GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS CAN CLOSE OUT SERIES TONIGHT ON HOME ICE
May 17, 2022TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (4-1) have a chance to close out the Utica Comets (1-2) and advance to the third round for the first time since 2004 as the intrastate rivals meet in Game 4 of the North Division Semifinals tonight at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. matchup will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Result Score SF-SA PP PK
Game 1 - May 10 L 6-3 40-22 1-1 0-1 Utica lead series 1-0
Game 2 - May 14 W 4-3 29-19 0-1 1-2 Series tied 1-1
Game 3 - May 15 W 4-3 38-33 1-2 1-2 Rochester leads 2-1
Game 4 - May 17
Game 5 - May 19*
*If necessary
SERIES NOTES
Rochester put the Comets on the brink of elimination with its fourth overtime win of the postseason in Game 3 Sunday night. Arttu Ruotsalainen scored his league-leading sixth goal of the playoffs just 1:39 into overtime to seal the win for the Amerks, whose four playoff wins have all come via overtime.
Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka, who had a hat-trick in Saturday’s overtime-win, each had two assists while goaltender Aaron Dell (4-1) recorded his fourth win as he stopped 30 of the 33 shots he faced.
WATCH: TONIGHT'S FACE-OFF FIRST LOOK
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY IN THE PLAYOFFS
After playing in 20 games during the 2021-22 regular season that went beyond regulation, it seems only fitting that the trend would continue into the postseason.
The Amerks are 4-1 through their first five games of the Calder Cup Playoffs, with all four wins coming by way overtime and all with a 4-3 scoreline.
Never before in the 66-year history of the franchise has Rochester begun the postseason with four consecutive overtime victories.
Should tonight’s Game 4 matchup go beyond regulation, it will mark just the third time in playoff history the Amerks played three overtime games in the same series, the last being in 1983 with Rochester eventually going onto win its fourth Calder Cup. The 1983 playoffs was also the last time the Amerks played in three consecutive overtime games (April 22-April 26, Games 2-4 of their second-round series against New Haven).
PLAYOFF LEADERS
With at least one point in all five playoff games thus far, Arttu Ruotsalainen is currently tied for the league-lead with six goals and is second in playoff scoring with nine points. He’s also fifth among all point-getters with 1.80 points per game and presently owns the longest active point streak (5).
With eight assists through his first five playoff appearances, five of which have come in his last two games, Peyton Krebs leads all AHL skaters in assists while his eight points overall are tied for most among all rookies.
JJ Peterka is tied for first amongst all AHL rookies with eight points (4+4) in five games while goaltender Aaron Dell, who’s played every second of the postseason for Rochester, is second in wins (4) and fifth in saves (138).
A PLAYOFF TALE OF TWO CITIES
While this particular playoff series may serve as the first-ever postseason meeting between the Amerks and Comets franchises, its certainly not the case in the long history for either of the two American Hockey League cities.
Last Tuesday’s series-opener in Mohawk Valley was the first playoff matchup between Rochester and a Utica-based AHL franchise since April 25, 1993 when the Amerks finished off the former Utica Devils with a 3-2 win in Game 5 to close out their opening round series.
Rochester has never lost a playoff series to a Utica franchise in its 66-year history, winning both previous series with the Devils (1990, 1993) 4-1.
WATCH: SETH APPERT PRE-GAME
PLAYOFFS OVER THE YEARS
Prior to the first-round series sweep over Belleville, Rochester hadn’t won a playoff series since 2005, a squad that featured former NHL stars like Jason Pominville and Ryan Miller as well as former Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill and previous Amerks head coach Chris Taylor, when they swept Hamilton to advance to the second round.
Rochester has been a part of 85 playoff series over the years, in which it has compiled a 216-206 record in 422 games during that time.
The Amerks are looking for their first second-round series win since the 2004 postseason when they swept the Hamilton Bulldogs in four games before dropping a five-game series to Milwaukee in the third round.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
With tonight’s Game 4 marking the 16th meeting overall in 2021-22, the Amerks and Comets have been fairly acquainted all season long. The Amerks finished with a 6-5-1-0 record against Utica during the regular season, claiming points in seven of the last nine matchups.
