GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HOST CHECKERS ON HALL OF FAME NIGHT
Jan 27, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (20-14-2-1) continue their three-game homestand tonight in the first of back-to-back meetings with the Charlotte Checkers (21-15-2-2) at The Blue Cross Arena. All the action will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Tonight's matchup is the third between the two teams following the Amerks weekend sweep back on Dec. 16 and 17 in Charlotte. The back-to-back wins were the first time Rochester claimed two straight versus the Checkers. Tonight also marks Charlotte's first visit to the Flower City since last season as the two clubs split a two-game set on Feb. 2 and Feb. 4.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Rochester's 4-2 victory back on Dec. 16 was the first over Charlotte in the Queen City since Jan. 20, 2018, snapping a six-game skid against the Checkers.
Coming into this season, the home team has won three of the four matchups in each of the previous two season series between Rochester and Charlotte.
Rochester enters the weekend set with the Checkers showing a 4-10-0 record against Charlotte since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
Both the Amerks (20) and Checkers (21) come into the matchup with nearly identical records with at least 20 wins and 14 regulation losses.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks fell behind by a pair of goals in the first period before scoring three straight unanswered to come away with a 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Jiri Kulich and Lukas Rousek each had two assists while newcomer Vinnie Hinostroza netted the game-winning goal in the third period to seal the come-from-behind win. Lawrence Pilut (1+0), Jeremy Davies (1+0), Linus Weissbach (0+1) and Ethan Prow (0+1) each recorded one point.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (10-4-0) earned his 10th victory of the season as he finished with 26 saves.
SUBBAN SURGING INTO FEBRUARY
After suffering a defeat in his season-debut on Nov. 18, Subban has gone 10-3-1 since over his last 14 starts, including seven straight wins between Dec. 10 to Jan. 14. The seven-game win streak was the longest of his pro career and the third-longest streak among all AHL goaltenders behind Toronto's Joseph Woll and Calgary's Dustin Wolf.
He was the first Amerks goaltender to post seven straight wins since Jonas Johansson won nine consecutive contests during the 2019-20 campaign.
Subban had arguably his best performance of the season during a 75-save weekend in Rochester’s two-game sweep over the Charlotte Checkers in mid-December. A night after stopping a regular-season career-high 45 saves, Subban was flawless in a 30-save shutout on Dec. 17, his first in the AHL since April 8, 2017, with the Providence Bruins.
Subban, who picked up his 100th career win in the 5-4 overtime victory over Utica on Dec. 28, has topped the 40-save mark three times in his last 10 starts and is currently tied for 16th amongst all netminders with nine wins.
BIRO PILING UP THE POINTS
Despite missing six games due to injury, third-year forward Brandon Biro has blazed his way atop the team's scoring lead following a productive December in which he led the team with 16 points (6+10) in 10 games. He recorded multi-point efforts in seven of his 10 appearances, including six straight between Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 before closing out the month with an assist in the 3-2 win in Toronto.
Named to the roster for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, Biro currently paces the Amerks in assists (20) and points (29) through 31 games and his recent seven-game point streak to close out the 2022 calendar year was the longest of his career.
Dating back to last season, Biro has totaled 70 points on 21 goals and 49 assists over his last 79 games and hasn't gone more than six games without a point since Nov. 27, 2021.
HINOSTROZA JOINS AMERKS AHEAD OF BUSY WEEK
Forward Vinnie Hinostroza made an immediate impact in his Amerks debut Wednesday, scoring the game-winning goal in the third period.
Hinostroza appeared in 19 games with the Buffalo Sabres, producing eight points (0+8) to begin the 2022-23 season. In 81 career games with the Sabres, he's recorded 33 points (13+20) dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
Originally a sixth-round selection (169th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012, Hinostroza has totaled 145 points (51+94) in 353 career NHL games with Buffalo, Chicago, Florida and Arizona.
Hinostroza has amassed 83 points (81+52) in 110 career American Hockey League games with Rockford and Rochester. He posted his best season during the 2015-16 campaign when he set career-highs in goals (18). assists (33) and points (51) in 66 appearances. Hinostroza led the team in scoring that year while finishing second in assists and third in goals.
Prior to turning pro, he played two seasons at the University of Notre Dame, where he was a teammate of current Amerk Anders Bjork. He recorded 76 points in 76 games, earning Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors in 2013-14 followed by a Hockey East First Team All-Star selection in 2014-15.
Internationally, he has represented the United States on three separate occasions, including at the 2016 IIHF World Championship most recently.
PROWESS ON THE BLUELINE
Entering last Wednesday against Laval, Ethan Prow was the only Amerks defenseman to appear in every game this season. Overall, he has skated in 106 of the 113 games dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
By being held without a point for just the third time since Christmas, Prow saw his four-game point streak (2+3) halted. The seventh-year veteran has posted seven points (2+6) in his last 11 outings dating back to Dec. 28.
Through 36 games this season, Prow is tied for 23rd in scoring amongst all AHL defensemen. His 16 assists are 25th in the league. He is four assists away from notching his fourth consecutive season with 20 or more assists and by recording a point on Wednesday, he reached the 20-point mark for the fifth straight year dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
SERIES NOTABLES
Checkers captain Zac Dalpe scored 16 goals as part of a 28-point campaign with the Amerks in 2014-15, his only season in Rochester. He also appeared in 21 games for the Buffalo Sabres that season, recording three points (1+2).
Amerks defenseman Chase Priskie spent parts of two seasons (2019-20 and 2021-22) with the Checkers, notching 62 points (14+48) in 106 games. In six games against Rochester during those two seasons, Priskie recorded one goal and five assists to go along with a plus-six on-ice rating.
Checkers forward Dominic Franco played his first two pro seasons with the Amerks, recording 13 points (4+9) in 54 games. He has appeared in 19 games with Charlotte after starting the slate with the Florida Everblades.
With netminders Spencer Knight and Alex Lyon both on NHL recall with Florida, rookie goaltender Mack Guzda has taken over the reins in the crease for Charlotte. In 17 appearances, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native boasts a 10-4-2 record to go with one shutout and a 2.55 goals-against average. Guzda attended the Buffalo Sabres Prospects Challenge in 2021.
Tonight marks the fourth of five straight games for the Amerks against an Atlantic Division opponent. Rochester is 5-3-1-0 this season versus the Atlantic and have won three of four games on home ice.