AHL Rochester Americans

Penguins Rally Past Amerks To Stay Perfect

Published on November 5, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)...The Rochester Americans' three-game win streak came to an end tonight at The Blue Cross Arena following a 5-4 decision to the still undefeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Amerks were unable to break the perfect 9-0-0-0 season record of the Pens, matching a franchise record for the Pennsylvania club. However, Rochester recorded a season-high crowd of 5,852.

Leading the Amerks tonight were Michael Duco (1+1), Bill Thomas (1+1), and Michal Repik (0+2), with a two goals and four assists between the trio. Netminder Tyler Plante made 21 saves on 26 shots in the losing effort.

The stars of the Penguins were Dustin Jeffrey (1+1) and Tim Wallace (1+1), each scoring one and assisting another. Goaltender Brad Thiessen made 23 saves on 27 shots to set the nine game winning streak for his team in stone.

Winger Ryan Del Monte (1+0) scored his first goal as an Amerk early in the first period at 5:37. Evgeny Dadonov (0+1) faced a two-on-one matchup in front of the net when the puck was deflected. Del Monte then picked up the puck in front of the net and slid it past Thiessen.

Rochester then put two more goals passed Thiessen three minutes later to build a three-goal cushion. The first was at 8:06 of the period when Duco scored his team-high fifth goal of the season. After taking the initial shot with help from Repik and Colby Robak (0+1) for the Amerks, Duco grabbed his own rebound and put the puck between the legs of Thiessen on the power-play. A little over a minute later, Rochester put another power-play goal on the board to take a commanding 3-0 lead at 9:18 as former Penguin Thomas lifted a nifty back-hander past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder with his fourth goal of the season. Repik received a helper on the play, picking up his second assist, as well as Duco, who grabbed his second point.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton didn't stay silent for long though, and put two goals on the board to crawl back within one. Rochester native Chris Collins (1+0) was credited with the goal at 15:30 of the first for the Penguins, while Joe Vitale (0+1) and Eric Tangradi (0+1) received their first points of the game. Collins brought the puck around the left-wing looking to pass, but it deflected off the stick of Amerks defenseman Mike Kostka and tricked through the legs of Plante.

The Penguins then added their first power-play blast at 16:40. Brett Sterling (1+0) scored his second goal of the season, with help from Wallace and Andrew Hutchinson (0+1).

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was the first to strike in the second at 7:56, as Chris Conner (1+0) scored the Penguins' third unanswered goal of the contest, marking his third of the season.

The Penguins took the lead for the first time in the game early in the third when Jeffrey scored his third of the season. As Plante attempted to clear the puck from the Amerks zone, Jeffrey intercepted it and immediately fired it back top shelf at 4:16.

With just minutes remaining in the game, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton extended their lead by two with their fifth straight tally. Wallace beat Plante at 16:52, with Jeffrey and Strait picking up the assists. However, Rochester was finally able to power right back less than a minute later at 17:19 when Scott Timmins brought the contest back within one with his first professional goal. The Amerks, unfortunately, were not able to force an overtime period in the seconds that remained, resulting in a final 5-4 decision for the Penguins.

In between hosting the Penguins, Rochester will travel to the State Capital of New York on Saturday, November 6th to take on the newly formed Albany Devils at the Times Union Center. The 7:00 p.m. matchup will mark the first-ever meeting with the Devils since the team's relocation from Lowell prior to the start of the season. Fans can tune into the live broadcast on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2010


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