The intrastate rivals alternated wins over their 12 games throughout the regular season series with the Amerks prevailing in the most recent matchup by way of an 8-1 rout win on April 29. Rochester outscored Utica 43-42 and each team finished with four wins on home ice.
The Amerks were the first team to hand the Comets their first regulation loss of the season after posting an AHL-best and franchise record 13-game win streak to begin the campaign. It bested the 37-year-old mark set by the 1984-85 Amerks, who won their first 11 games that year to set the standard.
In the 12 games during the head-to-head series, Rochester’s power-play unit went 11-for-45. Conversely, the Amerks shorthanded team killed off 31-for-41 opportunities.
Forward Jack Quinn (4+10) posted a team-best 14 points in eight games against the Comets this season. Quinn recorded at least one point in seven of his eight games opposite Utica. The AHL Rookie of the Year produced his first four-point (1+3) effort in Rochester’s 7-6 win over Utica on Jan. 12.
PETERKA AND QUINN NAMED TO ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Rookie forwards JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn were among the three forwards named to the six-player 2021-22 AHL All-Rookie Team. They became the first set of Amerks rookies to earn the honors in the same season since former goaltender Mika Noronen and defenseman Dmitri Kalinin in 1999-2000. It’s also the first time in team history two forwards were selected to the same All-Rookie Team.
With 16 points to close out the final month of the regular season, which included four multi-goal efforts, Peterka became the first Amerk this season and the first AHL rookie to reach the 60-point mark. With Quinn adding two points in the 8-1 in over Utica, it marked the first time in franchise history the Amerks had two rookies reach the benchmark in the same season.
This season also marked the first time in nearly 30 years the Amerks have had multiple rookies record more than 50 points in the same season since 1992-93 when the club had five: Todd Simon (93), Scott Thomas (59), Doug MacDonald (58), Jozef Cierny (54) and Mike McLaughin (54).
Rochester was a perfect 8-0-0-0 this season when both players recorded multi-point outings in the same contest. The Amerks were 16-1-2-0 when Quinn produced at least two points and 14-3-0-0 when Peterka recorded more than one point.
WATCH: BRETT MURRAY PRE-GAME
POWER-PLAY PROFICIENCY
Rochester’s power-play went 65-for-277 with a 23.5% conversion rate that was third-best in the AHL. The Amerks’ 65 goals on the man-advantage were most among all North Division teams and finished seven shy of the AHL lead behind Ontario.
The Amerks scored at least one power-play goal in 41 of their 76 games this season and registered multiple power-play tallies in 16 overall, including a season-high four goals in the 7-3 win over Hershey back on Nov. 26 and in the 6-2 victory against Belleville on April 9.
PETERKA FLOURISHED IN SECOND HALF
After scoring just four times through the first three months of the season, Peterka notched 48 points (24+24) in 47 games to begin 2022, including goals in back-to-back games on five different occasions over that span.
Peterka, who was taken 34th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Sabres, closed out the regular season leading all rookies in scoring with 68 points in 70 games. He also ranked first among rookies and fifth overall with 223 shots on goal. He only went two games all season without recording at least one shot on goal.
Peterka made his highly anticipated NHL debut on Dec. 28 as Buffalo hosted New Jersey before visiting the New York Islanders the very next day. Following his return to the Amerks, he totaled five points on two goals and three assists in two games before being honored as the AHL’s Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 2, 2022.
Peterka was held scoreless just 19 times since Dec. 19 and had not gone more than two games without recording a point during that same span. More impressively, the Amerks were 14-3-0-0 this season when Peterka registered a multi-point game, including 7-0-0-0 on home ice.
With a team-high 68 points (28+40) through 70 games, Peterka was the first Amerks rookie to reach the 60-point mark since Thomas Vanek had 68 points (42+26) in 74 games during the 2004-05 season.
Peterka, who was one of only five AHL rookies led his team in scoring, also led all rookies in goals (28) and finished third in assists (40).
QUINN-TESSENTIAL QUALITIES
In addition to being one of two Amerks named to this year’s AHL All-Rookie Team, Quinn was tabbed the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2021-22 season. He became the first Amerk to earn Rookie of the Year honors since Mika Noronen in 1999-2000.
