GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS TRAVEL TO UTICA TONIGHT
Mar 25, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (29-25-4-3) continue their push to the playoffs tonight with a North Division showdown against the intrastate rival Utica Comets (31-23-6-2) at Adirondack Bank Center. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
With 11 games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, Rochester sits in fourth place in the AHL's North Division standings, just four points ahead of the Belleville Senators and Cleveland Monsters, who are currently tied for the fifth and final playoff spot. The Amerks have two games in hand on Belleville while Cleveland has one on Rochester.
LAST TIME OUT
Trailing 3-0 early in the middle frame, the Amerks answered with three second-period goals, before needing the shootout to complete the 4-3 comeback win over the Hershey Bears Friday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Brett Murray (2+0) became the third different Amerk this season to reach the 40-point mark by scoring twice, while Mason Jobst posted two assists. Joseph Cecconi started the scoring in the second period with his second of the season. Lawrence Pilut, Jiri Kulich, Brendan Warren and Tyson Kozak all tallied an assist.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (16-13-3) matched his career-high in wins on the season as he stopped 26 of 29 shots he faced.
SEASON SERIES SNAPSHOT
Dating back to last season, the intrastate rivals have alternated wins with each team winning at least once at home and on the road to split the season series thus far.
It's been nearly three months to the day since the teams last met back on Dec. 28 when the Amerks came away with a 5-4 overtime win during their season-long six-game win streak to close out the 2022 calendar year. All but two of the six matchups this season have been one-goal games.
Each team has two players with at least five points in the season series in Brett Murray (3+2) and Brandon Biro (1+5), and Ethan Prow (1+4), for Rochester and Brian Pinho (3+2) and Nolan Foote (3+2) for Utica.
SUBBAN SHOULDERING THE WORKLOAD
After suffering a defeat in his season-debut, Subban has gone 16-12-3 since over his last 31 starts, including seven straight wins between Dec. 10 to Jan. 14. The seven-game win streak was the longest of his pro career.
He was the first Amerks goaltender to post seven straight wins since Jonas Johansson won nine consecutive contests during the 2019-20 campaign.
Subban had arguably his best performance of the season during a 75-save weekend in Rochester’s two-game sweep over the Charlotte Checkers in mid-December. A night after stopping a regular-season career-high 45 saves, Subban was flawless in a 30-save shutout on Dec. 17, then his first in the AHL since April 8, 2017, with the Providence Bruins.
It's the first time Subban has posted multiple shutouts in a season since earning three during the 2014-15 campaign with the Providence Bruins. He also matched his previous career-high of 16 wins Friday against Hershey.
BIRO PILING UP THE POINTS
Despite missing a total of nine games due to injury, third-year forward Brandon 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.
Biro, who made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres last season, totaled 11 points (2+9) over a recent five-game point-streak, which began with a career-high five-point effort on March 10 against Hartford.
By factoring in on both goals on March 15 against Laval, he reached the 50-point mark for the first time in his pro career and currently leads with 50 points in 48 games.
He shows 19 points (6+13) over his last 11 games, which includes his first career hat trick in the 7-5 loss at Laval to open the month of March.
He's recorded at least one shot in all but eight games so far this season.
In 111 career games with the Amerks, Biro has totaled 96 points on 29 goals and 67 assists, never going more than seven games without a point over the last three years.
SHARING THE WEALTH
After producing three 20-goal scorers last season, the Amerks could potentially have five or more by the season's end.
Jiri Kulich and Brett Murray share the team with 19 goals each while Linus Weissbach remains at a close second with 18, all career-highs for the trio.
Brandon Biro and Lukas Rousek, the team's top two point-getters this season, along with Michael Mersch come into the weekend with 15 goals
The last time Rochester had at least five different 20-goal scorers in the same season was during the 2018-19 campaign when the team had six.
PROWESS ON THE BLUELINE
Entering the Jan. 19 game against Laval, Ethan Prow was the only Amerks defenseman to appear in every game this season. Overall, he has skated in 125 of the 131 games dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
In 56 games this season, Prow, who recorded his first three-point outing of the season on March 10 against Hartford, is tied for 24th in scoring amongst all AHL defensemen with 33 points while his 27 assists are currently tied for 18th-most at his position. This season marks the fourth straight in which the veteran defenseman has reached the 20-assist mark and the fifth consecutive year with 20 or more points, which includes an abbreviated campaign overseas in 2020-21.
