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Rochester Americans Game Preview: Saturday, December 28, 2019 at Binghamton Devils

December 28, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (20-6-2-2) make with their third trip of the season down to the southern tier tonight for a North Division showdown against the Binghamton Devils (10-17-4-0) at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The 7:05 contest will serve as the first game of a four-game road-swing and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

LAST TIME OUT

- Lawrence Pilut scored the game-tying goal in the third period and then set up the game-winner with only two seconds remaining in regulation to cap a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind win for the Amerks over the Belleville Senators Friday at The Blue Cross Arena.

- With the victory, the Amerks became just the fourth AHL team and first from the North Division to reach the 20-win mark this season while improving to 15-3-1-1 over their last 20 games dating back to Nov. 1, earning points in 17 games over that span, and holding a three-point cushion atop the Division standings. Additionally, Rochester has picked up points in 22 of the last 27 contests overall, going 18-5-2-2, while also earning 43 out of a possible 60 points through its first 30 contests of the season.

- It took 30 games for Rochester to reach the 20-win mark this season, the team's fewest since the 2006-07 Amerks needed 27.

- Pilut tallied his third three-point outing of the season with a goal and a pair of assists while Taylor Leier scored in the final seconds in regulation for the third time in last two contests. Zach Redmond opened the scoring for Rochester with his fifth marker of the season while Eric Cornel rounded out the night with his sixth of slate.

- Goaltender Jonas Johansson (10-2-2) earned his eighth straight victory as he made 33 saves.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- The Amerks continue their four-game road swing on Tuesday, Dec. 31 as they close out 2019 with a New Year's Eve matchup against the intrastate rival Utica Comets at Adirondack Bank Center. Game time is slated for a 5:00 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

MITTELSTADT JOINS AMERKS

- Rochester's offense received a significant boost prior to the Christmas break following the reassignment of Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres. Mittelstadt, a former first-round pick of the Sabres (8th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, recorded nine points (4+5) in 31 games this season for Buffalo after spending all last season with the Sabres. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native has seven shots in four games and notched his first point as an Amerk last night on Leier's third-period game-winning goal.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- After an injury-riddled rookie season limited him to just 28 games, Andrew Oglevie has certainly made up for lost time this season. In just a little over two months' time, Oglevie has already surpassed his goal (5), assist (5) and point (10) total from last season and currently shares the team lead in goals (10). His 19 points are second to only Jean-Sebastien Dea coming into tonight. Oglevie, who prior to missing last Saturday's contest was one of two Rochester skaters to appear in every game this season, has 14 points (8+5) over his last 14 games, a stretch which included a career-long seven-game point streak.

- Rookie forward Brett Murray comes into the matchup with two goals, seven assists and a pair of multi-point efforts over his last 15 games. He's currently tied for 15th in scoring among all AHL rookies with 16 points (4+12) in 25 games.

DYNAMIC DUO IN THE CREASE

- Anchored by the elite goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, the Amerks own the top defense in the league, having allowed only 69 goals through the first 30 games of the season, the second-fewest in the AHL coming into the weekend. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and are tied for ninth among all AHL goaltenders with 10 wins each on the season.

- Hammond (10-4-2) comes into the matchup second among all netminders after notching his fourth shutout of the season on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. In his last 11 games, Hammond boasts a remarkable 7-3-1 record with four shutouts, a 1.64 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage. With four shutouts through just 17 games this season, he's on pace to match the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.

- Having won eight straight appearances, Johansson shows an AHL career-best 10-2-2 record this season. Entering tonight, he has the second-best goal-against average in the league (2.00) and tied for third among all netminders with a .933 save percentage in 15 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, the third-year netminder boasts a perfect 8-0-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.74 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage while allowing just two goals or less in six consecutive 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, Lawrence Pilut and Casey Nelson, all of whom have been mainstays on Rochester's blueline this season.

- Redmond has averaged close to a point-per-game through his first 27 games of the season. The reigning Eddie Shore Award winner and two-time AHL All-Star is currently tied for eighth in scoring among all defensemen with 20 points and ranks 12th with 15 assists.

- Coming off his three-point outing last night, Pilut has 14 points (3+11) over his last 17 games dating back to Nov. 15.

QUICK HITS

- The Amerks enter the matchup with points in 20 of the last 25 games against the Devils dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season. Rochester holds a 15-5-3-2 record during that span, which included a 10-game point streak.

- Amerks rookie defenseman Casey Fitzgerald is the son of former NHL forward and current Binghamton general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

- Andrew Hammond played parts of his first four pro seasons with the Binghamton Senators from 2013-17. He's one win away from 100 career wins.

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