GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS BACK HOME TO HOST CLEVELAND
Amerks seek answers for power-play as North Division Champions skate into town
Oct 22, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (1-3-0-0) will play a second consecutive week of home-and-home hockey, this time with the Cleveland Monsters (2-2-0-0) beginning Wednesday night at Blue Cross Arena.
Wednesday starts the eight-game season series between the two teams, with Rochester going 4-2-2-0 against Cleveland in 2023-24. Collectively, the Amerks have posted a 42-21-8-4 record against the Monsters since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign.
IN NEED OF POWER
The Amerks are one of just two teams in the AHL yet to convert on the power-play this season, entering Wednesday 0-for-21.
Despite the numbers, head coach Michael Leone believes his team has had a plethora of chances and is suffering more from bad luck than bad looks on the man-advantage.
“I think we’re doing a lot of really good things,” said Leone. “I think there’s no time for panic. Sure, it would be easy to be the Monday morning quarterback and nitpick everything, but the process has been really good and we’re getting a lot of looks. It’s coming. I’d be more concerned if we weren’t getting the chances. Now it’s just about being more predictable for each other and making sure we funnel pucks to the net when we have those opportunities.”
“Sometimes when you’re struggling, you tend to look for the perfect play, when really we just need a downhill attack and a mindset to get to the net. They’re working at it and we’ve practiced it about every single day. They just need one.”
On the other side of the puck, Cleveland skates into the Flower City having given up more power-play goals than any other team to start the season with seven man-advantage goals against. Overall, their 68.2% on the penalty kill puts them third from the bottom of the league.
DUNNE OF THE PAST
Wednesday will see Amerks forward Josh Dunne face his former team for the first time since signing with the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason. The 25-year-old had previously spent the first four years of his professional career in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization, spending the bulk of his time in Cleveland.
Across 134 games, Dunne amassed 36 goals and 65 points with the Monsters. The O’Fallen, Missouri, native went on to score seven goals and post 11 points in 14 playoff games last spring as part of Cleveland’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“It was awesome,” said Dunne on Cleveland’s playoff run. “It was so much fun and they’re such a great group of guys. We had an awesome culture over there. To be down 3-0 in the series against Hershey and force a game seven; I mean it wasn’t the ending we wanted. It doesn’t look great to say I lost game seven in the conference finals, but it was still a fun ride and it will stick with me forever.
So far with Rochester, the power forward has scored twice, getting both goals on home ice. Prior to the beginning of the season, Dunne was named as one of the team’s alternate captains, a role he served for Cleveland the last two years. Prior to turning pro, Dunne had also captained Clarkson University.
“I see a group here that is very comfortable and open-minded. I think that’s allowing guys to be themselves off the ice and it’s a really special feeling. I think this group has the ability to do great things. It’s fun to come to the rink every day. I’m having a great time.”
SANDSTRÖM SUCCESS
Amerks goaltender Felix Sandström owns a 3-0 record lifetime against Cleveland. The Swedish born net minder has started each of Rochester’s previous two home games to begin the 2024-25 season, making 28 and 17 saves, respectively.
Each of his three wins against Cleveland have come over the last two seasons of the 10-year veteran’s career, turning aside 81 of 86 shots all-time facing the Monsters as a goaltender for Lehigh Valley. Sandström’s only three starts against the Monsters have all come in Cleveland.
COACH FRENEMIES
On the bench, coach Leone will be opposed by third-year head coach, Trent Vogelhuber of Cleveland. The two share a bond started long before their time in the AHL.
“Trent and I played together in junior hockey,” said Leone. “We played together for the St. Louis Bandits (NAHL) for about five months and then he ended up having an ACL injury and couldn’t finish the season. Now that I’ve been in this league, there’s been multiple phone conversations that took place over the summer. He’s a great coach and a great person and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.”
Vogelhuber and Leone are the two youngest active head coaches in the AHL, both at 36 years of age. In addition to Leone’s familiarity with Cleveland’s head coach, he too, has ties to Cleveland’s new associate coach, Chris Bergeron.
“I got to work with him (Bergeron) eight years ago at Bowling Green University. I was a volunteer coach, so he’s someone I’m really close with. The ties run deep. He’s been a mentor to me and someone I respect a lot in this game. They (Cleveland) have a great staff.”
(NOT SO) SCARY MONSTERS
Cleveland skates into Wednesday as the defending 2024 North Division Champions, having gone a game shy of winning the Eastern Conference Finals just four months ago.
The Monsters and Amerks finished tied in standings points with 88 at the end of last season, though Cleveland edged out Rochester in a tiebreaker to secure the first seed in the division entering playoffs.
This year, the team is out to a 2-2-0-0 start following a split with Charlotte over the weekend. The Monsters return a large contingent of their roster from a season ago, led primarily by forwards Luca Del Bel Belluz and Try Fix-Wolansky, who each have five points to begin the 2024-25 campaign.
“They’re fast and they’re really dangerous. They can hurt you off the rush and are a good team on the power play. It’s a bit of needing to mature as a group for us. They’re a really talented group, so we need to be responsible on our play without the puck and need to make it hard on them.”