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Rochester Americans Game Preview: Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at Binghamton Devils

December 18, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (18-4-2-2) close out their three-game road swing in search of their fourth straight win tonight as they make their way to the southern tier for a North Division showdown against the Binghamton Devils (8-15-4-0) at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

LAST TIME OUT

- The Amerks scored three times on the power-play and received another flawless performance from goaltender Andrew Hammond to complete the weekend sweep over the Laval Rocket with a dominating 5-0 win Saturday afternoon at Place Bell.

- It was with the fifth shutout win of the season for the Amerks, who became just the third AHL team this season to reach the 40-point mark and maintain a three-point lead over the Toronto Marlies for first place in the North Division standings.

- With the win, the Amerks have earned points in 15 of their last 16 games dating back to Nov. 1, showing a 13-1-1-1 record over that span. Additionally, Rochester has picked up points in 20 of the last 23 contests overall, going 16-3-2-2, while also earning 40 out of a possible 52 points through their first 26 contests of the season.

- John Gilmour (1+1), Zach Redmond (1+1) and C.J. Smith (1+2) all had multi-point efforts for the Amerks. Jean-Sebastian Dea lit the lamp for the 10th time this season, tying Andrew Oglevie for most on the team, while Brandon Hickey finished the scoring with his first goal of the year.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- The Amerks return back to The Blue Cross Arena for their final two games leading up to the Christmas Break beginning on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. with a rematch against the Devils before hosting the Utica Comets on Saturday. Both games 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 earlier this week following the reassignment of forward Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres. Mittelstadt, a former first-round pick of the Sabres (8th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, has nine points (4+5) in 31 games this season with Buffalo after skating in a career-high 77 contests last season as a rookie. In 114 career games with Buffalo, Mittelstadt has notched 39 points on 17 goals and 22 assists. With the addition of Mittelstadt, Rochester's current lineup now features two first-round picks in he and fellow forward Curtis Lazar. Tage Thompson, currently on recall with the Sabres, is also a former first-round selection of the St. Louis Blues in 2016.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- After an injury-riddled rookie season that limited him to just 28 games, Andrew Oglevie has 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 now currently paces club with 19 points while sharing the team lead with 10 goals. Oglevie, who's one of just two Rochester skaters to appear in all 26 games this season, has 13 points (8+5) over his last 13 games, a stretch which included a career-long seven-game point streak.

- Rookie forward Brett Murray comes into the matchup with one goal, seven assists and a pair of multi-point efforts over his last 11 games. He's currently tied for 12th in scoring among all AHL rookies with 15 points (3+12) in 21 games.

DYNAMIC DUO IN THE CREASE

- Anchored by the goaltending duo of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, the Amerks own the top defense in the league, having allowed only 60 goals through the first 26 games of the season, the fewest in the AHL coming into this week.

- This past Saturday in Laval, Hammond (10-2-2) stopped all 27 shots he faced and is now tied for first among all netminders after notching his fourth shutout of the season, a new career-high. In his last nine games, Hammond boasts a remarkable 7-1-1- record with four shutouts, a 1.33 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. With four shutouts through just 15 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.

- Coming off his sixth straight win Friday night, Johansson shows an AHL career-best 8-2-2 record, including his first AHL shutout against Charlotte back on Dec. 6. Entering the week, he's tied for the second-best goal-against average in the league (2.09) and ranks fourth among all netminders with a .927 save percentage.

- Rookie defenseman Jacob Bryson shares the lead for all AHL first-year players with a team-best plus-15 on-ice rating.

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 start of 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 23 games of the season. The reigning Eddie Shore Award winner and two-time AHL All-Star is currently tied for seventh in scoring among all defensemen with 18 points and ranks 11th with a team-high 14 assists.

- Since returning from Buffalo on Nov. 3, Pilut has nine points (1+8) over his last 13 games dating back to Nov. 15.

Nelson joins Redmond as the only two Rochester blueliners with four goals, which rank tied for 15th in the AHL among defensemen.

SERIES NOTABLES

- The Amerks enter the matchup with points in 19 of the last 23 games against the Devils dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season. Rochester holds a 14-4-3-2 record during that span, which includes a 10-game point streak.

- Amerks rookie defensemen Casey Fitzgerald is the son of Binghamton's 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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