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AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks Host Monsters At Blue Cross Arena

February 13, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


The Rochester Americans' quest for 2,000 wins continues tonight as the Lake Erie Monsters journey east to The Blue Cross Arena for a North Division showdown. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the second in as many weeks between the two teams and the seventh of eight encounters during the campaign. Fans can tune in for the live broadcast on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be shown live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

Promotions:

Fans can take advantage of the Amerks' Family Fun Pack, which includes four tickets for 200-End seating, four T-shirts, four hot dogs and four sodas for the low price of $52. It's also the Moose's Birthday! Come out and celebrate with all his Mascot friends. The first 2,000 fans will take home a new Amerks folder, courtesy of Wendy's.

Amerks to Join Elite Company : Rochester is just a mere two wins away from capturing its 2,000th win in the 54-year history of the franchise. The Amerks will become just the second team in the AHL and only the eighth team in North American hockey history to collect 2,000 wins. In addition to all the founding original six members of the NHL, the only other AHL team to accomplish the feat is the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. The 10-time league champs claimed their 2,000th win at the tail-end of the 1993-94 season.

Taylor Continues His Climb Up All-Time Lists:

Veteran forward Chris Taylor sits just five goals and two assists away from moving ahead of Ron Garwasiuk and Gerry Ehman for 13th and third on the all-time lists, respectively. Further, the 18-year pro is just two games away from hitting 1,200 professional games.

Home is Where the Wins Are... Not So Much the Road: With half of the season already in the books, home ice advantage has been beneficial for the Amerks. After earning their first regulation loss of the season at home, the Amerks are now 17-8-2-0 on home ice. Conversely, 13 of Rochester's 21 losses in regulation thus far this season have been away from the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena.

Head-to-Head : The contest is the seventh of eight scheduled meetings between the divisional rivals this season. The Amerks are 1-4-1-0 this season against the Monsters, with their lone win coming at home back on October 9th. Rochester is winless in the previous four get-togethers with Lake Erie. The Amerks are 7-9-1 lifetime against the Colorado Avalanche's affiliate.

Amerks Notes : Rochester (30-21-2-0, 62 points) enters the contest second in the North Division and 11th overall in the American Hockey League standings after falling short in a 3-2 decision to the Abbotsford Heat last night at The Blue Cross Arena.

The Amerks, who have won eight of their last 14, have allowed the second fewest number of goals in their division with 162. Additionally, their 166 goals for are also the second most in the division. Rochester is 12th in the AHL with an 18.3 power-play percentage and is 21st with an 80.9 penalty-killing percentage.

Seventh-year pro Jamie Johnson, who has 17 points (6+11) in his last 14 outings, continues to pace Rochester's offense in all offensive categories in goals (20), assists (32) and points (52). He became the first Amerk this season to reach the 20-goal plateau last night against the Heat. Averaging just under a point per game, Johnson is tied for sixth in the AHL in overall point production after collecting 48 points (20+28) in his last 42 appearances. Further, his 20 goals and 32 assists rank him 11th and 10th in each category among the AHL's top scorers, respectively.

Veteran defenseman Clay Wilson, who shows 10 points in his last 13 games, has a team-best 17 assists on the power-play this season, good enough for fourth in the AHL in that category. Wilson continues to be Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 37 points (9+28) and remains third in scoring among league blueliners.Amerks tough-guy Jimmy Bonneau is first on the team and eighth in the league with a team-high 143 penalty minutes.

Rookie goaltender Alexander Salak, who has started three straight 12 of the last 14 games for Rochester, boasts a 23-10-0 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and.918 save percentage in 35 games. His save percentage is currently 14th among league netminders, respectively, while his 23 wins are second best.

Lake Erie Notes:

Lake Erie (26-24-0-4, 56 points), kicking off a three-game road trip tonight, comes into the matchup the winners of the three straight and four of its last five after earning a 5-4 shootout win over the Hamilton Bulldogs last night at Quicken Loans Arena. Lake Erie captain Brian Willsie led the way with a three-point night (2+1) as fifth-year netminder Tyler Weiman made 34 saves to garner his 20th win of the season.

With former two-time Calder Cup winner Darren Haydar currently on recall to the parent Colorado Avalanche, the Monsters return to the Flower City fueled by 2010 AHL All-Star forward T.J. Hensick. The third-year pro pilots Lake Erie's offense with a team-high 30 assists and 44 points, good enough for 12th and 20th in the AHL, respectively. Hensick is also 11th in the league with 15 power-play assists. Willsie leads the Monsters with 16 goals, seven of which have come on the power-play, the most among Lake Erie's active roster. Second-year winger Patrick Bordeleau paces the Monsters with a team-high 85 penalty minutes, averaging roughly 1.98 minutes per game. Weiman has seen the majority of time between the pipes this season for the Monsters, posting a 20-14-3 record with a 2.49 goals-against average (16th in the AHL) and.912 save percentage (20th in the AHL) in 37 appearances. Further, his 20 wins are seventh best among league goaltenders.

Lake Erie goaltender Billy Sauer and defenseman Kevin Montgomery have traces back to Rochester. The pair of Rochester natives each started their careers in the Rochester Youth Hockey program. Sauer, a former McQuaid Jesuit netminder, tended goal for the University of Michigan the past four seasons. Selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the seventh round (201st overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Sauer posted his best season for the Wolverines in 2007-08, boasting a 1.95 goals-against average and.924 save percentage. Sauer made his AHL debut with the Monsters this season, compiling a 4-5-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average along with a.906 save percentage in 10 games.

A former member of the U.S. National U-18 Team, Montgomery has registered one goal and two assists for three points and 20 penalty minutes in 39 games with Lake Erie this season. He has 49 games of professional experience under his belt, all with the Monsters.

Next Game:

The Amerks hit the road again on Sunday, February 14th as they travel to Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena to exchange pleasantries with the Binghamton Senators for the second time in a week. The 5:05 p.m. Valentine's Day contest will be the seventh of 10 gatherings between the interstate rivals this season and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Rochester improved to 5-1-0-0 this season against the B-Sens after earning a 5-4 win Saturday night. Rochester is 27-28-5 all-time against the Baby Senators.

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