AHL Rochester Americans

Salak Shines As Amerks Down Rats To Move Into First

Published on October 23, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans earned their fifth straight win tonight with 2-1 victory over the Albany River Rats at the Times Union Center. The win evened the series between the intra-state rivals as the Amerks have now won six of their last seven games to improve to 6-1-1-0 (13 points) on the young season. The win also moved Rochester to the top spot in the North Division and tied for first overall in the American Hockey League.

The last time the Amerks started the season with six wins and 13 points was during the 2006-07 campaign. Rochester earned seven consecutive wins to kickoff the season and were victorious in 14 of the first 15 games.

Veteran forward Chris Taylor and fourth-year centerman David Brine each found the back of the net as rookie goaltender Alexander Salak posted 31 saves to earn first star honors and improve to 3-0-0 on the season.

Zach Boychuk potted Albany's lone goal while netminder Justin Peters made 20 saves in the losing effort as the River Rats dropped their second straight contest and fell to 4-3-0-0.

Rochester capitalized on its first power play opportunity as Graham Mink and Jeff Taffe connected with Taylor to give the Amerks a 1-0 lead at the 12:54 mark of the opening period. The tally was Taylor's second of the season and 117th as an Amerk.

The Amerks extended their lead to 2-0 as Michal Repik found an open David Brine in the slot who beat Peters low stick-side for his fourth goal of the season. Kenndal McArdle also picked up an assist on the goal at 14:11 of the second stanza.

The River Rats cut the Rochester lead to one late in the third period as Boychuk took advantage of a Mike Caruso penalty and slid the puck just inside the far post past Salak. Drayson Bowman and Jamie McBain each assisted on the man-advantage goal at 15:08 of the final frame. Time would get the best of the hometown Rats after a disallowed goal with two seconds left in regulation secured the win for Rochester.

On Saturday, October 24th, Rochester will make its first stop of the season at the War Memorial at Oncenter for a 7:30 p.m. battle with the Syracuse Crunch. The game will be the first leg of a home-and-home series between the regional rivals. The Amerks skated past the Crunch with a 4-1 win in the previous get-together on October 12th at The Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks are 1-0-0-0 this season and 83-75-15 all-time against their arch rivals.

Rochester will return home on Sunday, October 25th for its second of back-to-back tilts with the Crunch. Opening faceoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. Fans can tune into to listen live to all the action on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester Sports Talk. The contest will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

That night, in the spirit of Halloween, the Amerks will again host their third annual "Sweets in the Suites" promotion, courtesy of BJ's Wholesale Club. Wear your Halloween costume to the game and receive best-available seating for as low as $10.00. Kids can trick-or-treat, be selected to carve pumpkins or have a chance to win trick-or-treating with The Amerks Moose or Eagle, R. Thunder. All trick-or-treaters will receive a bag to fill with candy courtesy of the Subway location on East Main Street in downtown Rochester. The highlight of the evening is the Best Costume Contests with fan voting selecting the winners. As part of "Sweets in the Suites," all children can trick-or-treat during the first intermission of the game in the suite level of The Blue Cross Arena. Three people will also be selected to compete in a pumpkin carving contest during the second period.

The game also falls on the first installment of the Amerks Red Hot Sundays, courtesy of Zweigle's. This season marks the second season that the Amerks have partnered with Zweigle's to offer the "Red Hot Sundays" promotion. The promotion allows fans to purchase a Family Four Pack, which includes four hotdogs, four soft drinks and four tickets, for the low price of $44. In conjunction with Savor Catering at The Blue Cross Arena, the Amerks will offer this great promotion to the fans 10 times this season. Packages can be ordered by calling the Amerks office directly and speaking with a ticket sales representative. After the game, fans can head down to The Distillery located at 1142 Mt. Hope Ave. for the official postgame party.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 23, 2009


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