BREAKING DOWN THE NORTH DIVISION AS HALFWAY POINT APPROACHES
Suzie Cool provides an in-depth look at the current state of AHL's North Division standings
Jan 12, 2023By Suzie Cool
As the Rochester Americans head into their rare one-game weekend, they’re taking on the highly skilled and talented Toronto Marlies. And Amerks head coach Seth Appert is excited that his team is going to be well-rested ahead of the Saturday night matchup against the North Division’s first-place team.
“This will be the first time in the last two years that we've gotten a chance at Toronto when they've played more games in the week,” Appert said when discussing Saturday’s matchup. “Usually, it's us driving up there. We play Friday, they (Toronto) don't play, and then you have to try to find a way to win a game where you're a little bit more fatigued than them. So, the script will be flipped this week and you have to try to take advantage when the schedule is in your favor on Saturday.”
The Amerks sit in third place in the North Division, trailing Utica by a mere two points and six back of Toronto but have games in hand of both teams coming into this weekend.
Here’s a closer look at how the North Division is shaping up heading into Weekend 13 of the 2022-23 American Hockey League campaign.
CURRENTLY IN FIRST: TORONTO MARLIES (23-9-1-1)
The first place Marlies are currently on a four-game win streak and boast a league-best 9-1-0-0 record in their last 10 games.
Arguably, the biggest signing over the offseason for Toronto was that of forward Logan Shaw. Since signing a three-year deal with the club in July, Shaw was named the 10th captain in franchise history at the start of the 2022-23 campaign and continues to lead the Marlies on the ice with his 37 points in 34 games.
Aside from Shaw, Toronto is a young team that’s highly skilled and talented in all areas of the ice. Second-year pro Alex Steeves is averaging nearly a point per game (0.91), while rookie forward Nick Abruzzese ranks ninth amongst league rookies and leads all Marlies first-year players with his 23 points.
Toronto heads into this weekend with two games ahead of them and two games already behind them. On Friday, the Marlies will finish up back-to-back games at Coca-Cola Coliseum against the Manitoba Moose before heading to Rochester on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. puck drop.
CURRENTLY IN SECOND: UTICA COMETS (18-9-5-1)
What we know is what we know is what we know. Utica is a severely physical, aggressive and mean team. It’s no surprise that Utica’s slow start to the season has seen them climb the ranks of the North Division and make a comeback towards the midpoint.
Offensively, Graeme Clarke paces all Utica skaters with his 13 goals and 29 points. After Clarke was named the AHL's Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 25, Clarke has produced eight points over his last eight games. Defensively, Reilly Walsh and Robbie Russo help add that nasty edge to the Comets blueline. Walsh leads the team’s defensemen with 19 points, while Russo isn’t far behind with 15.
Between the pipes Utica has, arguably, the best goaltending tandem in the North with Nico Daws and Akira Schmid taking much of the responsibility this season and last. This year, the duo combines for a 16-7-4 record between the pipes, while Daws’ 10 wins on the year are tied for sixth in the league amongst all netminders.
While the Comets have won their last four matchups all by one goal, it’s their record over the last 12 games that’s most impressive. Utica has collected points in 12 straight games, highlighted by 10 wins, showing shades of the team that opened the 2021-22 campaign with an AHL record 13 straight wins.
The league’s hottest team heads into a weekend full of Atlantic Division action. On Friday, the Comets take on the Providence Bruins before facing off against the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday to wrap up their New England road swing.
CURRENTLY IN FOURTH: BELLEVILLE SENATORS (15-16-3-0)
Belleville is yet another physically demanding team in the North and a team that plays with an edge and nastiness every single night. After seeing a season-long four-game skid come to an end last Wednesday in a 5-1 win over the Amerks, the Senators have taken off since and are now riding a three-game win streak.
