GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS CONTINUE BUSY WEEKEND IN UTICA TONIGHT
Mar 12, 2022TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (27-23-3-2) look to snap a three-game skid tonight as they continue three-in-three weekend against the first-place Utica Comets (34-11-6-0) at Adirondack Bank Center. The North Division matchup gets underway at 7:00 p.m. and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks have earned at least one point in seven of their last 15 games. The Comets have a 4-0-1-0 record in their five outings while their 34 wins on the campaign are tied for most in the AHL this season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
The intrastate rivals have alternated wins through the first eight games of the season series, but Utica has a slight advantage with a 5-2-1-0 record coming into tonight. After Utica claimed the first three, Rochester responded with three straight wins of its own only to suffer a pair of 4-2 losses since.
The Amerks were the first team to hand the Comets their first loss of the season after starting with an AHL-best and franchise record 13-game win streak to begin the campaign.
Dating back to the start of the 2016-17 campaign, Rochester has collected at least one point in 33 of the last 53 games against Utica, going 26-20-3-4 over that span. The Amerks also boast a 9-10-1-3 record in their last 23 matchups against the Comets in Utica over the last five years.
VIEW FROM ROCHESTER
Rochester remains in the thick of what is shaping up to be a very tight race to the finish among its fellow North Division opponents. The Amerks have played the most games (55) in the Division among any other team with some having as many as six games in hand on Rochester entering this weekend. Utica currently has four games in hand on Rochester.
The Amerks presently sit in fifth place with 22 games remaining and the top five teams in the North Division are guaranteed to clinch a playoff spot.
After scoring just four times through the first three months of the season, JJ Peterka has notched 26 points (9+17) in 26 games to begin 2022, including goals in back-to-back games on three different occasions over that span.
Having returned to the lineup last Friday in Belleville after missing the previous 17 games, Jack Quinn is third among all AHL rookies in goals (19) and seventh in points (38) while his team-high seven power-play goals are also tied for second-most among all rookies.
Rochester has the AHL’s ninth-best offense. Averaging under four goals per game, the club have scored the fourth-most goals in the AHL with 182 and rank second in the North Division behind only the Utica Comets.
POWER-PLAY PROFICIENCY
Rochester’s power-play has gone 46-for-201 with a 22.9% conversion rate that is currently fourth-best in the AHL. The Amerks’ 46 goals on the man-advantage are most among all North Division teams and are 10 shy of the AHL lead behind Ontario.
The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in 28 of their first 55 games this season and have registered multiple power-play tallies in 11 overall, including a season-high four goals in the 7-3 win over Hershey back on Nov. 26.
PETERKA FLOURISHING IN SECOND HALF
With his primary assist back on Feb. 19 against Syracuse, forward JJ Peterka took over the team’s scoring lead while also becoming the first Amerk this season and 14th player in the league to reach the 40-point mark.
Since Jack Quinn suffered a lower-body injury with the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 20, Peterka has helped carried the load for the Amerks offense as he has produced seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in the last 22 games.
More impressively, Peterka, who was taken 34th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Sabres, has netted 26 points (9+17) in 26 games to start the New Year. The 20-year-old has also registered seven multi-point games over that stretch which also featured three, three-point outings.
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 Rookie of the Month of the Week for the period ending Jan. 2, 2022.
Peterka has been held scoreless just nine times since Dec. 19 and hasn’t gone more than two games without recording a point during that same span. More impressively, the Amerks are 10-2-0-0 this season when Peterka registers a multi-point game, including 5-0-0-0 on home ice.
With a team-high 46 points (13+33) through 49 games, Peterka is the first Amerks rookie to reach the 45-point mark since Justin Bailey had 45 points (20+25) in 70 games during the 2015-16 season. Peterka also leads the team and is tied for seventh in the AHL with 33 assists.
Coming into the weekend, he’s one of only five AHL rookies currently leading his respective team in scoring.
