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AHL Rochester Americans

Game Night: Thruway Rivals Clash Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

December 3, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans open their home December slate with the first of a four-game homestand as former Amerk Nathan Paetsch and the Syracuse Crunch return to The Blue Cross Arena for the second time in as many weeks. The 7:35 p.m. contest will be the second of 10 scheduled meetings this season between the longtime 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. 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. For the kids in attendance, Dora the Explorer will make a special guest appearance, courtesy of Time Warner Cable. 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. Lastly, the game is the first of four "Toys for Tots" nights throughout the month of December. Fans who bring in a new, unwrapped toy will receive $4.00 off any purchased ticket at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office, with the exception of the 200 Upper End and 200 Balcony seating.

Head-to-Head: The game is just the second of 10 between the two teams this season. The Amerks strung together three straight power-play goals in a 52-second span to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 win in the previous get-together with the Crunch on November 21st. Rochester is 1-0-0-0 this season and 92-76-15 all-time against the Anaheim Ducks' affiliate.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 2-7-1-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows an 8-6-0-0 mark against non-divisional rivals. The Amerks have played 11 of their first 20 games on the road, but they will now play seven of their next eight contests at home, where they show a 2-8-0-0 record. The Amerks are 5-1-0-0 this season against the AHL's four other New York State based teams, outscoring their fellow Empire State opponents 27-21. Thirty-seven different players have suited up rookie Head Coach Chuck Weber, including half a dozen call-ups from ECHL clubs. At this time last season, Rochester showed an AHL-best 18-3-1-0 record (first in the North), including tying a franchise record 11-game win streak. This season, however, the Amerks are 9-12-1-0 (last in the North) through the first 22 games of the season.

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.

Milestone Watch: Defenseman Clay Wilson is just three games shy of his 100th 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 will skate in his 200th pro game tonight.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (9-12-1-0, 19 points) enters the contest presently on a two-game skid after coming up empty-handed following a pair of losses to Toronto and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this past weekend. Rochester has now lost six of its last seven to fall to the basement of the American Hockey League's North Division, three points from the sixth-place Grand Rapids Griffins and 13 from the division-leading Hamilton Bulldogs. The Amerks have scored the most goals among any other divisional opponent with 68 and are third in the North with 424 penalty minutes. Rochester currently has the third best power-play in the league (22.4 percentage), but its penalty kill ranks 28th out of the 30-team AHL with a 77.0 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: Third-year forward Michal Repik, who returned to the Amerks earlier today after his latest stint with the Florida Panthers, 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 tied for third in the league in assists, while being tied for 16th 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. Kenndal McArdle, Bill Thomas and Dadonov share the team lead with seven goals apiece, though McArdle and Thomas are both currently on NHL recall with Florida. With forward Triston Grant sidelined with an injury, rookie left wing Eric Selleck is among the league leaders in penalty minutes. His 73 penalty minutes are currently a team-best, while he also ranks sixth in the league and second among AHL rookies in that category.

Wilson is presently tied for seventh overall in scoring among league blueliners with 15 points (5+10) and Mike Kostka remains at a close second with 14 points (3+11), good enough for 11th among AHL rearguards. The special teams extraordinaire has accounted for seven of his 11 helpers on the power-play, which ties him for 15th in the AHL. Rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far. Markstrom, who has started three straight and nine of the last 12 games for the Amerks, boasts a 7-10-0 record with a 3.67 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage in 17 appearances. His seven wins tie him for 15thamong AHL netminders, while he has the fourth most saves with 456.

Syracuse Notes: Syracuse (7-10-1-3, 18 points), kicking off a four-game road swing tonight, comes into the matchup after recently snapping its season-long seven-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Hamilton last Sunday on home ice. The Crunch scored all three of their goals on the power-play as rookie netminder Timo Pielmeier backstopped his team with a season-high 43-save effort. Syracuse, currently holding the seventh place spot in the East Division standings, is in its first season as the primary affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.

Bolstered Lineup: The Crunch come with a reinforced lineup this evening with the additions of forwards Joffrey Lupul, Patrick Maroon, David Laliberte and Matt Kennedy, in addition to defenseman Nigel Williams - all of whom were acquired over the last few weeks. Lupul, a veteran of 395 NHL games, already has one goal in first two games with Syracuse since joining the Crunch on a conditioning assignment after Thanksgiving. Maroon and Laliberte, who were acquired in a trade from Philadelphia on November 22nd, were Adirondack's top two performers before being dealt to Anaheim. Kennedy, a rookie forward, had one assist in eight games with the Charlotte Checkers, and Williams, a former defenseman with the Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale, also recorded one assist prior to being moved to Syracuse.

Team and League Leaders: Rookie forwards Kyle Palmieri (8+4) and Nicolas Deschamps (7+5) pace the Syracuse offense each with a team-high 12 points, though Palmieri has played in just 14 games. The Smithtown, New York, native also has a team-best eight goals on the season and has seen time in 10 NHL contests with the Ducks. Forward Trevor Smith is first on the team with 10 assists, while Crunch captain Joe Dipenta has a plus-five-on-ice rating. Tough-guy forward Jon Mirasty is back for his fifth season with the Crunch and has picked up right where he left a year ago. Coming off a personal-best 269 penalty minutes in 2009-10, Mirasty presently leads the team and ranks among the top 10 in the AHL with 67 penalty minutes, averaging 5.15 minutes per game. Despite Pielmeier seeing more time in net, his counterpart, Jean-Philippe Levasseur, shows better numbers. In just 10 games this season, Levasseur is 2-4-2 with one shutout and 293 saves. He currently possesses a 2.72 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.

Next Game: The Amerks remain at home on Saturday, December 4th as they exchange pleasantries with the Albany Devils for the third time this season. Game time is slated for 7:35 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena. The game will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Fans can also tune into the live telecast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26. Rochester and Albany currently split the season series after the Amerks dropped a 4-0 decision to the Baby Devils in the last meeting between the two teams.

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