GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS LOOK TO EXTEND POINT STREAK AGAINST PENGUINS TONIGHT
Feb 16, 2024TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (22-16-5-1) continue their grueling stretch tonight when they close out their season-series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (25-16-6-1) at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. matchup will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks, who have points in eight of their last 11 games dating back to Jan. 17, enter the weekend third in the AHL’s North Division standings, seven points back of Syracuse and Cleveland with at least a game in hand.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which comes into the matchup with a 5-3-1-1 record in its last 10 games, sits in the third of the Atlantic Division with a 25-16-6-1 record through 48 games.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON
After being swept in the two-game season-series in 2017-18 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Rochester has gone a near-perfect 8-1-0-1 in the 10 meetings since.
Rochester’s regulation loss against the Penguins in the previous meeting between the two teams back on Dec. 16 was the since Jan. 13, 2017.
The Amerks have scored 12 power-play goals in their last 10 games against the Penguins dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season, going 12-for-44 (27.3%) with the man-advantage over that span. Conversely, Rochester’s penalty kill unit has successfully cleared 31 of the 33 shorthanded situations (93.9%) against Wiles-Barre/Scranton in that same time frame.
LAST TIME OUT
he Amerks erupted for three first-period goals and five different players recorded multi-point efforts as they secured a 6-2 win over the Utica Comets in a North Division showdown Wednesday at Adirondack Bank Center.
Viktor Neuchev (1+2) and Tyson Kozak (1+2) each scored one goal to go with a pair of assists. Lukas Rousek (0+2), Kale Clague (0+2) and Mason Jobst (1+1) all had two-point performances. Ethan Prow, Brett Murray and Justin Richards found the back of the net. Brandon Biro, Jiri Kulich, and Nikita Novikov all registered an assist.
Goaltender Devon Levi (4-2-2) made his eighth appearance of the campaign and fourth consecutive start, finishing with 37 saves.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Jeremy Davies and Kale Clague are among the AHL’s top scoring defensemen, having combined for nine goals and 41 points this season.
Davies, who scored a career-high 11 goals last season, including three game-winning tallies, is tied for 20th amongst all defensemen with 88 shots. He’s recorded at least one shot in all but four games this season. Davies, who closed out the month of October on a five-game point streak, has recorded one point in 16 of his first 38 games this season, never going more than four straight games without a point.
Clague, meanwhile, is tied for 14th among all blueliners with 20 assists. With two assists Wednesday against Utica, Clague has now reached the 20-assist mark for the second time in his career (22). He comes into tonight showing nine points (2+7) over his last 12 games.
ROUSEK RACKING UP THE POINTS
Lukas Rousek has been the team’s most consistent point-getter since the turn of 2024, having recorded points in 12 of his 15 games in that stretch.
Rousek, a sixth-round selection (160th overall) by the Sabres in the 2019 NHL Draft, currently leads the team with 25 assists and 34 points while his nine goals are tied for sixth. Among all Amerks who have appeared in at least 30 games, he is tops in points per game (0.87).
The third-year pro and AHL All-Star saw his career-long point streak come to an end on Jan. 26, stopping at 13 games. He totaled 14 points between Dec. 20 and Jan. 20, the second-longest point streak in the league behind only Toronto’s Alex Steeves, who had a point in 16 straight games.
Rousek’s point streak was the longest by an Amerk in 24 years since Hall of Famer Domenic Pittis had points in 14 straight contests from Jan. 22 to March 4 during the 1999-2000 campaign. In 128 career AHL games with the Amerks, Rousek has amassed 94 points on 26 goals and 68 assists.
NEW YEAR, NEW NEUCHEV
After producing just five points in his first 23 games, rookie foward Viktor Neuchev has unsurprisingly emerged as one of the team’s leading scorers through the middle of February.
Dating back to Dec. 29 and the turn of the New Year, Neuchev has erupted for 14 points on five goals and nine assists over his previous 12 games.
Neuchev has recorded at least one point in seven games over that span, including a season-long six-game point streak from Dec. 29 to Jan. 20 which saw him score three goals and record eight points.
Buffalo’s third-round selection (74th overall) in 2022, Neuchev’s most impressive performance of the season came back on Jan. 27, finding the back of the net for the third time in five games with the game-winning goal along with two assists in the 7-4 win over Laval. Since Jan. 6, Neuchev has recorded four multi-point games, which includes a pair of three-point efforts.
Of Neuchev’s seven goals this season, five have been scored on home ice and three have come against Laval. Neuchev, who had a 40-goal season while playing for Russia’s junior league during the 2021-22 campaign, currently leads all Amerks rookies with 19 points (7+12) and 52 shots in 33 games.
