NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Rochester Americans

Game Night: Amerks Host Devils Tonight at Blue Cross Arena

November 20, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans continue their four-game homestand as the Albany Devils make their first-ever trip to Western New York looking to avenge their 6-4 loss in the inaugural meeting between the intra-state rivals back on November 6th at the Times Union Center. Faceoff is slated for a 7:35 p.m. start at The Blue Cross Arena. The matchup will be carried live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. Fans can also tune into the live telecast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

Promotions: The game features the second of six "Mystery Puck" nights, courtesy of the Stephens Media Group. Fans can purchase the Thanksgiving-themed pucks for $10 through the Rochester Knighthawks/Amerks Charitable Foundation, Inc. The limited number of one-of-a-kind themed pucks will be sold in the Upper Atrium lobby of The Blue Cross Arena an hour before the game. Some lucky fans that purchase the "Turkey Pucks" will also have the chance to win additional prizes. A select number of pucks will be labeled "WINNER" and can be redeemed at the Amerks Guest Services Booth before the end of the Second Intermission in order to claim their prize. The pucks will be autographed by a current Amerk and will be individually wrapped so that the player's identity remains a mystery until the puck has been purchased. Fans will have the opportunity to collect a special "Turkey Puck" featuring one of 10 possible players. All net proceeds will go to the team's foundation, which will then be distributed to local charities.

Taylor On The Move Again: Veteran forward Chris Taylor is on the move again up Rochester's all-time lists. The next goal he scores will be his 135 th as an Amerk, sliding him into the No. 11 spot ahead of Barry Merrelland Jim Pappin on the all-time goals list. Last night, the 19-year pro skated in his 457th game in an Amerk uniform, thus leapfrogging Dan Frawley into ninth all-time. Taylor is a mere five points shy of surpassing Stan Smrkefor fifth on the points list and needs just one more assist to eclipse the 300 mark in the red, white and blue.

Head-to-Head: The contest marks the second of four scheduled meetings this season and the second in as many weeks between the two clubs. Rochester earned the win in the first get-together with Albany earlier this month.

By The Numbers: Rochester is just 2-6-1-0 against North Division opponents this season, but shows a 6-3-0-0 mark against non-divisional foes. The Amerks have played 11 of their first 17 games on the road, but they will now play 11 of their next 13 contests at home, where they show a 1-6-0-0 record.

Thomas Gets The Call, Amerks Sign Pair: The Amerks will be without the services tonight of forward Bill Thomas, who earned his first National Hockey League promotion to the Florida Panthers this morning. A fifth-year pro, Thomas joins the big club after scoring a team-high seven goals, while skating in all 18 games this season for Rochester. His 17 points overall are also second most on the team. The Panthers are his third NHL club in four years. In his absence, the Amerks have signed forwards Michael Dubuc(DOO-bick)) and Matt Pierce to 25-game professional tryouts. Dubuc, 22, joins the Amerks from the ECHL's Elmira Jackals, where he shares the team lead in points with 21 and has a league-best 11 goals. The Granby, Quebec, native has played in 19 career AHL games over the past two seasons, all with the Hershey Bears. As a rookie in 2008-09, he led the Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina Stingrays with 35 goals. Dubuc also led Rouyn-Noranda in scoring in his final two seasons of junior hockey. Pierce, who attended Rochester's training camp this fall, officially joins the team after beginning the 2010-11 campaign with the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL), collecting 10 points (3+7) in 15 games. The former Mercyhurst College standout is coming off a banner year in 2009-10, finishing fifth on the team in scoring to guide Cincinnati to its second ECHL title in three years. Pierce played under current Amerks head coach Chuck Weber his last two seasons behind the Cyclones bench.

Amerks Notes: Rochester (8-9-1-0, 17 points) enters the contest currently on a three-game skid following its 5-3 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs last night at The Blue Cross Arena. The loss was also the Amerks' fourth straight at home, dropping them into last place in the American Hockey League's North Division, two points from the Toronto Marlies. The Amerks currently have the second best power-play in the league (21.3 percentage) and have scored the most goals among any other divisional opponent with 58. Rochester also owns the most penalty minutes in the Division with 367.

Team and League Leaders: Despite presently being on recall with the parent Florida Panthers, third-year forward Michal Repik continues to be Rochester's top point-getter with a team-high 18 assists and 22 points. Playing at more than a point-per-game pace, Repik also currently ranks second in the league in assists, while being tied for second overall among the league's top scorers. Repik also has a team-best eight assists on the power-play, good enough for second in the league. Thomas, also on NHL recall with Florida, paces the Amerk offense after netting his team-leading seventh goal of the season last night against Hamilton. With forward Triston Grant sidelined with an injury, rookie left wing Eric Selleck is among the league leaders in penalty minutes. His 57 penalty minutes are currently a team-best, while he also ranks second among AHL rookies in that category.

First-year defenseman Colby Robak reigns as Rochester's top scoring blueliner with 11 points (2+9) in 17 games. Further, the Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, native is presently tied for 10th and 11th in overall scoring among league rearguards and rookies, respectively.

Rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom has seen the majority of time between the pipes thus far. Markstrom, who has started six of the last eight games for the Amerks, boasts a 6-8-0 record with a 3.66 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage. His six wins tie him for ninth among AHL netminders, while he has the second most saves with 380.

Who's Hot: Ryan Del Monte has collected six points (3+3) in his last seven games, including three goals in the first four games in that stretch. Defenseman Mike Caruso is off to one of the best starts of his young career after notching three points (2+1) in his last five outings. In just three games, the third-year blueliner has already matched his career high in goals from the previous two seasons combined after being held pointless in his first 10 games this year. Defenseman Joe Callahan and rookie forward Scott Timmins also show two points each in as many games.

Albany Notes: Albany (7-9-0-0, 14 points), in the middle of four-game road swing, comes into the matchup after earning a 4-3 shootout win over the Syracuse Crunch last night at the War Memorial at Oncenter to snap a six-game losing streak. Starting with a 6-4 loss to the Amerks on November 6 th, the Devils have gone just 1-6-0-0 in their last seven games to fall to seventh in the eight-team East Division.

Team and League Leaders: Fourth-year pro Matt Anderson paces the Devils with a team-high seven goals and 10 points, in addition to a team-best plus-six on-ice rating through just 12 games this season. Forwards Tyler Eckford and Alexander Urbom share the team lead with seven assists each, while Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond and Louis Robitaille are tied for 14thin the AHL with 50 penalty minutes apiece. With Mike McKenna currently on recall with the New Jersey Devils, fourth-year netminder Jeff Frazee has earned just about 600 minutes of playing time for Albany. In 10 games this season, the former AHL All-Star has posted a 5-5-0 record with a 3.11 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage.

Next Game: Rochester closes out the weekend on Sunday, November 21st as the Syracuse Crunch journey west down the I-90 Interstate to renew one of the fiercest rivals in the AHL. The contest will mark the first of 10 encounters between the longtime foes and can be heard live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The Amerks posted an impressive 9-1-0-0 record against the Crunch in the season series a year ago, including an unblemished 5-0-0-0 count on home ice. Rochester defeated Syracuse nine consecutive times during that stretch, before falling in the final game of the regular season. The Amerks are 91-76-15 lifetime against the Crunch.

Check out the Rochester Americans Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from November 20, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central