GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS, B-SENS OPEN TWO-GAME SET TONIGHT
Feb 2, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (20-16-2-1) open the month of February north of the border with a pair of contests against the Belleville Senators (16-22-3-1), beginning at tonight at CAA Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Tonight’s get-together is the fifth of eight scheduled meetings this season and the first of a two-game set prior to the annual AHL All-Star break. The Amerks and Senators have split the season series thus far with the home team emerging victorious each time.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Despite boasting a 3-3-1-1 record in the eight-game series last season against Belleville, Rochester shows a 14-9-5-2 mark over the last five years between the two teams.
Rochester is 14-14-2 all-time against Belleville despite being outscored 108-101 through the first 30 meetings with the Senators. Five of the last 10 matchups have been decided beyond regulation, including both games in the play-in round of the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Both the Amerks and Senators have scored four goals each in the third period during the season-series. Additionally, each of the teams have produced five goals in each of their last win.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks carried a one-goal lead into the third period but were unable to hold it as the Charlotte Checkers stormed back with a three-goal third period to escape with a 5-3 win Saturday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Rookie forward Jiri Kulich (0+2) posted his fifth multi-point effort of the season and second in the last three games while Brett Murray, Anders Bjork, and Mason Jobst all scored for Rochester. Ethan Prow and Lukas Rousek both chipped in an assist to wrap up the scoring.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (10-6-0) made his 17th appearance of the season but suffered the loss despite making 35 saves.
SUBBAN SURGING INTO FEBRUARY
After suffering a defeat in his season-debut on Nov. 18, Subban has gone 10-5-1 since over his last 16 starts, including seven straight wins between Dec. 10 to Jan. 14. The seven-game win streak was the longest of his pro career and the third-longest streak among all AHL goaltenders behind Toronto's Joseph Woll and Calgary's Dustin Wolf.
He was the first Amerks goaltender to post seven straight wins since Jonas Johansson won nine consecutive contests during the 2019-20 campaign.
Subban had arguably his best performance of the season during a 75-save weekend in Rochester’s two-game sweep over the Charlotte Checkers in mid-December. A night after stopping a regular-season career-high 45 saves, Subban was flawless in a 30-save shutout on Dec. 17, his first in the AHL since April 8, 2017, with the Providence Bruins.
Subban, who picked up his 100th career win in the 5-4 overtime victory over Utica on Dec. 28, has topped the 40-save mark three times in his last 12 starts and is currently tied for 20th amongst all netminders with 10 wins.
BIRO PILING UP THE POINTS
Despite missing six games due to injury, third-year forward Brandon Biro has blazed his way atop the team's scoring lead following a productive December in which he led the team with 16 points (6+10) in 10 games. He recorded multi-point efforts in seven of his 10 appearances, including six straight between Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 before closing out the month with an assist in the 3-2 win in Toronto.
Biro, who made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres last season, currently paces the Amerks in assists (20) and points (29) through 31 games and his recent seven-game point streak to close out the 2022 calendar year was the longest of his career.
Dating back to last season, Biro has totaled 70 points on 21 goals and 49 assists over his last 79 games and hasn't gone more than six games without a point since Nov. 27, 2021.
ROUSEK ALL-STAR BOUND
The American Hockey League announced last week the addition of Amerks forward Lukas Rousek to the North Division All-Star roster for the upcoming 2023 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Bell in collaboration with Manulife Bank. The annual event will take place Feb. 5-6 at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, home of the Laval Rocket.
Rousek will replace fellow forward Brandon Biro, who was originally named the team's lone representative, but is unavailable to participate in the event due to injury.
Currently in his second season with the Amerks, Rousek ranks second on the team with 18 assists and tied for second in scoring with 28 points while being one of only two Rochester skaters to appear in all 39 games this season. He also ranks third on the team with 10 goals.
Rousek has been one of the team's most consistent point-getters since the start of December, having recorded 15 points (6+9) over his last 21 games. More impressively, Rousek totaled 12 points (6+6) over a 12-game stretch between Dec. 3 and Jan. 7, highlighted by a season-long six-game point streak, and never went more than one game without a point over that span.
A native of Ostrov nad Ohri, Czech Republic, the 5-foot-11, 191-pound forward was the Buffalo Sabres’ sixth-round selection (160th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft. He enters the weekend with three assists in his last three games, including a two-assist effort last Wednesday against W-B/Scranton
PROWESS ON THE BLUELINE
Entering the Jan. 19 game against Laval, Ethan Prow was the only Amerks defenseman to appear in every game this season. Overall, he has skated in 108 of the 114 games dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
By being held without a point for just the third time since Christmas, Prow saw his four-game point streak (2+3) halted. The seventh-year veteran has posted nine points (2+7) in his last 13 outings dating back to Dec. 28.
Through 38 games this season, Prow is tied for 22nd in scoring amongst all AHL defensemen. His 17 assists are 24th in the league. He is three assists away from notching his fourth consecutive season with 20 or more assists and by recording a point last Wednesday, he reached the 20-point mark for the fifth straight year dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
SERIES NOTABLES
Amerks goaltender Malcolm Subban played his junior career with the Belleville Bulls of the OHL, who play at the CAA Arena. Subban totaled a 64-42-6 record and eight shutouts in 118 career games. During his final season with the Bulls, he helped Belleville finish first in the East during the regular season by posting a career-best 29 wins in 46 appearances.
So far this season, both Rochester and Belleville have used five different goaltenders. It marks the third straight season that the Amerks have used at least five different goaltenders. The Amerks have used a different netminder in each of the four games versus the Senators. Mads Sogaard is the only goaltender to appear in multiple games so far between the two teams in the season-series.
Tonight marks first North Division game for the Amerks since Jan. 19 as the team played five straight Atlantic Division opponents.