AMERKS LOOK FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WIN IN CLEVELAND TODAY

GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS, MONSTERS CLOSE OUT WEEKEND SET TONIGHT

Apr 2, 2022

TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

The Rochester Americans (31-25-5-3) close out their weekend set with another go-round against the Cleveland Monsters (24-27-8-4) tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.

GAME NOTES

MEDIA KIT

2021-22 AHL STANDINGS

2021-22 NHL STANDINGS

2021-22 ROCHESTER STATS

2021-22 BUFFALO STATS

2021-22 CLEVELAND STATS

2021-22 COLUMBUS STATS

WATCH LIVE ON AHLTV

LISTEN LIVE ON THE FAN ROCHESTER

Despite having one win in their last five games, the Amerks have earned points in seven of their last nine and are 4-3-2-1 over their last 10 games. The Monsters, meanwhile, have won two of their last four entering tonight.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT

Rochester boasts a 35-14-4-4 record against Cleveland over the last 10 years dating back to the start of the 2011-12 campaign and has earned at least one point in 13 of the last 20 games.

The Amerks have scored 14 power-play goals in their last 17 games against Cleveland dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, going 14-for-66 (21.2%) with the man-advantage over that span. Rochester’s penalty kill unit has been successful in 58-of-73 shorthanded situations (79.5%).

In the previous 13 games with Cleveland, the winning club has scored at least four goals. In seven of the last eight meetings with the Monsters, the Amerks have tallied at least once in the first 20 minutes of play, which includes six of the first seven games this season.

VIEW FROM ROCHESTER

Rochester remains in the thick of what is clearly shaping up to be a very tight race to the finish among its fellow North Division opponents. Six teams, including the Amerks, who have only 12 games remaining on the schedule, show at least 30 wins.

The Amerks sit in six place in the Division with a .547 points percentage through 64 games this season. The top five teams in the North Division are guaranteed to clinch a playoff spot.

Of Rochester’s final 12 games this season, 10 will be played against North Division opponents, which includes three against the Cleveland Monsters and two opposite the league-leading Utica Comets.

With 14 points (5+9) over his last eight games, including four three-point efforts in that span, Jack Quinn is second among all AHL rookies with a team-leading 23 goals and ranks fourth in points (49) while his team-high eight power-play goals are also third-most among all rookies.

Rochester has the AHL’s seventh-best offense. Averaging under four goals per game, the club have scored the third-most goals in the AHL with 215 and have the second-most in the North Division.

AMERKS BOLSTER BLUELINE AT AHL TRADE DEADLINE

The Amerks made only one move during the AHL’s trade deadline earlier this week, but it was one that will undoubtedly positively impact the team in its pursuit of clinching a playoff spot for the second time in four years.

Rochester acquired veteran defenseman Mark Alt from the San Jose Barracuda in exchange for forward Mason Jobst.

Prior to Wednesday versus Utica, Alt, 30, appeared in 46 games with the Barracuda this season, tallying eight points on three goals and five assists.

Alt, who earned his first point as an Amerk last night, is a veteran of 453 AHL games with San Jose, Ontario, Colorado, Lehigh Valley/Adirondack and now Rochester, totaling 126 points (33+93) while also appearing in 20 NHL contests with Los Angeles, Colorado and Philadelphia.

Prior to turning pro, the 6-foot-4, 201-pound blueliner played three seasons at the University of Minnesota, where he amassed 39 points (7+32) in 117 career games with the Gophers.

Alt was a second-round selection (53rd overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2010 NHL Draft.

MARCH MADNESS FOR RUOTSALAINEN

The American Hockey League announced on Friday that Rochester Americans forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has been named the AHL Player of the Month for March.

Ruotsalainen, the AHL Player of the Month, scored eight goals and added 10 assists for 18 points in 13 games for Rochester during March.

