A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NORTH DIVISION AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE SEASON
Feb 8, 2023By Suzie Cool
The road to the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs continues when the American Hockey League’s 87th season resumes this Friday, Feb. 10.
At the halfway point of the 2022-23 campaign, the Rochester Americans sit in fourth place in the North Division with a 21-17-2-1 overall record. With 45 points on the year, the Amerks sit just one point ahead of the Laval Rocket and four points back from the Syracuse Crunch in the standings.
The Amerks return from the All-Star break with a home game at The Blue Cross Arena on Friday when they host the Atlantic Division’s Springfield Thunderbirds for a 7:05 contest before wrapping up the week’s action on the road against the Crunch on Saturday.
Now that you know what the Amerks are up to this weekend, and where they sit in the North Division standings, here’s closer look at the current state of the North at the official halfway point of the season.
CURRENTLY IN FIRST: TORONTO MARLIES (30-12-1-1)
The first place Marlies went 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games prior to the AHL All-Star hiatus.
Arguably, the biggest signing over the offseason for Toronto was that of forward Logan Shaw. Since signing a three-year deal with the club in July, Shaw was named the 10th captain in franchise history at the start of the 2022-23 campaign and continues to lead the Marlies on the ice with his 52 points in 45 games, which also ranks fourth in the entire league.
Aside from Shaw, Toronto is a young team that’s highly skilled and talented in all areas of the ice. Second-year pro Alex Steeves is averaging nearly a point per game (0.86), while rookie forward Nick Abruzzese ranks fifth amongst active league rookies and leads all Marlies first-year players with his 32 points.
Toronto heads into this weekend with two games ahead of them with back-to-back matchups against the Charlotte Checkers. Friday’s puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Bojangles’ Coliseum, while Saturday’s game starts an hour earlier at 6 p.m.
CURRENTLY IN SECOND: UTICA COMETS (22-16-5-2)
Utica is a severely physical, aggressive and mean team. It’s no surprise that Utica’s slow start to the season has seen them climb the ranks of the North Division and make a comeback towards the top of the standings. The Comets have collected at least one point in 16 of their last 23 games dating back to Dec. 16, going 13-7-2-1 over that span, including an impressive 10-0-2-0 stretch that carried over into the New Year.
Offensively, Graeme Clarke paces all Utica skaters with his 16 goals and 35 points. Defensively, Reilly Walsh and Robbie Russo help add that nasty edge to the Comets blueline. Both defensemen are tied for the team-lead among blueliners with their 20 points on the season.
Between the pipes Utica has, arguably, the best goaltending tandem in the North with Nico Daws and Akira Schmid taking much of the responsibility this season and last. This year, the duo combines for a 20-14-5 record between the pipes, while Daws’ 11 wins on the year are tied for ninth in the league amongst all netminders.
As the AHL resumes play this weekend, the Comets take on the Atlantic Division leaders in the Hershey Bears on Friday night, before heading to Place Bell to take on the Laval Rocket on Saturday. Both puck drops are set for 7 p.m. start times.
CURRENTLY IN THIRD: SYRACUSE CRUNCH (21-15-4-3)
Syracuse is yet another team that the Amerks are all too familiar with after the last few seasons. The Crunch are a heavy, veteran team that’s not afraid to get physical even when the final whistle blows.
Crunch forward Alex Barré-Boulet (15+39) and defenseman Darren Raddysh (12+32) currently lead all Crunch skaters with 54 and 44 points, respectively. Barré-Boulet’s 54 points on the year rank third among all AHL skaters, while Raddysh’s 44 points rank second among all AHL defensemen.
Gabriel Dumont, this year’s North Division AHL All-Star Classic captain, is in his second stint with Syracuse and fourth season overall. Dumont has appeared in 659 career games in the AHL, recording 179 goals and 227 assists for 406 points, including career-highs of 30 goals, 32 assists and 62 points in 2021-22.
This year was Dumont’s second AHL All-Star Classic.
The Crunch are coming back from the break looking to get back on the right track after falling in back-to-back matchups to the Checkers right before the All-Star break. On Friday, the Crunch will take on the Rocket at Place Bell at 7 p.m., before heading home to take on the Amerks on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.
CURRENTLY IN FIFTH: LAVAL ROCKET (18-19-6-2)
Laval is yet another team in the North Division that could put together a sneaky second half push after the break. The Rocket are one of the toughest teams to play against in the North Division because, quite frankly, they’re unlike any other team in the division when it comes to their frantic style of play.
Laval’s offense is powered by forward 2023 AHL All-Star Anthony Richard, who had the second-longest goal-scoring streak in the AHL and his eight-game point streak was tied for the eighth-longest prior to his recall to the Montreal Canadiens in December. This season, Richard has gone on to post 12 multi-point outings in his 38 games played.
Rocket goaltender Cayden Primeau is back in action with Laval and splitting even time with fellow netminder Kevin Poulin. While Primeau, the nephew of former Amerk and 1996 Calder Cup-winner Wayne Primeau, was on recall with the Montreal Canadiens in January, Poulin was left with a lot of the responsibility between the pipes for Laval. However, this season the duo has still gone on to combine for 16 wins, a .885 save percentage and 1150 saves.
After hosting the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, Place Bell will be bumping again this weekend. The Rocket have back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday between the Comets and Crunch, respectively, with both face-offs slated for 7 p.m.
CURRENTLY IN SIXTH: CLEVELAND MONSTERS (17-20-3-2)
Since the last time we took a look around the North Division, the Cleveland Monsters have actually climbed into the sixth place slot, going 4-5-1-0 in their last 10 before the break.
Similar to what the Amerks faced early in the 2022-23 campaign, the Monsters have seen some defensive struggles throughout the course of the season. Hence, why they poached defenseman Brandon Davidson from Rochester at the end of November and the veteran blueliner has gone on to appear in 33 games with Cleveland, registering six points.
The Monsters received some reinforcements back from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Now, although the offensive power that Cleveland usually relies on from Emil Bemstrom and Kirill Marchenko remain in Columbus, Trey Fix-Wolanksy is back with the Monsters and leading the team with his 43 points in 35 games. Additionally, newcomers like David Jiricek and Justin Richards continue to produce big offensive numbers for the Monsters, combining for 47 points through the club’s 42 games so far this season.
This weekend, the Monsters take on the last place Belleville Senators in back-to-back games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Friday’s face-off is slated for 7 p.m. while Saturday’s matinee against the Senators will start at 1 p.m.
CURRENTLY IN SEVENTH: BELLEVILLE SENATORS (17-22-4-1)
The Senators sliding from fourth to seventh in the last month is a little bit shocking with the physical style of play and nasty edge that they bring with their game. And yes, we know they have 17 wins and 39 points on the year just like Cleveland, however, the Monsters get the slight edge in winning percentage – which the Senators sits a North Division low .443.
In his third season with the Senators, forward Egor Sokolov tops all Belleville skaters with 28 assists and 40 points while being one of four players on the Belleville roster to appear in all 44 games this season. Sokolov has also gone a perfect 3-for-3 in shootout attempts this season while also producing six power-play goals.
The Senators have used five different goaltenders to man the crease this season with Kevin Mandolese, Mads Sogaard, Antoine Bibeau, Luke Peressini and Logan Flodell all sharing duties. Sogaard and Bibeau have handled much of the workload, combining to post a 12-17-3 record in 36 appearances.
Before the break, the Senators went just 2-6-1-1 in their last 10 games, however, they have two tough contests ahead of them this weekend. Belleville hits the road to take on the Monsters in back-to-back matchups on Friday and Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, puck drops set for 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.