GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS, CHECKERS TAKE IT OUTDOORS TONIGHT
Jan 13, 2024TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (16-12-3-1) and Charlotte Checkers (17-13-4-0) take it outdoors tonight for a rematch in the highly anticipated Queen City Outdoor Classic in Uptown Charlotte. All the action from Truist Field will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks, who have at least one point in four straight road games, show a 4-5-1-0 mark over their previous 10 contests overall. The club holds for the fourth-place spot in the AHL’s North Division standings.
Following a pair of 3-2 defeats in its last two contests, Charlotte sits in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 17-13-4-0 mark through 34 games.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST CHARLOTTE
The Amerks are 8-15-0-0 all-time against Charlotte after claiming two of the first three meetings with the Checkers, including last night’s 3-2 win at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
With last night’s win, Rochester pushed its point streak to four games, improving to 3-0-1-0 over that span, while also winning the last three games in Queen City dating back to the start of last season.
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Brett Murray (3+7), Brandon Biro (5+9) and Linus Weissbach (2+5) have combined for 10 goals and 31 points against the Checkers. Murray’s three points this season against Charlotte are also tied for the tem lead.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks used a pair of third-period goals, one of which came in the final minutes of regulation, to earn a 3-2 victory over the Checkers in the first of back-to-back meetings Friday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
Kale Clague (1+1) recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season for the Amerks while Justin Richards and Joseph Cecconi scored their fourth and first goals of the campaign, respectively, in the third period. Lukas Rousek and Viktor Neuchev each extended their point streaks while Tyson Jost, Mason Jobst and Brett Murray all recorded an assist.
Goaltender Devin Cooley (6-5-2) made his first appearance since Dec. 29 and 12th overall of the campaign for Rochester. The netminder, who shows a 2-0-1 mark in his last three road contests, made 37 saves to earn the victory.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Jeremy Davies and Kale Clague are among the AHL’s top scoring defensemen, having combined for seven goals and 32 points this season. Davies’ five goals are tied for 19th-most amongst all blueliners.
Davies, who scored a career-high 11 goals last season, including three game-winning tallies, is tied for 11th amongst all defensemen with 77 shots. He’s recorded at least one shot in all but three games this season. Davies, who closed out the month of October on a five-game point streak, has recorded one point in 12 of his first 30 games this season, never going more than four straight games without a point.
Clague, meanwhile, is tied for 19th among all blueliners with 14 assists in 30 games. Clague opened the campaign with three multi-point performances and enters the weekend with assists in six of his last 16 games.
DYNAMIC DUO: ALL-STAR BOUND
Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen both return for their second seasons in Rochester after putting up one of the most impressive and productive seasons as teenagers in the history of the AHL during the 2022-23 campaign. Both were named to the North Division All-Star roster for the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic this week.
Kulich continued his torrid start to the season with three goals over the team’s three-game Atlantic Division road trip last month, temporarily taking over the league’s goal-scoring lead with 16 goals in just 23 games. Kulich, who also leads the AHL with four overtime game-winning tallies, remains on pace to become the first AHL player to reach the 20-goal mark in the fewest number of games to begin the season since Frank Vatrano scored 20 goals in just 18 games to begin the 2015-16 campaign.
Kulich, whose 24 goals last season were the second-most ever by an 18-year-old in league history, recently captained Czechia to a bronze medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship. He led all Czech skaters and tied for first in overall scoring with 12 points (6+6) in seven games, including his second four-point outing of the tournament in the bronze medal game.
He was named to the tournament’s All-Star Team for the second straight year in his final appearance. The 8-5 win, which saw Czechia overcome a 5-2 deficit with four goals in less than a minute, gave the Czechs their second straight medal finish after winning silver last year.
With 11 points over his last 15 games, which includes a career-best four point (2+2) effort on Nov. 18, Rosen took over the team lead in scoring with 24 points after returning from a seven-game stint with the Sabres last month. He is third amongst all Amerks in goals (9) and has matched his totaled from last season in game-winning tallies through just 27 games.