Ruotsalainen began the month with back-to-back two-goal efforts, on Mar. 2 vs. Syracuse and as part of a three-point night in a 3-2 overtime victory on Mar. 4 at Belleville. He tallied two assists on Mar. 9 vs. Laval, and then authored a seven-game scoring streak that began with an assist on the game-winning goal in a 3-2 decision at Utica on Mar. 12. Ruotsalainen notched a goal and an assist in the Amerks’ 6-5 overtime win vs. Cleveland on Mar. 19, and posted his fifth multi-point game of the month with a goal and two assists against Bridgeport on Mar. 27.

Ruotsalainen has registered 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points in 44 games for Rochester this season, while adding two goals and two assists in 18 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres. A 24-year-old native of Oulu, Finland, Ruotsalainen signed as a free agent with Buffalo on May 8, 2019, and joined the organization last season after having played with Assat Pori and Ilves Tampere in Finland’s SM-liiga. Over two North American seasons, he has 21 goals and 34 assists in 57 games with the Amerks, along with seven goals and three assists in 35 contests with the Sabres.

POWER-PLAY PROFICIENCY

Rochester’s power-play has gone 54-for-229 with a 23.6% conversion rate that is currently third-best in the AHL. The Amerks’ 54 goals on the man-advantage are most among all North Division teams and are six shy of the AHL lead behind Ontario.

The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in 35 of their first 64 games this season and have registered multiple power-play tallies in 13 overall, including a season-high four goals in the 7-3 win over Hershey back on Nov. 26.

PETERKA FLOURISHING IN SECOND HALF

Coming off his three-goal outing against Cleveland last night, forward JJ Peterka became the third Amerk this season and just the seventh AHL rookie to reach the 20-goal mark.

After scoring just four times through the first three months of the season, Peterka has notched 35 points (16+19) in 35 games to begin 2022, including goals in back-to-back games on four different occasions over that span.

Peterka, who was taken 34th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Sabres, leads all AHL rookies and is fifth in the AHL with 183 shots on goal. He’s only gone two games all season without recording at least one shot on goal.

Peterka made his highly anticipated NHL debut on Dec. 28 as Buffalo hosted New Jersey before visiting the New York Islanders the very next day. Following his return to the Amerks, he totaled five points on two goals and three assists in two games before being honored as the AHL’s Rookie of the Month of the Week for the period ending Jan. 2, 2022.
 
Peterka has been held scoreless just 12 times since Dec. 19 and hasn’t gone more than two games without recording a point during that same span. More impressively, the Amerks are 11-3-0-0 this season when Peterka registers a multi-point game, including 6-0-0-0 on home ice.

With a team-high 55 points (20+35) through 58 games, Peterka is the first Amerks rookie to reach the 50-point mark since Phil Varone had 52 points (11+41) in 76 games during the 2011-12 season. Peterka also leads the team and is ninth in the AHL with 35 assists.

Coming into the weekend, he’s one of only five AHL rookies currently leading his respective team in scoring.

QUINN-TESSENTIAL QUALITIES

Quinn became the first AHL player this season and just the 17th player in Amerks franchise history to score four goals in a game in the 6-5 overtime loss to Belleville on Jan. 15. More impressively, he scored all four goals consecutively, including the game-tying tally with 3.3 seconds remaining in regulation.

He’s the first Amerk to have a four-goal game since Rochester native Derek Whitmore single-handedly outscored Hamilton on Nov. 25, 2011 (5-2 W).

Playing in just his 27th game of the season, Quinn became the first Amerk to score 20 goals in the fewest number of games since Luke Adam reached the mark in 31 games during the 2013-14 campaign.

He was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Month for October after leading all first-year players with 10 points (5+5) through the first month of the regular season. In just six games to begin the season, Quinn surpassed his offensive output from his truncated 2020-21 campaign, and became the first AHL player to reach the 10-point mark this season.
 
Quinn has been held scoreless just seven times all season and hasn’t gone more than two games without recording a point. He has recorded 14 multi-point performances this year. More impressively, the Amerks are a near-perfect 12-1-1-0 this season when Quinn registers a multi-point game, including 8-0-1-0 on home ice.

On Nov. 12, Quinn became the first AHL rookie since Frank Vatrano in 2015-16 to score eight goals through his first 10 games of the season.

Quinn is one of only four AHL rookies with at least eight power-play goals this season.

