AMERKS HOST COMETS TONIGHT IN FINAL PRESEASON TUNE-UP
Oct 9, 2022TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans conclude their 2022 preseason schedule this afternoon when they host the intrastate rival Utica Comets at The Blue Cross Arena. Opening face-off is slated for 5:00 p.m.
Following today’s exhibition contest, the Amerks and Comets will face-off a total of eight times (four home and four road) during the 2022-23 regular season, beginning on Friday, Nov. 4 when the cross-town rivals meet for a home-and-home series on Nov. 4 and 5.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
The intrastate rivals alternated wins over the 12-game series last season with each team showing a 6-5-1-0 mark. Rochester showed a 4-2-0-0 record at home versus Utica and a 2-3-1-0 record on the road.
The Amerks were the first team to hand the Comets their first regulation loss of the season in 2021-22 after Utica posted an AHL-best and franchise- record 13-game win streak to begin the campaign.
Jack Quinn led the Amerks with 14 points (4+10) in eight games against Utica last season while Sean Malone, who was reassigned to Rochester on Saturday from the parent Buffalo Sabres, paced all Rochester skaters with five goals in 11 games opposite the Comets.
AMERKS DROP PRESEASON OPENER
A pair of third-period power-play goals and 43 shots were not enough for the Rochester Americans (0-1-0-0), whose late game push came up just short in a 4-2 loss to the Syracuse Crunch (2-0-0-0) in the preseason opener Saturday night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Rochester scored twice in the third frame on the strength of power-goals from Kohen Olischefski (1+0) and Matt Berry (1+0). Brendan Warren (0+1), Patrick Polino (0+1), Mason Jobst (0+1) and Filip Cederqvist (0+1) all added assists on the night.
Michael Houser and Beck Warm split the goaltending duties in the contest. Houser, who earned the start in-between the pipes, made 19 saves before Warm stopped 11 of the 13 shots he faced in just over 27 minutes of relief effort.
HOMECOMING FOR PAIR OF ROCHESTER NATIVES
Tonight’s matchup features a battle of two Rochester natives in Conlan Keenan, one of 10 camp invitees on the Amerks’ 33-man training camp roster, and Utica’s Jack Dugan, a former McQuaid Jesuit standout who spent the last two seasons playing for the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL).
A Webster native, Keenan dominated at the collegiate level while playing four years for SUNY-Geneseo that included two seasons as team captain. In 110 career games for the Knights, he posted 172 points on 86 goals and 88 assists. Keenan was named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 2019-20 when he picked up 50 points on 22 goals and 28 assists, which was third-most in NCAA III that season.
A fifth-round selection of the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Draft, Dugan led the NCAA in scoring with 52 points (10+42) in 34 games and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist in 2019-20 at Providence College. He was named a Hockey East First All-Star Teams selection and was also named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team the year prior.
AMERKS HOME OPENER SET FOR FRIDAY, OCT. 14
Rochester begins its 67th American Hockey League season - and 41st as the primary affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres - on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7:05 p.m. versus the Toronto Marlies.
For the seventh straight year, the Amerks will play all 72 of their games solely against Eastern Conference opponents this season, with 54 coming against their North Division rivals and 18 versus teams from the Atlantic Division. The Amerks will again remain in the North Division of the Eastern Conference along with the Belleville Senators, Cleveland Monsters, Laval Rocket, Comets, Crunch, and Marlies.
Season Ticket Memberships for the 2022-23 season are on sale. Season Ticket Memberships start as low as $15 per game and come with a number of Members-only perks and benefits. Full Season, Half Season and Quarter Season Membership options are all available.
Utica Comets vs Rochester Americans: 2021-22 Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Utica 6-5-1-0 | Rochester 6-5-1-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Utica 7-3-0-1 | Rochester 4-6-0-1 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Utica 28-17-3-3 | Rochester 23-20-3-5 |
| Utica vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Utica | Utica 15-7-2-1 | Rochester 10-10-2-3 |
| Utica vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Utica 13-10-1-2 | Rochester 13-10-1-2 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Utica 1 @ Rochester 8 (Apr 29 2022) Final Rochester 2 @ Utica 3 (Apr 22 2022) Final OT Utica 3 @ Rochester 4 (Mar 30 2022) Final Rochester 3 @ Utica 2 (Mar 12 2022) Final Rochester 2 @ Utica 4 (Feb 18 2022) Final Utica 4 @ Rochester 2 (Jan 29 2022) Final Utica 6 @ Rochester 7 (Jan 12 2022) Final Utica 3 @ Rochester 4 (Dec 8 2021) Final OT Rochester 4 @ Utica 2 (Nov 24 2021) Final Rochester 3 @ Utica 5 (Nov 20 2021) Final Utica 3 @ Rochester 2 (Nov 17 2021) Final Rochester 2 @ Utica 6 (Oct 17 2021) Final |
How the two teams matched up
|
Rochester |
Utica |
|
| Team Record | 37-29-7-3 -- 84 points | 43-20-8-1 -- 95 points |
| Division Ranking | 5th North | 1st North |
| Conference Ranking | 8th Eastern | 1st Eastern |
| League Ranking | 16th | 4th |
| Past 10 Games | 5-3-2-0 | 4-4-2-0 |
| Streak | 1-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Last Game | 8-1 W vs Utica (Apr 29 2022) Final | 4-2 W @ Providence (Apr 30 2022) Final |
| Home Record | 20-13-3-2 | 23-8-4-1 |
| Away Record | 17-16-4-1 | 20-12-4-0 |
| GF | 254 | 246 |
| GA | 270 | 206 |
| PP (Overall) | (65/277) 23.5% | (50/231) 21.6% |
| PP (Home) | (34/139) 24.5% | (23/118) 19.5% |
| PP (Away) | (31/138) 22.5% | (27/113) 23.9% |
| PK (Overall) | (54/264) 79.5% | (41/227) 81.9% |
| PK (Home) | (26/135) 80.7% | (13/110) 88.2% |
| PK (Away) | (28/129) 78.3% | (28/117) 76.1% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (11/45) 24.4% | (10/41) 24.4% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (10/41) 75.6% | (11/45) 75.6% |
| Leading Rookie | Peterka (28-40-68) | Holtz (26-25-51) |
| Most PIM | Boka - 63 | Greer - 102 |
| Team PIM/GM | 12.4/Game | 11.3/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Peterka (28-40-68) | De Leo (21-35-56) |
| Quinn (26-35-61) | Zetterlund (24-28-52) | |
| Mersch (26-28-54) | Greer (22-30-52) | |
| Ruotsalainen (18-33-51) | Holtz (26-25-51) | |
| Prow (10-39-49) | Walsh (9-34-43) | |
