AMERKS REPORT CARD FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER
Amerks carry six-game win streak into the New Year; Biro, Subban were top performers in December
Jan 2, 2023By Suzie Cool
The Rochester Americans took the final month of 2022 by storm.
Despite the Amerks seeing an 11-day hiatus from game action in December, they closed out the calendar year riding a season-long six-game win streak. Amerks forward Brandon Biro and goaltender Malcolm Subban set out on streaks of their own, while rookie forwards Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich are north of the border representing their respective countries at the 2023
IIHF World Juniors Championships.
There’s a lot to unravel from the Amerks month of December, so let’s take a look back at the Amerks five fast facts from the third month of the 2022-23 American Hockey League campaign.
STREAKING INTO THE NEW YEAR
The Amerks closed out the 2022 calendar year by extending their win streak to a season-long six-straight games with a 3-2 win over the first-place Toronto Marlies Saturday afternoon at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
“You know it's funny,” started Amerks head coach Seth Appert when asked about when the team’s current streak began to take form. “We had a three-game losing streak coming into the winning streak, but in two of those three losses I told the team after, ‘if we keep playing like this, we're going to win a lot of hockey games’.”
It’s the team’s best stretch since a six-game win streak from Jan. 22 to Feb. 5 during the 2019-20 campaign.
The win on Saturday, Rochester’s second straight in December over the Marlies, moved the Amerks to within four points of Toronto for the top spot in the American Hockey League’s North Division standings.
A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER FOR BIRO
Despite missing six games due to injury, Biro has blazed his way atop the team's scoring lead following a productive December in which he led the team with 16 points (6+10) in 10 games. He recorded multi-point efforts in seven of his 10 appearances, including six straight between Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 before closing out the month with an assist in the 3-2 win in Toronto.
He paces the Amerks in assists (19) and points (28) through 22 games and his seven-game point streak is third-longest active streak in the AHL currently.
The crazy thing is, with how well Biro is playing, Appert doesn’t even feel the forward is just riding some hot streak mixed with a little bit of luck. Appert truly feels the third-year pro is finally just playing his game with a ton of confidence and consistency.
“The crazy thing is I don't even I wouldn't say that he's (Biro) hot (right now),” said Appert when asked about Biro following Wednesday’s win. “I think he's just playing his game consistently over and over and over. He's doing it offensively and defensively. His level of care and, for lack of a better term, ‘give a crap,’ to be a great player and to help his team win is just extremely high right now. It's been fun to see and it's fun to coach.”
Dating back to last season, Biro has totaled 31 points on 11 goals and 20 assists over his last 25 games and hasn't gone more than one game without a point over that span. Since the start of the 2022 calendar year, Biro has posted 19 multi-point outings in 51 games, totaling 57 points on 18 goals and 39 assists.
Additionally, the Amerks are 12-5-1-1 when Biro records more than two points in a game and have outscored the opposition 78-64.
SUBBAN SETTLING IN
Subban is currently red-hot, riding a five-game win streak and starting six of the Amerks last eight games.
“We are just really pleased with the progress he continues to make. He's got a little bit of a streak right now and you kind of want to ride that hot hand when we can,” stated Appert.
After suffering a defeat in his season-debut, Subban has gone 7-1-0 since, including five straight wins dating back to a 4-3 shootout victory against the first-place Marlies on Dec. 10.
Subban had his arguably best performance of the season during a 75-save weekend in Rochester’s two-game sweep over the Charlotte Checkers. A night after stopping a regular-season career-high 45 saves, Subban was flawless in a 30-save shutout on Dec. 17, his first in the AHL since April 8, 2017, with the Providence Bruins.
Highlighting his current five-game win streak was Subban picking up his 100th career win in the 5-4 overtime win over Utica last Wednesday.
BLUELINE GETTING BETTER WEEK-BY-WEEK
The blue line now, compared to the beginning of the season, is absolutely stacked with talent and experience. Especially after the Amerks signed veteran blue liner Matt Bartkowski to an AHL deal for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign and Lawrence Pilut returned to Rochester all within the last week.
“Our D core is in a really healthy spot right now, which is necessary because we're thin at forward right now,” commented Appert when asked how the defensive unit compared now to the beginning of the season.
Bartkowski joined the Amerks on a professional tryout (PTO) on Oct. 29 and has since recorded five points on one goal and four assists with plus-five on-ice rating in 21 games with Rochester. The veteran blueliner appeared in his 700th professional game on Dec. 7 against the Syracuse Crunch.
“We love him,” Appert explained when discussing the signing of Bartkowski last week. “He fits who we are as a team, the identity that we want to have, how we want to play. He's been a great presence for our younger guys.”
Pilut, who cleared waivers Friday, has three points on a goal and two assists in 17 games with the Buffalo Sabres this season, while showing two assists through five games with Rochester.
“Pilut is obviously an elite player – a high-end American Leaguer – and on the cusp of being a full time NHL player. So, then the other thing about Pilut that gets overlooked, because of how good he is, is how his character and his leadership and his work ethic are off the charts high. So, you get a leader back on top of being one of your most talented players,” finished Appert when discussing the state of the D core in Rochester currently.
ROSEN, KULICH AT WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Amerks rookie forwards Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich were named to Sweden and Czech Republic’s rosters for the annual tournament and were officially loaned by the Sabres to their team respective national teams. Since the World Junior Championship kicked off last Monday, Dec. 26, the duo has been performing as expected.
“We have watched and we're certainly very happy and proud of how Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen are playing,” said Appert when asked how he thinks the rookies are doing in tournament play.
“It’s a long tournament, so they still have a lot of work to do, but those are things that we challenge them on, and I've been texting them on since they've been there. All the things they've gotten better at here – playing on the inside, attacking the nets, getting to the hard areas, playing harder without the puck and how you forecheck and how physical you need to play to be a good player in the American League and, eventually, the NHL – don't just go back now to your own age group and just be a skilled player, be a physically engaged, dominant 200-foot player.”
Engaged. Dominant. Skilled. Those are just a few words to describe how Rosen and Kulich have attacked the tournament so far.
Rosen has tallied two goals and two assists for four points in the tournament, with a two-goal effort to open up the action north of the border as Sweden made a statement in their first game of the tournament last Monday with an 11-0 thrashing over Austria.
Kulich is right behind Rosen in the points category after delivering a hat trick against Austria last Tuesday, helping propel Czechia to a 9-0 victory.
“You could see the excitement when I talked to them (Kulich and Rosen) about how we were going to support them,” Appert stated when discussing the opportunity Kulich and Rosen currently have at the World Juniors. “We know how special it is to put your jersey on for your country. You never know when you're going to get a chance to wear your national team's jersey again, and when you get to put it on, it's extremely special. All those guys have opportunities to lead their countries to medals. We wanted them to embrace it, to take their habits to it, but also really enjoy how special it is to play for your country.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO JANUARY
In the month of January, the Amerks have another 11 games on tap with their busiest month at home of the 2022-23 campaign. The Amerks are faced with three, three-in-fours in the first month of the new calendar year while taking on eight home games in the comfy confines of The Blue Cross Arena.
The Amerks have a home game every Wednesday in the month of January, featuring discounted tickets and beverage prices for college students, while every Friday home contest includes $2 beers at the Genesee Brew House located in arena from 6-7 p.m. The Genesee Brew House is located in the upper concourse and our Pregame Happy Hour will feature live music, bands, and plenty of fun to get the Friday night party started.
Additionally, all games will be carried live on 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV, while the Friday, Jan. 6 matchup against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (live) will be televised live locally on CW Rochester.