GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS, CHECKERS CLASH AGAIN TONIGHT
Jan 28, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (20-15-2-1) close out the month of January tonight with a rematch against the Charlotte Checkers (21-15-2-2) at The Blue Cross Arena. All the action from the 6:05 p.m. contest will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Tonight's matchup is the fourth and final meeting between the two teams after Charlotte came away with a 4-2 win last night. Through the first three matchups this season, the road team has emerged victorious with the Checkers claiming the series opener last night and Rochester earning a two-game sweep during its visit to the Queen City back in December.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Rochester's 4-2 road victory back on Dec. 16 was the first over the Checkers in Charlotte since Jan. 20, 2018, snapping a six-game skid against the club.
Rochester enters the final game of weekend set with the Checkers showing a 4-11-0 record against Charlotte since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
Malcolm Subban has appeared in all three contests opposite Charlotte this season, boasting a 2-1-0 record with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage.
Both the Amerks (20) and Checkers (22) come into the matchup with nearly identical records with at least 20 wins and 15 regulation losses.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks were unable to dig themselves out of a three-goal deficit as they dropped a 4-2 decision in the first of back-to-back meetings against the Checkers Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena.
Lawrence Pilut notched a pair of assists for his while forwards Isak Rosen and Aleksandr Kisakov both scored their fourth and fifth goals of the campaign, respectively. Linus Weissbach and Filip Cederqvist rounded out the scoring as they each recorded an assist.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (10-5-0) made his 16th appearance of the season but suffered the loss despite making 24 saves.
SUBBAN SURGING INTO FEBRUARY
After suffering a defeat in his season-debut on Nov. 18, Subban has gone 10-4-1 since over his last 15 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 11 starts and is currently tied for 18th 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.
Named to the roster for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, Biro 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.
HINOSTROZA JOINS AMERKS
Forward Vinnie Hinostroza made an immediate impact in his Amerks debut Wednesday, scoring the game-winning goal in the third period.
Hinostroza appeared in 19 games with the Buffalo Sabres, producing eight points (0+8) to begin the 2022-23 season. In 81 career games with the Sabres, he's recorded 33 points (13+20) dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
Originally a sixth-round selection (169th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012, Hinostroza has totaled 145 points (51+94) in 353 career NHL games with Buffalo, Chicago, Florida and Arizona.
Hinostroza has amassed 83 points (81+52) in 110 career American Hockey League games with Rockford and Rochester. He posted his best season during the 2015-16 campaign when he set career-highs in goals (18). assists (33) and points (51) in 66 appearances. Hinostroza led the team in scoring that year while finishing second in assists and third in goals.
Prior to turning pro, he played two seasons at the University of Notre Dame, where he was a teammate of current Amerk Anders Bjork. He recorded 76 points in 76 games, earning Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors in 2013-14 followed by a Hockey East First Team All-Star selection in 2014-15.
Internationally, he has represented the United States on three separate occasions, including at the 2016 IIHF World Championship most recently.
PROWESS ON THE BLUELINE
Entering last Wednesday against Laval, Ethan Prow was the only Amerks defenseman to appear in every game this season. Overall, he has skated in 106 of the 113 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 seven points (2+6) in his last 11 outings dating back to Dec. 28.
Through 37 games this season, Prow is tied for 24th in scoring amongst all AHL defensemen. His 16 assists are 26th in the league. He is four assists away from notching his fourth consecutive season with 20 or more assists and by recording a point on Wednesday, he reached the 20-point mark for the fifth straight year dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
SERIES NOTABLES
Checkers captain Zac Dalpe scored 16 goals as part of a 28-point campaign with the Amerks in 2014-15, his only season in Rochester. He also appeared in 21 games for the Buffalo Sabres that season, recording three points (1+2).
Amerks defenseman Chase Priskie spent parts of two seasons (2019-20 and 2021-22) with the Checkers, notching 62 points (14+48) in 106 games. In six games against Rochester during those two seasons, Priskie recorded one goal and five assists to go along with a plus-six on-ice rating.
Checkers forward Dominic Franco played his first two pro seasons with the Amerks, recording 13 points (4+9) in 54 games. He has appeared in 20 games with Charlotte after starting the slate with the Florida Everblades.
Of the four goaltenders used this season by Charlotte, three are with the Florida Panthers on an NHL recall in Spencer Knight, Mack Guzda and Alex Lyon. The trio have combined to help the Checkers post a 20-13-3 record and two shutouts in 37 appearances. Jean-Francois Berube is the only other netminder of record as he owns a 2-2-1 mark.
Tonight marks the fifth and final game for the Amerks against an Atlantic Division opponent. Rochester is 5-4-1-0 this season versus the Atlantic and have won three of five games on home ice.