A PRODUCTIVE STRETCH FOR MURRAY
After being held scoreless in four games in January, Brett Murray responded with his best offensive showing of the season in February, leading the Amerks with 12 points on seven goals and five assists while appearing in all 13 games during the month.
Murray has scored more than half of his 14 goals since the start of February. He opened the month with four goals in his first five games, including a season-best three straight games from Feb. 5 to Feb. 9.
He’s currently riding a career-long six-game point streak, over which he’s compiled nine points (3+6), including a four-point effort at Toronto Feb. 27.
RACE TO 20
After the cancellation of the remainder of the 2019-20 season and a truncated 2020-21 campaign failed to produce a 20-goal scorer for just the fourth time in franchise history, the Amerks could potentially have several by season’s end with eight players currently with 10 or more goals.
Michael Mersch and Quinn will both reach the mark on their next goal, despite Quinn appearing in 20 fewer games than Mersch. Murray remains on pace with a career-high 15 goals through his first 31 games of the season while Peterka and Arttu Ruotsalainen are right on his heels with 13 and 12, respectively, coming into the weekend.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Rochester has two of the league’s top point-producing defensemen in Ethan Prow (9+26) and Oskari Laaksonen (4+22), who enter the weekend fourth and 22nd in scoring amongst all blueliners, respectively.
Prow, who reached the 30-point mark for the third straight year in the AHL, is also tied for sixth with 26 assists, which are just four more than Laaksonen. His nine goals trail only Belleville’s Michael Del Zotto and Grand Rapids’ Ryan Murphy for most by a defenseman this season. With an assist on Friday night versus Syracuse, Prow has recorded 17 points (5+12) over his last 21 games. Additionally he has totaled 116 points (36+80) over his last 167 AHL contests dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
Laaksonen, who boasts 11 points (2+9) in his last 27 games since the turn of the New Year, also ranks second among defensemen with 18 power-play assists, trailing only Ontario’s Jordan Spence in that category, as all but four of his 22 assists this season have come on the man-advantage. Equally as impressive, 21 of his 26 points have come 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.
Prior to earning his second recall of the season to the Buffalo Sabres, rookie defenseman Mattias Samuelsson recorded two assists in the overtime loss to Belleville on Jan. 15, giving him 15 points (2+13) in 22 games. Samuelsson is tied for 18th in scoring among AHL rookie defensemen while his 13 assists are 15th-most.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The Amerks currently own four of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Brandon Biro and Linus Weissbach, all of whom have combined for 149 points (51+98) through Rochester’s first 55 games this season.
Quinn, the Buffalo Sabres’ eighth overall pick in 2020, ranks third among all first-year players in goals (19) and is seventh in points (38) despite only appearing in 26 games. 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 his first goal in 13 games last Friday against Belleville, Weissbach has notched eight points (1+7) in his last 12 games. He finished the month of February with 11 points (1+10) in 13 contests, including a season-high three-assist effort on Feb. 27 at Toronto to bring the month to a close.
Peterka’s explosive start to the second half of the season has him second among all rookies in points (46), third in assists (33) and 14th in goals (13).
With Peterka already at 46 points and both Biro and Quinn closing in on the mark, the Amerks are guaranteed to have multiple rookies finish the regular season with 40 or more points for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
MOVIN' ON UP
Players that have appeared in at least one game this season for both Rochester and Buffalo:
FORWARDS (8)
Brandon Biro*
Mark Jankowski
Peyton Krebs
Ryan MacInnis
Brett Murray
JJ Peterka*
Jack Quinn*
Arttu Ruotsalainen
DEFENSEMEN (3)
Casey Fitzgerald*
Ethan Prow*
Mattias Samuelsson
GOALTENDERS (3)
Aaron Dell
Michael Houser
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
* = Made NHL debut
WINNING BY THE NUMBERS
Rochester enters tonight as one of only five AHL teams to have scored at least 54 goals in all three periods this season. Additionally, the Amerks have scored the fifth-most first and third-period goals among any other team and have outscored the opposition 55-54 through the opening 20 minutes.
