GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HOST BRUINS TONIGHT
Dec 29, 2021TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (15-8-0-0) are back in action tonight following a 10-day layoff when they take on the Providence Bruins (11-7-3-1) in the final home game of the 2021 calendar year. The 7:05 p.m. matchup will be the first of two meetings between the Eastern Conference foes this season and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV. Additionally, the game will be tape-delayed on CW Rochester with the airing scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 2.
|
LINE CHARTS |
|
The Amerks are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games following a 4-3 come-from-behind win at Hershey on Dec. 19.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Tonight is just the 15th meeting between the Amerks and the Bruins over the last 12 seasons. Rochester has gone 2-8-2-0 during that span, which includes a pair of overtime losses in each of the first two meetings during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 season. Prior to Rochester’s 2-1 win on Dec. 7, 2018, the last time the Amerks defeated the Bruins was Jan. 18, 2009.
Dating back to the start of the 2007-08 campaign, there have been nine one-goal games over the previous 14 contests between Providence and Rochester. Six of the last eight matchups and each of the last four matchups have been decided by one goal.
WATCH: TONIGHT'S FACE-OFF FIRST LOOK
VIEW FROM ROCHESTER
With five players performing at or near a point-per-game pace, the Amerks have the AHL’s second-best offense and are currently averaging just under four goals per game. Collectively, Rochester’s 89 goals this season are most in the North Division and rank third overall in the AHL.
The Amerks enter the week with four of the league’s top 20 point-getters in Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Sean Malone and Michael Mersch. Quinn, who led all AHL rookies in scoring in each of the first two months of the season, is currently tied for sixth in the league in goals (11) eighth in points (24).
Peterka enters tonight with 14 points (3+11) over his last 17 games dating back to Oct. 30. With 20 points (4+16) on the season, he’s tied for the team lead in assists (16) with Peyton Krebs and is fourth on the team in scoring.
With a league-leading 14 goals this season, Mersch is on pace to reach the 20-goal mark for the fifth time in eight years. He has totaled 23 points (14+9) and six multi-point outings over his last 20 games. 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 five-game point marked his longest since posting a career-best seven-game point streak back in 2015.
Malone has been one of Rochester’s most consistent point-getters as of late. Malone, who is one of four Amerks this season to reach the 20-point mark, has produced 11 points (7+4) over his last eight games, including three power-play tallies over that span. The fifth-year pro has recorded multi-point showings in four of his last eight games.
Rochester’s power-play is presently tops in the AHL after scoring 22 times on 82 opportunities for a league-best 26.8% conversion rate. In just the last seven games, the Amerks have gone 11-for-30 on the man-advantage, including scoring four in the 7-3 win over Hershey back on Nov 26. Mersch, Malone and Quinn share the team lead with four power-play goals each.
WATCH: SETH APPERT FOLLOWING MORNING SKATE
THREE ON THE MOVE
On Tuesday morning, the Buffalo Sabres recalled forwards Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka and Arttu Ruotsalainen from Rochester.
Peterka ranks second amongst all first-year Amerks with a team-high 16 assists while his 20 points are fourth-most among all Rochester skaters. He and Jack Quinn, taken just 26 picks apart from one another by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2020 NHL Draft, currently make up one of only four rookie duos across the entire AHL to rank inside the top four on their team in scoring. Peterka is expected to make his NHL debut tonight as Buffalo welcomes the New Jersey Devils to KeyBank Center.
Krebs has amassed 19 points on four goals and 15 assists in 18 games this season, tying for seventh among all AHL rookie skaters. Krebs has produced eight assists over his last eight games dating back to Nov. 26. Should Krebs make his Sabres debut tonight, he and Peterka will be the fourth and fifth different Amerks to appear in a game with both Rochester and Buffalo.
Ruotsalainen, who began the campaign with the Sabres, earned his first recall to Buffalo this season. In six contests with the Amerks, Ruotsalainen has recorded two assists while also recording a pair of goals and two assists in 16 games in Buffalo.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Second-year defenseman Oskari Laaksonen has recorded an assist in seven of his last 11 games. The Finnish blueliner leads the league with a team-high 12 power-play assists as all but one of his 13 assists this season have come on the power-play.
With a pair of goals on the season, Amerks rookie defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who has notched 11 points (2+9) over his last 13 outings, is already within one point of matching his offensive output from his truncated 2020-21 campaign. Samuelsson ranks fourth among all Amerks rookies with 12 points and is tied for fifth in the AHL among all first-year blueliners with 10 assists. Samuelsson had produced multi-point efforts in back-to-back outings for the first time in his pro career on Dec. 8 and Dec. 10.
REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE
On Tuesday, the Amerks recalled defensemen Nick Boka and Matthew Cairns, and forward Lukas Craggs from the Cincinnati Cylones (ECHL) while also signing forwards Ara Nazarian and Jacob Pritchard to Professional Tryouts (PTO).
