GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS GO FOR WEEKEND SWEEP TONIGHT IN BELLEVILLE
Dec 2, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (11-5-2-0) close out their three-game road swing with a rematch against the Belleville Senators (7-8-1-2) tonight at 7:00 p.m. All the action from CAA Arena will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks and Senators, who enter their seventh season in the AHL and first full under head coach David Bell, will meet eight times during the 2023-24 regular season, with tonight being the second of the season series following Rochester’s 3-2 shootout win last night. After this weekend, the North Division rivals will meet six more times over the final three months of the regular season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST BELLEVILLE
Dating back to the 2021-22 season, Amerks forward and captain Michael Mersch has recorded 15 points (7+8) in 13 career games against Belleville. He came into the weekend on a six-game point streak against the Senators, showing eight points (4+4) over that span. Mersch has notched at least one point and one shot in 11 of his 13 games versus the Senators.
Since Belleville entered the league in 2017-18, Rochester has an all-time record of 16-17-2 against the Senators. The Amerks, who have earned at least one point in 13 of the first 18 games on the road against Belleville, have posted a .500 winning percentage or better in four of the first five seasons in the head-to-head series.
Both teams have winning records against North Division opponents this season. Rochester is 10-4-1-0 while Belleville boasts a 5-2-0-2 mark thus far
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks rode rookie goaltender Devon Levi’s 40-save effort as they picked up a 3-2 victory in a shootout against the Senators Friday night at CAA Arena to kickoff the season-series.
Forwards Linus Weissbach and Graham Slaggert both scored their second and first goals of the season, respectively, for Rochester in the opening game of the two-game series. Mason Jobst, Brett Murray, Lukas Rousek and Riley Stillman all notched an assist in regulation before Aleksandr Kisakov sealed the win in the fourth round of the shootout.
Levi earned his first win as an Amerk in his AHL debut and stopped 40 of 42 in addition to turning aside all four Belleville skaters in the skills competition
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
The Amerks own two of the league’s top scoring defensemen in Jeremy Davies and Kale Clague, who have 11 and 10 points, respectively, through Rochester’s first 18 games of the season.
Davies, who scored a career-high 11 goals last season, including three game-winning tallies, ranks sixth amongst all AHL blueliners with a team-high 50 shots. He’s recorded at least one shot in all but two games this season. Davies, who closed out the month of October on a five-game point streak, has recorded at least one point in 10 of his first 17 games this season, never going more than three straight games without a point.
Clague, meanwhile, is tied for 13th among all rearguards with 10 assists in 16 games. Clague opened the campaign with three multi-point performances and enters the weekend with assists in back-to-back games.
DYNAMIC DUO: THE SEQUEL
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.
Kulich continued his torrid start to the season on Nov. 22 against Laval, scoring his team-leading 11th goal in just his 15th game. Kulich, whose 24 goals last season were the second-most ever by an 18-year-old in league history, is currently tied for fourth in the AHL in goals. The second-year forward, who hasn’t gone more than three games without a goal this season, joined Luke Adam (2013-14) and Jack Quinn (2021-22) as the only other Amerks skaters to score nine goals through their first 11 games.
With six points over his last three games, which includes a career-best four point (2+2) effort in Cleveland on Oct. 18, Rosen is eighth in the in AHL in scoring with 19 points despite currently being on recall with the Sabres.
Last Saturday, Kulich, who has since returned to Rochester, and Rosen both made their NHL debuts with the Buffalo Sabres against New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center
The duo has combined for 119 points (57+62) in 159 regular season games. Rochester boasts an impressive 20-3-2-1 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.
LEVI LOANED TO ROCHESTER
Earlier this week, the Buffalo Sabres assigned rookie goaltender Devin Levi to the Amerks. Levi, 21, is the only goaltender drafted in 2020 or later to appear in an NHL game this season. He showed 3-4-1 with an .876 save percentage in nine appearances
Levi won the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goaltender in men’s college hockey, for the second straight year following the 2022-23 season. Levi is the only two-time winner in the award’s history, which was introduced in 2014 and named in honor of former Wisconsin goaltender and Stanley Cup champion Mike Richter.
