GAMEDAY NOTES & QUOTES: FRIDAY, MARCH 10
Lineup notes & quotes from Coach Appert ahead of tonight's game
Mar 10, 2023The Rochester Americans return to Blue Cross Arena after a six-game road trip to host the Hartford Wolf Pack tonight at 7:05pm. The game kicks off another three-in-three weekend for Rocheste, who sit at fourth place in the North Division.
LINEUP NOTES
Malcolm Subban will get the nod between the pipes. Subban has a .901 save percantage in 26 games played so far this season.
Forwards Filip Cederqvist and Tyson Kozak will not be in the lineup and are listed as day-to-day. Head Coach Seth Appert said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Cederqvist returns to the lineup this weekend.
While Matej Pekar was recalled from the Cincinnati Cyclones this morning, he won’t be in the lineup tonight.
Defenseman Austin Strand will make his Amerks debut tonight, while forward Carson Gicewicz will suit up for the home crowd for the first time. Strand, acquired from the San Diego Gulls last Friday, will be paired with Matt Bartkwoski on the blue line.
"We've got eight very good defensemen, but we want to get 'Strandy' in there and show us what he's got. I know he's excited to get in the lineup for us tonight."
Gicewicz, who saw his first Amerks action last weekend after being acquired from the Rockford Ice Hogs last Thursday, will once again be on a line with Brendan Warren.
Forwards Brett Murray, Brandon Biro, and Lukas Rousek have seen a lot of ice time together recently, but that won’t be the case against the Wolf Pack tonight.
"They have a good combination of speed, intelligence, size; they complement each other. We just felt those guys are playing so well that we want them to influence all of our lines. I think it's really important that we have depth of scoring."
To get the offense going, the lines will be shaken up a bit tonight from what we saw last weekend.
WORTH MENTIONING
Both teams enter tonight having scored 50 or more goals int he second period this season.
Tonight's roster features a combined five skaters from New York: Bobby Trivigno (Setauket), Adam Ciendening (Niagara Falls), Carson Gicewicz (Orchard Park), Joe Cecconi (Youngstown), and Sean Malone (Buffalo).
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Tonight is the lone visit that the Hartford Wolf Pack will make to Rochester this season, as they sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. The Wolf Pack dropped a 4-0 decision to the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday night, and are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Hartford’s roster had a few changes with last week’s trade deadline: the team acquired forward Anton Blidh and defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk in two deals from their parent club, the New York Rangers.
“When you look at their D-core, it's a pretty elite D-core for the American Hockey League. There's a lot of prospects, there's a lot of guys with high-end talent that look like they're going to be future NHL defensemen. I think their forwards strength are their depth."
Forwards Will Cuylle and Tanner Fritz lead the Wolf Pack with 32 points so far this season. Cuylle, a second-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2020, paces their squad with 19 goals. Fritz paces the squad with 27 assists.
Goaltender Louis Domingue, who has 142 NHL games and 159 AHL games under his belt, has a 13-12-7-2 record and a .906 save percentage so far this season. Domingue has started the last two games for the Wolf Pack, but with a three-in-three weekend, the starting job could still go to rookie netminder Dylan Garand.
GAME NIGHT INFORMATION
Celebrate Irish Night, presented by Rohrbach Brewing Company with the Rochester Americans tonight! Doors open at 6pm and the first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a green Amerks and Rohrbach-branded stein.
100 lucky fans will also have the chance to win an additional prize at the Pot of Gold located at the end of the rainbow in the Hall of Fame area.
BUY TICKETS NOW IRISH NIGHT DETAILS
Friday nights are Pregame Happy Hour, brought to you by the Genesee Brewery! Enjoy $2 drafts from 6pm until puck drop at the Genesee Brew House inside Blue Cross Arena.
Tonight’s Jersey Mike’s Hot Players are Aleksandr Kisakov, Brett Murray, and Jeremy Davies. If a Hot Player scores, you can get 50% off your meal tomorrow at Jersey Mike’s in Rochester. If a Hot Player scores a hat trick, you get a free sub!
March is the Month of Giving at Jersey Mike’s: you can donate to Special Olympics New York all month long in store or on the Jersey Mike’s app. Wednesday, March 29, is the Day of Giving: ALL proceeds on that Wednesday will be donated.