Back on Nov. 25, Kulich and Rosen both made their NHL debuts with the Buffalo Sabres against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center
The duo has combined for 128 points (63+66) in 180 regular season games. Rochester boasts an impressive 21-3-2-1 record when they each record at least one point in the same game as well as a near-perfect 8-1-0-0 mark when they both score in the same game.
AMERKS TAKING IT OUTDOORS TONIGHT
For the 12th time in league history, a regular season game will be played outside tonight at Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights. It will be the first of its kind in Charlotte and the second for the Amerks.
It will also be the first time the Amerks have been the visitors after hosting the Lake Erie Monsters in the premier event of the Frozen Frontier at Rochester’s Innovative Field (formerly Frontier Field), home of the International League’s Rochester Red Wings, on Dec. 13, 2013.
Amerks captain Michael Mersch will skate in his third outdoor game, having played once in college and with Ontario in the AHL’s 2017 Outdoor Classic in Bakersfield, California. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski will enter his fourth outdoor game as a pro. Before last season’s game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he backed up Buffalo in the 2022 Heritage Classic in Hamilton, Ontario and served as the backup for Lehigh Valley in the 2018 Outdoor Classic that took place in Hershey. Justin Richards scored on Tokarski in last year’s event with Cleveland.
APPERT REACHES CENTURY MARK
Last night’s win was a milestone win for Seth Appert, who became just the seventh head coach in the 68-year history of the franchise to reach 100 career wins with Rochester. He joins an impressive list that includes the likes of Amerks Hall of Famers Randy Cunneyworth, John Van Boxmeer, Joe Crozier, Mike Keenan, Chris Taylor and Brian McCutcheon.
On Dec. 16 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Appert also became the seventh head coach in team history to be behind Rochester’s bench for 200 games.
Since the 2020-21 season, Appert has guided the Amerks to a 100-83-18-8 record as well as two straight playoff appearances, which included a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023.
It was the team’s deepest playoff run in nearly 20 years and their first to the Conference Finals since the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs.
WORKING OVERTIME
The 6-5 overtime loss in Cleveland this past Saturday was the third game over the last seven for Rochester that went beyond regulation, which includes three shootout decisions last month. Overall, the Amerks have gone to extra time on 13 different occasions this season, including each of the first three games of the campaign.
Never before in the near 68-year history of the franchise have the Amerks opened a season with three consecutive overtime contests.
Rochester is the only team in the league with 13 games decided beyond regulation this season. Dating back to last season, 21 of Rochester’s previous 45 regular-season games have required overtime to determine a winner.
Of the 75 games Rochester played since start of 2023, 25 were decided beyond regulation. Jiri Kulich scored the game-winning goal in four contests over that span while Linus Weissbach sealed the victory in the shootout twice.
The Amerks show a 14-11 mark over that span, which includes an 11-5 record on the road, compared to 3-6 on home ice. In the 16 road contests decided after 60 minutes of play outside Rochester, the Amerks hold a 7-3 in overtime and are 4-2 in the shootout.
TOKARSKI AMONG ELITE COMPANY
Veteran goaltender Dustin Tokarski, who missed the first eight games of the season due to an injury he sustained in training camp, made his season debut back on Nov. 3 against Utica.
In doing so, the two-time Calder Cup winner and AHL All-Star became just the 18th goaltender in league history to play in 400 career games, a list that also includes former Amerks Bobby Perreault (512), Michael Leighton (507), Drew MacIntyre (440) and Ed Chadwick (417).
Tokarski, who’s in his second stint with the Amerks and 10th different AHL franchise, went 1-1-0 during a brief two-game stint with Rochester as part of the COVID-shortnened 2020-21 campaign. He went 12-20-7 in 42 appearances with the Buffalo Sabres from 2021-23.
Currently in his 15th season, he joins Marcel Paille and Michael Leighton as the only goaltenders all-time to play at least 15 seasons in the AHL.
Tokarski, who’s 6-6-2 in his first 14 starts, surpassed the 10,000-save mark for his AHL career following a 31-save effort against Utica on Nov. 10. He also reached the 12,000-save mark for his pro career the week prior when he made his season debut against the Comets.