Quinn became the first AHL player this season and just the 17th player in Amerks franchise history to score four goals in a game in the 6-5 overtime loss to Belleville on Jan. 15. More impressively, he scored all four goals consecutively, including the game-tying tally with 3.3 seconds remaining in regulation. He’s the first Amerk to have a four-goal game since Rochester native Derek Whitmore single-handedly outscored Hamilton on Nov. 25, 2011 (5-2 W).
Playing in just his 27th game of the season (March 18 against Cleveland), Quinn became the first Amerk to score 20 goals in the fewest number of games since Luke Adam reached the mark in 31 games during the 2013-14 campaign.
He was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Month for October after leading all first-year players with 10 points (5+5) through the first month of the regular season. In just six games to begin the season, Quinn surpassed his offensive output from his truncated 2020-21 campaign, and became the first AHL player to reach the 10-point mark this season.
Quinn was held scoreless just 14 times all season and had not gone more than two games without recording a point. He recorded a team-leading 19 multi-point performances this year.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Rochester finished with two of the league’s top point-producing defensemen in Ethan Prow (10+39) and Oskari Laaksonen (5+29), who finished third and tied for 22nd in scoring amongst all blueliners, respectively.
Prow, who reached the 40-point mark for the second time in his AHL career, also finished third with 39 assists, which were 10 more than Laaksonen. His 10 goals ranked tied for ninth-most by a defenseman this season and only three off the league lead. Prow recorded 31 points (6+25) over his last 40 games despite seeing his season-long six-game point streak halted last Sunday in Cleveland. He totaled 130 points (37+93) over his last 185 AHL contests dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
Laaksonen, who showed eight points (1+7) over his last 20 games, ranked fourth among defensemen with 23 power-play assists, as all but six of his 29 assists this season came on the man-advantage. Equally as impressive, 27 of his 34 points were on the power-play.
His best performance of the season came back on Jan. 12 when he recorded a career-high four assists in the 7-6 win over Utica, including three in the first period and three of which came on the power-play. He finished two assists shy of tying the franchise record for most in a single game.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The Amerks had four of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Brandon Biro and Linus Weissbach, all of whom combined for 207 points (82+125) through Rochester’s 76 regular games this season.
Quinn, the Buffalo Sabres’ eighth overall pick in 2020, tied for third among all first-year players with 26 goals and ranked fourth in points (61) despite only appearing in 45 games. He also ranked second among all rookies and eighth overall in the AHL with 1.36 pints per game while his team-high 10 power-play goals were second-most among all first-year skaters.
Quinn became the 101st AHL player this season to make his NHL debut when he took the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 11. He finished with team-highs in shots (3) and shot attempts (6) while earning 16:30 of total ice time. He then returned to the Sabres a day after scoring his 18th goal of the season for Rochester and was rewarded with his first two NHL points, including a goal against Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion Braden Holtby in the Sabres’ 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars on Jan 20.
With five points (3+2) over his final eight games since returning to the lineup, Biro finished tied for 12th in scoring amongst all rookies with 41 points (12+29) in 48 games. With his 40th point on the season against Cleveland on April 23, Biro became the third different Amerks rookie this season to reach the mark, joining Peterka and Quinn, and sixth overall.
Weissbach finished his first pro season with 37 points (16+21) in 67 games, including a goal in the regular season finale against Utica on April 29.
Peterka and Quinn are the first pair of Amerks rookies taken from the same Draft class (2020) to record 50 or more points in the same season since Scott Thomas and Doug MacDonald (1989) did so in 1992-93. The duo also became the first pair of Amerks rookies in franchise history to record 60 or more points.
