AMERKS CLOSE OUT PRESEASON TODAY AGAINST SYRACUSE

GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS PUT HOME WIN STREAK ON THE LINE TONIGHT AGAINST SYRACUSE

Nov 2, 2022

TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

The Rochester Americans (4-3-0-0) begin the month of November tonight with three games over a four-day stretch beginning with a North Division showdown against the intrastate rival Syracuse Crunch (1-3-1-2) at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.

TONIGHT'S ROSTERS

LINE CHARTS

GAME NOTES

MEDIA KIT

2022-23 AHL STANDINGS

2022-23 NHL STANDINGS

2022-23 ROCHESTER STATS

2022-23 BUFFALO STATS

2022-23 SYRACUSE STATS

2022-23 TAMPA BAY STATS

LISTEN LIVE!

WATCH ON AHLTV

Tonight's matchup is the third in five games between the two teams and the eighth of 15 straight contests against North Division opponents to open the season. Its Rochester's longest stretch of the season against divisional  foes.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT

In the first meeting of the season-series, the Amerks used three third-period goals, including one with three seconds left in regulation, to earn a 4-3 victory on Oct. 21. The next night in Syracuse, the Crunch flipped the script as they tallied four in the final 20 minutes of play to pick up a 6-2 win.

The Amerks have scored a power-play goal in 20 of their last 35 games against Syracuse, going 32-for-120 (26.7%) with the man-advantage over that span. Additionally, Rochester has collected at least one point in 26 of the last 45 games against the Crunch dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.

After scoring one goal and five assists in 11 games against the Crunch during the 2021-22 campaign, second-year forward Linus Weissbach currently leads all Rochester skaters with four points (2+2) in two games this season. 

Goaltenders Max Lagace and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have played every minute in the first two games of the season-series thus far.

LAST TIME OUT

Forwards Brandon Biro (0+2), Mason Jobst (0+2), Isak Rosen (1+1) and Jiri Kulich (1+1) all recorded a multi-point outing on the strength of a 31-save effort from Michael Houser to help the Amerks collect a 5-1 victory over the Laval Rocket Saturday at Place Bell.

By splitting the weekend series, Rochester finished the first month of the regular season with .571 winning percentage as they show a 4-3-0-0 record through its first seven games. It marks the seventh straight season the club has a .500 winning percentage or better dating back to 2016-17.

Along with Biro, Jobst, Rosen and Kulich all earning points, Weissbach, Brett Murray, and Anders Bjork all scored once in the win. Weissbach and Biro are tied for the team’s scoring lead with seven points on the season while Rosen and Kulich pace the team’s rookies with six points each.

Defenseman Matt Bartkowski made his Amerks debut while Houser made his first start of the campaign. Houser finished the contest making 31 saves to earn his first AHL win since Jan. 2, 2022.

POWER-PLAY PROFICIENCY

Seven of the Amerks 21 goals this season have come on the power-play, which are tied for 10th-most among any team in the AHL. By going 7-for-28 while on the man-advantage, Rochester is tied for eighth in the league with a 25.0% conversion rate.

The Amerks' six power-play goals at home are tied for second-most this season, going for 6-for-16 through their first three home matchups.

 

CALDER CUP CHAMPION JOINS AMERKS

The Amerks added their third veteran in as many days on Monday with the reassignment of forward Riley Sheahan on Monday. He joins Brandon Davidson and Matt Bartkowski as Rochester's latest roster additions.

Sheahan, who returned to the Sabres organization following a year away, hasn't appeared in a game this season as he began the campaign on the injured reserved. The 30-year old forward posted 13 points (4+9) in 53 games during his previous stint with Buffalo in 2020-21.

The St. Catharines, Ontario native has amassed 194 points (74+120) in 635 NHL games between Buffalo, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Pittsburgh and Seattle. He also has 58 points (26+32) in 114 games with Grand Rapids and Charlotte at the AHL level, winning the Calder Cup with the Griffins in 2013.

YOUTH MOVEMENT LEADING ROCHESTER

With seven points each through the first seven games, Linus Weissbach  (4+3) and Brandon Biro (2+5) are tied for the team scoring lead. Neither have gone more than two games without recording a point.

Weissbach, Buffalo’s seventh-round selection (192nd overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, notched his second career three-point (2+1) outing in the first meeting with Syracuse back on Oct. 21. The Swedish forward has produced at least one shot in five of the first seven games and leads all Rochester forwards with 15 shots on the campaign.

