GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS FACE COMETS IN FIRST ROAD GAME OF SEASON
The Amerks look to secure their first win of the season tonight in Utica
Oct 12, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans begin the road portion of their 2024-25 regular season Saturday night when they visit Utica to take on the Comets at Adirondack Bank Center.
Saturday marks the first of 12 meetings against Utica this season, with the Amerks having gone 8-3-1-0 against their division rival the year prior. Both teams are in search of their first win of the season following losses on Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
Tyson Kozak and Josh Dunne each scored, while Felix Sandström made 28 saves Friday night as Rochester fell to the Belleville Senators by a 3-2 final.
“I think the second period wasn’t great,” said Amerks new head coach Michael Leone. “Especially with the long change, we didn’t do a good job managing the puck. We started to play more desperate in the last 10 (minutes of the third), but I thought at times we just didn’t play to the way we were playing in the preseason. I think it’s a good learning experience.”
Dunne scored the first goal of the Amerks 69th season, doing so on a breakaway. The newcomer joined Rochester after four years in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization, playing mostly for Cleveland over that time.
“It’s been great to get acclimated to this group,” said Dunne. “I think we have all the talent in the world. It’ll be fun to continue to work with this group and get better each day.”
In addition to the goals, Isak Rosen, Viktor Neuchev, Ryan Johnson, and Zach Metsa each logged assists in Rochester’s season opener.
On the other side, Utica was shutout in its home opener, dropping a 5-0 final to Syracuse. Nico Daws was pulled after surrendering four goals on 16 shots, while Isaac Poulter finished the game with nine saves on 10 shots.
HOUSE CALL
Following Friday’s game, coach Leone alluded to goaltender Michael Houser likely getting the start in Utica Saturday evening.
Houser, 31, is in his 13th professional season and has been a part of the Amerks for parts of six seasons. The Youngstown, Ohio, native has posted stellar numbers against Utica as an Amerk, going 7-4-0 with a .909 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average. Houser also pitched a 21-save shutout against the Comets back on March 25, 2023.
Should Houser start, it would be his 117th AHL appearance, with the veteran owning a 50-41-9 record with four shutouts. Collectively, Houser has appeared in 373 professional games (ECHL, AHL, NHL).
POWER OUTAGE
Rochester went 0-for-5 on its man-advantage Friday, including 17 seconds of a 5-on-3 power-play. Last season saw the Amerks man-advantage finish 19th across the league at 17.9%.
“I think we missed the net quite a bit,” said Leone when speaking on the power-play. “When we deliver pucks to the net, we have to have bodies there. A lot of power-play goals are off of broken plays. I think we had good looks, but to take it to the next level, we have to be harder in the blue paint.”
Utica also went scoreless on its power-play, going 0-for-4 Friday against Syrcause.
THE NARROWEST OF MARGINS
Seven of last year’s 12 games against Utica were decided by one goal, with the Amerks going 6-0-1-0 in that regard. Collectively, Rochester outscored Utica by a 12-5 margin in the first period, but were outscored 38-36 overall. Two of the seven games decided by one goal were finished in overtime, with the Comets winning an overtime contest and the Amerks finishing a shootout victory via Linus Weissbach in the final game of the 2023 calendar year.