AHL Rochester Americans

Rochester Americans Game Preview: Friday, October 22 vs. Syracuse

Published on October 22, 2021 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Rochester's 6-2 season-opening loss this past Sunday in Utica marked the first time in a decade the Amerks opened the season on the road since a 5-2 loss at Hamilton to begin the 2011-12 campaign. It was also the first time Rochester began the season on a Sunday since Oct. 12, 1969, which resulted in a 2-2 tie against Montreal.

With the loss, the Amerks fell to 33-26-7 all-time in season-opening games and have outscored the opposition 244-228 dating back to when the puck first dropped on Rochester's inaugural season in 1956.

Rochester scored twice in the opening frame on the strength of goals from Jack Quinn and Casey Fitzgerald, while Sean Malone (0+2) registered his first multi-point outing of the season with two assists. Defensemen Oskari Laaksonen and Brandon Davidson both chipped in an assist in the defeat.

Jimmy Schuldt, Ethan Prow, Linus Weissbach, Lukas Craggs, Josh Teves, Ryan MacInnis and JJ Peterka all made their Amerks debuts.

Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned the start in the net and made 18 saves but suffered the loss.

After earning points in six of the first eight games of the season series with the Crunch in 2020-21, Rochester finished the head-to-head set with a 5-5- 2-0 record in 12 games.

The Amerks scored at least one power-play goal in 18 of their 29 games last season. Rochester registered multiple power-play tallies in four overall, including a season-high three against Syracuse on April 3 and on April 23 against Utica.

The Amerks have scored a power-play goal in 13 of their last 21 games against Syracuse dating back to last season, going 21-for-75 (28.0%) with the man-advantage over that span.

Rochester has collected at least one point in 21 of the last 33 games against Syracuse dating back to the start of the 2018-19 campaign, going 17-12-3- 1. While the Crunch have outscored the Amerks 114-110 during that same stretch, Rochester has gone 29-for-119 (24.4%) on the power-play.

Tonight's contest is the seventh time the Crunch have served as Rochester's home-opening opponent, including the third time in the last five years. The Amerks are 5-1-0-0 all-time in home-openers against the Crunch while Syracuse's lone win in that span was back in 2008.

After opening their 66th American Hockey League season on the road, the Rochester Americans return to home ice tonight as they host the intrastate rival Syracuse Crunch in their 2021-22 Home Opener 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 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester.

The Amerks and Crunch will meet a total of 12 times during the 2021-22 campaign, the most against a single opponent this season, with tonight's matchup representing the first of six in Rochester. Additionally, tonight's game is the first that will be played in front of fans since March 11, 2020. The teams are idle until the Amerks make their first trip to Syracuse on Nov. 27.

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