GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HEAD NORTH OF THE BORDER FOR A MATINEE IN TORONTO
Feb 5, 2022TODAY'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (22-13-2-1) close out the weekend today as they head north of the border for a 4:00 p.m. matinee against the Toronto Marlies (20-12-2-1) at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The contest will be the third of six meetings between the North Division rivals this season and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.AHLTV.
The Amerks have earned points in 17 of their last 26 games dating back to Nov. 19 while Toronto enters today 7-3-0-0 in its previous 10 contests.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
After posting a 1-3-0-0 record against the Marlies in 2017-18 , Rochester has gone 10-4-1-0 in the last 15 meetings since, which includes a near-perfect 5-1-0-0 mark during the 2018-19 campaign.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Rochester has outscored Toronto 96-91, while the Marlies have outshot the Amerks 917-913. There have been five shutouts since 2016-17 with four of the five coming in Toronto.
Over the last 29 games in the head-to-head series with the Marlies, the Amerks have scored two or more goals in 23 contests, which includes 10 games where they have produced five or more tallies. Coming into today’s matchup, the Amerks are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 trips north of the border.
AMERKS LEADING THE WAY
The Amerks own two of the league’s top 12 point-getters in veteran forward Michael Mersch and rookie sensation Jack Quinn. Both Mersch and Quinn, who is currently on recall with the parent Buffalo Sabres, rank among the AHL’s top five goal-scorers and are sixth and 12th in overall scoring with 39 and 35 points, respectively.
Quinn scored his 18th goal of the season early in the second period against Syracuse back on Jan. 19, giving him seven goals and 11 points in his first seven games since returning to the lineup on Jan. 5. Quinn paces all AHL rookies in goals (18) and ranks third in points (35) while his team-high six power-play goals are also second-most among all first-year players.
Mersch saw his career-best nine-game point streak halted in last night’s loss to Charlotte. He has points in 10 of his last 12 games as he inches closer to the 40-point mark for the fifth time in his career.
With five players currently performing at or just below a point-per-game pace, Rochester has the AHL’s third-best offense. Averaging just under four goals per game, the Amerks have scored the second-most goals in the AHL with 143. Rochester has scored four goals or more in all but one of its 22 wins this season dating back to its 5-3 win over Syracuse on Oct. 22.
POWER-PLAY PROFICIENCY
At the halfway point of the season, Rochester’s power-play has gone 35-for-135 with a 25.9% conversion rate that is currently second-best in the AHL. The Amerks’ 35 goals on the man-advantage are most among all North Division teams and are seven shy of the AHL lead behind the Ontario Reign.
The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in 22 of their first 39 games this season and have registered multiple power-play tallies in eight overall, including a season-high four goals in the 7-3 win over Hershey back on Nov. 26.
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).
With 18 goals through his first 24 games, he’s on pace to become 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 four times all season and hasn’t gone more than one game without recording a point. He has recorded 11 multi-point performances this year. More impressively, the Amerks are a near-perfect 10-0-1-0 this season when Quinn registers a multi-point game, including 6-0-1-0 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.
Despite again being out of the lineup for an extended period of time for the second time this season, Quinn is one of only two AHL rookies with at least six power-play goals this season, joining San Jose’s Scott Reedy.
MERSCH LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Mersch will become the first Amerk and just the sixth player in the AHL this season to reach the 40-point mark on his very next point. In doing so, he will have reached the mark for the fifth time in his eight-year pro career.
Mersch has totaled 26 points (12+14) and four multi-point efforts over his last 25 games dating back to Nov. 24. He’s been held scoreless just six times over that span to move into sixth in the AHL in scoring with 39 points (19+20) on the season. 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 his previous career-best mark of seven he set during the 2014-15 season.
With 19 goals this season, Mersch has more than doubled his output from the previous season in three fewer games and is on pace to reach 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.
When he reaches the 20-goal mark, he will have done so in the second- fewest number of games 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.
Mersch has appeared in all but one of Rochester’s 68 games dating back to last season, including the lone player to appear in all 39 contests in 2021-22.
DELL-IVERING IN THE CREASE
Goaltender Aaron Dell began his Amerks career with an impressive six straight wins through his first six starts with Rochester. Until last night’s loss, the veteran netminder had never began a season with a win in each of his first six starts at either the NHL or AHL level.
With a win today should he get the start, Dell will match his career-best 7-1-0 mark when he posted one from March 20 to April 10 during the 2014-15 season with Worcester. In his six of his seven appearances this season, he has made 25 or more saves while also averaging 30 shots-against.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Rochester has one of the top-scoring defenseman in the AHL in Oskari Laaksonen, who recorded a career-high four assists in the 7-6 win over Utica back on Jan. 12, 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.
