AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks Host Devils Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

Published on December 4, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans continue their four-game homestand as the Albany Devils journey west to The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:35 p.m. matchup will be the third of four scheduled meetings this season between the intrastate rivals and can be heard live 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.

Head-to-Head: The game is the second in as many weeks between the two teams. Rochester and Albany currently split the season series after the Amerks dropped a 4-0 decision to the Baby Devils in the last get-together back on November 20th at The Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks are also 1-1-0 all-time against the New Jersey Devils' affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 2-7-1-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 9-6-0-0 mark against non-divisional rivals. The Amerks have played 11 of their first 20 games on the road, but they will now play eight of their next 10 contests at home, where they show a 3-8-0-0 record. The Amerks are 6-1-0-0 this season against the AHL's four other New York State based teams, outscoring their fellow Empire State opponents 33-26. Rochester's last four games have been decided by one-goal margins, with both wins during that stretch coming over Syracuse.

Taylor On The Move Again: A week after surpassing Barry Merrell and Jim Pappin for 11th on the franchise's all-time goals list, veteran forward Chris Taylor also captured another milestone in his nine-year career with the Amerks. With his first of two assists last Saturday night at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the 19-year pro moved ahead of Stan Smrke for fifth all-time on Rochester's point list. He will also pass Gerry Ehman for eighth on the club's all-time games played list in his next three appearances.

Milestone Watch: Defenseman Clay Wilson is just two games shy of his 100 th game in an Amerk uniform, while fellow blueliner Joe Callahan needs just four more points to hit the century mark in his professional career. Second-year forward Evgeny Dadonov skated in his 200th professional game last night against Syracuse.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (10-12-1-0, 21 points) enters the contest coming off a 6-5 win last night over the Syracuse Crunch to snap a two-game skid. Scott Timmins posted his first multi-point game of his young career with a three-point effort (2+1) and four others also picked multiple point nights as the Amerks notched their 10th win of the season. Rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 36 stops en route to his eighth win. Despite the win, however, Rochester still remains in the basement of the American Hockey League's North Division, three points from the sixth-place Grand Rapids Griffins and 11 from the division-leading Hamilton Bulldogs. The Amerks have scored the most goals among any other divisional opponent with 74 and are third in the North with 428 penalty minutes. Rochester currently has the second best power-play in the league (22.2 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28th out of the 30-team AHL with a 77.5 success rate. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed a league-high eight shorthanded goals against, four coming at home and four on the road.

Team and League Leaders: Fresh off his three-assist outing against the Crunch, third-year forward Michal Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 21 assists and 25 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently ranks tied for the AHL lead in assists, while being tied for sixth overall among the league's top scorers. Repik also has a team-best eight assists on the power-play, good enough for eighth in the league. Dadonov potted his team-leading eighth goal last night against Syracuse and is one of just five Amerks to appear in all 23 games for Rochester. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-high 73 penalty minutes, while he also ranks eighth in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category.

Wilson is presently tied for eighth overall in scoring among league blueliners with 15 points (5+10) and fellow defenseman Mike Kostka remains at a close second with 14 points (3+11), good enough for 12th among AHL rearguards. The pair also has seven helpers on the power-play, which ties them for 15th in the AHL. Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far. Markstrom, who has started four straight and 10 of the last 13 games for the Amerks, boasts an 8-10-0 record with a 3.74 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage in 18 appearances. His seven wins tie him for 10th among AHL netminders, while he has the second most saves with 492.

Who's Hot: Since netting a pair of power-play tallies and assisting another against Syracuse on November 21st, Dadonov has collected six points (3+3) since in just a four-game span. First-year forward AJ Jenks has four points (2+2) in his last three games, including a pair of multi-point nights. Taylor has four assists in his last two games, having collected a pair of helpers in back-to-back outings. Selleck scored his first professional goal last night against the Crunch and Wilson saw his three-game point streak (1+4) come to an end against his former team.

Albany Notes: Albany (9-13-0-0, 18 points) comes into the matchup after dropping a 3-2 decision to the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears last night on home ice. With the loss, Albany has now dropped two straight and four of its last five to fall to sixth in the East Division. The Devils are just 3-7-0-0 in their last 10, with wins coming over Syracuse, Rochester and Binghamton during the stretch, respectively. As a team, Albany leads the East with 509 penalty minutes. The Devils also own the worst power-play in the league (11.3 percentage), while their penalty kill ranks 29th with a 73.0 success rate.

Team and League Leaders: Fourth-year pro Matt Anderson paces the Devils with a team-high eight goals and 13 points, in addition to a team-best plus-five on-ice rating through just 18 games this season. Forward Tyler Eckford leads the team with eight assists, while Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond and Louis Robitaille are first and second on the team with 78 and 66 penalty minutes, respectively. The pair also ranks sixth and 15th among the AHL's penalty minute leaders, each averaging more than four minutes a game in penalties. With Mike McKenna currently on recall with the New Jersey Devils, fourth-year netminder Jeff Frazee has earned just about 800 minutes of playing time for Albany. In 14 games this season, the former AHL All-Star has posted a 6-7-0 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage.

Next Game: Rochester remains home on Wednesday, December 8th as former Amerk bench boss Randy Cunneyworth and the Hamilton Bulldogs return to The Blue Cross Arena for the first of back-to-back tilts between the North Division rivals. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the fourth of 10 scheduled meetings between the two teams this season and will be broadcast live 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.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 4, 2010


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