AHL Rochester Americans

Rochester Americans Game Preview: Friday, November 8 vs. Binghamton Devils

Published on November 8, 2019 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans are back on home ice tonight in search of their third straight win as they host the intrastate rival Binghamton Devils for the second time in a week at The Blue Cross Arena. Rochester claimed the first meeting between the two teams last Friday night by a 4-2 score. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

LAST TIME OUT

- Andrew Hammond stopped all 28 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout of the season and six different goal-scorers provided all the offense as the Amerks dominated from start to finish on their way to a 6-0 rout of the first-place Utica Comets Saturday night at the Adirondack Bank Center.

- With the road win, the Amerks have earned 16 out of a possible 24 points through their first 12 games of the season. Additionally, Rochester has picked up points in seven of its last nine games overall.

- Tage Thompson recorded a goal and an assist for his third multi-point outing of the season while Casey Fitzgerald, Kevin Porter Remi Elie and Casey Nelson all chipped in a pair of assists to help Rochester improve to 11-4-2-3 against Utica dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign. Scott Wilson and Curtis Lazar each scored a shorthanded goal for their third goals of the slate while Rasmus Asplund and Brett Murray each tallied their first and second goals of the season, respectively. Jarrett Burton completed the scoring as he netted his first goal as an Amerk. In his second appearance in as many nights, Hammond earned the win in the goal crease to improve to 5-1-1 on the season.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- Rochester continues its three-game homestand on Wednesday, Nov. 13 when they welcome the Syracuse Crunch back to 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.

SHOOTING GALLERY

- One of the biggest factors attributed to Rochester's early season success is the fact that the Amerks have outshot their opponents in every game so far this season, including a season-high 50 shots in Springfield on Oct. 27. The Amerks come into the weekend leading the AHL in total shots (425) and are averaging 35.42 shots per game, the most behind only the Iowa Wild. Rochester, which owns two of the top four shooters in the league in Tage Thompson (53) and C.J. Smith (47), currently remains the only team this season to have outshot the opposition in every game to start the 2019-20 campaign.

THOMPSON TORMENTING THE OPPOSITION

- Despite being held off the scoresheet just four times so far this season, Tage Thompson has totaled 22 points (13+9) over his last 23 games with the Amerks dating back to last season, including the two goals he scored in the first round of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs against the Toronto Marlies. More impressively, Thompson has scored 11 goals in just 20 career regular-season games with Rochester, easily surpassing the total he set over a 30-game stint with San Antonio during his rookie season in 2017-18. The third-year pro leads the team and is tied for 14th among the AHL's top point-getters with 11 points and is tied for the team lead in goals (5) through his first 12 games of the season. He also leads the league with 53 shots on goal.

THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE

- The Amerks come into their lone matchup of the weekend owning two of the AHL's top point-producing defensemen in Zach Redmond and Casey Nelson, both of whom are tied for 14th in scoring among all AHL blueliners with seven points each. The start of the 2019-20 season is just a different chapter in the same story for the 31-year-old Redmond, who's averaged nearly a point-per-game through his first 10 games of the season. The reigning Eddie Shore Award winner and two-time AHL All-Star has collected eight points (1+7) in his last 16 games dating back to last season. His six assists also tie him for 12th in the league among blueliners. Much like his counterpart, Nelson, too, is playing at almost a point-per-game pace. His two goals are tied for fifth-most in the AHL amongst defensemen while his team-best plus-eight on-ice rating ranks third. The fourth-year pro enters play tonight coming off a five-point (2+3) weekend to open the month of November, which includes a career-high three-point effort (2+1) in last Friday's 4-2 win over Binghamton.

SCOUTING THE DEVILS

- Binghamton comes into the matchup having won just four of its first 13 games to start the new campaign, the most recent of which came on Wednesday in a 4-2 victory over the Utica Comets at home to snap a three-game slide. The Devils return to Rochester among the worst teams on the road this season with a 1-6-1-0 record and have been outscored by a 30-16 margin through their first eight matchups away from home. Binghamton is also winless in its last seven road contests, showing an AHL-worst 0-6-1-0 mark over that span.

- Despite the team's recent struggles, Binghamton owns one of the top offenses in the league with three forwards currently playing at nearly a near point-per-game pace.

- Leading the Devils high powered offense is 10-year pro Ben Street, who leads the team in both assists (8) and points (13) as well as shots on goal (36). He's currently tied for sixth in the AHL in points and ranks eighth among league leaders in assists.

- Veteran forwards Chris Conner and Brett Seney are at a close second with six goals and 11 points each. Conner has three goals in his last five games, including the game-winner Wednesday against Utica.

SERIES NOTABLES

- The Amerks enter the matchup with points in 17 of the last 21 games against the Devils dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season. Rochester holds a 13-4-3-1 record during that span, which included a six-game winning streak.

- Amerks rookie defensemen Casey Fitzgerald is the son of Binghamton's general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

- Coming off his third-period tally last Friday against the Devils, Amerks forward Jean-Sebastien Dea has recorded 15 points (8+7) over his last 17 AHL contests dating back to last season.

Check out the Rochester Americans Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 8, 2019


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