AMERKS JANUARY 2024 REPORT CARD
Feb 1, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans bounced back from a difficult December and kicked off the New Year in style.
With a 6-3-1-0 mark in 10 games during the month of January, the Amerks jumped from fifth in the North Division when they started 2024 to third in the uber-competitive seven-team field. Good play leads to good grades and that’s what we’re here to hand out!
GOALTENDING: B+
Four different goaltenders earned wins in the red, white, and blue last month. The Amerks are the only team of 32 in the AHL that can say they’ve done that. Having depth in any position is paramount to a team’s success, but being able to turn to four goaltenders in a span of 31 days takes it to another level.
Eric Comrie began the month with a 33-save performance in a 3-1 win over Cleveland and led the Amerks for much of January with three of the team’s six wins, including the first shutout for Rochester this season when the Edmonton, Alberta, native stopped 32 shots on Jan. 17 to blank Lehigh Valley in front of the home crowd at Blue Cross Arena.
Comrie came down from Buffalo much like rookie Devon Levi, who made two starts in January, earning the Amerks a win Jan. 20 over Springfield and keeping them in a tight, playoff-like game to end the month against Syracuse.
Aside from the Sabres’ duo, the usual suspects of Devin Cooley and Dustin Tokarski each backstopped the Amerks to important wins on the road, with Cooley scooping up the victory in Charlotte on Jan. 12 and Tokarski shutting down Utica a week later on Jan. 19.
RUSSIAN ROOKIES: A
Viktor Neuchev and Nikita Novikov have transformed good seasons into great months for the two individuals. The pair of 20-year-olds showcased their talents in different ways, with Neuchev finding his scoring touch and Novikov touting his defensive prowess, though the 6-foot-4 blueliner did find the back of the net for his first goal in North America last week.
Neuchev’s electric performance guided the Chelyabinsk, Russia, native to a 10-point month over nine games played (4+6). The rookie forward enjoyed a six-game point streak that began in December and ran through the bulk of January, and following his streak coming to a close with no points on the Jan. 26, Neuchev bounced back the following night with one goal and two assists for his first three-point game as a pro.
While Novikov also contributed on the stat sheet with a goal and two helpers in the month, a more impressive stat may be the fact that the Amerks defenseman finished with a plus-minus of even or better in each of his eight games played. Overall, Novikov went plus-8 in the month after going minus-3 in December.
ROUSEK’S STREAK: A
The individual highlight of the month is Lukas Rousek and the point streak he amassed from late December into late January. For 13 games, No. 11 appeared on the stat sheet, accumulating four goals and 10 assists for 14 points over that span. Rousek’s streak was the longest by an Amerk in 24 years, dating back to Amerks Hall of Famer Domenic Pittis, who went on a 14-game point streak from January-March of 2000. It was also the second-longest point streak across the AHL this season behind only Toronto’s Alex Steeves, who had a point in 16 straight contests.
Seven of Rousek’s 13 games in which the Czechia native tallied a point came in the month of January. That includes scoring the game-winning-goal in a 2-1 win over Utica. The third-year Amerk is tied with Isak Rosen for the team lead in points with 26 (7+19).
GOLD STAR STUDENTS: DON STEVENS
Sometimes your brightest stars are found off the ice and that is what longtime play-by-play announcer Don Stevens has been for the Amerks over his near four-decade run with the organization.
The 2011 Amerks Hall of Fame inductee has called thousands of Amerks games dating back to the 1986-87 season. The iconic voice is in his 38th season as the soundtrack to Amerks hockey.
Earlier in the month, Stevens underwent a medical procedure forcing him off the air for three games. Much like some of the legendary player’s names Stevens has belted out over the years, Stevens showed resilience and perseverance during the month, enabling the Hall of Famer to return to the booth and take his rightful place back on the airwaves from the “Don Stevens Press Box.”
FEBRUARY SYLLABUS
The shortest month of the year could feel like a long one for Rochester, with the team scheduled to play 12 games in 28 days, beginning with a two-game trip to Laval over the weekend. Rochester will evenly split its time between the road and home, playing six games at Blue Cross Arena and half a dozen away from the Flower City.
After concluding their season series with the Rocket, the Amerks will play two with Syracuse next week and three overall against the Crunch in February. The team will also face Toronto for just the second time this season and first since opening weekend on October 14.
In addition to North Division action, the Amerks will have Keystone State clashes with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on home ice February 16, then head towards Hershey to face the Bears February 24.