In his third season with the Senators, forward Egor Sokolov tops all Belleville skaters with 24 assists and 35 points while being one of four players on the Belleville roster to appear in all 31 games this season. Sokolov has also gone a perfect 3-for-3 in shootout attempts this season while also producing five power-play goals.
The Senators have used four different goaltenders to man the crease this season with Kevin Mandolese, Mads Sogaard, Antoine Bibeau and Logan Flodell all sharing duties. Sogaard and Bibeau have handled much of the workload, combining to post a 11-12-2 record in 31 appearances.
Looking to continue their winning ways, the Senators take on the last place Cleveland Monsters on Friday before continuing their six-game home stretch against the Central Division’s Manitoba Moose on Saturday.
TIED FOR FIFTH: SYRACUSE CRUNCH (13-17-4-1)
Syracuse is yet another team that the Amerks are all too familiar with after the last few seasons. The Crunch are a heavy, veteran team that’s not afraid to get physical even when the final whistle blows.
Crunch defenseman Darren Raddysh (9+29) and forward Alex Barré-Boulet (8+28) currently lead all Crunch skaters with 38 and 36 points, respectively. The duo are fourth and eighth in the AHL in scoring, respectively, while Raddysh is tied for second among all defensemen with his nine goals and 38 points.
The Crunch also feature forward Gabriel Dumont, this year’s North Division AHL All-Star Classic captain, who is in his second stint with Syracuse and fourth season overall. Dumont has appeared in 647 career games in the AHL, recording 173 goals and 223 assists for 396 points, including career-highs of 30 goals, 32 assists and 62 points in 2021-22.
This year will be Dumont’s second AHL All-Star Classic.
Heading into a two-game weekend, the Crunch face-off with the Rocket on Friday night, who are also tied for fifth place. On Saturday, Syracuse takes on an Atlantic Division foe in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
TIED FOR FIFTH: LAVAL ROCKET (13-17-4-1)
Don’t let Laval’s record fool you, they are one of the toughest teams to play against in the North Division because, quite frankly, they’re unlike any other team in the division when it comes to their frantic style of play. We saw that on Wednesday night at The Blue Cross Arena when Laval went on to register 42 shots on the night, taking a chance at shooting anything from anywhere at any time.
Laval’s offense is powered by forward Anthony Richard, who had the second-longest goal-scoring streak in the AHL and his eight-game point streak was tied for the eighth-longest prior to his recall to the Montreal Canadiens in December. Including Wednesday’s game against Rochester, Richard has gone on to combine for two four-point outings in his last seven games.
Despite goaltender Cayden Primeau currently being on recall with Montreal, Laval’s goaltending tandem is still pretty elite. With Primeau out of the mix, it leaves tenured pro Kevin Poulin to take on a majority of the responsibility between the pipes.
This weekend, Laval concludes their three-game road swing against the Crunch on Friday night, before wrapping up this weekend’s action with a home game at Place Bell against the Monsters on Saturday afternoon.
IN LAST PLACE: CLEVELAND MONSTERS (13-15-2-2)
The Monsters sit in last place in the North Division and are just one point away from being tied for fifth in the standings.
Similar to what the Amerks faced early in the 2022-23 campaign, the Monsters have seen some defensive struggles throughout the course of the season. Hence, why they poached defenseman Brandon Davidson from Rochester at the end of November and the veteran blueliner has gone on to appear in 14 games with Cleveland, registering three points.
However, as of late, the Monsters are also facing major call-ups to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Three of Cleveland’s top five point-getters in forwards Trey Fix-Wolanksy, Emil Bemstrom and Kirill Marchenko have all been summoned by the Blue Jackets in the last month, leaving newcomers David Jiricek and Justin Richards to continue to produce big offensive numbers for the Monsters, combining for 42 points through the club’s 32 games so far this season.
This weekend, the Monsters continue their six-game road swing, their second of the season, north of the border. Friday features a 7:05 p.m. puck drop against the Senators before wrapping up the week’s action at Place Bell against the Rocket.