AMERKS END 2024 WITH STRAIGHT A’S ON DECEMBER REPORT CARD
Dec 31, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans were rewarded this holiday season with a winning record and a first-place finish to end the calendar year on top of the North Division. A 9-2-0-0 mark in December saw the benefits of the Amerks’ process through the first two months of the season come full circle, as the team played with a consistent identity that sees the Amerks as one of the best teams in the American Hockey League nearing the midway point of the 2024-25 season.
Individual accolades and team success outside the Flower City contributed to straight A’s across the board for the red, white and blue.
ROAD REVERENCE: A+
The Amerks continue to call whatever venue they play at outside of Rochester their home away from home. A seven-game slate of road hockey, beginning with a season long five-game road trip, ended with Rochester boasting a 6-1-0-0 record outside the Flower City in December. Through those seven outings, the Amerks outscored their opposition, 27-11.
Collectively, the Amerks have amassed a 13-3-1-0 record away from home, ranking atop the AHL with more road wins and points (27) than any of the other 31 teams. Isak Rosen was a standout on the road, scoring four goals and six points during December’s road slate. Kale Clague packed accordingly as well, with the veteran blue liner banking seven points (3+4) on visiting ice.
At their current pace, Rochester would be projected to reach 26 road wins across the 2024-25 campaign. In franchise history, the team has won no higher than 25 games on the road, doing so twice (1998-99, 2018-19).
MURR IS MONEY: A
It was eight crazy goals for Brett Murray this holiday season, who led the Amerks in scoring through December and leads the team with 14 goals this season. Murray, a sixth-year Amerk, is nine goals shy of tying his career high 23-goal season set in the 2022-23 season. Murray is also 10 games shy of 300 as an Amerk.
The Bolton, Ontario native is tied for seventh in goal scoring across the league and is one of just four players in the North Division with 14 or more goals. Additionally, Murray leads the AHL with eight power play goals, having scored two in the month. He also netted two game-winning-goals in December and had two multi-goal games in the month.
BEAST MODE: A+
The recently turned 23-year-old Devon Levi was magical in goal during his first full month with the Amerks this season, churning out a 7-1-0-0 record in December. Amongst those games was the young pro’s second career shutout December 7, when Levi made 30 saves and notched an assist against Charlotte. Levi allowed fewer than three goals in five of his December starts and recorded a save percentage of .910 or greater five times.
On the season, Levi’s 2.21 goals-against-average is eighth best in the AHL. The Quebec native is fifth in the league with 10 wins, despite playing four or more fewer games than the four goaltenders ahead of him. The Sabres’ prospect is one of four goaltenders with two or more assists on the season, becoming the first Amerks goaltender to reach multiple assists since Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tallied two in the 2021-22 season.
JANUARY SYLLABUS
The calendar flips to 2025 for the Amerks, but their travels on the road remain. For a second straight month, Rochester will play seven of its 11 games away from the Flower City. For the first time this season, the red, white, and blue will play more games outside the North Division than within it, with seven Atlantic Division matchups on tap.
Rochester hosts three Friday night games against Utica (January 10), Lehigh Valley (January 17), and Syracuse (January 31). The Amerks will finish their season series against the Bears with a trip to Hershey January 19 as well as Hartford for their final game of the year against the Wolf Pack January 25.
Both of Rochester’s games against Lehigh Valley come on back-to-back nights January 17-18, while their first of two games in season series’ against Springfield, Bridgeport, and Providence are scattered as road contests throughout the month.