GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS LOOK FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN TONIGHT AGAINST UTICA
Dec 8, 2021TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (11-6-0-0) open the month of December tonight as they put their three-game win streak on the line against the first-place Utica Comets (16-1-1-0) at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the fourth of 12 scheduled meetings between the intrastate rivals this season and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Tonight’s matchup is Rochester’s first since a 4-2 win over Syracuse back on Nov. 27. while Utica is looking to get back into the win column after suffering a 3-2 setback in overtime this past Friday night.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
The Amerks have won three straight and four of their last five games, which includes handing Utica its only regulation loss of the season in the previous get-together between the two teams. The Comets, who prior to that opened the season with an AHL record 13 straight wins, currently have points in 17 of their first 18 games as the new primary affiliate of the New Jersey Devils.
Dating back to the start of the 2016-17 campaign, Rochester has collected at least one point in 31 of the last 49 games against Utica, going 24-18-3-4 over that span. The Comets lead the season series 3-1-0-0 despite getting outshot in three of the first four meetings between the two teams.
WATCH: TONIGHT'S FACE-OFF FIRST LOOK
VIEW FROM ROCHESTER
With four players currently performing at or more than a point-per-game pace, the Amerks have the AHL’s top offense and are one of only two teams averaging more than four goals per game. Collectively, Rochester’s 69 goals this season are most in the American Hockey League.
The Amerks enter the week with three of the league’s top 20 point-getters in Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka and Michael Mersch. Quinn led all AHL rookies in scoring for the second straight month and currently paces the league with 24 points and ranks second with 11 goals through 17 games this season.
Peterka enters tonight with 13 points (3+10) over his last 12 games dating back to Oct. 30. With 18 points (4+14) on the season, he currently leads the team in assists (14) and ranks second in overall scoring.
Coming off a two-goal effort in the 7-3 win over Hershey on Nov. 26, his second multi-goal effort of the season, Mersch has totaled 17 points (10+7) and five multi-point outings over his last 15 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 from Mar. 27 to April 10, 2015.
With an assist on Sean Malone’s power-play goal against Syracuse on Nov. 27, Oskari Laaksonen has recorded a helper in each of his last five games, which is a career-best. The second-year blueliner is tied for the league-lead with a team-high 10 power-play assists as all but one of his 11 assists this season have come on the power-play.
Rochester’s power-play is currently tops in the AHL after scoring 18 times on 68 power-play opportunities for a 26.5% conversion rate. In just the last two games, the Amerks have gone 7-for-14 on the man-advantage, including a season-high four man-up goals in the 7-3 win over Hershey on Nov 26. Mersch and Quinn share the team lead with four power-play goals each.
WATCH: MICHAEL PECA FOLLOWING MORNING SKATE
QUINN-TISSENTIAL QUALITIES
Jack Quinn 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 already 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 continued his torrid start to the season by scoring his team-leading 11th goal of the year with an assist in the 4-2 win at Syracuse on Nov. 27. He currently leads the AHL in scoring with 24 points (11+13), including a team-best 11 points on the power-play, while his 47 shots also lead the team.
Quinn has been held scoreless just three times through his first 17 games and comes into tonight having recorded eight multi-point performances this year. More impressively, the Amerks are a perfect 8-0-0-0 this season when Quinn registers a multi-point game, including 4-0-0-0 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.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The Amerks currently own four of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Peyton Krebs and Linus Weissbach who have combined for 62 points (20+42) through the team’s 17 games this season.
Buffalo’s eighth overall pick in 2020, Quinn comes into the week leading all AHL rookies in goals (11) and pacing all scorers with 24 points. He is one of only six players in the AHL this season to reach the 20-point mark and the only Amerk to accomplish the feat.
Peterka, meanwhile, is second amongst all first-year players with a team-high 14 assists while his 18 points are tied for fourth-most. He and Quinn, taken just 26 picks apart from one another by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2020 NHL Draft, currently make up one of only two rookie duos across the entire AHL to rank first and second on their team in scoring.