The seventh-year pro has posted 21 points (4+17) in his last 31 outings dating back to Dec. 28 and comes into tonight with two goals and 12 assists over his last 21 games.
He's second among all Amerks defensemen with at least five multi-point outings, including a two-goal effort in the 4-3 win at Syracuse back on Jan. 7, and has never gone more than five games all season without a point.
EARNING THEIR STARS AND STRIPES
With 11 points (5+6) over his last 15 games, Linus Weissbach is 11 points back from the team-lead with 39 points (18+21) through 59 games. By scoring his 18th goal and 38th point of the season back on March 12 against Toronto, he established career-highs in both categories, surpassing the marks he set during his rookie campaign in 2021-22.
Brett Murray, one of three Amerks with at least 40 points on the campaign, has captured a new career-high in all offensive categories from last season, including goals (19), assists (21) and points (40). The fourth-year pro comes into tonight with 14 points (5+9) in his last 17 games and has recorded at least one shot in all but five games during that span dating back to Nov. 23.
With six points (3+3) over his last 17 games, Sean Malone reached the 20-point mark in back-to-back campaigns for the first time in his career. Through 42 contests in his fifth season with the Amerks, Malone has 12 goals and 13 assists.
Amerks captain Michael Mersch shows 30 points (14+16) over his last 36 games dating back to Dec. 17. More impressively, with 39 points in 50 games, he needs just one more point to reach the 40-point mark for the sixth time in his nine-year pro career. The former Calder Cup winner is also a five-time 20-goal scorer, reaching the mark four times in his first five seasons and again last season when he scored a career-high 26 goals.
Through 55 games, defenseman Jeremy Davies established a career-high with 11 goals, reaching the mark for the first time in his pro career while also becoming the first Amerks defenseman this season to do so. Over his last 17 games, Davies has collected five goals and seven assists for 12 points.
Rookie Isak Rosen has posted 15 points (7+8) in 26 games since Jan. 21. In the 7-1 victory over Springfield, Rosen, the Sabres’ first-round selection (14th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft, notched his first-career three-point game as well as his first-ever two-goal outing. Overall, four of his 10 goals on the season have come while on the power-play. Rosen is one of only two rookies this season to reach the 30-point mark.
Mitch Eliot tied his previous career-high in goals (3) at Providence on Feb. 26, reaching the mark in 24 fewer games than the 2021-22 campaign.
A JOBST WELL DONE
Mason Jobst has made the most of his second opportunity with the Amerks as the fourth-year pro is in the process of assembling a career-year.
Through 50 games this season, the Speedway, Indiana, native has already established career-highs in all offensive categories, including goals (13), assists (19) and points (32).
With an assist in the 2-1 loss in Hershey on March 18, Jobst reached the 30-point mark for the first time in his pro career, becoming the ninth different Amerk this season to eclipse the mark.
Since the turn of the New Year, Jobst has amassed 10 goals and 18 points over his previous 24 games, including his first career hat trick in the 7-5 loss to the first-place Toronto Marlies back on Jan. 14. He comes into tonight with six goals and 12 points over his previous 12 games, a stretch highlighted by a career-best three-game goal-scoring streak.
Jobst has totaled 45 points (17+28) over 76 career games with the Amerks dating back to last season.
WORKING OVERTIME
The 4-3 shootout win last night against Hershey was Rochester’s third in four games that went to a shootout and the 15th overall this season (seventh since the New Year) that went beyond regulation.
The Amerks are 6-4 in overtime and show an even 2-3 mark in shootouts.
Rochester has played in the 16th-fewest overtime games in the AHL this season.
Rochester tied an AHL record with 29 overtime games in 2017-18.
SCOUTING THE COMETS
Utica comes into tonight sitting in second place in the AHL's North Division standings with a 31-23-6-2 overall record and have a 6-3-1-0 mark in its last 10 contests. The Comets are two points ahead of the Syracuse Crunch for the second spot in the Division but the Crunch have a game in hand.
