GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS AIM TO TAKE CRUNCH OUT ON VALENTINE’S DAY
Rochester looks for seventh straight win and opportunity to reclaim first place
Feb 13, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (29-12-3-1) face the Syracuse Crunch (19-16-7-4) to start a three-game weekend beginning Friday night at Blue Cross Arena.
The Valentine’s Day encounter is the third time over the last 14 days that Rochester collides with its intrastate foe and is meeting eight of 12 overall on the season. The Amerks are favored with a 5-2-0-0 season series edge, have won each of the last two meetings, and are 3-1-0-0 against the Crunch on home ice.
LAST TIME OUT
Nicolas Aubé-Kubel netted two goals while Brett Murray swatted in the game-winner Tuesday night as the Amerks topped the Monsters in Cleveland by a 5-1 final. Tyson Kozak made his return to the lineup after being reassigned by Buffalo and contributed with a shorthanded goal, while Isak Rosén put the icing on the cake with an empty net conversion for his team-leading 24th goal of the season.
After surrendering the first goal of the game, Devon Levi made every save the rest of the way, turning aside 21 shots to pick up his fourth consecutive win and improve to 16-4-2 on the season. With the win, Rochester completed a four-game road sweep of the Monsters, taking all four wins at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this season.
On Wednesday night, Syracuse fell behind 4-1 to the Toronto Marlies. Still down by three with 111 minutes remaining in regulation, Declan Carlile, Jack Finley, and Conor Geekie scored in succession to tie the game and force overtime. The Crunch would end up having to settle for just a point in the standings, however, as the Marlies managed to win the game in overtime, 5-4.
Brandon Halverson was pulled for the second time over his last three starts after giving up three goals on 11 shots to Toronto. A mere 12 days earlier, he surrendered three goals on just five shots to Rochester and was pulled early in an eventual 4-1 Amerks win.
SEVENTH HEAVEN
For a second time this season, the Amerks will try for a seven-game win streak to start their weekend. The Amerks strung together seven victories in a row from Dec. 20 to Jan. 10, before dropping the next game by a 6-2 final at the hands of the Crunch.
During the current streak, Rochester has outscored its opponents 30-12 and have only had one game decided by one goal. The team’s 160 total goals scored ranks third in the AHL and leads the Eastern Conference.
The current six-game win streak is the longest active in the AHL, and with points in six straight, the Amerks own the third-longest active point streak in the league, too.
After a so-so beginning of the season on home ice, the Amerks have picked up the pace in the Flower City, stringing together points in seven straight home games, going 6-0-0-1 in that stretch. The last regulation loss on home ice came against Syracuse back on Dec. 18.
Levi has been in goal for each of Rochester’s last 11 home games, posting an 8-2-1 mark in that span.
KILLIN’ LOVE
In mid-December, the Amerks penalty kill ranked toward the bottom half of the AHL. That stat has since been rectified, with Rochester now owning the eighth-best kill in the league and third-best overall on home ice.
“It starts with a lot of timely saves by both of our goaltenders,” said Amerks assistant coach Nathan Paetsch, who oversees the team’s penalty kill and defense. “When it got down to the end of games and we’ve been in kills, it’s come down to a lot of shot blocking. Guys have been bought in and they’re doing a great job. There’s been a lot of good reads on plays. We made a couple of adjustments a few weeks back and the guys have really taken to it, so hopefully it keeps on rolling.”
The Amerks haven’t surrendered a power-play goal in five straight games and have extinguished 25 of their last 26 power-plays against over the past seven contests. Rochester is one game shy of tying its season-high in consecutive games with a perfect penalty kill.
THE NOTEBOOK
The tale of the tape sees the Amerks favored through the first seven games of this season series. Over the course of Rochester’s active six-game win streak, the team has scored four or more goals in each contest. Dating back to the 2016-17 campaign, when Rochester scores three or more goals against Syracuse, the team has gone 38-11-5-0.
Rosén has dominated the Crunch all season, leading the way for the red, white, and blue with seven goals and an assist. Dating back to last season, the Sabres prospect has amassed 17 points (9+8) against Rochester’s arch-rival.
Murray has played more games against the Crunch than any other team over his 300+ game career in an Amerks jersey. The Bolton, Ontario, native has scored 25 goals and collected 46 points over 65 games against the Crunch.
While Rochester has won six straight, the Crunch have dropped seven of their last 10 games. Despite their struggles, Syracuse does feature the league’s leading point-getter amongst defensemen via Derrick Pouliot. The 11th-year pro leads all AHL blueliners with 36 points (6+30). Pouliot needs two assists to reach 200 for his AHL career.