The Syracuse offense has only scored 144 goals this season, the second lowest in the league.

Team and League Leaders: First-year forward Nicolas Deschamps currently paces the Syracuse offense with a team-high 33 points (12+21) through the first 58 games this season. Deschamps also ranks tied for 13th among AHL rookies in overall scoring. Fellow rookie forward Kyle Palmieri, who represented Team USA at the 2010 World Junior Championships, remains at a close second in that category with 31 points (14+17), in addition to seeing some NHL time with the Anaheim Ducks. Patrick Maroon leads the Crunch with 18 goals, including a team-high 10 on the power-play, the seventh most among league leaders. Josh Green leads the club with 22 assists. Crunch captain Joe Dipenta leads the team with a plus-eight on-ice rating.

Crunch goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur, the American Hockey League's Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 19, 2010, shows somewhat better numbers than his counterpart Timo Pielmeier despite owning fewer wins. A 23-year-old native of Victoriaville, Quebec, Levasseur is 8-18-3 with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage with two shutouts in 34 games for Syracuse this season. Pielmeier, however, is 10-15-1 with a 3.31 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in 28 games.

Next Game: The Amerks travel to Van Andel Arena on Friday, March 4th to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins in the first of back-to-back tilts to kickoff their March slate. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2011


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