Biro also has at least one shot in five of the first seven games. He is tied for fifth overall amongst all Amerks forwards. Last season, Biro finished his second pro season notching 41 points (12+29) while also making his NHL debut with the Sabres at Montreal on Feb. 23.

Isak Rosen (2+4) and Jiri Kulich (1+5) pace the team's rookies with six points each while being tied for eighth in the AHL scoring race amongst all first-year skaters.

Rosen, the Sabres’ first-round selection in 2021 (14th overall), spent the 2021-22 season with Leksands in Sweden, where he made his debut in the Swedish Hockey League. He led all 17-year-olds with the Leksands U20 as he posted 35 points (21+14) in 38 games. 

At age 18, Kulich, Buffalo's first-round selection (28th overall) in 2022, is among the youngest players in the AHL. He shows five assists in his first seven games of the young season, tying him for fourth in the league among AHL rookies in that category.

SCOUTING THE CRUNCH

The Crunch, who begin a three-game road swing tonight, come into the matchup winless on the road this season and with an overall record of 1-3-1-2.

Back for his fifth season with Syracuse, Alex Barré-Boulet (2+10) currently leads the AHL in scoring with 10 assists and 12 points in seven games. He tops all Syracuse skaters with 28 shots. 

Entering tonight, Barré-Boulet has an astounding 211 points (87+124) in 209 career games with the Crunch dating back to his breakout rookie season in 2018-19. The undrafted forward was named the AHL's most outstanding rookie and finished as the league's top goal-scorer that year with 34 tallies in 74 games, earning him AHL All-Rookie Team honors.

SERIES NOTABLES

Amerks defenseman Chase Priskie spent part of the 2020-21 season with the Crunch, notching seven points (3+4) in 15 games. In five games against Rochester that year, Priskie recorded three assists. 

Rochester assistant coach Michael Peca spent the majority of the 1994-95 season with the Crunch, where he produced 34 points on 10 goals and 24 assists in just 35 games. It marked Peca’s one of two brief stops in his AHL career, the other being a nine-game stint with the Hamilton Canucks.

So far this season, the Amerks have used 11 different defensemen, which is tied for most in the AHL alongside the Cleveland Monsters.

The Amerks are off to their first 3-0-0-0 start on home ice since the 2006-07 campaign when Rochester won its first nine straight home games to begin the season. All three wins have come by way of four or more goals. The only team with a better home record this season is Charlotte, which has gone 4-0-0-0 and have outscored the opposition 15-10.

Syracuse Crunch vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary

Description

Result

Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season Syracuse 1-1-0-0 Rochester 1-1-0-0
Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season Syracuse 8-3-1-0 Rochester 4-6-2-0
Last 5 Years record between teams Syracuse 25-15-5-2 Rochester 22-19-5-1
Syracuse vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Syracuse Syracuse 11-9-2-2 Rochester 13-9-2-0
Syracuse vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester Syracuse 14-6-3-0 Rochester 9-10-3-1
Previous Meetings This Season Rochester 2 @ Syracuse 6 (Oct 22 2022) Final
Syracuse 3 @ Rochester 4 (Oct 21 2022) Final

How the two teams match up

     
 

