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Rochester Americans Game Preview: Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Belleville Senators

March 7, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (32-19-4-5) and Belleville Senators (38-18-4-1) square off for the second straight night tonight as the North Division close out their two-game set and season series with a 7:00 p.m. rematch at CAA Arena. The Amerks are 3-1-1-0 against Belleville this season, including a perfect 2-0-0-0 mark north of the border. The contest will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

LAST TIME OUT

- C.J. Smith (1+2) and defenseman Jacob Bryson (1+1) each recorded a multi-point game to help the Amerks to a 5-3 victory over the first-place Senators last night at CAA Arena. The matchup served as the first game of a weekend set between the North Division rivals.

- Along with both Bryson and Smith scoring, Kevin Porter, Andrew Oglevie and Scott Wilson all found the back of the net for the Amerks. Goaltender Andrew Hammond (16-12-3) stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced against his former team to improve to 16-12-3 in his 33rd appearance of the campaign.

AMERKS AT A GLANCE

- Last night's win over Belleville moved Rochester to within eight points of the Senators for the top spot in the AHL's North Division standings with a game in hand. The Amerks, who have earned 13 out of a possible 20 points in their last 10 games, also hold a two-point lead over the Comets for second place in the Division, but the Comets do have a game in hand on Rochester coming into this weekend.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- Following tonight's rematch, the Amerks return home to The Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday, Mar. 11. when they welcome back the Binghamton Devils. 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.

HOME COOKING

- On the strength of a 16-6-3-5 home record, Rochester has the third-fewest regulation losses in the AHL and have the fifth-most points on home ice (40). Only the Hartford Wolf Pack and Milwaukee Admirals have fewer regulation losses at home this season.

MITTELSTADT QUICKLY MAKING HIS MARK

- Casey Mittelstadt has quickly evolved into one of Rochester's most consistent point-getters with 23 points (9+14) in 34 games for Rochester since being reassigned to the Amerks in December from the Buffalo Sabres. Mittelstadt has totaled 21 points (9+12) since the turn of the New Year and led all Amerks with 12 points (3+9) in 14 games during the month of February. Over his last 11 games, the second-year pro has eight points on one goal and seven assists.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- Jean-Sebastien Dea, who remains the only Amerk forward this season to reach the 30-point plateau, continues to pace the team in points (38) through 55 games. Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 110 shots on goal, has 17 points (5+12) in his last 25 games since the turn of the New Year, including six points (1+5) over his last nine games. He's now reached the 15-goal mark in each of the last five seasons dating back to the 2015-16 campaign when he scored a career-high 20 for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

SHARING THE CREASE

- Anchored by the goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, who returned from his first-career recall to the Buffalo Sabres prior to last night's game, the Amerks own one of the top defenses in AHL having allowed only 173 goals through 60 games this season, the 10th-fewest in the AHL coming into the weekend. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and rank among the AHL's leaders with 16 and 13 wins this season, respectively.

- Hammond, who is 16-11-2 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 33 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 went 1-3-1 during his six-game stint with the Sabres, owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. At the time of his first NHL recall, he was tied for the fifth-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranked fifth among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, he 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. The two-time AHL All-Star and reigning Eddie Shore Award winner is presently tied for 17th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 30 points and is also tied for 15th with a team-high 25 assists, 10 of which have come on the power-play.

- Pilut, who's back with big club on his fifth recall of the season, has 17 points (5+12) over his last 27 AHL games dating back to Nov. 15. Having already set 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 10th among all blueliners with a team-best plus-18 on-ice rating through 46 games this season.

SERIES NOTABLES

- Jacob Bryson ranks seventh among all first-year defensemen with a plus-12 on-ice rating. Bryson, whose first two professional goals came in back-to-back games on Feb. 19 and 21 and first shorthanded marker came last night, is also ninth among all rookie blueliners with 24 points (3+21) in 59 games while his 21 assists are tied for eighth-most.

- The Amerks have claimed at least one point in 12 of the first 17 meetings with the Senators dating back to the 2017-18 season. Rochester holds a record of 7-0-2-0 in the all-time road portion of the head-to-head series.

- Belleville is fueled by first-year forward Josh Norris, who currently leads all rookies and ranks fourth overall in the AHL in scoring with 60 points in (31+29) in 54 games.

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