APPERT REACHES CENTURY MARK
The 3-2 win at Charlotte on Jan. 12 was a milestone win for Seth Appert, who became just the seventh head coach in the 68-year history of the franchise to reach 100 career victories with Rochester. He joins an impressive list that includes the likes of Amerks Hall of Famers Randy Cunneyworth, John Van Boxmeer, Joe Crozier, Mike Keenan, Chris Taylor and Brian McCutcheon.
On Dec. 16 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Appert also became the seventh head coach in team history to be behind Rochester’s bench for 200 games.
Since the 2020-21 season, Appert has guided the Amerks to a 106-87-20-8 record as well as two straight playoff appearances, which included a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023.
It was the team’s deepest playoff run in nearly 20 years and their first to the Conference Finals since the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs.
LEANING ON LEVI
Rookie goaltender Devon Levi has earned the start in six of the last eight games since being reassigned to Rochester on Jan. 20.
Levi, who boasts a 4-2-2 record in eight appearances with the Amerks, joins, Eric Comrie, Michael Houser, Devin Cooley and Dustin Tokarski to man the blue paint for Rochester this season. It marks the third straight year Rochester has had five or more goaltenders play in its net and first since a three-year stretch between 1995 and 1998.
Levi, who ranks 11th among rookie netminders with a 2.50 goals-against average, has held the opposition to three or fewer goals in seven of his eight starts, including each of the last six. He’s 4-1-2 this season in those games.
Levi won the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goaltender in men’s college hockey, for the second straight year following the 2022-23 season.
The only two-time winner in the award’s history, Levi led the nation again with a .933 save percentage, one year after he set the second-best mark in NCAA history with a .952 save percentage. He tied for third in the nation in both shutouts (6) and saves (1,183). Levi’s 16-career shutouts are a Northeastern University school record.
TOKARSKI ON THE MOVE
Veteran goaltender Dustin Tokarski, who missed the first eight games of the season due to an injury he sustained in training camp, made his season debut back on Nov. 3 against Utica.
In doing so, the two-time Calder Cup winner and AHL All-Star became just the 18th goaltender in league history to play in 400 career games, a list that also includes former Amerks Bobby Perreault (512), Michael Leighton (507), Drew MacIntyre (440) and Ed Chadwick (417).
Tokarski, who’s in his second stint with the Amerks and 10th different AHL franchise, went 1-1-0 during a brief two-game stint with Rochester as part of the COVID-shortnened 2020-21 campaign. He went 12-20-7 in 42 appearances with the Buffalo Sabres from 2021-23.
Currently in his 15th season, he joins Marcel Paille and Michael Leighton as the only goaltenders all-time to play at least 15 seasons in the AHL.
Tokarski, who’s 7-7-2 in his first 16 starts, surpassed the 10,000-save mark for his AHL career following a 31-save effort against Utica on Nov. 10. He also reached the 12,000-save mark for his pro career the week prior when he made his season debut against the Comets.
Entering this weekend, the 34-year-old Tokarski is six wins away from tying Red Almas for 11th all-time in career wins (218). He’s also two games away from tying Ed Chadwick for 16th all-time (417) and will tie Yann Danis for eighth all-time on his next shutout.
A JOLT OF JOST
Rochester’s forward group was bolstered at the end of the 2023 calendar year with the addition of veteran forward Tyson Jost. .
The St. Albert, Alberta, native made his Amerks debut on Dec. 29 against Hershey and has since recorded 12 points (2+10) through his first 17 games. His 10 assists are tied for 11th amongst all Rochester skaters.
A former first-round selection (10th overall) of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2016 NHL Draft, Jost has totaled 19 points (7+12) in 30 career AHL games with the Amerks, San Antonio Rampage and Colorado Eagles over parts of three seasons. He’s also recorded 138 points (56+82) over 442 career NHL games for Buffalo, Minnesota and Colorado, including 29 this season with the Sabres.
SERIES NOTABLES
Amerks forward Mason Jobst enters tonight with 13 points (6+7) over his last 15 games since the turn of the new year. On Wednesday in Utica, Jobst appeared in his 200th professional game. In 200 career games, all in the American Hockey League with Rochester, San Jose, Bridgeport, and Binghamton, the Ohio State product has notched 42 goals and 62 assists for 104 points.
After enjoying a career-best 14 goals, 24 assists and 38 points in 61 games last season with Rochester, Jobst has nearly matched those totals in 2023-24 (13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points) in only 39 games.
Amerks netminder Dustin Tokarski spent parts of two years with the Penguins. The veteran goaltender posted a 21-21-2 record and two shutouts in 54 appearances during the 2019-20 and 2022-23 seasons.
Penguins assistant coach Kevin Porter spent parts of five seasons with Rochester and was a five-time team captain from 2012-14 and 2017-2020. In 269 career games with the Amerks, Porter notched 68 goals and 116 assists for 184 points to rank 35th all-time in franchise history among all forwards.
