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Rochester Americans Game Preview: Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at Charlotte Checkers

February 12, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (27-16-2-4) and Charlotte Checkers (28-17-3-0) square off for the second straight night tonight as the two teams close out the season series in the second half of a two-game set at Bojangles' Coliseum. Charlotte claimed the first meeting last night by way of a 4-2 win. 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

- The Amerks opened the scoring just 41 seconds into Tuesday's contest against the Checkers, but the reigning Calder Cup champions would go onto score four of the next five goals to come away with a 4-2 win in the first of back-to-back meetings between the two teams at Bojangles' Coliseum.

- Forward Rasmus Asplund scored his second goal of the campaign from Remi Elie and C.J. Smith in the first minute of the tilt while defenseman John Gilmour notched his sixth of the season during the middle frame. Casey Mittelstadt and Jean-Sebastien Dea were credited with the helpers on Gilmour's tally. Mittelstadt now has four points (1+3) through his first five games in the month of February and 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).

- Goaltender Andrew Hammond (13-11-2) made his second consecutive start and made 32 saves but took the loss.

- The Amerks remain in second place in the AHL's North Division standings behind only the Belleville Senators and hold a narrow one-point lead on the third-place Utica Comets with a game in hand.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- Rochester closes out its four-game road swing on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Upstate Medical University Arena against the Syracuse Crunch before returning home on Sunday, Feb. 16 to open a season-long six-game homestand against the Utica Comets. Both North Division matchups 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 nine games over an 18-day stretch beginning with tonight's rematch in Charlotte. The busiest stretch of the month comes this weekend when the team embarks on a season-long six-game homestand over a 13-day span. Of Rochester's nine remaining games this month, seven will be played against North Division opponents with the only exceptions being the two in Charlotte and 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 44 games. Coming into tonight, Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 85 shots on goal, has 11 points (4+7) in his last 14 games since the turn of the New Year, including goals in two of his last four outings.

SHARING 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 133 goals through the 49 games of the season, the seventh-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 second 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 fourth-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranks fifth 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 17th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 27 points and is tied for 13th with a team-high 22 assists, nine of which have come on the power-play.

- Back with Buffalo for his fourth recall of the season, Pilut 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 tied for seventh 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 13th with 17 assists in 48 games.

- The Amerks have earned at least one point in four of the last 11 contests between the two teams.

- Rochester claimed the first get-together of the season with a 4-0 win back on Dec. 6, snapping a four-game skid against the Checkers dating back to last season and giving the Amerks their first win in regulation over Charlotte at The Blue Cross Arena.

- Charlotte forward Julien Gauthier, who scored twice last night as part of a three-point effort, is tied for third in the AHL with a team-high 25 goals in 41 games. He shows 10 points in his last nine games.

- Checkers forward Morgan Geekie comes into tonight riding a franchise-record 14-game point streak (11+7), which is the third-longest in the AHL this season. He also has goals in six straight games.

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