MERSCH LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Mersch became just the second Amerk this season to reach the 40-point with his 20th goal of the season against Cleveland on March 18. In doing so, he reached the mark for the fifth time in his eight-year pro career.

Mersch has totaled 33 points (16+17) and six multi-point efforts over his last 39 games dating back to Nov. 24. The Amerks captain began that stretch with a five-game goal-scoring streak, the longest of his career and the longest in the AHL this season, while his recent nine-game point streak in January surpassed his previous career-best mark of seven he set during the 2014-15 season.

Mersch also reached the 20-goal mark for the fifth time in eight years and the first time since the 2018-19 season as a member of the Texas Stars. He did so in the second-fewest number of games (47) since 2015-16 when he scored 20 in 35 games with the Ontario Reign. He finished that season with 24 goals in only 52 appearances while also appearing in 17 games with the Los Angeles Kings.

Mersch is one goal away from matching a career-high of 24 when he was a member of the Ontario Reign in the 2015-16 season. With 46 points on the campaign, he’s also just three away from matching his personal-best.

APPERT JOINS ELITE COMPANY

By way of a 6-5 overtime victory over the Cleveland Monsters on March 19, Seth Appert became the sixth straight head coach to reach the 30-win mark in his first full season behind the bench.

Should the Amerks win nine of their remaining 12 games this season, Appert will become the first bench boss to lead his team to 40 wins in his first full season at the helm since Hall of Famer Randy Cunneyworth, who in nine seasons went on to become the winningest coach in franchise history.

Appert is 42-40-11 in 93 career games leading the Amerks dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season.

RACE TO 20

After the cancellation of the remainder of the 2019-20 season and a truncated 2020-21 campaign failed to produce a 20-goal scorer for just the fourth time in franchise history, the Amerks could potentially have several by season’s end with eight players currently with 10 or more goals.

Michael Mersch and Quinn, who both returned to the lineup on March 18 against Cleveland, both reached the mark in their first game back, despite Quinn appearing in 20 fewer games than Mersch. Peterka joined the group on Friday night while Arttu Ruotsalainen (17), Brett Murray (15) and Linus Weissbach (13) are closing in on the milestone as well.

DELL-IVERING IN THE CREASE

Goaltender Aaron Dell began his Amerks career with an impressive six straight wins through his first six starts with Rochester. Before this season, the veteran netminder had never began a season with a win in each of his first six starts at either the NHL or AHL level.

With a win against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Feb. 9, Dell matched his career-best 7-1-0 mark when he posted one from March 20 to April 10 during the 2014-15 season with Worcester. In 14 of his 17 appearances this season, he has made 25 or more saves while also averaging 30 shots-against. He posted a season-high 36 saves on Feb. 26 at Toronto.

THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE

Rochester has two of the league’s top point-producing defensemen in Ethan Prow (9+31) and Oskari Laaksonen (5+25), who enter the weekend fifth and tied for 17th in scoring amongst all blueliners, respectively.

Prow, who reached the 40-point mark for the second time in his AHL career, is also tied for fourth with 31 assists, which are six more than Laaksonen. His nine goals are tied for eighth-most by a defenseman this season and only three off the league lead. With an assist this past Wednesday against Utica, Prow has recorded 22 points (5+17) over his last 28 games. Additionally, he has totaled 121 points (36+85) over his last 174 AHL contests dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.

Laaksonen, who shows four points (1+3) over his last eight games coming into tonight, also ranks fourth among defensemen with 20 power-play assists, as all but five of his 25 assists this season have come on the man-advantage. Equally as impressive, 25 of his 30 points have come on the power-play.

His best performance of the season came back on Jan. 12 when he recorded a career-high four assists in the 7-6 win over Utica, including three in the first period and three of which came on the power-play. He finished two assists shy of tying the franchise record for most in a single game.

FANTASTIC FOUR

The Amerks currently own four of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Brandon Biro and Linus Weissbach, all of whom have combined for 174 points (65+109) through Rochester’s first 64 games this season.

Peterka’s torrid start to the second half of the year has him tied for first among all rookies in points (55), third in assists (35) and tied for fourth in goals (20).