He led the nation again with a .933 save percentage, one year after he set the second-best mark in NCAA history with a .952 save percentage. He tied for third in the nation in both shutouts (6) and saves (1,183). Levi’s 16-career shutouts are a Northeastern University school record.
The Quebec native finished his two seasons at Northeastern with a 38-22-6 record. His resume includes a Beanpot title, a Hockey East regular-season championship and an NCAA tournament appearance. Levi was also named Hockey East Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in 2022-23 and was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
Internationally, he helped Canada win a silver medal at the World Junior Championship in 2021 while earning tournament MVP honors and later added a gold medal at the 2023 World Championship. He was also on the Canadian roster at the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
Levi made his AHL debut in last night’s 3-2 shootout win, becoming the fourth different goaltender to man the pipes for Rochester this season, joining Michael Houser, Devin Cooley and Dustin Tokarski. Rochester has used four or more netminders in each of the last three years since the 2020-21 campaign.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
The Amerks come into the first weekend of December with the AHL’s second-best offense, averaging 3.78 goals per game through their first 18 games of the season. Their 68 goals are tied for fourth-most in the AHL.
Rochester has put up at least four goals in 10 of its first 18 games, including six outings with five goals or more.
The Amerks are a perfect 6-0-0-0 this season when scoring five goals in a game. Rochester is tied for second in the AHL with 22 first-period tallies this season.
WORKING OVERTIME
Last night’s shootout win over Belleville was the third game of Rochester’s last four that went beyond regulation. Overall, the Amerks have gone to extra time eight different times this season, which includes 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 eight games decided beyond regulation this season. Dating back to last season, 16 of Rochester’s previous 32 regular-season games have required overtime to determine a winner.
A JOBST WELL DONE
Mason Jobst is making the most with the Amerks as the fifth-year pro is in the process of duplicating his career year from 2022-23.
Through 14 games this season, the Speedway, Indiana, native has already half as many goals (7) and nearly a third in points (13) from his career-highs from last season, which included goals (14), assists (24) and points (38) in 61 games.
Jobst reached the 30-point plateau for the first time in his pro career last season, being one of 10 different Amerks to eclipse the mark. He also was one of 10 to score double figures in goals as he finished with a person-best 14 in 61 games.
Since the turn of the New Year, Jobst has amassed 18 goals and 38 points over his previous 51 games, which includes two hat tricks, both of which have come on home ice. He comes into tonight with eight goals and 11 assists over his previous 22 games and has only been held with a point in back-to-back appearances just once over that span.
Jobst has totaled 64 points (25+39) in 101 career games with the Amerks dating back to the 2021-22 season.
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 4-2-1 in his first seven starts, recently 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 two wins away from tying Nick Damore for 12th all-time in career wins (208). He also ranks 18th all-time in games played (405) and will tie Yann Danis for eighth all-time with his next shutout.
In addition to being a two-time Calder Cup winner (2012, 2019), Tokarski won a Memorial Cup with Spokane in 2008 followed by a gold medal with Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship.
Tokarski has reached the 20-win mark five times over his 15-year pro career, including a career-best 32 wins in 2011-12 when he backstopped the Norfolk Admirals to a professional hockey record of 28 straight wins while leading the club to its and only Calder Cup.
SCOUTING THE SENATORS
The Senators are currently sit in fifth place in the seven-team North Division to begin December as they show a 7-8-1-2 mark and 17 points.
Belleville hosts the Amerks for the second time this season fueled by forward Angus Crookshank's team-leading eight goals and 15 points in 18 games. After starting the slate with one point (1+0) through his first five appearances the North Vancouver, British Columbia, native has responded with seven goals and seven assists over his last 13 contests.
Crookshank has not be held without a point in back-to-back games since October and has posted points streaks of four and five games, respectively, during that same span.
A fifth-round selection (61st overall) of the Ottawa Senators in 2020, forward Egor Sokolov, who’s in his fourth season with Belleville, has posted amassed 143 points (58+85) in 187 career games for the Senators.