GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS LOOK FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WIN TONIGHT IN REMATCH WITH ROCKET
Oct 20, 2023
Amerks PR | @AmerksPR
TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (2-0-1-0) take aim at their third straight win tonight when they meet the Laval Rocket (0-2-1-0) in the back-end of a two-game set at Place Bell. Game time is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester.
The Amerks and Rocket, who enter their seventh season in the AHL and third under head coach Jean-François Houle, will meet eight times during the 2023-24 regular season, with tonight being the second of four in Laval.
Tonight’s matchup is the second game of a stretch in which the North Division rivals will meet three times over a four-game span.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST LAVAL
The Amerks boast are 21-10-1-0 all-time against Laval through 32 games. Rochester has never had a losing season versus the Rocket and have gone 4-3-1-0 each of the last two seasons.
Dating back to last season against Laval, Amerks forward Jiri Kulich has recorded seven goals and three assists in nine career contests against the Rocket. Including Kulich, Rochester returns seven of its top seven point getters versus Laval from 2022-23.
Rochester has picked up at least one point in 14 of its first 18 road games in Laval, going 12-4-2-0 over that span. Conversely, since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the Amerks have posted a near-perfect 11-3-0-0 mark at The Blue Cross Arena versus Laval.
LAST TIME OUT
Jiri Kulich delivered the overtime game-winner for the second straight game while leading the Amerks to a 5-4 win over the Rocket in the first of a two-game set between the North Division rivals Wednesday at Place Bell.
In addition to Kulich recording the first hat trick of his AHL career, Justin Richards and Viktor Neuchev both scored the first goals of the campaign. Jeremy Davies, Aleksandr Kisakov, Brandon Biro, Lukas Rousek, Linus Weissbach, Isak Rosen, and Mason Jobst all recorded one assist in the win.
Goaltender Devin Cooley, who earned his first win with the Amerks, made 40 saves while facing 19 shots in each of the last two periods. Dating back to last season with the Milwaukee Admirals, Cooley has won eight of his last nine decisions on the road.
KEEPING IT KULICH
Kulich returns for his second season in Rochester after putting up one of the most impressive and productive seasons as teenager in the history of the American Hockey League during the 2022-23 campaign.
Through the first three games of the season, Kulich leads all AHL skaters with four goals and six points. Additionally, he is one of two skaters in the league with a pair of game-winning goals and is tied for 10th in shots (11). He shows five goals and seven points over his last five games dating back to the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.
In 65 career AHL games, the Buffalo Sabres’ first-round selection (28th overall) in 2022 has totaled 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points. Of his 52 points, Kulich has produced 22 career points (10+12) on the power-play.
WORKING OVERTIME
Wednesday night’s overtime win against Laval was the third straight game that went beyond regulation for Rochester. Never before in the near-68-year history of the franchise have the Amerks opened a season with three consecutive overtime contests.
Dating back to last season, 11 of Rochester’s previous 15 regular-season games have required overtime to determine a winner.
Rochester tied an AHL record with 29 overtime games in 2017-18 showing a 9-11 record in overtime and 3-6 in the shootout.
APPERT YEAR FOUR
Seth Appert enters his fourth season as head coach of the Amerks in 2023-24 after being named to the position on August 18, 2020.
Appert is 86-71-16-7 through his first 180 regular season games behind the Amerks bench, which includes a 37-win campaign in 2021-22 that culminated with an extended playoff run as part of team’s first playoff appearance in four years.
Appert led the club to its most impressive and deepest playoff run in 23 years last season when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals. After losing three straight to close out the month of January, the resilient Amerks closed out the 2022-23 regular season going 14-8-4-2, earning points in 20 of their final 28 games.
After dropping their first two games of the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Amerks rattled off seven straight wins to complete the series comeback over the Syracuse Crunch before sweeping the top-seeded Toronto Marlies. The Amerks then came within two wins of advancing to the Calder Cup Finals.
YOUTH MOVEMENT CONTINUES IN ROCHESTER
Of the 27 players on Rochester’s season-opening roster, 13 are Buffalo Sabres draft picks, including three first-round selections.
Isak Rosen (14th overall) and Jiri Kulich (28th overall) both return for their second seasons in Rochester as members of Buffalo’s first-round selections in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Kulich recorded 46 points (24+22) during his rookie campaign to be named to the inaugural AHL Top Prospects Team. He topped all Amerks in goals and finished eighth in the league in scoring amongst all rookies. Rosen ranked ninth on the team in points (37), recording 14 goals and 23 assists in 66 contests.
Ryan Johnson (1st round, 2019), Viktor Neuchev (3rd round, 2022), Olivier Nadeau (4th round, 2021), and Nikita Novikov (6th round, 2021) all began their North American professional careers after being selected by Buffalo. Zach Metsa, the captain of Quinnipiac’s 2023 national championship team, will make his regular season debut after he skated in 13 games during Rochester’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals this past spring.
Aleksandr Kisakov (2nd round, 2021), Brett Murray (4th round, 2019), Filip Cederqvist (5th round, 2019), Lukas Rousek (6th round, 2019), Linus Weissbach (7th round, 2017), Tyson Kozak (7th round, 2021) round out the Sabres NHL Draft picks.
DEPTH ON DEFENSE
Excluding Riley Stillman, Novikov and Johnson, the other five defensemen patrolling Rochester’s blueline all appeared in at least one game at some point in 2022-23.
Ethan Prow paced the team’s blueliners in scoring for the second straight season with 41 points (6+35) in 70 games. The veteran defenseman reached the 40-point mark for the third time in four years and recorded more than 30 assists for the second straight season.