Quinn, the Buffalo Sabres’ eighth overall pick in 2020, is second among all first-year players with a team-high 23 goals and ranks fourth in points (49) despite only appearing in 33 games.

Quinn became the 101st AHL player this season to make his NHL debut when he took the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 11. He finished with team-highs in shots (3) and shot attempts (6) while earning 16:30 of total ice time. He then returned to the Sabres a day after scoring his 18th goal of the season for Rochester and was rewarded with his first two NHL points, including a goal against Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion Braden Holtby in the Sabres’ 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars on Jan 20.

Despite missing the last 15 games due to injury, Biro is still tied for 12th in scoring amongst all rookies with 36 points (9+27) in 40 games.

Weissbach has notched 14 points (4+10) in his last 21 games. He finished the month of February with 11 points (1+10) in 13 contests, including a season-high three-assist effort on Feb. 27 at Toronto to bring the month to a close.

With Peterka already at 55 points and Quinn at 49 points, it marks the first time since the 2006-07 season the club will finish the regular season with multiple rookies with 40 or more points.

THE ROAD TO BUFFALO LEADS THROUGH ROCHESTER

Players that have appeared in at least one game this season for both Rochester and Buffalo:

FORWARDS (8)
Brandon Biro*
Mark Jankowski
Peyton Krebs
Ryan MacInnis
Brett Murray
JJ Peterka*
Jack Quinn*
Arttu Ruotsalainen

DEFENSEMEN (3)
Casey Fitzgerald*
Ethan Prow*
Mattias Samuelsson

GOALTENDERS (3)
Aaron Dell
Michael Houser
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

* = Made NHL debut

WORKING OVERTIME

Rochester’s 6-5 overtime loss to Bridgeport on Sunday was the 16th game this season - and ninth since Feb. 11 - that went beyond regulation for the Amerks.

The Amerks are 6-5 in overtime but show just a 2-3 mark in shootouts.

Only five more teams have played more overtime games than the Amerks.

Rochester tied an AHL record with 29 overtime games in 2017-18.

OTHER AMERKS NOTABLES

Of the 16 different defensemen the Amerks have used this season, 15 have notched at least one point while 11 have recorded at least one goal. Additionally, of the 26 different forwards to appear in one game for Rochester, 19 have scored a goal and 22 have produced a point.

Over his last 39 games since the turn of the New Year, Amerks forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has tallied 41 points on 16 goals and 25 assists, a stretch which began with a three-point effort versus Hartford on Jan. 2. Ruotsalainen has also turned in a multi-point effort in 11 games over that same span, an impressive run highlighted by three consecutive two-goal games for the first time in his AHL career. He’s recorded at least one point in 13 of his last 15 outings since Feb. 27.

Wednesday night, Ethan Prow became the fifth different Amerk to reach the 40-point mark, joining Peterka, Quinn, Mersch and Ruotsalainen.

Rochester is the only team in the league this season with five players who have 40 or more points this season. Additionally, the club is only team to have three different rookies with at least 10 goals, 20 assists and 30 points in Peterka, Quinn and Weissbach.

Rochester Americans vs Cleveland Monsters: Head To Head Stats
Summary

Description

Result

Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season Rochester 4-3-0-0 Cleveland 3-3-1-0
Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season Rochester 2-4-0-0 Cleveland 4-1-0-1
Last 5 Years record between teams Rochester 16-9-1-2 Cleveland 12-11-4-1
Rochester vs. Cleveland Last 5 Years record at Rochester Rochester 7-5-1-2 Cleveland 8-5-2-0
Rochester vs. Cleveland Last 5 Years record at Cleveland Rochester 9-4-0-0 Cleveland 4-6-2-1
Previous Meetings This Season Rochester 4 @ Cleveland 5 (Apr 1 2022) Final
Cleveland 5 @ Rochester 6 (Mar 19 2022) Final OT
Cleveland 4 @ Rochester 5 (Mar 18 2022) Final
Rochester 3 @ Cleveland 7 (Jan 22 2022) Final
Rochester 4 @ Cleveland 1 (Jan 21 2022) Final
Cleveland 0 @ Rochester 4 (Nov 13 2021) Final
Cleveland 4 @ Rochester 3 (Nov 12 2021) Final

