GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS GO FOR SWEEP IN REMATCH WITH MONSTERS
Mar 19, 2022TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
Following a quick turnaround, the Rochester Americans (29-23-3-2) and Cleveland Monsters (21-24-7-4) close out their two-game series in a rematch tonight at The Blue Cross Arena. The North Division matchup gets underway at 6:05 p.m. and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks have earned five out of a possible six points in their last three games while snapping a four-game skid in the process. The Monsters have points in seven of their last 10 games, going 5-3-1-1 in that span.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Rochester holds a record of 34-13-4-4 against Cleveland over the last 10 years dating back to the start of the 2011-12 campaign and has earned a point in 12 of the last 18 games.
The Amerks have scored 13 power-play goals in their last 15 games against Cleveland dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, going 13-for-58 (22.4%) with the man-advantage over that span. Rochester’s penalty kill unit has been successful in 56-of-69 shorthanded situations (81.2%).
In the previous 11 games with Cleveland, the winning club has scored at least four goals. In five of the last six head-to-head matchups with the Monsters, the Amerks have tallied at least once in the first 20 minutes of play, which includes all four games this season prior to last night.
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 (58) in the Division among any other team with some having as many as seven games in hand on Rochester entering this week. Cleveland currently has two games in hand on Rochester.
The Amerks presently sit in sixth place with 18 games remaining and the top five teams in the North Division are guaranteed to clinch a playoff spot.
Lukas Rousek and newcomer Nate Knopeke both made their American Hockey League debuts last against Cleveland with the latter becoming the 15th different defenseman to a play a game this season for Rochester.
Having returned to the lineup last night after missing the previous four games, Jack Quinn is third among all AHL rookies in goals (20) and seventh in points (41) while his team-high seven power-play goals are also tied for third-most among all rookies.
Rochester has the AHL’s eighth-best offense. Averaging under four goals per game, the club have scored the third-most goals in the AHL with 193 and rank first in the North Division.
POWER-PLAY PROFICIENCY
Rochester’s power-play has gone 48-for-208 with a 23.1% conversion rate that is currently fourth-best in the AHL. The Amerks’ 48 goals on the man-advantage are most among all North Division teams and are eight shy of the AHL lead behind Ontario.
The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in 30 of their first 58 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 a two-goal outing last night against Cleveland, forward JJ Peterka became the first Amerk this season and just the third AHL rookie to reach the 50-point mark.
After scoring just four times through the first three months of the season, Peterka has notched 30 points (12+18) in 29 games to begin 2022, including goals in back-to-back games on four different occasions over that span
More impressively, Peterka, who was taken 34th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Sabres, leads the Amerks and is tied for sixth in the AHL with 161 shots on goal. He’s only gone two games all season without registering 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 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 11-2-0-0 this season when Peterka registers a multi-point game, including 6-0-0-0 on home ice.
With a team-high 50 points (16+34) through 52 games, Peterka is the first Amerks rookie to reach the 50-point mark since Phil Varone had 52 points (11+41) in 76 games during the 2011-12 season. Peterka also leads the team and is eighth in the AHL with 34 assists.
Coming into the weekend, he’s one of only five AHL rookies currently leading his respective team in scoring.
MERSCH LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Mersch became just the second Amerk this season to reach the 40-point with his 20th goal of the season last night against Cleveland. In doing so, he reached the mark for the fifth time in his eight-year pro career.
Mersch has totaled 28 points (13+15) and five multi-point efforts over his last 33 games dating back to Nov. 24. The Amerks captain began that stretch with a five-game goal-scoring streak, the longest of his career and the longest in the AHL this season, while his recent nine-game point streak surpassed his previous career-best mark of seven he set during the 2014-15 season.
Mersch also reached the 20-goal mark for the fifth time in eight years and the first time since the 2018-19 season as a member of the Texas Stars. He did so in the second- fewest number of games (47) since 2015-16 when he scored 20 in 35 games with the Ontario Reign. He finished that season with 24 goals in only 52 appearances while also appearing in 17 games with the Los Angeles Kings.
QUINN-TESSENTIAL QUALITIES
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, 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 has been held scoreless just five times all season and hasn’t gone more than one game without recording a point. He has recorded 13 multi-point performances this year. More impressively, the Amerks are a near-perfect 11-1-1-0 this season when Quinn registers a multi-point game, including 7-0-1-0 on home ice.
On Nov. 12, Quinn became the first AHL rookie since Frank Vatrano in 2015-16 to score eight goals through his first 10 games of the season.
