AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks, Monsters Meet Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

Published on January 14, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans return home after a 12-day hiatus as the Lake Erie Monsters make their first appearance of the season at The Blue Cross Arena. The Friday night matchup is slated for a 7:35 p.m. start in downtown Rochester. The matchup will be the third of eight meetings this season between the North Division rivals 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.

Promotions: The matchup falls on the next installment of the "Dollar Dogs 'N' Drinks" promotion, presented by Molson Coors. Friday night, 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. The third of six Amerks Legends Series Nights is also on tap for tonight, courtesy of the Seneca Gaming Corporation. "Mr. Amerk" Jody Gage will be signing autographs from approximately 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the upper atrium.

Head-to-Head: The contest is just the third of eight scheduled get-togethers between the two teams this season. The Amerks are 1-1-0-0 this season following their 4-3 win over the Monsters in the previous meeting between the two teams on January 4th. Rochester is also 10-10-1 all-time against the Colorado Avalanche's affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 7-9-2-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 10-9-0-2 mark against non-divisional rivals. Home ice has not been very welcoming for the Amerks, who are just 6-12-1-2 within the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena. Conversely, Rochester's road dominance is prevalent with an 11-6-1-0 mark.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor needs just one more goal to eclipse former fan-favorite Scott Metcalfe for 10th on the all-time goals list. Already on his list of achievements this season includes moving ahead of Stan Smrke for fifth on the all-time points list, appearing in more games than Bronco Horvath and scoring more career goals than Jim Pappin and Barry Merrell.

All-Star Bound: The American Hockey League announced Tuesday that Rochester Americans defenseman Clay Wilson and forward Michal Repik have been named to the Western Conference All-Star team for the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, which will be held January 30th-31st at the Giant Center in Hershey as a tribute to the league's 75thanniversary season. The league also announced that Amerks athletic trainer Kent Weisbeck will serve in the same capacity for the Western Conference All-Star team.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (17-18-2-2, 38 points) enters the contest after coming up short in a 2-1 setback to the Binghamton Senators last Saturday night at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The loss boomeranged the Amerks from their fourth place standing in the North Division back to the bottom, despite a rather successful last few weeks in which the team posted a 5-4-0-1 record in their last 10 games. Rochester has scored the third most goals among any other divisional opponent with 115 and is fourth in the North with 686 penalty minutes. Rochester currently has the eighth best power-play in the league (20.3 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28thout of the 30-team AHL with a 77.5 success rate. As a team, the Amerks have also allowed the second most shorthanded goals against with nine, 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 28 assists and 35 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik is currently fifth in the AHL in assists, while also being tied for 14th overall among the league's top scorers. The Vlasim, Czech Republic, native is coming off three consecutive games without a point, the longest of such a streak this season.

Following his return from injury a month ago, Michael Duco has taken over the team lead in goals with 12, despite being held scoreless the last four games. Seven of Duco's goals have come on the man-advantage, ranking him first on the team and seventh in the league. Rookie left wing Eric Selleck has a team-high 104 penalty minutes, while he also ranks 15th in the league and third among AHL rookies in that category. Selleck is also tied for fifth in the league with 16 major penalties.

Defensemen Clay Wilson is currently second overall on the team with 27 points (7+20) and fourth among American Hockey League defensemen in overall scoring. Further, his 13 power-play assists are also a team best. Fellow blueliner Mike Kostka remains at a close second with 25 points (5+20), good enough for third on the team and ninth among AHL rearguards.

First-year goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who has started three straight and six of the last eight games for the Amerks, boasts a 12-15-1 record with one shutout, a 3.15 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage in 28 appearances. His 12 wins rank him 17th among AHL netminders, while he has the third most saves with 797. Tyler Plante, the second half of the dynamic duo, shows a 5-5-1 record with a 3.32 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in 11 games of service.

Who's Hot: Wilson enters the weekend presently in the midst of a five-game point streak (1+5). Taylor shows six points (1+5) in his last eight games, a stretch that included three straight games with an assist, and Kostka has five helpers in his last eight appearances. Scott Timmins saw his three-game point streak (2+1) halted Saturday in Binghamton, but has still collected points in six of his last eight outings.

Lake Erie Notes: Lake Erie (16-19-3-4, 39 points), kicking off a three-game road trip tonight, comes into the matchup after dropping its second straight contest following a 3-2 decision to the Hamilton Bulldogs Wednesday night at Copps Coliseum. Cameron Gaunce and Ben Walter provided the Monsters with their pair of goals while Jason Bacashihua turned away 21 saves as the Monsters fell for the fourth time in the last five games. Lake Erie remains just one point ahead of Rochester in the North Division standings.

Team and League Leaders: The Monsters come to the Flower City fueled by veteran forward Ben Walter, who paces the Lake Erie offense with a team-high 18 assists and 29 points. Second-year centerman Ryan Stoa, a 2011 AHL All-Star, leads the Monsters with 14 goals this season, including five on the power-play which are also a team best. First-year forward Mark Olver is off to a banner start to his professional career, scoring 21 points (11+10) in just 37 games this season. He presently ranks 14th in point production among AHL rookies. Fellow rookie Mike Carman has potted five of his seven goals while the team was shorthanded, currently tops in the league in that category. Veteran netminder Jason Bacashihua, back for his second stint with the Monsters, has seen the majority of time in net, sporting a 9-12-2 record with two shutouts and a .254 goals-against average and a. .904 save percentage. His GAA is currently 16th among league goaltenders.

Bit of a Homecoming: Lake Erie defenseman Kevin Montgomery "returns home" this evening, although the 22-year-old will be dressing in the visiting team's locker room. Montgomery, who grew up in Gates and started his career in the Rochester Youth Hockey program, is currently in his second full season with the Monsters and leads all team defensemen in scoring with 16 points (1+15) in 34 games. The blueliner has already more than doubled his offensive output from a year ago in half as many games. A former member of the U.S. National U-18 Team, Montgomery has registered 24 points (2+22) in 109 career games, all with the Monsters. This season, he also earned his first promotion to the National Hockey League, though not seeing any action with the Avalanche.

Next Game: After hosting the first four meetings between the two teams this season, Rochester makes its first visit to Central New York on Saturday, January 15th where a 7:30 p.m. gathering with the Syracuse Crunch awaits at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Fans can tune into all the live action on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2011


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