How the two teams match up

 

Cleveland

Rochester

Team Record 24-27-8-4 -- 60 points 31-25-5-3 -- 70 points
Division Ranking 7th North 6th North
Conference Ranking 14th Eastern 9th Eastern
League Ranking 28th 17th
Past 10 Games 4-4-2-0 4-3-2-1
Streak 1-0-0-0 0-1-0-0
Last Game 5-4 W vs Rochester (Apr 1 2022) Final 5-4 L @ Cleveland (Apr 1 2022) Final
Home Record 11-15-4-1 16-11-3-2
Away Record 13-12-4-3 15-14-2-1
GF 176  215 
GA 216  238 
PP (Overall) (34/203) 16.7% (54/229) 23.6%
PP (Home) (12/106) 11.3% (27/114) 23.7%
PP (Away) (22/97) 22.7% (27/115) 23.5%
PK (Overall) (52/234) 77.8% (43/224) 80.8%
PK (Home) (20/110) 81.8% (21/117) 82.1%
PK (Away) (32/124) 74.2% (22/107) 79.4%
PP vs. Opp. (6/21) 28.6% (4/24) 16.7%
PK vs. Opp. (4/24) 83.3% (6/21) 71.4%
Leading Rookie Angle (8-23-31) Peterka (20-35-55)
Most PIM Sweezey - 86 Pekar - 56
Team PIM/GM 12.9/Game 12.7/Game
Leading Scorers Christiansen (12-30-42) Peterka (20-35-55)
  Angle (8-23-31) Quinn (23-26-49)
  Scott (14-16-30) Mersch (23-23-46)
  Gaunce (16-12-28) Ruotsalainen (16-27-43)
  Sikura (11-17-28) Prow (9-31-40)
Last 5 Games 5-4 W vs Rochester (Apr 1 2022) Final 5-4 L @ Cleveland (Apr 1 2022) Final
  4-2 L vs Chicago (Mar 29 2022) Final 4-3 W vs Utica (Mar 30 2022) Final
  6-3 L vs Charlotte (Mar 27 2022) Final 6-5 L vs Bridgeport (Mar 27 2022) Final OT
  1-0 W vs Charlotte (Mar 25 2022) Final 5-1 L @ Syracuse (Mar 26 2022) Final
  4-0 L @ Syracuse (Mar 23 2022) Final 3-2 L vs Toronto (Mar 25 2022) Final SO
Leading After 1st 12-1-2-0 19-3-1-2
Leading After 2nd 14-2-0-0 20-1-2-1
Tied After 1st 7-5-4-3 5-5-3-1
Tied After 2nd 7-2-4-2 7-1-3-2
Trailing After 1st 5-21-2-1 7-17-1-0
Trailing After 2nd 3-23-4-2 4-23-0-0
Out Shooting Opponents 12-16-4-0 5-12-2-0
Out Shot by Opponents 10-8-3-4 26-13-3-2
1-Goal Games 16-4-8-4 17-6-5-3
2-Goal Games 2-8-0-0 7-6-0-0
3-Goal Games 1-9-0-0 2-5-0-0


