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AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks, Marlies Open Home-And-Home Series Tonight at BCA

December 17, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans and Toronto Marlies kickoff a two-game set at The Blue Cross Arena with the first leg of a home-and-home series between the two teams. The 7:35 p.m. North Division showdown will be the third of eight scheduled meetings for the longtime rivals this season and will be broadcast live 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: The first 5,000 fans through the doors this evening will take home an Amerks winter hat. The matchup also falls on the next installment of the "Dollar Dogs 'N' Drinks" promotion, presented by Molson Coors. Tonight, 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 just the second meeting in Western New York between the divisional foes this season. The Amerks and Marlies currently split the season series with a 1-1-0-0 record, having each earned road wins in the previous two get-togethers. The Amerks opened the 2010-11 season with a 4-2 win over Toronto on October 9th, only to fall to the Marlies 3-2 on home ice last month. Rochester is 20-22-2 all-time against the Toronto Maple Leafs' affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 3-8-2-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 9-6-0-1 mark against non-divisional rivals. The Amerks will play three of their next four contests at home, where they show a 4-10-1-1 record. Nine of Rochester's last 10 games have been decided by one-goal margins, including back-to-back games with Binghamton where it's been tested in a shootout.

Milestone Watch: Defenseman Joe Callahan is just a mere two points shy of hitting the century mark in his professional career. Newcomer Bates Battaglia will skate in his 900th professional game Saturday afternoon in Toronto since lacing up the skates for the first time this season over a week ago.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor passed Gerry Ehman for eighth on the franchise's all-time games played list last Saturday night in Binghamton as he suited up for his 466th game in the red, white and blue. Prior to capturing that career benchmark, the 19-year pro surpassed Stan Smrke for fifth on the all-time points list. Coming into tonight, he sits just two goals away from eclipsing Amerks Hall of Famer Scott Metcalfe for 10th on the all-time goals list.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (12-14-2-1, 27 points) enters the contest after being held scoreless in a 1-0 loss to the Abbotsford Heat Tuesday night at The Blue Cross Arena. The loss also marked the third time this season in 11 games the Amerks have been shutout on home ice as they now have lost two straight and three of the last four. The Amerks kickoff a three-game in three-night stretch tonight and have collected points in five of their last seven games, despite seeing their four-game point streak halted Tuesday night. Rochester remains in the basement of the American Hockey League's North Division, three points from the sixth-place Manitoba Moose and nine from division-leading Hamilton. The Amerks have scored the most goals among any other divisional opponent with 89 and are fifth in the North with 480 penalty minutes. Rochester currently has the fourth best power-play in the league (21.0 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28th out of the 30-team AHL with a 76.9 success rate. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed a league-high nine shorthanded goals against, four coming at home and five on the road.

Team and League Leaders: Third-year forward Michal Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 26 assists and 30 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently leads the AHL in assists, while being tied for sixth overall among the league's top scorers. Repik also has a team-best 10 assists on the power-play, good enough for seventh in the league. The Vlasim, Czech Republic, native has not gone more than two straight games without a point all season. In just five games back from injury, Michael Duco has taken over the team lead in goals with nine after posting three straight games with single tallies from December 8th to December 11th. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-high 78 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 14th in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category. Selleck is also leads the league with 12 major penalties.

Veteran defenseman Clay Wilson is presently tied for sixth in overall scoring among league blueliners with 19 points (6+13), good enough for second overall on the team. Fellow blueliner Mike Kostka remains at a close second with 18 points (5+13), tying him for 10th among AHL rearguards. First-year netminder Jacob Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far, boasting a 9-12-0 record with a 3.44 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage in 21 appearances. His nine wins tie him for 12th among AHL netminders, while he has the fourth most saves with 584. Tyler Plante, who has started three of the last five games for Rochester, shows a 3-4-1 record with a 3.34 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in eight games of service.

Who's Hot: Tuesday's loss to Abbotsford saw Duco's (3+1) and Taylor's (1+4) four-game point streaks come to an end, in addition to Wilson's (1+3) three-game string being erased. Duco potted goals in three consecutive games since his return to lineup against Hamilton on December 8th. Taylor still has nine points (1+8) in his last eight games despite witnessing his scoring streak unfold. Repik also has eight assists in seven games since returning from the National Hockey League. Kostka has registered four points (2+2) in his last three appearances.

Toronto Notes: Toronto (15-11-0-3, 33 points) comes into the matchup just 1-3-0-0 in its last four games after a suffering a 5-1 setback to the Hamilton Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum last Sunday. The Marlies' lone win in that stretch came in the form of a 7-4 rout over the Lake Erie Monsters the night before. Despite their recent skid, however, the Marlies are coming off a season-long five-game winning streak from November 24th to December 4th, which included a 3-2 win over Rochester in the previous matchup. The Marlies, who have collected points in six of their last nine games, are currently third in the AHL's North Division, just three points out of a first-place tie with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Abbotsford Heat.

Team and League Leaders: Second-year pro Justin Hodgman presently leads Toronto with a team-high 18 points (7+11) through 25 games this season with the Marlies. Forward Joey Crabb, a former Calder Cup winner with the Chicago Wolves, has a team-best 11 goals on the season and is just one of four Marlies to appear in all 29 games thus far. Veteran defenseman Matt Lashoff leads all Toronto defenseman in scoring with 15 points (3+12), good enough for second overall, while his 12 helpers are most on the team. He also leads the Marlies with 63 penalty minutes. Defenseman Mike Brennan is first on the team and among the AHL leaders with a plus-10 on-ice rating.

Rookie goaltender Jussi Rynnas is off to a solid start to his professional career and is already among the elite at his position through 17 appearances this season. Coming into tonight's contest, the first-year netminder shows a 6-8-2 record with one shutout and 469 saves. Despite having just six wins to his name, the Pori, Finland, native currently ranks 16th and 11th among AHL goaltenders with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage, respectively. His counterpart, James Reimer, boasts similar numbers with a 7-3-1 record to go along with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage

Next Game: The same two teams meet again on Saturday, December 18th with the second of back-to-back tilts over the border at Ricoh Coliseum. The 3:00 p.m. matinee will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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