Utica Comets vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs | Utica 1-0-2-0 | Rochester 2-1-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Utica 6-5-1-0 | Rochester 6-5-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Utica 1-0-2-0 | Rochester 2-1-0-0 |
| Utica vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Utica | Utica 1-0-1-0 | Rochester 1-1-0-0 |
| Utica vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Utica 0-0-1-0 | Rochester 1-0-0-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Utica 3 @ Rochester 4 (May 15 2022) Final OT Rochester 4 @ Utica 3 (May 14 2022) Final OT Rochester 3 @ Utica 6 (May 10 2022) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Rochester |
Utica |
|
| Team Record | 4-1-0-0 -- 8 points | 1-2-0-0 -- 2 points |
| Division Ranking | 1st North | 4th North |
| Conference Ranking | 1st Eastern | 8th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 2nd | 16th |
| Past 10 Games | 4-1-0-0 | 1-0-0-2 |
| Streak | 2-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-2 |
| Last Game | 4-3 W vs Utica (May 15 2022) Final OT | 4-3 L @ Rochester (May 15 2022) Final OT |
| Home Record | 2-0-0-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| Away Record | 2-1-0-0 | 0-1-0-0 |
| GF | 19 | 12 |
| GA | 18 | 11 |
| PP (Overall) | (3/10) 30.0% | (3/5) 60.0% |
| PP (Home) | (1/4) 25.0% | (2/3) 66.7% |
| PP (Away) | (2/6) 33.3% | (1/2) 50.0% |
| PK (Overall) | (4/11) 63.6% | (2/4) 50.0% |
| PK (Home) | (1/4) 75.0% | (1/2) 50.0% |
| PK (Away) | (3/7) 57.1% | (1/2) 50.0% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (2/4) 50% | (3/5) 60% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (3/5) 40% | (2/4) 50% |
| Leading Rookie | Peterka (4-4-8) | Thompson (1-0-1) |
| Most PIM | Tischke - 15 | Laberge - 19 |
| Team PIM/GM | 9.4/Game | 13.7/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Ruotsalainen (6-3-9) | Greer (4-1-5) |
| Peterka (4-4-8) | Russo (2-2-4) | |
| Krebs (0-8-8) | Zetterlund (1-3-4) | |
| Fitzgerald (1-3-4) | Okhotiuk (0-3-3) | |
| Jankowski (2-1-3) | Flynn (1-1-2) | |
| Last 5 Games | 4-3 W vs Utica (May 15 2022) Final OT | 4-3 L @ Rochester (May 15 2022) Final OT |
| 4-3 W @ Utica (May 14 2022) Final OT | 4-3 L vs Rochester (May 14 2022) Final OT | |
| 6-3 L @ Utica (May 10 2022) Final | 6-3 W vs Rochester (May 10 2022) Final | |
| 4-3 W @ Belleville (May 6 2022) Final OT | ||
| 4-3 W vs Belleville (May 4 2022) Final OT | ||
| Leading After 1st | 3-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 2-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 1-1-0-0 | 1-0-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 1-0-0-0 | 1-0-2-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 1-0-0-0 | 0-0-1-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 3-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 1-1-0-0 | 0-0-2-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 4-0-0-0 | 0-0-2-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
Utica Comets
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | A.J. Greer | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Robbie Russo | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| 20 | Fabian Zetterlund | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | -1 |
| 82 | Nikita Okhotiuk | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | Brian Flynn | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | Joe Gambardella | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| 25 | Nolan Foote | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| 22 | Reilly Walsh | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 92 | Graeme Clarke | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Ryan Schmelzer | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 12 | Tyce Thompson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Alexander Holtz | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 85 | Shakir Mukhamadullin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| 77 | Aarne Talvitie | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 88 | Kevin Bahl | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| 35 | Nico Daws | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Chase De Leo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | Jeremy Groleau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Brian Halonen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 39 | Samuel Laberge | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Michael Vukojevic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | SL | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Nico Daws | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 121:29 | 7 | 3.46 | 0.863 |
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 61:39 | 4 | 3.89 | 0.895 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 19 | Peyton Krebs | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 25 | Arttu Ruotsalainen | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Mark Jankowski | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| 11 | Lukas Rousek | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -4 |
| 3 | Mark Alt | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Casey Fitzgerald | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 72 | Ryan MacInnis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 22 | Jack Quinn | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| 4 | Jimmy Schuldt | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -1 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 88 | Brandon Davidson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | SL | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 183:08 | 12 | 3.93 | 0.870 |