Rochester Americans

# Player GP G A PTS PIM +/-
77 JJ Peterka 7 8 5 13 6 4
22 Jack Quinn 5 4 6 10 0 3
28 Michael Mersch 7 4 2 6 0 0
14 Mark Jankowski 5 2 4 6 4 0
25 Arttu Ruotsalainen 5 3 2 5 4 -1
13 Linus Weissbach 7 1 4 5 2 2
10 Brandon Biro 3 0 4 4 0 3
44 Josh Teves 7 2 1 3 2 5
72 Ryan MacInnis 5 1 2 3 5 0
2 Oskari Laaksonen 7 0 3 3 4 0
7 Ethan Prow 6 0 3 3 2 2
24 X Mattias Samuelsson 2 0 3 3 2 2
81 Brett Murray 5 1 1 2 2 -1
18 Ben Holmstrom 2 0 2 2 0 2
4 Jimmy Schuldt 5 0 2 2 4 2
47 Nick Boka 2 1 0 1 0 0
5 X Casey Fitzgerald 4 1 0 1 5 2
21 X Ara Nazarian 2 1 0 1 0 0
3 Mark Alt 1 0 1 1 0 1
52 Mitch Eliot 5 0 1 1 4 -1
19 X Peyton Krebs 2 0 1 1 0 0
11 Lukas Rousek 3 0 1 1 0 -2
91 Ryan Scarfo 5 0 1 1 2 0
88 Brandon Davidson 1 0 0 0 0 0
80 Aaron Dell 1 0 0 0 0 0
29 X Dominic Franco 2 0 0 0 4 -1
26 X Mason Jobst 2 0 0 0 0 0
70 Nate Knoepke 2 0 0 0 0 -1
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 4 0 0 0 0 0
17 Sean Malone 2 0 0 0 0 1
51 Kohen Olischefski 1 0 0 0 0 -1
12 Matej Pekar 4 0 0 0 2 0
27 Patrick Polino 2 0 0 0 0 -1
32 X Mat Robson 1 0 0 0 0 0
16 Peter Tischke 3 0 0 0 0 0
45 Brendan Warren 5 0 0 0 2 1
35 X Charles Williams 1 0 0 0 0 0

 

# Player GP W L OT MIN GA GAA SV%
32 X Mat Robson 1 1 0 0 59:43 1 1.00 0.972
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 4 2 2 0 241:54 14 3.47 0.905
80 Aaron Dell 1 1 0 0 60:00 4 4.00 0.886
35 X Charles Williams 1 0 1 0 58:49 5 5.10 0.800


Cleveland Monsters

# Player GP G A PTS PIM +/-
10 X Brendan Gaunce 4 5 1 6 0 -1
23 Jake Christiansen 5 2 3 5 0 2
64 Trey Fix-Wolansky 3 3 1 4 2 3
17 Carson Meyer 7 3 1 4 17 0
77 Tyler Angle 7 1 3 4 0 0
12 Cole Cassels 7 1 3 4 6 -7
20 Justin Scott 7 0 4 4 2 -4
16 Tyler Sikura 7 0 4 4 11 3
42 Cole Fonstad 5 1 2 3 0 2
25 Jake Gaudet 5 1 2 3 2 1
18 Dillon Simpson 7 1 2 3 4 3
26 Thomas Schemitsch 7 0 3 3 2 -2
27 Tristan Mullin 7 2 0 2 0 -4
50 Robbie Payne 3 2 0 2 0 -1
4 Scott Harrington 4 0 2 2 2 -2
13 Roman Ahcan 3 1 0 1 0 1
22 Tim Berni 7 1 0 1 0 -5
13 X Justin Danforth 2 1 0 1 0 -1
29 X Zach Jordan 1 1 0 1 2 1
34 Cole Clayton 5 0 1 1 2 -4
19 Liam Foudy 2 0 1 1 0 -1
14 Adam Helewka 4 0 1 1 2 -4
82 Kevin Stenlund 3 0 1 1 0 -1
6 Billy Sweezey 7 0 1 1 2 1
35 X Jean-Francois Berube 3 0 0 0 0 0
21 Josh Dunne 2 0 0 0 2 -3
44 Brett Gallant 3 0 0 0 4 -1
31 Jet Greaves 2 0 0 0 0 0
33 Cam Johnson 1 0 0 0 0 0
7 Owen Sillinger 1 0 0 0 2 -1
37 X Jake Slaker 1 0 0 0 0 -1
40 X Daniil Tarasov 1 0 0 0 0 0

 

# Player GP W L OT MIN GA GAA SV%
40 X Daniil Tarasov 1 1 0 0 60:00 3 3.00 0.893
33 Cam Johnson 1 1 0 0 60:00 4 4.00 0.905
31 Jet Greaves 2 1 1 0 117:55 8 4.07 0.857
35 X Jean-Francois Berube 3 0 2 1 182:43 13 4.27 0.822
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