Laaksonen, who boasts nine points (1+8) in his last 12 games since the turn of the New Year, leads all Rochester blueliners and is tied for sixth among all AHL defensemen in scoring with 24 points (3+21) in 35 games. He also paces the league with 17 power-play assists as all but four of his 21 assists this season have come on the man-advantage. Equally as impressive, 19 of Laaksonen’s 24 points this season have come on the power-play.
Back with the Amerks following an eight-game stint with Buffalo, rookie defenseman Mattias Samuelsson recorded two assists in the overtime loss to Belleville on Jan. 15, giving him 15 points (2+13) in 21 games. He produced multi-point efforts in back-to-back outings for the first time in his pro career on Dec. 8 and Dec. 10. Samuelsson is tied for eighth in scoring among AHL rookie defensemen while his 13 assists are also eighth-most.
With his Sabres season debut at Ottawa on Jan. 18, he became the 13th different player to appear in a game for both Buffalo and Rochester.
With five points in his last five games, including a two-assist effort last Saturday against Utica, Ethan Prow is tied for eighth amongst defensemen in points (23) and tied for seventh with 19 assists. The veteran defenseman has totaled 104 points (31+73) over his last 151 American Hockey League contests dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The Amerks currently own four of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Peyton Krebs and Brandon Biro, all of whom have combined for 117 points (39+78) through the first 39 games this season.
Despite being sidelined again for the second time this season, Quinn, Buffalo’s eighth overall pick in 2020, continues to pace all first-year players in goals (18) while ranking third in points (35) in 24 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.
Peterka is fourth in rookie scoring with 34 points (10+24) after picking up his 10th goal of the year against Charlotte on Friday. He also ranks third among all first-year players with a team-high 24 assists. He and Quinn, taken just 26 picks apart from one another by Buffalo in the 2020 NHL Draft, currently make up the only three rookie duos across the entire AHL to rank inside the top three on their respective team in scoring.
Biro has been one of the team’s most consistent point-getters as of late with 24 points (7+17) over his last 21 games dating back to Nov. 27. He also has seven multi-point efforts in 17 games over that span. He comes into the weekend sixth in scoring among all first-year skaters with 29 points (7+22) in 32 games, including a career-long six-game point streak (2+6).
MOVIN' ON UP
Players that have appeared in at least one game this season for both Rochester and Buffalo:
FORWARDS (7)
Mark Jankowski
Ryan MacInnis
Brett Murray
Arttu Ruotsalainen
Peyton Krebs
Jack Quinn*
JJ Peterka*
DEFENSEMEN (3)
Casey Fitzgerald*
Ethan Prow*
Mattias Samuelsson
GOALTENDERS (3)
Aaron Dell
Michael Houser
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
* = Made NHL debut
SERIES NOTABLES
Of the 14 different defensemen the Amerks have used this season, 13 have notched at least one point while eight have recorded at least one goal. Additionally, of the 20 different forwards to appear in one game for Rochester, 18 have scored a goal and 19 have produced a point.
Rochester enters tonight as the only team in the AHL to have scored at least 45 goals in all three periods this season. Additionally, the Amerks have scored the most first and third-period goals among any other team and have outscored the opposition 48-36 through the opening 20 minutes.
Over his last 13 games, Amerks forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has tallied 14 points on six goals and eight assists, a stretch which began with a three-point effort versus Hartford on Jan. 15. Ruotsalainen has also turned in a multi-point effort in five games over that same span and had a career-best eight shots against Utica on Jan. 12. The Finnish forward has recorded at least one shot in 32 of 33 games with Rochester dating back to the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
In 19 of the last 24 meetings between the two teams dating back to the 2016-17 season, the team that scored first has gone on to come away with the victory. Additionally, in 15 of the last 16 meetings, the winning team has scored at least four goals dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Marlies defenseman Alex Biega spent two seasons in Rochester, including the 2012-13 campaign when he set career-highs in goals (5), assists (20) and points (25). He was a fifth-round pick (147th overall) of Buffalo in 2006.
With the addition of Peyton Krebs, Rochester’s roster features three former first-round selections in forwards Jack Quinn (8th overall, 2020), Krebs (17th overall, 2019), and Mark Jankowski (21st overall, 2012), who signed an NHL contract with the Buffalo Sabres for the remainder of the season.