| Last 5 Games | 8-1 W vs Utica (Apr 29 2022) Final | 4-2 W @ Providence (Apr 30 2022) Final |
| 2-0 L @ Cleveland (Apr 24 2022) Final | 8-1 L @ Rochester (Apr 29 2022) Final | |
| 4-2 L vs Cleveland (Apr 23 2022) Final | 3-2 W vs Rochester (Apr 22 2022) Final OT | |
| 3-2 L @ Utica (Apr 22 2022) Final OT | 4-3 W @ Cleveland (Apr 20 2022) Final | |
| 3-2 W vs Springfield (Apr 19 2022) Final SO | 4-3 L @ Cleveland (Apr 19 2022) Final OT | |
| Leading After 1st | 25-4-2-2 | 22-5-6-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 25-1-3-1 | 31-2-3-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 5-7-3-1 | 15-4-2-1 |
| Tied After 2nd | 7-1-3-2 | 6-2-3-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 7-18-2-0 | 6-11-0-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 5-27-1-0 | 6-16-2-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 8-15-2-0 | 16-14-2-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 29-14-5-2 | 25-5-5-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 20-7-7-3 | 14-9-8-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 7-8-0-0 | 13-4-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 2-5-0-0 | 11-4-0-0 |
Utica Comets
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | A.J. Greer | 11 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 43 | 1 |
| 22 | Reilly Walsh | 11 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 7 |
| 26 | Ryan Schmelzer | 12 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 20 | Fabian Zetterlund | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Chase De Leo | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | -3 |
| 5 | Robbie Russo | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | -2 |
| 9 | Alexander Holtz | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | -1 |
| 77 | Aarne Talvitie | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Joe Gambardella | 11 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | X Marian Studenic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 10 | Brian Flynn | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 33 | Frederik Gauthier | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 25 | Nolan Foote | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 19 | -2 |
| 14 | Tyler Irvine | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -1 |
| 2 | Michael Vukojevic | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -3 |
| 92 | Graeme Clarke | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | -3 |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
| 88 | Kevin Bahl | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 39 | Samuel Laberge | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -2 |
| 16 | X Nate Schnarr | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -3 |
| 12 | Tyce Thompson | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 82 | Nikita Okhotiuk | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 2 |
| 90 | X Jesper Boqvist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Nico Daws | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Jarrod Gourley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 21 | Patrick Grasso | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 38 | Jeremy Groleau | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 24 | Brian Halonen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | X Shane Harper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 11 | Joe Masonius | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Patrick McGrath | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| 34 | Mareks Mitens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Nick Rivera | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Luke Stevens | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Tim Theocharidis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 |
| 6 | Colton White | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Nico Daws | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 362:30 | 17 | 2.81 | 0.898 |
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 297:25 | 18 | 3.63 | 0.869 |
| 34 | Mareks Mitens | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58:35 | 7 | 7.17 | 0.750 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Jack Quinn | 8 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 1 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 8 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | -2 |
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 15 | -1 |
| 2 | Oskari Laaksonen | 11 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 2 | -1 |
| 5 | Casey Fitzgerald | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | -1 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -1 |
| 4 | Jimmy Schuldt | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 3 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 19 | Peyton Krebs | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -2 |
| 25 | Arttu Ruotsalainen | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Mattias Samuelsson | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -1 |
| 14 | Mark Jankowski | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 26 | X Mason Jobst | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | Ryan MacInnis | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | X Lukas Craggs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -1 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | -2 |
| 27 | Patrick Polino | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
| 88 | Brandon Davidson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 42 | Jack Doremus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | X Dominic Franco | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -4 |
| 18 | Ben Holmstrom | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 |
| 11 | Lukas Rousek | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 3 | Mark Alt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Nick Boka | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -1 |
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | X Ara Nazarian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 51 | Kohen Olischefski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | X Nick Pastujov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | X Mat Robson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | Ryan Scarfo | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 108:04 | 3 | 1.67 | 0.949 |
| 41 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31:15 | 1 | 1.92 | 0.900 |
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 395:41 | 24 | 3.64 | 0.871 |
| 32 | X Mat Robson | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 182:45 | 12 | 3.94 | 0.867 |