Penguins captain Taylor Fedun patrolled the Amerks blueline for parts of three seasons (2016-19), leading Rochester to two playoff appearances. The 35-year-old veteran defenseman and two-time assistant captain for the Amerks produced 44 points (8+36) in 83 games.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Alex Nylander began his professional career in Rochester after being drafted eighth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Nylander recorded 86 points (30+56) in 165 career games with Rochester from 2016-19.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2023-24 Regular Season | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-1-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1-1-0-0 | Rochester 1-0-0-1 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2-4-0-0 | Rochester 4-1-0-1 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2-1-0-0 | Rochester 1-1-0-1 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 0-3-0-0 | Rochester 3-0-0-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Rochester 1 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 (Dec 16 2023) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Rochester |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton |
|
| Team Record | 22-16-5-1 -- 50 points | 25-16-6-1 -- 57 points |
| Division Ranking | 3rd North | 3rd Atlantic |
| Conference Ranking | 8th Eastern | 3rd Eastern |
| League Ranking | 15th | 6th |
| Past 10 Games | 5-3-2-0 | 5-3-1-1 |
| Streak | 2-0-2-0 | 2-0-1-1 |
| Last Game | 6-2 W @ Utica (Feb 14 2024) Final | 6-1 W @ Toronto (Feb 14 2024) Final |
| Home Record | 9-8-3-0 | 11-8-4-0 |
| Away Record | 13-8-2-1 | 14-8-2-1 |
| GF | 144 | 137 |
| GA | 157 | 134 |
| PP (Overall) | (27/141) 19.1% | (29/181) 16.0% |
| PP (Home) | (9/59) 15.3% | (17/93) 18.3% |
| PP (Away) | (18/82) 22.0% | (12/88) 13.6% |
| PK (Overall) | (34/156) 78.2% | (28/174) 83.9% |
| PK (Home) | (15/60) 75.0% | (11/82) 86.6% |
| PK (Away) | (19/96) 80.2% | (17/92) 81.5% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (1/4) 25% | (0/5) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/5) 100% | (1/4) 75% |
| Leading Rookie | Neuchev (7-12-19) | Joshua (3-6-9) |
| Most PIM | Davies - 55 | Andonovski - 65 |
| Team PIM/GM | 11.5/Game | 11.3/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Rousek (9-25-34) | Smith (8-22-30) |
| Jobst (13-15-28) | Nylander (15-14-29) | |
| Biro (12-16-28) | Abbandonato (8-16-24) | |
| Rosen (11-16-27) | Gruden (11-8-19) | |
| Kulich (16-10-26) | Poulin (11-7-18) | |
| Last 5 Games | 6-2 W @ Utica (Feb 14 2024) Final | 6-1 W @ Toronto (Feb 14 2024) Final |
| 3-2 L @ Syracuse (Feb 10 2024) Final OT | 5-4 L @ Lehigh Valley (Feb 9 2024) Final SO | |
| 3-2 L vs Syracuse (Feb 9 2024) Final OT | 3-1 W @ Lehigh Valley (Feb 3 2024) Final | |
| 3-1 W @ Laval (Feb 3 2024) Final | 5-4 L @ Hartford (Feb 2 2024) Final OT | |
| 6-2 L @ Laval (Feb 2 2024) Final | 4-1 L vs Toronto (Jan 31 2024) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 11-3-1-1 | 13-2-2-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 13-0-0-0 | 18-0-2-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 5-6-2-0 | 9-8-3-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 5-4-4-0 | 6-2-3-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-7-2-0 | 3-6-1-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-12-1-1 | 1-14-1-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 8-7-1-0 | 16-9-1-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 13-9-4-1 | 9-7-4-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 14-3-5-1 | 10-4-6-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 3-5-0-0 | 6-2-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 2-2-0-0 | 5-6-0-0 |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Alex Nylander | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Sam Poulin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Peter Abbandonato | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | X Rem Pitlick | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | Corey Andonovski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Raivis Ansons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | Taylor Fedun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Matt Filipe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Magnus Hellberg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Jagger Joshua | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Joona Koppanen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Xavier Ouellet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Jack Rathbone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Austin Rueschhoff | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Dmitri Samorukov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Ty Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Jack St. Ivany | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 72 | Lukas Svejkovsky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | X Colin White | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | Magnus Hellberg | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59:24 | 1 | 1.01 | 0.958 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Jiri Kulich | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Joseph Cecconi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 56 | X Kale Clague | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 4 | Jeremy Davies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | -2 |
| 96 | X Damien Giroux | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | X Olivier Nadeau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 79 | Viktor Neuchev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Nikita Novikov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | Justin Richards | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Isak Rosen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 11 | Lukas Rousek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | X Nicolas Savoie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Graham Slaggert | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 61 | Riley Stillman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Dustin Tokarski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Dustin Tokarski | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60:00 | 2 | 2.00 | 0.935 |