AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks Take on Marlies Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

Published on November 26, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans conclude their first of back-to-back season-long four-game homestands as the Toronto Marlies make their way over the border for the first time this season. The 7:35 p.m. Black Friday contest will be the second of eight scheduled meetings between the North Division rivals this season and will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will be also 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. 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. The first 5,000 fans will also take home an Amerks Nation rally towel. 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 game is just the second of eight get-togethers this season between the two clubs. The Amerks earned a 4-2 win over the Marlies in the previous encounter between the two clubs on opening day. Rochester is 1-0-0-0 this season and 20-21-1 all-time against the Toronto Maple Leafs' affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 2-6-1-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 7-4-0-0 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 2-7-0-0 record. Thirty-five different players have suited up rookie Head Coach Chuck Weber, including half a dozen call-ups from ECHL clubs.

Taylor On The Move Again: Coming off a four-point (1+3) outing against Syracuse last Sunday, veteran forward Chris Taylor continued his ascent up the Amerks all-time lists. Taylor's first point of the night came with his 135th goal as an Amerk, thus surpassing Barry Merrell and Jim Pappinfor 11 th on the franchise's all-time goals list. Late in the third period, he was part of Rochester's power-play unit that scored three goals in 52 seconds to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 win. Taylor assisted on all three tallies, with his first assist being the 300th of his career in the red, white and blue. He now stands one point shy for fifth on Rochester's all-time points list, currently occupied by Stan Smrke.

Welcome Aboard: Making their Amerk debuts tonight will be forwards Kyle Rank and David Marshall after the pair signed a standard player contract and professional tryout agreement with the club earlier this week, respectively. Rank, 28, attended the Toronto Marlies training camp prior to the start of the 2010-11 campaign, but has yet to see any action this season. Last season with the Portland Pirates, the 6-foot-0, 200-pound forward appeared in all but one game, scoring nine goals and 11 assists, while setting career-highs in games played (79) and penalty minutes (62). Marshall, 25, earns his second promotion to the AHL after collecting 11 points (7+4) in 16 games with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers to start the season. At the time of his recall, Marshall scored a team-high seven goals and was second on the team in overall scoring. Marshall brings 24 games of AHL experience with him to Rochester, having spent time with the Lake Erie Monsters the past two seasons. In his pro career, Marshall has tallied 53 points (34+19) in 95 games.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (9-10-1-0, 19 points) enters the contest tied for last in the AHL's North Division with Grand Rapids, but remain just four points out of third place. The Amerks dropped back-to-back games last weekend at home against Hamilton and Albany, respectively, before claiming a 5-4 stunning win over the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday to snap a four-game skid and pick up just their second win at home. The Amerks have scored the most goals among any other divisional opponent with 63 and is one of three teams in the North with 400 or more penalty minutes.

Team and League Leaders: Despite presently being on recall with the parent Florida Panthers, third-year forward Michal Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 18 assists and 22 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently ranks second in the league in assists, while being seventh overall among the league's top scorers. Repik also has a team-best eight assists on the power-play, good enough for third in the league. Forwards Bill Thomas and Evgeny Dadonov pace the Amerk offense each with a team-high seven goals and sit second and third in Rochester's leading points table, respectively. With forward Triston Grant sidelined with an injury, rookie left wing Eric Selleck is among the league leaders in penalty minutes. His 66 penalty minutes are currently a team-best, while he also ranks sixth in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category.

Mike Kostka (2+11) leads all Rochester defensemen in scoring and is also tied for 10th among league blueliners following his three-point (1+2) performance last week against Syracuse. The special teams extraordinaire has accounted for seven of his 11 helpers on the power-play, which ties him for ninth in the AHL.

Rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far. Markstrom, who has started seven of the last 10 games for the Amerks, boasts a 7-8-0 record with a 3.68 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage. His seven wins tie him for ninth among AHL netminders, while he has the second most saves with 404.

Toronto Notes: Toronto (10-8-0-3, 23 points) comes into the matchup after earning a 3-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins Wednesday night at Ricoh Coliseum. Three different goal scorers game the Marlies a 3-0 lead as goaltender Jussi Rynnas backstopped the win with a 26-save effort. The two teams combined for 228 penalty minutes in the contest. The Marlies, who have collected points in eight of their last 10 games, are currently tied for third in the AHL's North Division, five points behind the first-place Hamilton Bulldogs.

Team and League Leaders: Second-year pro Justin Hodgman presently leads Toronto with a team-high 14 points (6+8) through just 17 games this season with the Marlies. Forward Joey Crabb, a former Calder Cup winner with the Chicago Wolves, has eight goals on the season and is just one of four Marlies to appear in all 21 games thus far. Veteran defenseman Matt Lashoff leads all Toronto defenseman in scoring with 12 points (2+10), good enough for fifth overall, while his 10 helpers are most on the team. Mike Brennan is first on the team and tied for sixth in the AHL with a plus-10 on-ice rating and Jay Rosehill has a team-high 53 penalty minutes.

Rynnas is off to a standout year for the Marlies and is already among the elite at his position through just 12 appearances this season. Coming into tonight's contest, the first-year netminder shows a 4-5-2 record with one shutout and 335 saves. Despite having just four wins to his name, the Pori, Finland, native currently ranks fourth and third among AHL goaltenders with a 1.79 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage, respectively.

Next Game: The Amerks hit the road on Saturday, November 27th as they battle the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m. Fans can tune into the live broadcast on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will mark the third get-together in as many weeks for the non-divisional foes. Rochester has gone winless in the first two meetings, despite owning 12-10-6 lifetime record against the Baby Penguins.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 26, 2010


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