Rochester Americans vs Toronto Marlies: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Rochester 1-1-0-0 | Toronto 1-1-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Rochester 0-0-0-0 | Toronto 0-0-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 11-8-1-0 | Toronto 9-8-2-1 |
| Rochester vs. Toronto Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 4-5-1-0 | Toronto 6-2-1-1 |
| Rochester vs. Toronto Last 5 Years record at Toronto | Rochester 7-3-0-0 | Toronto 3-6-1-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Toronto 4 @ Rochester 1 (Nov 5 2021) Final Rochester 7 @ Toronto 3 (Oct 23 2021) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Toronto |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 20-12-2-1 -- 43 points | 22-14-2-1 -- 47 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd North | 3rd North |
| Conference Ranking | 3rd Eastern | 6th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 9th | 13th |
| Past 10 Games | 7-2-1-0 | 4-3-2-1 |
| Streak | 3-0-1-0 | 0-1-0-0 |
| Last Game | 4-3 W @ Grand Rapids (Feb 2 2022) Final | 5-2 L vs Charlotte (Feb 4 2022) Final |
| Home Record | 9-5-1-1 | 12-6-2-1 |
| Away Record | 11-7-1-0 | 10-8-0-0 |
| GF | 115 | 143 |
| GA | 117 | 141 |
| PP (Overall) | (24/130) 18.5% | (35/135) 25.9% |
| PP (Home) | (12/57) 21.1% | (19/74) 25.7% |
| PP (Away) | (12/73) 16.4% | (16/61) 26.2% |
| PK (Overall) | (24/133) 82.0% | (28/134) 79.1% |
| PK (Home) | (11/65) 83.1% | (14/80) 82.5% |
| PK (Away) | (13/68) 80.9% | (14/54) 74.1% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (1/6) 16.7% | (0/3) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/3) 100% | (1/6) 83.3% |
| Leading Rookie | Steeves (12-11-23) | Quinn (18-17-35) |
| Most PIM | Clune - 55 | Pekar - 45 |
| Team PIM/GM | 14.1/Game | 11.8/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Seney (13-18-31) | Mersch (19-20-39) |
| Duszak (2-24-26) | Quinn (18-17-35) | |
| Steeves (12-11-23) | Peterka (10-24-34) | |
| Ho-Sang (11-9-20) | Biro (7-22-29) | |
| Anderson (13-6-19) | Laaksonen (3-21-24) | |
| Last 5 Games | 4-3 W @ Grand Rapids (Feb 2 2022) Final | 5-2 L vs Charlotte (Feb 4 2022) Final |
| 5-1 W @ Belleville (Jan 28 2022) Final | 5-1 W vs Charlotte (Feb 2 2022) Final | |
| 4-3 W @ Grand Rapids (Jan 24 2022) Final OT | 4-2 L vs Utica (Jan 29 2022) Final | |
| 3-2 L @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Jan 22 2022) Final OT | 2-1 W vs Syracuse (Jan 28 2022) Final | |
| 5-1 L @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Jan 21 2022) Final | 7-3 L @ Cleveland (Jan 22 2022) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 10-1-2-1 | 16-3-0-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 14-1-2-1 | 15-1-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 4-2-0-0 | 3-2-2-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 4-2-0-0 | 3-1-2-1 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-9-0-0 | 3-9-0-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 2-9-0-0 | 4-12-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 7-3-0-0 | 5-9-1-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 13-8-2-1 | 17-5-1-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 9-2-2-1 | 10-3-2-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 4-1-0-0 | 5-5-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 4-2-0-0 | 2-2-0-0 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | X Mark Jankowski | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | X Jack Quinn | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | Ryan MacInnis | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 88 | Brandon Davidson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Jimmy Schuldt | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | X Casey Fitzgerald | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 29 | Dominic Franco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | Peyton Krebs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 2 | Oskari Laaksonen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Mattias Samuelsson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 91 | Ryan Scarfo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59:04 | 2 | 2.03 | 0.900 |
| 80 | Aaron Dell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 3 | 3.00 | 0.900 |
Toronto Marlies
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Brett Seney | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | -1 |
| 94 | X Kirill Semyonov | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 95 | Mikhail Abramov | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 96 | Josh Ho-Sang | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 16 | Alex Steeves | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Joey Anderson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Alex Biega | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Semyon Der-Arguchintsev | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 39 | Curtis Douglas | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 12 | Matthew Hellickson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| 52 | Jack Kopacka | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Filip Král | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 9 | Bobby McMann | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | Richard Clune | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 48 | Carl Dahlström | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Joseph Duszak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 35 | X Andrew D’Agostini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | X Kurtis Gabriel | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Mac Hollowell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Erik Källgren | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | X Jeremy McKenna | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 40 | Marc Michaelis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 44 | Kristiāns Rubīns | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | X Andrew D’Agostini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46:54 | 3 | 3.84 | 0.857 |
| 50 | Erik Källgren | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 73:06 | 5 | 4.10 | 0.868 |