AHL Rochester Americans

Rochester Americans Game Preview: Saturday, February 15, 2020 at Syracuse Crunch

Published on February 15, 2020 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (27-17-2-4) conclude their four-game road swing tonight at Upstate Medical University Arena, where they'll face-off against the Syracuse Crunch (24-21-3-4) for the fifth time since the turn of the calendar year. Each team has earned a pair of victories in the previous four contests, but Rochester has maintained the upper hand for most of the season series with a 5-2-0-0 record, including back-to-back overtime wins to open the season. 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

- Rochester's winless streak reached four games after allowing five goals to the Charlotte Checkers during the second period in the final meeting of the season between the two teams Wednesday at Bojangles' Coliseum.

- Both of Rochester's goals came on special teams with Taylor Leier scoring his sixth of the season on the power-play before Sean Malone added his 10th on a shorthanded tally just 27 seconds into the third period.

- Casey Mittelstadt notched an assist for the second straight game, giving the former first-round pick five points (1+4) through his first six games in the month of February. The second-year forward hasn't gone more than two games without a point since opening the 2020 calendar year on a season-long four-game point streak (3+1).

- Zach Redmond, Eric Cornel and Andrew MacWilliam all recorded an assist while rookie goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1-3-1) made his fifth start of the season, making 27 saves on 32 shots he faced.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- With the Amerks closing out their four-game road swing tonight, the club opens a season-long six-game homestand against the Utica Comets on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3:05 p.m. Sunday's matinee with the Comets will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

A FULL FEBRUARY

- The month of February remains the busiest for the Amerks, who in all, will play a total of eight games over a 15-day stretch beginning tonight in Syracuse. The busiest stretch of the month comes later this weekend when the team embarks on a season-long six-game homestand over a 13-day span. Beginning tonight, 13 of Rochester's next 14 games will be played solely against North Division opponents with the only exception being the final meeting of the season against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21 at The Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- Jean-Sebastien Dea, who remains the only Amerk this season to reach the 30-point plateau, continues to pace the team in goals (14) and points (32) through 45 games. Coming into weekend, Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 91 shots on goal, has 11 points (4+7) in his last 15 games since the turn of the New Year, including goals in two of his last five outings.

SHARINGN THE CREASE

- Anchored by the goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, who's currently on recall with the parent Buffalo Sabres, the Amerks own one of the top defenses in AHL having allowed only 138 goals through the 50 games of the season, the eighth-fewest in the AHL coming into tonight. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and rank among the AHL's goaltending leaders as they both have 13 wins on the season.

- Hammond, who is 13-11-2 on the season, is tied for third among all netminders in shutouts after notching his fourth of the year back on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. With four shutouts through 28 games this season, he remains on pace to tie the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.

- Johansson, who made his NHL debut with the Sabres on Feb. 4 against Colorado and made his first career start two nights later against Detroit, owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. Despite being on recall, he has the fifth-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranks fourth among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, the 2020 AHL All-Star 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 15th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 28 points and is tied for 12th with a team-high 23 assists, 10 of which have come on the power-play.

- Pilut, who was reassigned to Rochester yesterday from the Sabres, has 17 points (5+12) over his last 22 AHL games dating back to Nov. 15, including goals in four of his last nine 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 mark in points.

- Nelson is eighth among all blueliners with a team-best plus-19 on-ice rating through 44 games this season.

SERIES NOTABLES

- Rookie Jacob Bryson is tied for 14th among all first-year players with a plus-9 on-ice rating while being tied for 15th with 17 assists in 49 games.

- After going 4-5-1-0 against the Crunch during the 2017-18 campaign, the Amerks are 11-6-1-1 in their last 19 contests against Syracuse.

- The Amerks have scored a power-play goal in 15 of the last 29 games against Syracuse, going 21-for-119 (17.6%) with the man-advantage.

Check out the Rochester Americans Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2020


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