Quinn is one of only four AHL rookies with at least seven power-play goals this season.
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 saw his career-long six-game point streak halted on Mar. 12 when he posted 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, who also returned to the lineup last, and Quinn both reached the mark last night, despite Quinn appearing in 20 fewer games than Mersch. Peterka and Murray remain on pace with 16 and 15 goals, respectively, while Arttu Ruotsalainen and Linus Weissbach are right on their heels 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 (5+24), who enter the weekend tied for fifth and 14th in scoring amongst all blueliners, respectively.
Prow, who reached the 30-point mark for the third straight year in the AHL, is also ninth with 26 assists, which are just two more than Laaksonen. His nine goals trail only San Diego’s Nikolas Brouillard, Grand Rapids’ Ryan Murphy and Belleville’s Michael Del Zotto for most by a defenseman this season. With an assist last Friday night, Prow has recorded 17 points (5+12) over his last 22 games. Additionally he has totaled 116 points (36+80) over his last 168 AHL contests dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
Laaksonen, who boasts 14 points (3+11) in his last 30 games since the turn of the New Year, also ranks second among defensemen with 19 power-play assists, trailing only Ontario’s Jordan Spence in that category, as all but five of his 24 assists this season have come on the man-advantage. Equally as impressive, 23 of his 29 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 19th 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 160 points (57+103) through Rochester’s first 58 games this season.
Quinn, the Buffalo Sabres’ eighth overall pick in 2020, ranks third among all first-year players in goals (20) and is seventh in points (41) despite only appearing in 27 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 assist last night in the second period , Weissbach has notched 10 points (2+8) in his last 15 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 torrid start to the second half of the year has him second among all rookies in points (50), third in assists (34) and seventh in goals (16).
With Peterka already at 50 points and Quinn at 41 points, it marks the first time since the 2006-07 season the club will finish the regular season with multiple rookies with 40 or more points.
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 NUMBERS
Rochester enters tonight as one of only three AHL teams to have scored at least 58 goals in all three periods this season. Additionally, the Amerks have scored the fourth-most first and third-period goals among any other team and have outscored the opposition 58-55 through the opening 20 minutes.
The Amerks have scored four or more goals in all but six of their 29 wins this season, two of which have come on home ice. Additionally, 13 of Rochester’s 15 road victories have come with three or more goals despite being outscored 114-98 through their first 30 road games.
OTHER AMERKS NOTABLES
Of the 15 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 25 different forwards to appear in one game for Rochester, 19 have scored a goal and 22 have produced a point.
Over his last 33 games since the turn of the New Year, Amerks forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has tallied 33 points on 13 goals and 20 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 eight teams in the AHL to have at least eight different players in double digits in goals, which includes Bakersfield, Charlotte, Providence, San Jose, Springfield, Stockton and Utica.
Cleveland Monsters vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Cleveland 2-3-0-0 | Rochester 3-2-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Cleveland 4-1-0-1 | Rochester 2-4-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Cleveland 11-11-3-1 | Rochester 15-8-1-2 |
| Cleveland vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Cleveland | Cleveland 3-6-2-1 | Rochester 9-3-0-0 |
| Cleveland vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Cleveland 8-5-1-0 | Rochester 6-5-1-2 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Cleveland 4 @ Rochester 5 (Mar 18 2022) Final Rochester 3 @ Cleveland 7 (Jan 22 2022) Final Rochester 4 @ Cleveland 1 (Jan 21 2022) Final Cleveland 0 @ Rochester 4 (Nov 13 2021) Final Cleveland 4 @ Rochester 3 (Nov 12 2021) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Rochester |
Cleveland |
|
| Team Record | 29-23-4-2 -- 64 points | 21-24-7-4 -- 53 points |
| Division Ranking | 6th North | 7th North |
| Conference Ranking | 11th Eastern | 14th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 19th | 28th |
| Past 10 Games | 4-5-1-0 | 5-3-1-1 |
| Streak | 2-0-1-0 | 0-1-1-0 |
| Last Game | 5-4 W vs Cleveland (Mar 18 2022) Final | 5-4 L @ Rochester (Mar 18 2022) Final |
| Home Record | 14-11-2-1 | 9-13-4-1 |
| Away Record | 15-12-2-1 | 12-11-3-3 |
| GF | 193 | 157 |
| GA | 211 | 190 |
| PP (Overall) | (48/208) 23.1% | (31/188) 16.5% |
| PP (Home) | (21/99) 21.2% | (9/95) 9.5% |
| PP (Away) | (27/109) 24.8% | (22/93) 23.7% |
| PK (Overall) | (39/208) 81.3% | (51/214) 76.2% |
| PK (Home) | (20/107) 81.3% | (20/98) 79.6% |
| PK (Away) | (19/101) 81.2% | (31/116) 73.3% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (3/16) 18.8% | (4/17) 23.5% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (4/17) 76.5% | (3/16) 81.3% |
| Leading Rookie | Peterka (16-34-50) | Angle (7-22-29) |
| Most PIM | Pekar - 56 | Gallant - 81 |
| Team PIM/GM | 13.2/Game | 12.6/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Peterka (16-34-50) | Christiansen (9-27-36) |
