GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HOST ISLANDERS IN AFTERNOON MATINEE
Mar 27, 2022TODAY'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (30-24-4-3) close out their three-in-three weekend this afternoon as they welcome the Bridgeport Islanders (26-25-6-4) for the only time this season at The Blue Cross Arena. The matinee gets underway at 3:05 p.m. and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
|
|
|
The Amerks have earned eight out of a possible 12 points in their last six games while also posting a 3-0-0-1 mark at home in the process over that span. The Islanders are 4-0-1-0 in their last five road contests entering today.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SHAPSHOT
Tonight is just the 18th all-time meeting between Rochester and Bridgeport and the first in Rochester in nearly three years since a 5-0 Amerks win back on March 8, 2019. The Amerks own a 7-1-1-0 record in the last nine meetings dating back to 2017-18.
In 12 of the last 13 meetings, the winning team has scored three or more goals, which includes at least one power-play tally in nine contests over that same span.
Six of the previous 13 games between the two clubs have been decided beyond regulation, which includes two of the last three dating back to the 2018-19 season. Rochester earned a 3-2 overtime win in the only other meeting this season back on Feb. 15 at Webster Bank Arena.
WATCH: TODAY'S FACE-OFF FIRST LOOK
VIEW FROM ROCHESTER
Rochester remains in the thick of what is shaping up to be a very tight race to the finish among its fellow North Division opponents. Four teams, including the Amerks, who have only 15 games remaining on the schedule, show 30 wins.
The Amerks sit in sixth place in the Division as they show a .549 points percentage through 61 games this season. The top five teams in the North Division are guaranteed to clinch a playoff spot.
Of Rochester’s final 15 games this season, 12 will be played against North Division opponents, which includes four against the Cleveland Monsters and three opposite the league-leading Utica Comets.
With nine points (3+6) on the strength of three straight three-point efforts in his last five games, Jack Quinn is second among all AHL rookies in goals (21) and tied for fifth in points (44) while his team-high seven power-play goals are also fourth-most among all rookies.
Rochester has the AHL’s eighth-best offense. Averaging under four goals per game, the club have scored the second-most goals in the AHL with 202 and rank first in the North Division.
POWER-PLAY PROFICIENCY
Rochester’s power-play has gone 50-for-218 with a 22.9% conversion rate that is currently fourth-best in the AHL. The Amerks’ 50 goals on the man-advantage are most among all North Division teams and are seven shy of the AHL lead behind Ontario.
The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in 33 of their first 61 games this season and have registered multiple power-play tallies in 11 overall, including a season-high four goals in the 7-3 win over Hershey back on Nov. 26.
PETERKA FLOURISHING IN SECOND HALF
With a two-goal outing last Friday against Cleveland, forward JJ Peterka became the first Amerk this season and just the third AHL rookie to reach the 50-point mark.
After scoring just four times through the first three months of the season, Peterka has notched 31 points (12+19) in 32 games to begin 2022, including goals in back-to-back games on four different occasions over that span.
Peterka, who was taken 34th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Sabres, leads all AHL rookies and is seventh in the AHL with 171 shots on goal. He’s only gone two games all season without registering at least one shot on goal.
Peterka made his highly anticipated NHL debut on Dec. 28 as Buffalo hosted New Jersey before visiting the New York Islanders the very next day. Following his return to the Amerks, he totaled five points on two goals and three assists in two games before being honored as the AHL’s Rookie of the Month of the Week for the period ending Jan. 2, 2022.
Peterka has been held scoreless just 11 times since Dec. 19 and hasn’t gone more than two games without recording a point during that same span. More impressively, the Amerks are 11-2-0-0 this season when Peterka registers a multi-point game, including 6-0-0-0 on home ice.
With a team-high 51 points (16+36) through 55 games, Peterka is the first Amerks rookie to reach the 50-point mark since Phil Varone had 52 points (11+41) in 76 games during the 2011-12 season. Peterka also leads the team and is ninth in the AHL with 35 assists.
Coming into the weekend, he’s one of only five AHL rookies currently leading his respective team in scoring.
A PRODUCTIVE STRETCH FOR MURRAY
After being held scoreless in four games in January, Brett Murray responded with his best offensive showing of the season in February, leading the Amerks with 12 points on seven goals and five assists while appearing in all 13 games during the month.
Murray has scored more than half of his 15 goals since the start of February. He opened the month with four goals in his first five games, including a season-best three straight games from Feb. 5 to Feb. 9.
He saw his career-long six-game point streak halted on March 12 when he posted nine points (3+6), including a four-point effort at Toronto Feb. 27.
RACE TO 20
After the cancellation of the remainder of the 2019-20 season and a truncated 2020-21 campaign failed to produce a 20-goal scorer for just the fourth time in franchise history, the Amerks could potentially have several by season’s end with eight players currently with 10 or more goals.
