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AHL Rochester Americans

Rochester Americans Game Preview: Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at Utica Comets

December 31, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (20-7-2-2) continue their four-game North Division road swing tonight as they close out 2019 with a New Year's Eve matchup against the intrastate rival Utica Comets (19-10-2-2) 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.

LAST TIME OUT

- The Amerks opened their four-game road swing Saturday night at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena against the Binghamton Devils and were unable to solve veteran netminder Louis Domingue as they came up empty-handed in a 2-0 loss. It was the first time all season Rochester was shutout by an opponent.

- Despite the setback, however, the Amerks show a 15-4-1-1 record over their last 21 games dating back to Nov. 1, earning points in 17 games over that span, and sit two points ahead of Utica for first place in the AHL's North Division standings heading into tonight's matchup. Additionally, Rochester has picked up points in 22 of the last 28 contests overall, going 18-6-2-2 dating back to Oct. 13.

- Casey Mittelstadt, Scott Wilson and Casey Nelson all registered four shots on net for the Amerks, who entered the matchup having earned points in 20 of their last 25 games against Binghamton dating back to start of the 2017-18 campaign.

- Goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped 27 of 29 shots he faced but suffered his third consecutive loss.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- The Amerks head north of the border for their first two games of the New Year beginning on Friday, Jan. 3 when they take on the Belleville Senators at 7:00 p.m. at CAA Arena. The following day, Rochester makes its first trip back to Coca-Cola Coliseum since Game 3 of the Calder Cup Playoffs for another go-around with the Toronto Marlies at 4:00 p.m. Both games will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

DALTON SMITH EARNS TWO-WAY CONTRACT WITH SABRES

- The Buffalo Sabres announced yesterday the team signed forward Dalton Smith to a one-year two-way contract for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. Smith, 27, a former second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets (34th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft, has four points (1+3) in 21 games in his third season with Rochester and has totaled 14 points (4+10) over 114 games for the Amerks since joining the organization in 2017-18. In all, Smith has 340 career AHL games with Rochester, Lehigh Valley, Providence, Syracuse and Springfield. The Oshawa, Ontario, native could potentially make his NHL debut tonight when the Buffalo Sabres host the Tampa Bay Lightning.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- Jean-Sebastien Dea leads the Amerks with 21 points and is tied for the team lead with 10 goals in 29 games this season. Dea is coming off a three-game assist streak and has four points (1+3) in his last six games heading into Rochester's final game of the calendar year.

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 71 goals through the first 31 games of the season, the fewest in the AHL coming into the week. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and are tied for 10th among all AHL goaltenders with 10 wins each on the season.

- Hammond (10-5-2) 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 12 games, Hammond boasts a 7-4-1 record with four shutouts, a 1.67 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage. With four shutouts through just 18 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 the week, he has the second-best goal-against average in the league (2.00) and is 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.

- The 2019-20 season is just a different chapter in the same story for the 31-year-old Redmond, who's averaged nearly a point-per-game through his first 28 games of the season. Redmond is currently tied for 11th in scoring among all defensemen with 20 points and ranks 13th with a team-high 15 assists. He's also tied for sixth in the AHL for goals by a defenseman with five.

- Coming off his third three-point outing of the season on Friday, Pilut has 14 points (3+11) over his last 18 games dating back to Nov. 15 since returning from the Buffalo Sabres. The former SHL Defenseman of the Year has already matched his goal total from last season in four fewer games and is on pace to set a new career-high in points. His 15 assists are tied with Redmond for the most on the team.

- Nelson shows a team-best plus-16 on-ice rating through 29 games, good for third among all active blueliners and fourth overall in the AHL.

QUICK HITS

- Rookie defenseman Jacob Bryson is second in the AHL for all first-year players with a plus-15 on-ice rating while being the only Amerk to appear in all 31 games this season.

- Comets forward Justin Bailey began his career in the Flower City and totaled 118 points (62+54) in 196 games with Rochester in his first three and a half seasons from 2015 to 2019.

- Utica's Reid Boucher is second in the AHL with a team-high 39 points while pacing the league with 20 goals through 28 games this season. Boucher also shows a 15-game point streak (7+14) dating back to Nov. 23, currently the longest active in the AHL.

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