The Amerks have scored four or more goals in all but five of their 27 wins this season, two of which have come on home ice. Additionally, 12 of Rochester’s 14 road victories have come with three or more goals despite being outscored 108-92 through their first 28 road games.
SEASON NOTABLES
Of the 14 different defensemen the Amerks have used this season, 13 have notched at least one point while 10 have recorded at least one goal. Additionally, of the 24 different forwards to appear in one game for Rochester, 19 have scored a goal and 21 have produced a point.
Over his last 30 games since the turn of the New Year, Amerks forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has tallied 30 points on 12 goals and 18 assists, a stretch which began with a three-point effort versus Hartford on Jan. 2. Ruotsalainen has also turned in a multi-point effort in nine games over that same span, including four over his recent season-long five-game point streak which was highlighted by three consecutive two-goal games for the first time in his AHL career.
Rochester is one of just four teams to have three different rookies (Quinn, Peterka, Weissbach) reach the 10-goal mark, joining the Charlotte Checkers Springfield Thunderbirds and Toronto Marlies.
The Amerks are also one of four teams in the AHL to have at least eight different players in double digits in goals, which includes Charlotte, Springfield and Utica.
Rochester Americans vs Utica Comets: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Rochester 3-5-0-0 | Utica 5-2-1-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Rochester 4-6-0-1 | Utica 7-3-0-1 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 20-20-2-5 | Utica 27-14-3-3 |
| Rochester vs. Utica Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 11-10-1-2 | Utica 13-8-1-2 |
| Rochester vs. Utica Last 5 Years record at Utica | Rochester 9-10-1-3 | Utica 14-6-2-1 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Rochester 2 @ Utica 4 (Feb 18 2022) Final Utica 4 @ Rochester 2 (Jan 29 2022) Final Utica 6 @ Rochester 7 (Jan 12 2022) Final Utica 3 @ Rochester 4 (Dec 8 2021) Final OT Rochester 4 @ Utica 2 (Nov 24 2021) Final Rochester 3 @ Utica 5 (Nov 20 2021) Final Utica 3 @ Rochester 2 (Nov 17 2021) Final Rochester 2 @ Utica 6 (Oct 17 2021) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Utica |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 34-11-6-0 -- 74 points | 27-23-3-2 -- 59 points |
| Division Ranking | 1st North | 5th North |
| Conference Ranking | 1st Eastern | 10th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 4th | 19th |
| Past 10 Games | 6-3-1-0 | 3-7-0-0 |
| Streak | 4-0-1-0 | 0-3-0-0 |
| Last Game | 3-2 W vs Toronto (Mar 11 2022) Final | 3-2 L vs Syracuse (Mar 11 2022) Final |
| Home Record | 19-5-3-0 | 13-11-2-1 |
| Away Record | 15-6-3-0 | 14-12-1-1 |
| GF | 184 | 182 |
| GA | 139 | 201 |
| PP (Overall) | (35/161) 21.7% | (46/201) 22.9% |
| PP (Home) | (19/88) 21.6% | (20/97) 20.6% |
| PP (Away) | (16/73) 21.9% | (26/104) 25.0% |
| PK (Overall) | (32/165) 80.6% | (37/197) 81.2% |
| PK (Home) | (11/85) 87.1% | (19/104) 81.7% |
| PK (Away) | (21/80) 73.8% | (18/93) 80.6% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (8/29) 27.6% | (8/34) 23.5% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (8/34) 76.5% | (8/29) 72.4% |
| Leading Rookie | Holtz (21-19-40) | Peterka (13-33-46) |
| Most PIM | Greer - 71 | Pekar - 56 |
| Team PIM/GM | 11.6/Game | 13.3/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Zetterlund (20-21-41) | Peterka (13-33-46) |
| De Leo (12-29-41) | Mersch (19-20-39) | |
| Holtz (21-19-40) | Quinn (19-19-38) | |
| Greer (17-21-38) | Biro (9-27-36) | |
| Walsh (6-28-34) | Prow (9-26-35) | |
| Last 5 Games | 3-2 W vs Toronto (Mar 11 2022) Final | 3-2 L vs Syracuse (Mar 11 2022) Final |
| 3-2 L vs Syracuse (Mar 9 2022) Final OT | 7-2 L vs Laval (Mar 9 2022) Final | |
| 5-2 W @ Syracuse (Mar 5 2022) Final | 6-5 L @ Belleville (Mar 5 2022) Final | |
| 8-5 W @ Syracuse (Mar 4 2022) Final | 3-2 W @ Belleville (Mar 4 2022) Final OT | |
| 3-1 W @ Hershey (Feb 27 2022) Final | 6-3 L vs Syracuse (Mar 2 2022) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 17-1-5-0 | 18-3-0-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 24-1-2-0 | 17-1-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 13-2-1-0 | 4-5-3-1 |
| Tied After 2nd | 6-1-3-0 | 6-1-3-2 |
| Trailing After 1st | 4-8-0-0 | 5-15-0-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-9-1-0 | 4-21-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 11-8-2-0 | 5-11-2-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 21-3-3-0 | 22-12-1-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 11-5-6-0 | 13-5-3-2 |
