Rochester Americans Game Preview: Saturday, October 26 at Syracuse Crunch
October 26, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
- The Rochester Americans (4-2-0-1) and Syracuse Crunch (2-2-1-0) renew their rivalry tonight at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse as the cross-town foes square off the second time in three weeks. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be the second of 12 meetings between the two North Division rivals this season and will be carried live on live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.
LAST TIME OUT
- A three-goal second period and five different goal-scorers propelled the Amerks to a decisive 5-1 win over the Hershey Bears in a battle between the American Hockey League's cornerstone franchises Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena. The matchup was the 459th all-time meeting between the league's two oldest teams.
- With their first two-point outings of the season, C.J. Smith (1+1) and Andrew Oglevie (0+2) helped the Amerks push their home point streak to three games as they improved to 2-0-0-1 at The Blue Cross Arena this season. Kevin Porter and Scott Wilson both tallied a goal while rookie forward Brett Murray added his first professional marker late in the third period to close out the scoring.
- Netminder Jonas Johansson (1-1-0) nearly had his first AHL shutout, stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced on the night to earn his first victory of the campaign.
ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER
- The Amerks close out the weekend on Sunday, Oct. 27 with a return trip back to Springfield to take on the Thunderbirds at 5:05 p.m. at the MassMutual Center. Rochester claimed the first matchup between the two teams earlier this month by a 2-1 score during the team's annual trek through New England. Sunday's contest can be heard live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester.
EARNING POINTS EARLY ON
- Rochester has earned nine out of a possible 14 points overall through the first seven games of the season and go into Syracuse with points in three of its last four games. All but two have been one-goal games, including a pair of wins beyond regulation. The Amerks are one of only six AHL teams this year to appear in at least three games that have been decided in overtime and are one of just two teams to have won one game in overtime as well as a shootout.
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKONEN JOINS THE AMERKS
- The Buffalo Sabres reassigned rookie goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to the Amerks this past Sunday. Luukkonen was named the Ontario Hockey League's Goaltender of the Year and Most Valuable Player for the 2018-19 season after posting a 38-11-2 record with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage and six shutouts in 53 games for the Sudbury Wolves.
THOMPSON TORMENTING THE OPPOSITION
- Despite being held off the scoresheet twice through the first seven games of the season, Tage Thompson has totaled 18 points (11+7) over his last 18 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 nine goals in just 15 career regular-season games with Rochester, surpassing the total he set over a 30-game stint with the San Antonio Rampage during his rookie season in 2017-18. The third-year pro paces the Amerks in goals (3) and points (7) through his first seven games of the season and enters the weekend leading the AHL with a team-high 31 shots, eight of which came a week ago tonight against Utica.
RED-HOT REDMOND: THE SEQUEL
- The start of the 2019-20 season is just a different chapter in the same story for veteran defenseman Zach Redmond, who's currently tied for fourth in scoring amongst all AHL blueliners after averaging a point-per-game through his first six games of the season, including the game-tying goal with 13 seconds remaining in Rochester's shootout win at Hartford back on Oct. 13. The reigning Eddie Shore Award winner and two-time AHL All-Star has collected seven points (1+6) in his last 11 games dating back to last season. His five assists rank fourth in the league among blueliners while his 18 shots are tied for ninth-most entering this weekend's slate of games.
HAMMOND AMONG LEAGUE'S BEST
- In five appearances so far this season, Andrew Hammond shows a 3-1-1 record to go along with a 2.95 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage. He enters the weekend sixth in minutes played (305) while his three wins are tied for fifth-most in the league. He's also tied for 10th in the AHL in saves (96).
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
- After playing four straight games on the road to open the season, Syracuse now is in the midst of a five-game homestand. The Crunch come into the matchup having dropped their last two contests to fall within a point of last place in the AHL's North Division standings.
- The Crunch offense is led by veteran forwards Cory Conacher and Chris Mueller, who both have two goals and three assists each through the first five games of the season. Conacher, a former Amerk and Canisius College graduate, paces all Crunch skaters with 20 shots while Mueller, a West Seneca native with more than 700 AHL career games, scored his first shorthanded goal last week since March 28, 2017 to go along with a pair of multi-point performances.
Second-year pro Alex Barré-Boulet leads all Syracuse skaters with three goals and is tied for third on the team with four points overall. Last season, Barré-Boulet led all AHL rookies in scoring with 68 points in 74 games and finished tied with teammate Carter Verhaeghe for the league lead with 34 goals, earning a spot on the AHL All-Rookie Team.
SERIES NOTABLES
- The Amerks have scored a power-play goal in 11 of the last 23 games against Syracuse, going 15-for-99 (15.1%) with the man-advantage over that span.
- After going 4-5-1-0 against the Crunch during the 2017-18 campaign, the Amerks have posted a 7-4-1-1 against Syracuse over the last 13 contests.
- The Amerks are facing a familiar name in goaltender Scott Wedgewood tonight. Wedgewood went 28-16-1 with five shutouts in 48 games last season for Rochester, ranking second in the AHL in wins.
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