The Comets host Rochester fueled by leading point-getter Graeme Clark as he tops all Utica skaters with 21 goals and 49 points, both of which are career-highs from last season. Third-year defenseman Reilly Walsh leads all Utica skaters with 29 assists, which includes four in the last four games, while appearing in all but one game for the Comets this season.
Nico Daws (14-12-2) and Akira Schmid (10-6-3) have shared the goaltending duties for a majority of the season for Utica. Schmid is currently on recall with the New Jersey Devils, where he boasts an 8-5-2 record in 17 games, Prior to his recall, Schmid posted double-digits in wins for the second consecutive season. Daws, meanwhile, matched his win total from last season after winning each of his last three outings following a winless streak that saw him go 0-6-1 from Jan. 13 to Feb. 20.
Utica comes into tonight sitting in second place in the AHL's North Division standings with a 31-23-6-2 overall record and have a 6-3-1-0 mark in its last 10 contests. The Comets are two points ahead of the Syracuse Crunch for the second spot in the Division but the Crunch have a game in hand.
The Comets host Rochester fueled by leading point-getter Graeme Clark as he tops all Utica skaters with 21 goals and 49 points, both of which are career-highs from last season. Third-year defenseman Reilly Walsh leads all Utica skaters with 29 assists, which includes four in the last four games, while appearing in all but one game for the Comets this season.
Nico Daws (14-12-2) and Akira Schmid (10-6-3) have shared the goaltending duties for a majority of the season for Utica. Schmid is currently on recall with the New Jersey Devils, where he boasts an 8-5-2 record in 17 games, Prior to his recall, Schmid posted double-digits in wins for the second consecutive season. Daws, meanwhile, matched his win total from last season after winning each of his last three outings following a winless streak that saw him go 0-6-1 from Jan. 13 to Feb. 20.
SERIES NOTABLES
With Austin Strand making his Amerks debut against Hartford on March 10, he became the 38th overall player to appear in one game with the Amerks in 2022-23 and the 15th defenseman. He was also the 19th different player to don the red, white and blue colors for the first time in their career.
Amerks defenseman Mitch Eliot played his first two pro seasons with the Comets during the team's affiliation with the Vancouver Canucks. In 53 games with the Comets, he produced four goals and nine points.
Comets forward Tyce Thompson is the younger brother of former Amerk and current Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson.
Of Rochester's final 11 games, they will face the Comets twice more as part of a home-and-home series slated for March 31 and April 1. Both teams, who met in the North Division Semifinals last season, each have won three times through the first six games this season and finished the 2021-22 head-to-head series with identical 6-5-1-0 marks.
Rochester Americans vs Utica Comets: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Rochester 3-3-0-0 | Utica 3-2-1-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Rochester 6-5-1-0 | Utica 6-5-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 23-21-1-2 | Utica 24-18-3-2 |
| Rochester vs. Utica Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 14-10-0-1 | Utica 11-10-2-2 |
| Rochester vs. Utica Last 5 Years record at Utica | Rochester 9-11-1-1 | Utica 13-8-1-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Utica 4 @ Rochester 5 (Dec 28 2022) Final OT Utica 5 @ Rochester 2 (Dec 9 2022) Final Rochester 3 @ Utica 2 (Nov 19 2022) Final Utica 3 @ Rochester 2 (Nov 18 2022) Final Rochester 1 @ Utica 2 (Nov 5 2022) Final Utica 3 @ Rochester 5 (Nov 4 2022) Final |
How the 2 teams match up
|
Utica |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 31-23-6-2 -- 70 points | 29-25-4-3 -- 65 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd North | 4th North |
| Conference Ranking | 6th Eastern | 10th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 13th | 20th |
| Past 10 Games | 6-3-1-0 | 3-4-1-2 |
| Streak | 1-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-1 |
| Last Game | 4-3 W vs Syracuse (Mar 24 2023) Final | 4-3 W vs Hershey (Mar 24 2023) Final SO |
| Home Record | 15-9-3-2 | 16-11-2-1 |
| Away Record | 16-14-3-0 | 13-14-2-2 |
| GF | 187 | 199 |
| GA | 187 | 205 |
| PP (Overall) | (33/205) 16.1% | (46/226) 20.4% |
| PP (Home) | (16/97) 16.5% | (30/111) 27.0% |
| PP (Away) | (17/108) 15.7% | (16/115) 13.9% |
| PK (Overall) | (41/186) 78.0% | (40/200) 80.0% |
| PK (Home) | (23/79) 70.9% | (21/94) 77.7% |
| PK (Away) | (18/107) 83.2% | (19/106) 82.1% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (3/15) 20% | (4/17) 23.5% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (4/17) 76.5% | (3/15) 80% |
| Leading Rookie | Nemec (9-16-25) | Kulich (19-19-38) |
| Most PIM | Geertsen - 127 | Davies - 84 |
| Team PIM/GM | 11.5/Game | 11.1/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Clarke (21-28-49) | Biro (15-35-50) |
| Walsh (5-29-34) | Rousek (15-33-48) | |
| Gambardella (9-22-31) | Murray (19-21-40) | |
| Foote (18-12-30) | Weissbach (18-21-39) | |