| Quinn (20-21-41) | Angle (7-22-29) | |
| Mersch (20-21-41) | Gaunce (16-12-28) | |
| Biro (9-27-36) | Scott (13-13-26) | |
| Ruotsalainen (13-22-35) | Sikura (11-14-25) | |
| Last 5 Games | 5-4 W vs Cleveland (Mar 18 2022) Final | 5-4 L @ Rochester (Mar 18 2022) Final |
| 4-3 L @ Syracuse (Mar 13 2022) Final OT | 4-3 L vs Rockford (Mar 15 2022) Final OT | |
| 3-2 W @ Utica (Mar 12 2022) Final | 4-1 W vs Rockford (Mar 13 2022) Final | |
| 3-2 L vs Syracuse (Mar 11 2022) Final | 6-1 L @ Grand Rapids (Mar 11 2022) Final | |
| 7-2 L vs Laval (Mar 9 2022) Final | 3-2 W @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Mar 9 2022) Final OT | |
| Leading After 1st | 19-3-1-1 | 10-1-2-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 19-1-1-0 | 11-1-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 4-5-3-1 | 6-4-3-3 |
| Tied After 2nd | 6-1-3-2 | 7-2-3-2 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-15-0-0 | 5-19-2-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-21-0-0 | 3-21-4-2 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 5-11-2-0 | 11-16-3-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 24-12-2-1 | 8-5-3-4 |
| 1-Goal Games | 15-5-4-2 | 13-4-7-4 |
| 2-Goal Games | 7-6-0-0 | 2-7-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 2-5-0-0 | 1-8-0-0 |
Cleveland Monsters
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | X Brendan Gaunce | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | -1 |
| 64 | Trey Fix-Wolansky | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 17 | Carson Meyer | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 |
| 23 | Jake Christiansen | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Dillon Simpson | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 20 | Justin Scott | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| 77 | Tyler Angle | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Cole Cassels | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -3 |
| 16 | Tyler Sikura | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| 22 | Tim Berni | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| 13 | X Justin Danforth | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 27 | Tristan Mullin | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| 42 | Cole Fonstad | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 | Liam Foudy | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 4 | Scott Harrington | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| 14 | Adam Helewka | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -4 |
| 26 | Thomas Schemitsch | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| 82 | Kevin Stenlund | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 6 | Billy Sweezey | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 | Roman Ahcan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Jean-Francois Berube | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Cole Clayton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -5 |
| 21 | Josh Dunne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 |
| 44 | Brett Gallant | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 25 | Jake Gaudet | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 31 | Jet Greaves | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Robbie Payne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 37 | X Jake Slaker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 40 | X Daniil Tarasov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | X Daniil Tarasov | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 3 | 3.00 | 0.893 |
| 35 | Jean-Francois Berube | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 117:59 | 7 | 3.56 | 0.857 |
| 31 | Jet Greaves | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 117:55 | 8 | 4.07 | 0.857 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 22 | Jack Quinn | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Mark Jankowski | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | Oskari Laaksonen | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 24 | X Mattias Samuelsson | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 25 | Arttu Ruotsalainen | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 |
| 72 | Ryan MacInnis | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Jimmy Schuldt | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | X Casey Fitzgerald | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | X Ara Nazarian | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Ben Holmstrom | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | X Peyton Krebs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | Ryan Scarfo | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 47 | Nick Boka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 88 | Brandon Davidson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 |
| 29 | X Dominic Franco | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | Nate Knoepke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Patrick Polino | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 32 | X Mat Robson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Lukas Rousek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 35 | X Charles Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | X Mat Robson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59:43 | 1 | 1.00 | 0.972 |
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 118:31 | 4 | 2.02 | 0.947 |
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 4 | 4.00 | 0.886 |
| 35 | X Charles Williams | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58:49 | 5 | 5.10 | 0.800 |