AMERKS PRACTICE REPORT: DEA CONTINUES TORRID START, UPL ROLLING
Mar 8, 2021The Syracuse Crunch. The Utica Comets. The Syracuse Crunch. The Utica Comets. Yes, the Rochester Americans have already seen plenty of their North Division rivals through the first nine games of the 2020-21 season all while going 6-3-0-0 to begin their 65th season in the American Hockey League.
While seeing each of the aforementioned teams four times already, this coming Friday’s matchup with the Cleveland Monsters on Mar. 12 will provide a welcome reprieve from Utica and Syracuse, especially considering the Amerks face-off against the Comets twice this week as the team prepares for another busy stretch of three games in four nights.
Stand and Dea-liver
With a season-high three points (1+2) in Saturday’s 4-2 victory against the Crunch, forward Jean-Sebastien Dea became the first Amerk skater this season to reach double digits in points with 12 (4+8). Dea, who has notched at least one point in seven of his first eight games this season, has already recorded four multi-point games after posting six in 57 contests last season.
“I am 10 pounds heavier than I was a season ago,” explained Dea of the difference this year compared to the 2019-20 campaign. “Despite being heavier, I feel 20 pounds lighter and every day I am just having fun when I come to the rink. I am not worrying about things I cannot control.”
“Every night I sleep well on my pillow and when I wake up, I am happy and excited to come to the rink. Everyday is a new day and it is a fresh start to work hard and bring my energy for the young guys on the team. It has been a lot of fun this season so far.”
While the Laval, Quebec, native is tied for fourth in the AHL in points and eighth in assists (8), Amerks head coach Seth Appert said its Dea’s play away from the offense that is contributing to his success. He also paces all Rochester skaters with an on-ice rating of plus-seven, which ranks 16th among league leaders in that category.
“J-S is playing so committed,” said Appert. “We always talk about his skill, creativeness and offensive ability, but I think Saturday night, he and Remi Elie were dominate on the penalty kill and J-S’s work in the face-off was impressive as he was 18-for-24.”
After pacing the Amerks in points and tying for the team in goals last season, Dea has picked up right where he left off last March while also being looked upon as a leader. He’s a veteran presence that the Amerks are benefitting from in all aspects.
“He is playing such a committed 200-foot style,” Appert continued. “With the commit, it is helping him getting the puck a lot, and when a player with his talent has the puck a lot, good things happen.”
WATCH: JEAN-SEBASTIEN DEA AFTER MONDAY’S PRACTICE
UPL rolling
After suffering back-to-back losses to see a four-game win streak come to an end, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen responded to last Monday’s 4-3 loss with a pair of victories to push his season-record to 5-2-0.
The Finnish netminder is tied for fourth in the AHL in wins and has made 30 or more saves in four of his last six appearances dating back to a career-best 43-save performance at Cleveland on Feb. 12.
“He had a real strong bounce-back effort,” said Appert of his young 21-year-old goaltender. “That is the beauty of this season with the strangeness of playing the same few teams over and over, the taxi squad and things like that. Without Tokarski and Jonas Johansson who are both with Buffalo, it is good for Ukko-Pekka to be a number one goaltender on a night-to-night basis.”
“There is no hiding or handing the baton to someone else while you go find your game. He must go back into the net and answer the bell. The healthy pressure that comes with that, extremely important for a young goaltender’s development to gain the confidence.”
With a record of 5-1-3 in nine appearances inside the Flower City, Luukkonen will look to push his home win streak to four games should he earn the nod Friday night against Cleveland.
WATCH: SETH APPERT AFTER MONDAY’S PRACTICE
Powering Up
Saturday night in Syracuse, the Amerks tallied two power-play goals. With the two markers, Rochester has scored a power-play goal in eight of their last 12 games against the Crunch dating back to last season, going 13-for-48 (27.0%) with the man-advantage over that span.
“Everyone has their own role to do on the power-play,” said Dea. “Even in the event when someone makes a mistake, we have each other’s back and can cover up for the error. We have been working hard in practice and the success there is carrying over in the games, too. Our hard work has been paying off.”
Four games into the 12 scheduled meetings between the two clubs this season, the Amerks have scored six of their 14 goals with on the power-play while posting a 6-for-17 (35.3%) success rate.
“We have scored a lot of our power-play goals this year on what you’d classify as ‘work goals’, which are second and third puck retrievals, winning puck battles, and scoring from the blue paint,” said Appert.
Nine games into the campaign, Rochester’s power-play has gone 12-for-38 with a 31.6% conversion rate that is currently third-best in the AHL. The Amerks’ 12 goals on the man-advantage are the most in the league coming into this week. The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in seven of their first nine games this season and have registered multiple power-play tallies in five of their last eight outings overall.
Looking ahead
The Amerks look to take a 3-2 series lead and extend their win streak to three games on Wednesday, Mar. 10 when they face-off against Utica again for the fifth time of the 14 scheduled meetings this season at Adirondack Bank Center. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.