| Halonen (17-13-30) | Mersch (15-24-39) | |
| Last 5 Games | 4-3 W vs Syracuse (Mar 24 2023) Final | 4-3 W vs Hershey (Mar 24 2023) Final SO |
| 4-1 L @ Laval (Mar 18 2023) Final | 3-2 L vs Syracuse (Mar 21 2023) Final SO | |
| 3-2 W @ Laval (Mar 17 2023) Final | 2-1 L @ Hershey (Mar 18 2023) Final | |
| 4-3 L @ Belleville (Mar 15 2023) Final | 5-4 L @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Mar 17 2023) Final SO | |
| 5-2 L @ Lehigh Valley (Mar 12 2023) Final | 2-0 W vs Laval (Mar 15 2023) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 11-2-3-2 | 17-3-1-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 21-2-2-2 | 20-4-2-1 |
| Tied After 1st | 14-8-2-0 | 6-10-2-1 |
| Tied After 2nd | 6-2-1-0 | 4-2-1-2 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-13-1-0 | 6-12-1-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-19-3-0 | 5-19-1-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 14-7-3-1 | 12-9-2-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 15-14-3-1 | 17-13-2-2 |
| 1-Goal Games | 17-8-6-2 | 13-7-4-3 |
| 2-Goal Games | 3-4-0-0 | 7-7-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 5-5-0-0 | 1-4-0-0 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | Brett Murray | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | -2 |
| 11 | X Lukas Rousek | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -3 |
| 96 | X Anders Bjork | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -2 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | -2 |
| 27 | X Chase Priskie | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| 18 | Isak Rosen | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -2 |
| 43 | Matt Bartkowski | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Jeremy Davies | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Jiri Kulich | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Aleksandr Kisakov | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | -2 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 71 | Filip Cederqvist | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 44 | Tyson Kozak | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 15 | X Riley Sheahan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | X Zach Berzolla | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Joseph Cecconi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 56 | X Kale Clague | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| 88 | X Brandon Davidson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 29 | Michael Houser | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | X Oskari Laaksonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Kohen Olischefski | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 47 | Malcolm Subban | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 55 | X Riese Zmolek | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Michael Houser | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 177:25 | 7 | 2.37 | 0.899 |
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 3 | 3.00 | 0.925 |
| 47 | Malcolm Subban | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 121:26 | 7 | 3.46 | 0.875 |
Utica Comets
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | X Nolan Foote | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | -1 |
| 28 | Brian Pinho | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | -1 |
| 22 | Reilly Walsh | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | -1 |
| 92 | Graeme Clarke | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Brian Halonen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Tyce Thompson | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -5 |
| 15 | Joe Gambardella | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Simon Nemec | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 21 | Nolan Stevens | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Robbie Russo | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -2 |
| 91 | Nick Hutchison | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 26 | Ryan Schmelzer | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 11 | X Andreas Johnsson | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 79 | Samuel Laberge | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | X Jack Dugan | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | -2 |
| 82 | X Nikita Okhotiuk | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 75 | Jeremy Groleau | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 77 | Aarne Talvitie | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 50 | Nico Daws | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 55 | Mason Geertsen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 60 | Jarrod Gourley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 93 | X Akira Schmid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | X Zach Senyshyn | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2 | Michael Vukojevic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Nico Daws | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 297:08 | 13 | 2.63 | 0.893 |
| 93 | X Akira Schmid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 61:35 | 5 | 4.87 | 0.808 |