Rochester

Syracuse

Team Record 4-3-0-0 -- 8 points 1-3-1-2 -- 5 points
Division Ranking 2nd North 5th North
Conference Ranking 7th Eastern 12th Eastern
League Ranking 15th 26th
Past 10 Games 4-3-0-0 1-3-1-2
Streak 1-0-0-0 0-2-1-0
Last Game 5-1 W @ Laval (Oct 29 2022) Final 4-2 L vs Cleveland (Oct 29 2022) Final
Home Record 3-0-0-0 1-1-1-0
Away Record 1-3-0-0 0-2-0-2
GF 21  26 
GA 26  30 
PP (Overall) (7/28) 25.0% (8/23) 34.8%
PP (Home) (6/16) 37.5% (2/10) 20.0%
PP (Away) (1/12) 8.3% (6/13) 46.2%
PK (Overall) (8/24) 66.7% (6/26) 76.9%
PK (Home) (3/11) 72.7% (3/14) 78.6%
PK (Away) (5/13) 61.5% (3/12) 75.0%
PP vs. Opp. (2/8) 25% (2/6) 33.3%
PK vs. Opp. (2/6) 66.7% (2/8) 75%
Leading Rookie Rosen (2-4-6) Finley (1-2-3)
Most PIM Weissbach - 14 Labrie - 19
Team PIM/GM 11.0/Game 13.1/Game
Leading Scorers Weissbach (4-3-7) Barré-Boulet (2-10-12)
  Biro (2-5-7) Robert (6-4-10)
  Malone (2-4-6) Raddysh (3-7-10)
  Rosen (2-4-6) Smith (3-7-10)
  Rousek (2-4-6) Ryfors (5-3-8)
Last 5 Games 5-1 W @ Laval (Oct 29 2022) Final 4-2 L vs Cleveland (Oct 29 2022) Final
  8-1 L @ Laval (Oct 28 2022) Final 4-3 L vs Toronto (Oct 28 2022) Final OT
  6-2 L @ Syracuse (Oct 22 2022) Final 5-3 L @ Toronto (Oct 26 2022) Final
  4-3 W vs Syracuse (Oct 21 2022) Final 6-2 W vs Rochester (Oct 22 2022) Final
  4-3 W vs Belleville (Oct 19 2022) Final OT 4-3 L @ Rochester (Oct 21 2022) Final
Leading After 1st 2-1-0-0 1-0-0-0
Leading After 2nd 2-1-0-0 1-2-0-1
Tied After 1st 1-0-0-0 0-2-0-1
Tied After 2nd 0-0-0-0 0-0-0-0
Trailing After 1st 1-2-0-0 0-1-1-1
Trailing After 2nd 2-2-0-0 0-1-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents 3-0-0-0 0-1-1-1
Out Shot by Opponents 1-2-0-0 0-2-0-1
1-Goal Games 2-0-0-0 0-1-1-2
2-Goal Games 1-1-0-0 0-2-0-0
3-Goal Games 0-0-0-0 0-0-0-0

Syracuse Crunch
# Player GP G A PTS PIM +/-
36 Felix Robert 2 3 1 4 0 3
85 Daniel Walcott 2 2 2 4 4 3
24 Darren Raddysh 2 1 2 3 0 4
46 Gemel Smith 2 1 2 3 4 0
4 Trevor Carrick 2 1 1 2 2 1
12 Alex Barré-Boulet 2 0 2 2 0 0
9 Gabriel Fortier 2 1 0 1 0 0
78 Jaydon Dureau 1 0 1 1 0 2
39 Gage Goncalves 2 0 1 1 2 1
22 P.C. Labrie 2 0 1 1 2 1
15 Simon Ryfors 2 0 1 1 0 1
21 Jack Thompson 2 0 1 1 0 0
72 Declan Carlile 2 0 0 0 0 0
74 Sean Day 2 0 0 0 0 1
54 Lucas Edmonds 2 0 0 0 0 0
16 X Shawn Element 1 0 0 0 0 -1
62 Jack Finley 2 0 0 0 2 -1
20 Ryan Jones 2 0 0 0 0 0
33 Max Lagace 2 0 0 0 0 0
80 Ilya Usau 2 0 0 0 0 0
 
# Player GP W L OT MIN GA GAA SV%
33 Max Lagace 2 1 1 0 119:53 6 3.00 0.909

Rochester Americans
# Player GP G A PTS PIM +/-
13 Linus Weissbach 2 2 2 4 2 -2
10 Brandon Biro 2 0 2 2 0 -2
56 X Kale Clague 2 0 2 2 0 -4
52 Mitch Eliot 1 1 0 1 2 -1
44 Tyson Kozak 2 1 0 1 0 1
17 Sean Malone 2 1 0 1 0 0
81 Brett Murray 2 1 0 1 0 -1
96 Anders Bjork 2 0 1 1 0 -1
71 Filip Cederqvist 2 0 1 1 0 0
26 Mason Jobst 2 0 1 1 2 0
25 Jiri Kulich 2 0 1 1 0 -1
18 Isak Rosen 2 0 1 1 0 -2
4 X Jeremy Davies 2 0 0 0 2 0
51 Aleksandr Kisakov 2 0 0 0 0 0
2 Oskari Laaksonen 2 0 0 0 2 -1
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 2 0 0 0 0 0
27 Chase Priskie 1 0 0 0 0 0
7 Ethan Prow 2 0 0 0 0 0
11 Lukas Rousek 2 0 0 0 0 -2
16 Peter Tischke 2 0 0 0 2 0
 
# Player GP W L OT MIN GA GAA SV%
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 2 1 1 0 119:00 8 4.03 0.849
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