Michael Mersch and Quinn, who both returned to the lineup last Friday from injury, both reached the mark in their first game back, despite Quinn appearing in 20 fewer games than Mersch. Peterka and Murray remain on pace with 16 and 15 goals, respectively, while Arttu Ruotsalainen (15) and Linus Weissbach (12) are right on their heels coming into the weekend.
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).
Playing in just his 27th game of the season, Quinn became 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 seven times all season and hasn’t gone more than two games without recording a point. He has recorded 13 multi-point performances this year. More impressively, the Amerks are a near-perfect 11-1-1-0 this season when Quinn registers a multi-point game, including 7-0-1-0 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.
Quinn is one of only four AHL rookies with at least seven power-play goals this season.
MERSCH LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Mersch became just the second Amerk this season to reach the 40-point with his 20th goal of the season against Cleveland on March 18. In doing so, he reached the mark for the fifth time in his eight-year pro career.
Mersch has totaled 29 points (14+15) and five multi-point efforts over his last 36 games dating back to Nov. 24. 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 in January surpassed his previous career-best mark of seven he set during the 2014-15 season.
Mersch also reached 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. He did so in the second-fewest number of games (47) 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.
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. Before this season, 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 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Feb. 9, Dell matched 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 14 of his 17 appearances this season, he has made 25 or more saves while also averaging 30 shots-against. He posted a season-high 36 saves on Feb. 26 at Toronto.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Rochester has two of the league’s top point-producing defensemen in Ethan Prow (9+29) and Oskari Laaksonen (5+25), who enter the weekend fifth and tied for 15th in scoring amongst all blueliners, respectively.
Prow, who reached the 30-point mark for the third straight year in the AHL, is also sixth with 29 assists, which are just four more than Laaksonen. His nine goals are tied for fifth-most by a defenseman this season and only three off the league lead. With an assist last night against Syracuse, Prow has recorded 20 points (5+15) over his last 25 games. Additionally, he has totaled 119 points (36+83) over his last 171 AHL contests dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
Laaksonen, who boasts 15 points (3+12) in his last 33 games since the turn of the New Year, also ranks second among defensemen with 20 power-play assists, as all but five of his 25 assists this season have come on the man-advantage. Equally as impressive, 25 of his 30 points have come on the power-play.
His best performance of the season came back on Jan. 12 when he recorded a career-high four assists in the 7-6 win over Utica, 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.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The Amerks currently own four of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Brandon Biro and Linus Weissbach, all of whom have combined for 164 points (58+106) through Rochester’s first 61 games this season.
Quinn, the Buffalo Sabres’ eighth overall pick in 2020, ranks second among all first-year players in goals (21) and is fifth in points (44) despite only appearing in 30 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.
Dating back to an assist last Friday versus Cleveland, Weissbach has notched 13 points (3+10) in his last 18 games. He finished the month of February with 11 points (1+10) in 13 contests, including a season-high three-assist effort on Feb. 27 at Toronto to bring the month to a close.
Peterka’s torrid start to the second half of the year has him third among all rookies in points (51), third in assists (35) and tied for 10th in goals (16).
In Rochester’s two wins over the Cleveland Monsters last weekend, the line trio of Peterka, Quinn, and Mark Jankowski combined for 13 points on five goals and eight assists. The trio also recorded 14 shots in 124 minutes.
With Peterka already at 51 points and Quinn at 44 points, it marks the first time since the 2006-07 season the club will finish the regular season with multiple rookies with 40 or more points.
MOVIN' ON UP
Players that have appeared in at least one game this season for both Rochester and Buffalo:
FORWARDS (8)
Brandon Biro*
Mark Jankowski
Peyton Krebs
Ryan MacInnis
Brett Murray
JJ Peterka*
Jack Quinn*
Arttu Ruotsalainen
DEFENSEMEN (3)
Casey Fitzgerald*
Ethan Prow*
Mattias Samuelsson
GOALTENDERS (3)
Aaron Dell
Michael Houser
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
* = Made NHL debut
WINNING BY NUMBERS
Rochester enters tonight as one of only three AHL teams to have scored at least 60 goals in all three periods this season. Additionally, the Amerks have scored the fifth-most first and third-period goals among any other team and have outscored the opposition 60-59 through the opening 20 minutes.
The Amerks have scored four or more goals in all but six of their 30 wins this season, two of which have come on home ice. Additionally, 13 of Rochester’s 15 road victories have come with three or more goals despite being outscored 119-99 through their first 31 road games.
OTHER AMERKS NOTABLES
Of the 15 different defensemen the Amerks have used this season, 13 have notched at least one point while 10 have recorded at least one goal. Additionally, of the 26 different forwards to appear in one game for Rochester, 19 have scored a goal and 22 have produced a point.
Over his last 36 games since the turn of the New Year, Amerks forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has tallied 37 points on 15 goals and 22 assists, a stretch which began with a three-point effort versus Hartford on Jan. 2. Ruotsalainen has also turned in a multi-point effort in 10 games over that same span, including four over his recent season-long five-game point streak which was highlighted by three consecutive two-goal games for the first time in his AHL career.
