Rochester Americans Game Preview: Friday, January 31, 2020 vs. Syracuse Crunch
January 31, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
- The Rochester Americans (24-13-2-4) return from the annual All-Star break tonight in search of their fourth straight win as they host the Syracuse Crunch (20-19-3-3) in the second of a home-and-home series at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV. The matchup will also be televised locally on MSG Network.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Amerks scored once during each period before holding off the Crunch for a nail-biting 3-2 victory this past Saturday night at Upstate Medical University Arena in Syracuse.
- The contest was the fifth meeting between the two clubs this season and all five have been one-goal outcomes.
- The win gave Rochester three in a row heading into the break and kept them within four points of first place in the AHL's North Division standings while holding two games in hand against the top-seeded Belleville Senators.
- Forward Eric Cornel bagged his eighth of the season late in the first period while Andrew Oglevie and Jean-Sebastien Dea each scored their 13th goals of the slate during the second and third stanzas, respectively. With his goal, Dea (13+17) became the first Amerk skater this season to reach the 30-point mark. Goaltender Andrew Hammond entered the game winless in his last eight appearances but made a season-high 35 saves to improve to 11-9-2. The victory was also the 100th of his professional career.
ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER
- The Amerks make their way to the southern tier on Saturday, Feb. 1 for a North Division showdown against the Binghamton Devils at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena at 7:00 p.m. The matchup will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.
GOALTENDERS ON THE MOVE
- The Buffalo Sabres recalled goaltender Jonas Johansson from the Amerks Wednesday. In a corresponding move, Rochester brought up fellow goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones. Johansson earns his first-career recall to Buffalo after posting a 13-3-3 record in 20 games this season for the Amerks. The 24-year-old netminder currently ranks third among all AHL goaltenders with a 2.19 goals-against average and is fourth in the league with a .925 save percentage while also being tied for 15th with 13 wins. Luukkonen returns to Rochester on his third recall of the season. In two games with the Amerks, he shows an 0-1-1 record with a 3.38 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage.
TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS
- Jean-Sebastien Dea became the first Amerk this season to reach the 30-point plateau in 41 games this season and remains tied with Andrew Oglevie for the team lead in goals (13). Coming into weekend, Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 84 shots on goal, has 12 points (3+9) in his last 16 games dating back to Dec. 20.
SHARING THE CREASE
- Anchored by the goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, the Amerks own one of the top defenses in AHL, having allowed only 114 goals through the first 43 games of the season, the third-fewest in the AHL coming into this weekend. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and continue to rank among the AHL's goaltending leaders with 11 and 13 wins on the season, respectively.
- Hammond (11-9-2) ranks second among all netminders after notching his fourth shutout of the season back on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. With four shutouts through 24 games this season, he's on pace to tie the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.
- Johansson, whose first NHL recall came just days after representing Rochester at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic this past weekend in Ontario, Calif., owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. He had the third-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranked fourth among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games leading up his NHL promotion. Dating back to Nov. 13, the third-year netminder boasts an impressive 11-1-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.11 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage while allowing just two goals or less in eight starts over that span.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
- Rochester owns three of the AHL's top point-producing defensemen in Zach Redmond, Casey Nelson and Lawrence Pilut, all of whom have been mainstays on Rochester's blueline this season.
- The 2019-20 season is just a different chapter in the same story for the 31-year-old Redmond, who hasn't gone more than five games without a point all season. The two-time AHL All-Star and reigning Eddie Shore Award winner is presently tied for 11th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 26 points and ranks 10th with a team-high 21 assists, nine of which have come on the power-play.
- Back with Buffalo for his third recall of the season, Pilut has 17 points (5+12) over his last 22 games dating back to Nov. 15, including goals in four of his last eight outings. Having already established a new AHL career-high in goals (6), the former SHL Defenseman of the Year is also on pace to set a new career-high in points.
- Nelson is tied for ninth among all blueliners with a team-best plus-18 on-ice rating through 39 games while rookie Jacob Bryson is tied for eighth among all first-year players with a plus-10 on-ice rating.
SERIES NOTABLES
- The Amerks have scored a power-play goal in 13 of the last 27 games against Syracuse, going 18-for-111 (16.2%) with the man-advantage over that span.
- After going 4-5-1-0 against the Crunch during the 2017-18 campaign, the Amerks have posted a 10-5-1-1 against Syracuse over the last 17 contests.
- The Amerks are facing a familiar name in goaltender Scott Wedgewood tonight. Wedgewood went 28-16-1 with five shutouts in 48 games last season for Rochester, ranking second in the AHL in wins.
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