During the regular season in 2022-23, the current rostered blueliners of Jeremy Davies, Joseph Cecconi, Kale Clague and Prow combined for 21 goals and 57 assists for 78 points in 188 man games with Rochester. Johnson and Metsa both completed their collegiate careers while Novikov played the last two seasons in the KHL with the Moscow Dynamo.
SERIES NOTABLES
Rochester returns a total of 18 players from last year’s team, the most in recent years, including the team’s top nine point-getters.
Buffalo’s three first-round selections in Jiri Kulich (4+2) and Isak Rosen (2+2) lead the Amerks through their first three games this season. Entering the weeked, Ryan Johnson’s three assists and thee points are tied for most in the AHL amongst rookie defenseman. First-year skaters Nikita Novikov (0+2) and Viktor Neuchev (1+0) round out Rochester’s rookie scorers.
Rocket forward Joel Armia spent parts of two seasons (2013-15) with the Amerks, recording 52 points (17+35) in 87 career games. Armia was formerly a first-round pick (16th overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in 2011.
Laval’s goaltending trio of Zachary Emond, Strauss Mann and Jakub Dobeš have combined for 1,135 saves in 36 appearances while showing a 11-13-2 record in the AHL. Conversely, Rochester’s three goaltenders of Dustin Tokarski, Devin Cooley, and Michael Houser boast a 280-196-49 record in 563 combined AHL contests with 14,015 saves.
Rochester Americans vs Laval Rocket: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2023-24 Regular Season | Rochester 1-0-0-0 | Laval 0-0-1-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Rochester 4-3-1-0 | Laval 4-4-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 13-6-2-0 | Laval 8-10-3-0 |
| Rochester vs. Laval Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 7-3-0-0 | Laval 3-6-1-0 |
| Rochester vs. Laval Last 5 Years record at Laval | Rochester 6-3-2-0 | Laval 5-4-2-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Rochester 5 @ Laval 4 (Oct 18 2023) Final OT |
How the two teams match up
|
Laval |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 0-2-1-0 -- 1 points | 2-0-1-0 -- 5 points |
| Division Ranking | 7th North | 1st North |
| Conference Ranking | 15th Eastern | 1st Eastern |
| League Ranking | 28th | 1st |
| Past 10 Games | 0-2-1-0 | 2-0-1-0 |
| Streak | 0-2-1-0 | 2-0-1-0 |
| Last Game | 5-4 L vs Rochester (Oct 18 2023) Final OT | 5-4 W @ Laval (Oct 18 2023) Final OT |
| Home Record | 0-2-1-0 | 0-0-1-0 |
| Away Record | 0-0-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| GF | 11 | 13 |
| GA | 16 | 12 |
| PP (Overall) | (4/20) 20.0% | (3/10) 30.0% |
| PP (Home) | (4/20) 20.0% | (0/2) 0.0% |
| PP (Away) | (0/0) % | (3/8) 37.5% |
| PK (Overall) | (2/11) 81.8% | (4/12) 66.7% |
| PK (Home) | (2/11) 81.8% | (1/2) 50.0% |
| PK (Away) | (0/0) % | (3/10) 70.0% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (1/5) 20% | (1/5) 20% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (1/5) 80% | (1/5) 80% |
| Leading Rookie | (0-0-0) | Johnson (0-3-3) |
| Most PIM | Mailloux - 7 | Cecconi - 22 |
| Team PIM/GM | 12.3/Game | 17.3/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Armia (3-1-4) | Kulich (4-2-6) |
| Andersson (2-2-4) | Rosen (2-2-4) | |
| Roy (2-2-4) | Davies (1-2-3) | |
| Stephens (1-2-3) | Kisakov (1-2-3) | |
| Beaudin (0-3-3) | Weissbach (1-2-3) | |
| Last 5 Games | 5-4 L vs Rochester (Oct 18 2023) Final OT | 5-4 W @ Laval (Oct 18 2023) Final OT |
| 4-3 L vs Abbotsford (Oct 14 2023) Final | 5-4 W @ Toronto (Oct 14 2023) Final OT | |
| 7-4 L vs Abbotsford (Oct 13 2023) Final | 4-3 L vs Bridgeport (Oct 13 2023) Final OT | |
| Leading After 1st | 0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 0-1-1-0 | 1-0-1-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 0-1-1-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 0-2-1-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 0-0-0-0 | 2-0-1-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 0-1-1-0 | 2-0-1-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Jiri Kulich | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 79 | Viktor Neuchev | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 16 | Justin Richards | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Jeremy Davies | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 52 | Aleksandr Kisakov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 18 | Isak Rosen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Lukas Rousek | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Joseph Cecconi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Filip Cederqvist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 1 | Devin Cooley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Ryan Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Tyson Kozak | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 74 | Nikita Novikov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 | Riley Stillman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devin Cooley | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 62:49 | 3 | 2.87 | 0.930 |
Laval Rocket
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Mitchell Stephens | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Lias Andersson | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| 40 | Joel Armia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 38 | Strauss Mann | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Nicolas Beaudin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Philippe Maillet | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 81 | Xavier Simoneau | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -1 |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Brandon Gignac | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | Brady Keeper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Riley Kidney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 17 | Nathan Légaré | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 24 | Logan Mailloux | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 48 | Filip Mesar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 29 | Mattias Norlinder | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Joshua Roy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 3 | Jayden Struble | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 84 | William Trudeau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Strauss Mann | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 63:07 | 5 | 4.75 | 0.857 |