EVALUATING THE AMERKS AT THE HALFWAY POINT
A numerical and statistical breakdown at the halfway point of the 2023-24 season
Jan 24, 2024
By Ryan J. Harr
The Rochester Americans officially reached the halfway point of the 2023-24 regular season following their 7-3 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds Saturday at The Blue Cross Arena.
With 36 games left on the docket, the Amerks currently sit in third place in the AHL’s North Division standings as the race to the postseason begins to heat up. Rochester is eyeing its third consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs after two straight North Division Finals appearances and an extended run to the Eastern Conference Finals against Hershey this past spring.
Last week, Rochester completed a three-game week with three straight victories in regulation, including a pair over Atlantic Division opponents by a combined score of 13-3 on home ice. The Amerks have recorded at least one point in seven of their last eight games dating back to Dec. 30, going 6-1-1-0 over that span. The team’s lone setback in that stretch was a 5-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers in the Queen City Outdoor Classic on Jan. 13.
In the last seven games, the club has seen seven different players score a game-winning goal while four different goaltenders have backstopped the Amerks to their last four wins dating back to Jan 12.
Of Amerks’ 36 games this season, the team has scored three or more goals in 26 contests while 18 of their 19 wins have come with three or more tallies.
The Amerks will begin the second half of the campaign having scored the 11th-most goals in the league (121) while allowing 132 tallies, which is tied for 29th. With a 20.5% success rate on the power-play, Rochester is eighth in the league in that category compared to its 76.5% on the penalty kill.
Through the first half of the season, 13 games have been decided beyond regulation, which are most in the league. Rochester is 6-3 in overtime and 3-1 in shootouts, while boasting a 10-4-1-1 mark when scoring first.
Much like most of the teams around the league, the Amerks show an impressive record when leading after the second period, boasting a perfect 11-0-0-0 mark in that regard. On the other hand, Rochester is one of only six teams with at least four wins when trailing to start the final 20 minutes of regulation.
The Amerks have seen 39 different players appear in at least one game; 27 have scored at least one goal and 31 have recorded one point or more. Eleven of the 39 have appeared in one game with the Buffalo Sabres while nine others have skated for Jacksonville in the ECHL.
While goaltenders Dustin Tokarski (7-6-2) and Devin Cooley (6-4-2) have combined to appear in 27 games, Michael Houser, Eric Comrie and Devon Levi all have posted a 2-1-0 mark. It marks the third straight year Rochester has had five or more goaltenders play in its crease and first since a three-year stretch between 1995 and 1998.
Second-year forward Isak Rosen (10+16) and Lukas Rousek (7+19) share the team scoring lead with 26 points in 32 and 31 games, respectively. Both have seen a brief stint with the Sabres, along with Jiri Kulich (16+8) and Brandon Biro (11+12), who are third and fourth amongst all Amerks in points.
Kulich is tops on the team with 16 goals with Biro and Rosen also reaching double figures.
Rousek, who is currently riding a career-best 13-game point streak, leads the club with 19 assists. His streak is the longest by an Amerk in 24 years since Amerks Hall of Famer Domenic Pittis had points in 14 straight contests from Jan. 22 to March 4 during the 1999-2000 campaign. The Ostrov nad Ohri, Czechia, native has four goals and 10 assists over his past 13 contests dating back to Dec. 20.
Mason Jobst, who has six points (2+4) over his last seven contests, and Michael Mersch have also reached the 20-point plateau with 21 points, respectively. Linus Weissbach (16) and Brett Murray (13) each have eight assists and are double figures in points. Weissbach has scored four times over his last four games, including a pair in Rochester’s most recent win, while Murray shows two goals over his last three games and three points (2+1) over his last five outings.
Defensemen Kale Clague (3+16) and Jeremy Davies (5+12) have combined for eight goals and 36 points as they each have skated in 33 games this season, their second with Rochester. Clague is tied for 16th in the league in assists while Davies is tied for 21st in goals.
This past Saturday against the Thunderbirds, rookie Viktor Neuchev also kept his point streak alive with a goal in the third period, bringing his totals to three goals and five assists for eight points over his six-game point streak.
Neuchev (5+8) is one of 10 first-year skaters Rochester has used this season. He tops the team’s rookies while Nikita Novikov (0+11) and Zach Metsa (3+7) have also reached double digits in points.
After being winless during the month December at home (0-5-0-0), the Amerks hope the start on home ice in 2024 (3-0-0-0) is a good sign for the rest of the 2023-24 campaign and another deep playoff run.