Nazarian joins the Amerks after starting the 2021-22 season with six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 27 games for the Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL). He currently ranks third among all Jacksonville skaters in both assists and points and is tied for third on the team in goals.
Pritchard comes to Rochester after starting the 2021-22 season with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 19 games with the Reading Royals (ECHL). He paces all Royals skaters in both goals and points and is tied for team-lead in assists.
Craggs earns his second recall of the season to Rochester after registering 21 points on (6+15) in 21 contests with the Cyclones. Additionally, Craggs scored one goal in six games with Rochester. Boka shows 12 points (5+7) in 18 games while Cairns has six points (1+5) in 27 appearances.
SERIES NOTABLES
Providence forward Steven Fogarty served as Rochester’s team captain in the 2020-21 shortened season. The Chambersburg, Penn., native split the campaign between the Amerks and Sabres, tallying eight goals and five assists for 13 points in a combined 25 games.
Both Rochester (10-3-0-0) and Providence (7-3-3-1) enter tonight with winning records this season when scoring the game’s first goal. The Amerks have also scored 34 goals in the third period of play, which are most in the AHL this season.
Goaltender Aaron Dell has backstopped the Amerks to four straight wins through his first four starts with Rochester. Until now, the netminder has never began a season with a win in each of his first four starts at either the NHL or AHL level. He’s is on pace to match his career-best seven-game win streak he posted from March 20 to April 7, 2015 with Worcester. In each of his four appearances this season, he has made 30 or more saves, three of which he finished with 30.
Rochester has not hosted Providence at The Blue Cross Areana since Oct. 30. The Amerks fell behind 3-0 15:29 into the second period but scored twice in 19 seconds in the final period only to fall 4-3 in regulation.
Providence Bruins vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Providence 0-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Providence 0-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-0-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Providence 5-1-0-0 | Rochester 1-3-2-0 |
| Providence vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Providence | Providence 3-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-2-1-0 |
| Providence vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Providence 2-1-0-0 | Rochester 1-1-1-0 |
How the 2 teams match up
|
Rochester |
Providence |
|
| Team Record | 15-8-0-0 -- 30 points | 11-7-3-1 -- 26 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd North | 3rd Atlantic |
| Conference Ranking | 3rd Eastern | 5th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 6th | 10th |
| Past 10 Games | 7-3-0-0 | 6-3-1-0 |
| Streak | 2-0-0-0 | 0-1-0-0 |
| Last Game | 4-3 W @ Hershey (Dec 19 2021) Final | 6-3 L @ Laval (Dec 17 2021) Final |
| Home Record | 7-3-0-0 | 5-5-1-0 |
| Away Record | 8-5-0-0 | 6-2-2-1 |
| GF | 89 | 60 |
| GA | 85 | 58 |
| PP (Overall) | (22/82) 26.8% | (17/93) 18.3% |
| PP (Home) | (10/37) 27.0% | (6/44) 13.6% |
| PP (Away) | (12/45) 26.7% | (11/49) 22.4% |
| PK (Overall) | (15/80) 81.3% | (12/91) 86.8% |
| PK (Home) | (7/41) 82.9% | (6/48) 87.5% |
| PK (Away) | (8/39) 79.5% | (6/43) 86.0% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| Leading Rookie | Quinn (11-13-24) | Ahcan (3-8-11) |
| Most PIM | Pekar - 39 | Wolff - 52 |
| Team PIM/GM | 13.2/Game | 13.9/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Mersch (14-11-25) | Steen (8-7-15) |
| Quinn (11-13-24) | Fogarty (5-9-14) | |
| Malone (9-13-22) | Senyshyn (8-5-13) | |
| Peterka (4-16-20) | Froden (4-9-13) | |
| Krebs (4-15-19) | Hughes (3-8-11) | |
| Last 5 Games | 4-3 W @ Hershey (Dec 19 2021) Final | 6-3 L @ Laval (Dec 17 2021) Final |
| 4-3 W @ Lehigh Valley (Dec 18 2021) Final SO | 2-1 W @ Bridgeport (Dec 15 2021) Final SO | |
| 4-2 L @ Charlotte (Dec 15 2021) Final | 5-1 W vs Toronto (Dec 12 2021) Final | |
| 11-1 L @ Charlotte (Dec 14 2021) Final | 3-0 W @ Springfield (Dec 11 2021) Final | |
| 5-3 W vs Laval (Dec 10 2021) Final | 4-1 L vs Belleville (Dec 10 2021) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 11-2-0-0 | 5-3-1-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 9-0-0-0 | 8-0-2-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 1-0-0-0 | 4-0-2-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 2-1-0-0 | 3-2-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 3-6-0-0 | 2-4-0-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-7-0-0 | 0-5-0-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 4-5-0-0 | 11-5-0-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 11-3-0-0 | 0-2-3-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 7-2-0-0 | 5-0-3-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 4-2-0-0 | 0-2-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 3-4-0-0 |