Entering this weekend, the 34-year-old Tokarski is tied with Nick Damore for 12th all-time in career wins (211). He also ranks 18th all-time in games played (413) and one game away from tying Yann Danis for 17th all-time . He is also one shutout away from tying Danis for eighth all-time.
A JOLT OF JOST
Rochester’s forward group was bolstered at the end of the 2023 calendar year with the addition of veteran forward Tyson Jost, a former first-round selection (10th overall) of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2016 NHL Draft.
The St. Albert, Alberta, native made his Amerks debut last month and has recorded six points (2+4) through his first five games, having recorded at least one point in all but one game thus far.
Jost has totaled 13 points (7+6) in 18 career American Hockey League games with the Amerks, San Antonio Rampage and Colorado Eagles over parts of three seasons. He’s also recorded 138 points (56+82) over 442 career NHL games with Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche.
Jost spent one season at the University of North Dakota in 2016-17, amassing 35 points (16+19) in 33 games. He finished the campaign second on the club in both assists and points while ranking third in goals.
Before joining North Dakota, Jost totaled 149 points (97+65) in 97 career contests with the Penticton Vees (BCHL) from 2013-2016. During his final season, Jost was named Hockey Canada’s Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) National Player of the Year, as well as the CJHL’s MVP and Top Forward. Additionally, he was also named the BCHL MVP as he amassed 42 goals and 104 points in 48 games, leading the BCHL in assists (62).
Internationally, Jost led Canada at the 2016 Under-18 World Championship in Grand Forks, where he set a new Canadian scoring record with 15 points in seven games. He led the tournament in scoring and was named the Top Forward while also earning a gold medal with Canada at the 2015 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge.
COMRIE COMES EAST
Goaltender Eric Comrie was the latest to be assigned to the Amerks from the parent Buffalo Sabres, officially joining the team on New Year’s Day.
Comrie began the campaign with the Sabres, showing a 1-5-0 record and a .863 save percentage in seven appearances. In 54 career NHL games with Buffalo, Winnipeg, New Jersey and Detroit, Comrie has posted a 23-24-2 record to go along with a pair of shutouts.
The former second-round selection (59th overall) of Winnipeg in 2013 has appeared in 211 games at the AHL level. The Edmonton, Alberta, native boasts a 92-94-21 record and 10 shutouts since the start of 2013-14 with Rochester, Manitoba, Tucson and St. John’s.
As part of conditioning stint in 2022-23 with Rochester, he went 1-2-0 in three appearances.
With his first start of the season for the Amerks last Friday night, Comrie became the fifth different netminder to appear in a game this season for the Amerks. It marked the third straight year Rochester has had five or more goaltenders play in its crease and first since a three-year stretch between 1995 and 1998.
Rochester Americans vs Charlotte Checkers: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2023-24 Regular Season | Rochester 2-1-0-0 | Charlotte 1-2-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Rochester 2-2-0-0 | Charlotte 2-2-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 6-9-0-0 | Charlotte 9-6-0-0 |
| Rochester vs. Charlotte Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 3-5-0-0 | Charlotte 5-3-0-0 |
| Rochester vs. Charlotte Last 5 Years record at Charlotte | Rochester 3-4-0-0 | Charlotte 4-3-0-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Rochester 3 @ Charlotte 2 (Jan 12 2024) Final Charlotte 6 @ Rochester 1 (Dec 8 2023) Final Charlotte 3 @ Rochester 4 (Oct 25 2023) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Charlotte |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 17-13-4-0 -- 38 points | 16-12-3-1 -- 36 points |
| Division Ranking | 6th Atlantic | 4th North |
| Conference Ranking | 9th Eastern | 11th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 17th | 19th |
| Past 10 Games | 4-3-3-0 | 4-5-1-0 |
| Streak | 0-1-1-0 | 3-0-1-0 |
| Last Game | 3-2 L vs Rochester (Jan 12 2024) Final | 3-2 W @ Charlotte (Jan 12 2024) Final |
| Home Record | 8-7-2-0 | 6-6-2-0 |
| Away Record | 9-6-2-0 | 10-6-1-1 |
| GF | 100 | 104 |
| GA | 99 | 123 |
| PP (Overall) | (22/140) 15.7% | (21/102) 20.6% |
| PP (Home) | (11/67) 16.4% | (7/39) 17.9% |
| PP (Away) | (11/73) 15.1% | (14/63) 22.2% |
| PK (Overall) | (19/136) 86.0% | (30/123) 75.6% |
| PK (Home) | (9/72) 87.5% | (13/44) 70.5% |
| PK (Away) | (10/64) 84.4% | (17/79) 78.5% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (4/13) 30.8% | (1/9) 11.1% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (1/9) 88.9% | (4/13) 69.2% |
| Leading Rookie | Samoskevich (9-13-22) | Novikov (0-11-11) |
| Most PIM | Bezeau - 47 | Davies - 43 |
| Team PIM/GM | 11.9/Game | 12.0/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Carlsson (10-15-25) | Rosen (9-15-24) |