After recording his first multi-point (0+3) outing as an Amerk in Rochester’s 7-3 win over Hershey, Krebs has produced 12 points on one goal and 11 assists in 12 games this season, tying for 14th among all AHL rookie skaters.
Despite missing the previous three games, Weissbach comes into the contest with three points (1+2) over his last four games. Weissbach, who was Buffalo’s seventh-round selection (192nd overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, has totaled eight points through his first 14 games.
SCOUTING THE COMETS
Despite suffering a 3-2 overtime loss to Bridgeport last Friday, the Comets enter tonight’s matchup with an AHL-best 16-1-1-0 record. Utica has also collected 15 out of a possible 16 points on the road this season, outscoring the opposition 28-15 through its first eight road matchups of the campaign.
Anchored by the elite goaltending duo of Akira Schmid and Nico Daws, the Comets’ top-ranked defense has only allowed 33 goals-against (1.83 per game) this season. With the exception of a 4-2 loss to Rochester, Utica has held the opposition to three or fewer goals-against in all but one game this season and have shutout their opponents twice in their last four contests.
Schmid leads all netminders with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. He and Daws’ eight wins are tied for fourth in the AHL.
SERIES NOTABLES
Prior to earning his third recall of the season, Brett Murray scored the game-winning goal with just over seven minutes left in regulation in Rochester’s 4-2 win at Utica. With six goals over a seven-game span, it marked the best seven-game stretch of his pro career. Three of his six goals this season have come on the power-play. Since his most recent recall to, Murray recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Nov. 27 at Detroit only to follow that up with his first NHL goal and multi-point effort on Nov. 29 against Seattle.
Tonight’s contest features four players selected in the 2020 NHL Draft, which includes Utica’s Nico Daws (3rd round, 84th overall) and Alexander Holtz (1st round, 7th overall) and Rochester’s Jack Quinn (1st round, 8th overall) and JJ Peterka (2nd round, 34th overall).
Comets forward and assistant captain Brian Flynn spent two seasons with the Amerks, recording 33 points (16+17) in 50 games from 2011 to 2013.
Utica forward Patrick McGrath spent last season with the Amerks, recording two points (1+1) and 24 penalty minutes in 11 games.
Both Rochester (10-1-0-0) and Utica (9-0-1-0) enter tonight with winning records this season when being outshot by an opponent.
Utica Comets vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Utica 3-1-0-0 | Rochester 1-3-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Utica 7-3-0-1 | Rochester 4-6-0-1 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Utica 25-13-2-3 | Rochester 18-18-2-5 |
| Utica vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Utica | Utica 13-6-2-1 | Rochester 9-9-1-3 |
| Utica vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Utica 12-7-0-2 | Rochester 9-9-1-2 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Rochester 4 @ Utica 2 (Nov 24 2021) Final Rochester 3 @ Utica 5 (Nov 20 2021) Final Utica 3 @ Rochester 2 (Nov 17 2021) Final Rochester 2 @ Utica 6 (Oct 17 2021) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Rochester |
Utica |
|
| Team Record | 11-6-0-0 -- 22 points | 16-1-1-0 -- 33 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd North | 1st North |
| Conference Ranking | 4th Eastern | 1st Eastern |
| League Ranking | 8th | 1st |
| Past 10 Games | 6-4-0-0 | 8-1-1-0 |
| Streak | 3-0-0-0 | 3-0-1-0 |
| Last Game | 4-2 W @ Syracuse (Nov 27 2021) Final | 3-2 L @ Bridgeport (Dec 4 2021) Final OT |
| Home Record | 5-3-0-0 | 9-1-0-0 |
| Away Record | 6-3-0-0 | 7-0-1-0 |
| GF | 69 | 66 |
| GA | 58 | 33 |
| PP (Overall) | (18/68) 26.5% | (10/52) 19.2% |
| PP (Home) | (8/34) 23.5% | (6/27) 22.2% |
| PP (Away) | (10/34) 29.4% | (4/25) 16.0% |
| PK (Overall) | (14/65) 78.5% | (8/64) 87.5% |
| PK (Home) | (7/37) 81.1% | (3/32) 90.6% |
| PK (Away) | (7/28) 75.0% | (5/32) 84.4% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (3/19) 15.8% | (4/13) 30.8% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (4/13) 69.2% | (3/19) 84.2% |
| Leading Rookie | Quinn (11-13-24) | Holtz (6-3-9) |
| Most PIM | Pekar - 37 | Greer - 52 |
| Team PIM/GM | 15.4/Game | 12.5/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Quinn (11-13-24) | De Leo (2-12-14) |
| Peterka (4-14-18) | Clarke (4-9-13) | |
