AMERKS NOVEMBER 2024 REPORT CARD
Levi’s return to Rochester sees team build promise heading into December
Dec 2, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans’ heaviest workload of the season is over. The Amerks completed a season-high 14-game month in November, going 7-4-3-0 to not only remain in a playoff spot, but shrink the separation in points between themselves and the top three teams in the North Division (Cleveland, Laval, Toronto).
Rochester will enter the final month of 2024 sitting fourth in its division, trailing the third-place Marlies and second-place Rocket by two and four points, respectively.
While November had its ups and downs, the Amerks came out of it on the other side in a good spot. Their strong road play, combined with putting their opponents under constant pressure are good enough reasons to see the team pass with flying colors as they near the completion of 2024.
ROAD WARRIORS: A
Rochester ended the month with a shootout win in Syracuse, ending November 5-1-1-0 when playing on the road. Collectively through the first two months of the season, the Amerks have gone 7-2-1-0 away from the Flower City, outscoring their opponents, 32-23.
Special teams have played a key role in their success on the road. Overall, the Amerks’ penalty kill ranks 15th in the AHL, but their kill is eighth-best on the road, operating at an 85.7% efficiency rate. Four of Rochester’s seven road games in November were decided by one goal, with each of them reaching overtime, including their last three games.
Including home and away, Rochester saw six of 14 games reach overtime. The Amerks are one of five AHL teams to have more than six games go past regulation.
ON A FULL NAME BASIS: B+
In his sophomore season, defenseman Zachary Metsa leads all Rochester defensemen with 12 points (1+11) through 20 games played. Metsa has also remained discipline throughout the early part of the 2024-25 campaign, logging just eight penalty minutes to put him second-fewest amongst Amerks blueliners with more than two games played.
The Delafield, Wisconsin, native opened the month with an assist in Utica on Nov. 1, then followed up the next week with consecutive multi-point games, pushing five assists through against Cleveland and Hartford combined. His three helpers against the Wolf Pack established a new career-high for Metsa, who to this point has eight goals and 36 points in 74 games as an Amerk dating back to the start of last season.
SHOOTING GALLERY: A+
For much of the season, the Amerks have ranked first in shots on goal and head into December leading the league with 34.35 shots on average. In contrast, the team is also yielding the third-fewest shots against at 25.35.
Defenseman Jack Rathbone leads all AHL blueliners in shots with 57. He is nine shots clear of second place-Jacob MacDonald (48). Rathbone has registered at least one shot on goal in 19 of his 20 games played. The fifth-year pro has put multiple shots on goal in 16 of those games.
Additionally, forward Viktor Neuchev ranks seventh across all AHL skaters with 60 shots. Rochester outshot its opponents in 12 of 14 November games.
DECEMBER SYLLABUS
The holidays will help the Amerks as their monthly schedule gets trimmed from 14 November games to just 11 in December. The Amerks will hope to carry their road warrior mentality into the new month with seven of their 11 games coming outside the Flower City.
After beginning the month at home against Utica on Wednesday, the Amerks will enter a season long five-game road trip that starts this weekend with a back-to-back set in Charlotte. Rochester will meet twice with the Checkers in North Carolina, marking the team’s first visit to the state since playing in the 2024 AHL Outdoor Classic.
The two games against Charlotte are the only ones Rochester plays outside its division. Following the weekend, the Amerks continue their road trip, taking them through Laval (Dec. 11), followed by two meetings with Belleville, as the team takes its first trip to Belleville this season, seeing the Senators for the first time since opening night in Rochester back on Oct. 11.
Three of the Amerks final five games in the calendar year come on home ice, including the final weekend of 2024, where the team begins a home-and-home against Utica at Blue Cross Arena Dec. 27, before putting a bow on the month the next night at Adirondack Bank Center.