AMERKS WEEK 23 ROUND-UP
Mar 20, 2023The Amerks earned three of a possible six points last week after beating the Rocket at home on Wednesday and forcing the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to overtime on Friday night.
11-AND-7 WORKED WELL
After Mitch Eliot proved that he should stay in the lineup, Amerks head coach Seth Appert utilized lineups comprised of 11 forwards and 7 defensemen for all three games last week.
“Some of it, in the American League, is who you have,” Appert laughed about the nature of having an inconsistent lineup with various injuries and call-ups.
“We have eight very capable American League defensemen, where we’re a little thinner up front right now. We felt that seven [defensemen] gave us a better chance to win.”
When looking at creating lines of forwards, Appert explained that he’s a believer in pairs being more effective — and easier to create lines from — than trios.
“In a perfect world, you need a puck-distributor, you need a guy who is going to get the puck back, Appert said. "And then a guy can compliment that: maybe he’s a goal-scorer, maybe he’s a guy that goes to the net, to create room and disruption."
“If you have that twosome that’s really connected then you can find a third piece that fits in. But sometimes that piece can rotate as well.”
GAMES AT A GLANCE
MARCH 15: LAVAL 0 — ROCHESTER 2
After their last three meetings combined for 31 goals, it was a defensive battle as the Rochester Americans hosted the Laval Rocket on Wednesday night. Malcolm Subban stopped all 29 shots he faced, posting his second shutout of the season.
No goals were scored 5-on-5 throughout the contest: Brandon Biro cracked the scoreboard with a short-handed goal early in the second period. It remained a defensive stalemate for almost the entirety of the game, with the only other goal coming once the Rocket pulled goaltender Cayden Primeau for the extra-attacker.
Lukas Rousek found the back of the net with 22 seconds remaining to secure the Rochester victory. With the assist on the empty-netter, Biro became the first Amerk to reach the 50-point mark this season.
MARCH 17: ROCHESTER 4 — WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 5 (SHOOTOUT)
Rochester travelled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to open a Pennsylvania back-to-back on Friday night, facing the Penguins for the second time this season. The Amerks went up 3-0 in the first period with goals from Jiri Kulich, Mason Jobst, and Sean Malone.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would respond with four goals of their own and take the lead into the final eight minutes of regulation. Jeremy Davies tied the game with just under six minutes to play, tallying his career-high 11th goal of the season.
There were no goals in the five-minute overtime, and Ty Glover snuck the sole shootout goal past Malcolm Subban to give the Penguins the victory.
MARCH 18: ROCHESTER 1 — HERSHEY 2
Rochester headed to Hershey to complete the back-to-back on Saturday night in front of a sold-out Giant Center on Hall of Fame Night. Michael Mersch opened the scoring with a one-timer just over four minutes into the game, his 14th goal of the season.
The Bears responded just 28 seconds later with a goal of their own, and the game would remain tied for the rest of the period. Hershey struck again in the second and would hold onto the victory despite a three power play chances for the Amerks.
Michael Houser made the start for the Amerks, and saved 21 shots, while Hunter Shepard stopped 31 shots in net for the Bears. Amerks forward Brandon Biro did not skate in the game, and his injury status — after leaving the Friday game late — will be clarified on Tuesday during Coach Appert’s session with the media.
OTHER STATS TO NOTE
Isak Rosen became the 8th Amerks skater to reach the 30-point mark on Friday night. He is only the second rookie to do so, joining Jiri Kulich.
Jiri Kulich’s goal on Friday night gives him a share of the team’s goal-scoring lead with 18 goals on the season. He shares the lead with Linus Weissbach.
Linus Weissbach is just one point away from becoming the third Amerks to tally 40 points on the season.
With his shutout on Wednesday, Malcolm Subban became the first Rochester netminder to record a home shutout since Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did so on November 13, 2021.
RESCHEDULED GAME REMINDER
The Rochester Americans hosts the Syracuse Crunch in an unusual Tuesday match-up on March 21. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, December 23, but was postponed due to inclement weather. All tickets purchased for the original date will be valid on Tuesday night at Blue Cross Arena.
The Crunch sit four points ahead of Rochester in the standings and are 5-4-1-0 in their last ten games. Rochester and Syracuse met in Syracuse on March 11, with the Crunch coming away with the victory.
COMING UP THIS WEEKEND
Rochester has another three-in-three weekend, book-ended by two promo nights at Blue Cross Arena.
Join the Amerks for their annual Women in Sport Night, presented by Zweigles, on Friday, March 24. Tickets are only $10 and include a pregame arena tour, if desired, and pregame panel from women around the industry.
The pregame panelists for Friday night are Meghan Chayka, founder of Stathletes, Anna Dua, NHL reporter and NHL Fantasy host, Hayley Moore, Vice President of Hockey Operations for the AHL, and Jackie Nicholson, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at RIT.
Use code WIS to access $10 tickets as the Amerks once again face the Hershey Bears, for the Bears’ only visit to Rochester this season.
The Amerks head to Utica on Saturday for a divisional clash against the Comets, their first trip to Utica since November 19. The Comets currently sit in second place in the North with 61 games played — but just 6 points ahead of Rochester.
The Amerks return home to Blue Cross Arena on Sunday afternoon for a matinee match-up against the Cleveland Monsters and the second annual Bills Day, presented by UR Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital.
The Amerks will wear specialty Bills-inspired jerseys, which will be up for auction starting on Thursday, and have a few surprises in store. It’s a game you won’t want to miss as football meets hockey in what is sure to be an electric home atmosphere.