| Mersch (10-7-17) | Walsh (4-9-13) | |
| Malone (6-9-15) | Schnarr (5-7-12) | |
| Jankowski (5-7-12) | Zetterlund (4-7-11) | |
| Last 5 Games | 4-2 W @ Syracuse (Nov 27 2021) Final | 3-2 L @ Bridgeport (Dec 4 2021) Final OT |
| 7-3 W vs Hershey (Nov 26 2021) Final | 2-0 W vs Belleville (Dec 1 2021) Final | |
| 4-2 W @ Utica (Nov 24 2021) Final | 5-2 W @ Charlotte (Nov 28 2021) Final | |
| 5-3 L @ Utica (Nov 20 2021) Final | 1-0 W @ Charlotte (Nov 27 2021) Final | |
| 5-4 W vs Lehigh Valley (Nov 19 2021) Final SO | 4-2 L vs Rochester (Nov 24 2021) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 9-1-0-0 | 7-0-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 8-0-0-0 | 11-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 1-0-0-0 | 7-0-1-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 1-1-0-0 | 3-0-0-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 1-5-0-0 | 2-1-0-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 2-5-0-0 | 2-1-1-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 1-5-0-0 | 6-1-0-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 10-1-0-0 | 9-0-1-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 4-2-0-0 | 4-0-1-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 3-1-0-0 | 5-1-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 6-0-0-0 |
Utica Comets
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Reilly Walsh | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | Alexander Holtz | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Brian Flynn | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | Marian Studenic | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 7 | Chase De Leo | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 25 | Nolan Foote | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
| 26 | Ryan Schmelzer | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 77 | Aarne Talvitie | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 92 | Graeme Clarke | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 |
| 5 | Robbie Russo | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| 15 | Joe Gambardella | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | A.J. Greer | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| 12 | X Tyce Thompson | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Fabian Zetterlund | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 82 | Nikita Okhotiuk | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 33 | Frederik Gauthier | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 39 | X Samuel Laberge | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
| 16 | Nate Schnarr | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
| 88 | Kevin Bahl | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 90 | X Jesper Boqvist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Nico Daws | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Jeremy Groleau | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | X Luke Stevens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Michael Vukojevic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93 | Akira Schmid | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120:00 | 5 | 2.50 | 0.922 |
| 35 | Nico Daws | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 118:50 | 5 | 2.52 | 0.898 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Sean Malone | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | -1 |
| 81 | X Brett Murray | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 22 | Jack Quinn | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -3 |
| 2 | Oskari Laaksonen | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Casey Fitzgerald | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 19 | Peyton Krebs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 88 | Brandon Davidson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 72 | Ryan MacInnis | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
| 24 | Mattias Samuelsson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | X Lukas Craggs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Dominic Franco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 41 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | X Mark Jankowski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -1 |
| 91 | Ryan Scarfo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Jimmy Schuldt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31:15 | 1 | 1.92 | 0.900 |
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 203:50 | 15 | 4.42 | 0.821 |