| 2-Goal Games | 10-3-0-0 | 7-6-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 10-1-0-0 | 2-5-0-0 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Sean Malone | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | -2 |
| 2 | Oskari Laaksonen | 7 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 2 | -1 |
| 22 | Jack Quinn | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | -3 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | -1 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -2 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -3 |
| 5 | X Casey Fitzgerald | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | -1 |
| 19 | X Peyton Krebs | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -2 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | -3 |
| 24 | X Mattias Samuelsson | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -1 |
| 25 | Arttu Ruotsalainen | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | -5 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 72 | Ryan MacInnis | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | -1 |
| 27 | Patrick Polino | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| 88 | Brandon Davidson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 29 | Dominic Franco | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -4 |
| 4 | Jimmy Schuldt | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -4 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 47 | Nick Boka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Lukas Craggs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 |
| 18 | Ben Holmstrom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 41 | X Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | X Mark Jankowski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | X Mat Robson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | Ryan Scarfo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | X Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31:15 | 1 | 1.92 | 0.900 |
| 32 | X Mat Robson | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 182:45 | 12 | 3.94 | 0.867 |
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 263:03 | 18 | 4.11 | 0.841 |
Utica Comets
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Reilly Walsh | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 5 |
| 17 | A.J. Greer | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 4 |
| 20 | Fabian Zetterlund | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Chase De Leo | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Robbie Russo | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 26 | Ryan Schmelzer | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 77 | Aarne Talvitie | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Alexander Holtz | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | -2 |
| 27 | X Marian Studenic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 15 | Joe Gambardella | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Brian Flynn | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 25 | Nolan Foote | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 19 | -1 |
| 33 | Frederik Gauthier | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 92 | Graeme Clarke | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 |
| 14 | X Tyler Irvine | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Michael Vukojevic | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -3 |
| 88 | Kevin Bahl | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2 |
| 39 | Samuel Laberge | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -1 |
| 16 | Nate Schnarr | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -3 |
| 12 | X Tyce Thompson | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 82 | Nikita Okhotiuk | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 2 |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 90 | X Jesper Boqvist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | X Nico Daws | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Jeremy Groleau | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 11 | X Joe Masonius | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Patrick McGrath | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | X Mareks Mitens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | X Nick Rivera | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | X Luke Stevens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | X Colton White | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | X Nico Daws | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 285:30 | 11 | 2.31 | 0.913 |
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 137:20 | 7 | 3.06 | 0.904 |
| 34 | X Mareks Mitens | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58:35 | 7 | 7.17 | 0.750 |