GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HOST CRUNCH TO CLOSE OUT JANUARY
Rochester attempts third straight win in front end of home-and-home series with Syracuse
Jan 31, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (25-12-3-1) begin a home-and-home weekend against the Syracuse Crunch (18-14-5-4) starting Friday night at Blue Cross Arena.
Friday is the sixth of 12 meetings on the season between the intrastate rivals, with Rochester yielding a 3-2-0-0 advantage in the season series. Rochester has points in seven of its last 10 games, while Syracuse has dropped seven of its last 10 contests.
LAST TIME OUT
While not their prettiest game of the season, the Amerks still managed to overcome a rally-attempting Utica Comets team by a 7-4 final Wednesday night on home ice.
For a second straight game, Isak Rosén scored two goals, while Riley Fiddler-Schultz (1+1), Nikita Novikov (1+1), Josh Dunne (0+2), and Zachary Metsa (0+2) all produced multi-point games. Devon Levi recorded 22 saves for his 13th win of the season.
Syracuse was last in action Saturday, topping Cleveland in overtime by a 4-3 final.
Gage Concalves scored the overtime game-winner as part of his three-point night (2+1). The fifth-year Crunch forward returned to the team Jan. 15 after spending over two months and 27 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Concalves has 14 points (4+10) in 11 games played for the Crunch.
Syracuse dominated Cleveland in shots, 47-14, as Brandon Halverson made 11 saves to scoop his 12th win of the season.
81 FOR 300
Amerks forward Brett Murray skated in his 300th game wearing the red, white, and blue Wednesday evening in the team’s win over Utica, becoming just the 28th forward in franchise history to reach said milestone.
“I think points and everything like that are cool individual accolades, but when it comes to games played, I think to me that's something even more special,” said Murray. “It means a commitment not only from a player to a team and an organization, but also that organization being committed to a player. I've been on one-year deals for four years now and they find trust in me to keep coming back and giving me a spot in the lineup. I get to put on the red, white, and blue every night, so to see 300 games in an Amerks jersey is really special to me and I don’t take any of this for granted.”
In 300 games with Rochester, Murray has scored 91 goals and 99 assists for 190 points. His numbers this season have already surpassed that from a year ago, exceeding his 17-goal season from 2023-24 in 13 fewer games.
The Bolton, Ontario, native also leads the AHL with 10 power play goals.
ROSE(N) BUD
After another multi-goal performance Wednesday against Utica, Rosén enters the final day of January with the second-most goals in the AHL’s Eastern Conference. The third-year pro is continuing to break through glass ceilings, tying his career-best 20-goal campaign from a season ago in an astonishing 29 fewer games.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native is 14 points back of his 50-point (20+30) campaign from 2023-24 that saw him tie Mason Jobst for the team lead. January has been kind to Rosén, as the winger has amassed 10 points (7+3) in as many games.
Following the weekend, the Sabres’ 2021 first-round draft pick will take his talents to Coachella Valley, joining Murray and Levi as the first trio of Amerks All-Stars in eight years.
Before then, he will face a Crunch team that Rosén leads the season series with four goals and five points.
‘CUSE CALL
The Amerks will be refamiliarized with their intrastate foe quite often over the next two months, as Rochester and Syracuse meet seven times between Jan. 31 and March 30.
In their last encounter, the Crunch pounced early and often, ending the longest road win streak the Amerks had in over 20 years by a 6-2 final back on Jan 11.
Jess Ylonen leads the season series for the Crunch with six points (2+4) against Rochester, while Halverson has played all but one of the games in the series against the Amerks. Dating back to the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs, Halverson has started nine of the previous 10 encounters with the Amerks. He is 12-6-6 on the season and shares the league lead with four shutouts. Halverson will join Levi out west as the two All-Stars will form a tandem to represent the North Division in net.
While goaltending has been a strength for the Crunch this season, the same cannot be said about the team’s ability to produce goals. While Rochester leads the Eastern Conference with 143 goals, the Crunch pale in comparison, drawing the fourth-fewest goals in the league.
Additionally, Syracuse’s power-play ranks 30th in the AHL. Rochester has killed off 21 of 24 penalties against the Crunch this season.