| Samoskevich (9-13-22) | Kulich (16-6-22) | |
| Mayhew (8-11-19) | Rousek (6-16-22) | |
| Dalpe (10-8-18) | Biro (10-10-20) | |
| Khodorenko (6-12-18) | Jobst (8-10-18) | |
| Last 5 Games | 3-2 L vs Rochester (Jan 12 2024) Final | 3-2 W @ Charlotte (Jan 12 2024) Final |
| 3-2 L @ Bridgeport (Jan 7 2024) Final OT | 6-5 L @ Cleveland (Jan 6 2024) Final OT | |
| 4-3 W @ Bridgeport (Jan 6 2024) Final OT | 3-1 W vs Cleveland (Jan 5 2024) Final | |
| 4-1 L @ Hershey (Jan 3 2024) Final | 3-2 W @ Utica (Dec 30 2023) Final SO | |
| 5-2 W @ Lehigh Valley (Dec 31 2023) Final | 4-2 L vs Hershey (Dec 29 2023) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 12-2-1-0 | 6-2-0-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 14-1-2-0 | 8-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 2-4-2-0 | 4-5-1-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 1-3-2-0 | 4-3-2-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 3-7-1-0 | 6-5-2-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 2-9-0-0 | 4-9-1-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 14-9-1-0 | 6-5-1-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 3-3-3-0 | 9-7-2-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 7-2-4-0 | 13-2-3-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 3-4-0-0 | 2-5-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 5-6-0-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | Kale Clague | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -1 |
| 25 | Jiri Kulich | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | Isak Rosen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Lukas Rousek | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Joseph Cecconi | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52 | Aleksandr Kisakov | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | Justin Richards | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | Tyson Jost | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | Tyson Kozak | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 79 | Viktor Neuchev | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 74 | Nikita Novikov | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 93 | X Matthew Savoie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 78 | Jacob Bryson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | X Filip Cederqvist | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 1 | Devin Cooley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Jeremy Davies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 37 | X Chris Jandric | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | X Ryan Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Zach Metsa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 61 | Riley Stillman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 34 | Dustin Tokarski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devin Cooley | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 119:55 | 5 | 2.50 | 0.914 |
| 34 | Dustin Tokarski | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59:39 | 5 | 5.03 | 0.833 |
Charlotte Checkers
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Gerry Mayhew | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | -1 |
| 28 | Jake Wise | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Brendan Perlini | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 9 | Rasmus Asplund | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Michael Benning | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 24 | Justin Sourdif | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -1 |
| 13 | Riley Bezeau | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 15 | Patrick Khodorenko | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 10 | X Will Lockwood | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Lucas Carlsson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| 4 | Casey Fitzgerald | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 36 | Patrick Giles | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Spencer Knight | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Cameron Morrison | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Calle Sjalin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Alexander True | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | Uvis Balinskis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Skyler Brind’Amour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 21 | Zac Dalpe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 3 | Matt Kiersted | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 27 | Santtu Kinnunen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 23 | Ryan McAllister | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Evan Nause | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 11 | Mackie Samoskevich | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 25 | Wilmer Skoog | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Spencer Knight | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 175:21 | 8 | 2.74 | 0.890 |