Rochester is one of just four teams to have three different rookies (Quinn, Peterka, Weissbach) reach the 10-goal mark, joining the Charlotte Checkers Springfield Thunderbirds and Toronto Marlies.
The Amerks are one of 11 teams in the AHL - and one of four within the North Division along with Belleville, Syracuse and Utica - to have at least eight different players in double digits in goals.
Bridgeport Islanders vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Bridgeport 0-0-1-0 | Rochester 1-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Bridgeport 0-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-0-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Bridgeport 2-3-3-1 | Rochester 7-1-1-0 |
| Bridgeport vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Bridgeport | Bridgeport 1-2-2-0 | Rochester 4-1-0-0 |
| Bridgeport vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Bridgeport 1-1-1-1 | Rochester 3-0-1-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Rochester 3 @ Bridgeport 2 (Feb 15 2022) Final OT |
How the two teams match up
|
Rochester |
Bridgeport |
|
| Team Record | 30-24-4-3 -- 67 points | 26-25-6-4 -- 62 points |
| Division Ranking | 6th North | 7th Atlantic |
| Conference Ranking | 10th Eastern | 13th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 18th | 23rd |
| Past 10 Games | 4-4-1-1 | 7-2-1-0 |
| Streak | 0-1-0-1 | 5-0-1-0 |
| Last Game | 5-1 L @ Syracuse (Mar 26 2022) Final | 5-1 W @ Toronto (Mar 26 2022) Final |
| Home Record | 15-11-2-2 | 15-12-1-2 |
| Away Record | 15-13-2-1 | 11-13-5-2 |
| GF | 202 | 177 |
| GA | 224 | 182 |
| PP (Overall) | (50/218) 22.9% | (29/195) 14.9% |
| PP (Home) | (23/107) 21.5% | (13/100) 13.0% |
| PP (Away) | (27/111) 24.3% | (16/95) 16.8% |
| PK (Overall) | (40/216) 81.5% | (35/201) 82.6% |
| PK (Home) | (20/112) 82.1% | (20/97) 79.4% |
| PK (Away) | (20/104) 80.8% | (15/104) 85.6% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (1/3) 33.3% | (0/4) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/4) 100% | (1/3) 66.7% |
| Leading Rookie | Peterka (16-35-51) | MacLean (7-13-20) |
| Most PIM | Pekar - 56 | Wotherspoon - 101 |
| Team PIM/GM | 12.9/Game | 11.1/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Peterka (16-35-51) | Terry (21-25-46) |
| Quinn (21-23-44) | Koivula (10-30-40) | |
| Mersch (21-22-43) | Andreoff (16-22-38) | |
| Ruotsalainen (15-24-39) | Durandeau (14-21-35) | |
| Prow (9-29-38) | Holmstrom (9-24-33) | |
| Last 5 Games | 5-1 L @ Syracuse (Mar 26 2022) Final | 5-1 W @ Toronto (Mar 26 2022) Final |
| 3-2 L vs Toronto (Mar 25 2022) Final SO | 4-1 W @ Utica (Mar 23 2022) Final | |
| 6-5 W vs Cleveland (Mar 19 2022) Final OT | 7-4 W vs Syracuse (Mar 19 2022) Final | |
| 5-4 W vs Cleveland (Mar 18 2022) Final | 3-2 L @ Springfield (Mar 16 2022) Final OT | |
| 4-3 L @ Syracuse (Mar 13 2022) Final OT | 3-0 W @ Providence (Mar 13 2022) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 19-3-1-2 | 9-7-1-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 19-1-1-1 | 16-1-1-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 5-5-3-1 | 8-7-4-1 |
| Tied After 2nd | 7-1-3-2 | 8-10-2-2 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-16-0-0 | 9-11-1-2 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-22-0-0 | 2-14-3-2 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 5-11-2-0 | 10-9-1-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 25-13-2-2 | 15-15-4-3 |
| 1-Goal Games | 16-5-4-3 | 10-10-6-4 |
| 2-Goal Games | 7-6-0-0 | 6-7-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 2-5-0-0 | 7-6-0-0 |
Bridgeport Islanders
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Andy Andreoff | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | Paul Thompson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 15 | Simon Holmstrom | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Jeff Kubiak | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Richard Panik | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | Robin Salo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Collin Adams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | X Ken Appleby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Cole Bardreau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 37 | X Felix Bibeau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Samuel Bolduc | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Erik Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Arnaud Durandeau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 2 | Seth Helgeson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | X Thomas Hickey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 7 | Grant Hutton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Otto Koivula | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Mitchell Vande Sompel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Parker Wotherspoon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | X Ken Appleby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 62:40 | 3 | 2.87 | 0.900 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 47 | Nick Boka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | -1 |
| 88 | Brandon Davidson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 29 | X Dominic Franco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Ben Holmstrom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Oskari Laaksonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Arttu Ruotsalainen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 91 | Ryan Scarfo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Jimmy Schuldt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 62:52 | 2 | 1.91 | 0.941 |