GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS MAKE LONE VISIT TO ALLENTOWN TONIGHT
Rocherster opens three-game road swing tonight against the Phantoms at PPL Center
Nov 25, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (10-4-2-0) venture outside the North Division tonight as they travel to Allentown for a 7:05 p.m. contest with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (8-6-3-0). All the action from the PPL Center will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks and Phantoms, who enter their 10 season in the AHL and third under head coach Ian Laperrière, will meet twice during the 2023-24 regular season, with tonight being the only meeting in the Keystone State. After tonight’s get-together, the Eastern Conference rivals will conclude their season-series after the New Year on Jan. 17 in Rochester.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST LEHIGH VALLEY
Dating back to the 2019-20 season, Amerks forward Brett Murray has recorded four points (2+2) in five career games against Lehigh Valley. He enters tonight on a three-game point streak versus the Phantoms.
Home ice has played a significant factor in the season series for both teams over the last five years as the Amerks boast a 4-1-1-0 record against Lehigh Valley in Rochester dating back to the 2018-19 campaign. Conversely, the Amerks are 1-3-0-1 in Allentown in that same time frame, including the 5-1 setback in the lone road game last season.
Rochester has earned at least one point in seven of the last 11 games against Lehigh Valley dating back to Dec. 30, 2016, going 5-4-1-1 over that span. In each of the 11 contests over that stretch, the winning team has scored at least three goals.
LAST TIME OUT
Isak Rosen scored the game-winning goal in the final seconds of overtime to lift the Amerks to a 3-2 victory over the Laval Rocket Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena.
Forwards Mason Jobst (1+1) and Jiri Kulich (0+2) both turned in multi-point performances to complete the two-game sweep over the Rocket while Jeremy Davies and Rosen concluded the goal scoring. Zach Metsa, Michael Mersch, and Kale Clague all added an assist.
Goaltender Devin Cooley (4-2-1) evened his record on the campaign as he stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced in the win. In five of his seven appearances with the Amerks, he has made 30 or more saves.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
The Amerks own two of the league’s top scoring defensemen in Jeremy Davies and Kale Clague, who have 11 and 10 points, respectively, through Rochester’s first 16 games of the season.
Davies, who scored a career-high 11 goals last season, including three game-winning tallies, ranks fifth amongst all AHL blueliners with 47 shots. He’s recorded at least one shot in all but two games this season. Davies, who closed out the month of October on a five-game point streak, has recorded at least one point in nine of his first 15 games this season, never going more than three straight games without a point.
Clague, meanwhile, is currently tied for ninth among all rearguards with nine assists in 14 games. Clague opened the campaign with three multi-point performances through his first six games.
DYNAMIC DUO: THE SEQUEL
Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen both return for their second seasons in Rochester after putting up one of the most impressive and productive seasons as teenagers in the history of the AHL during the 2022-23 campaign.
Kulich continued his torrid start to the season Wednesday against Laval, scoring his team-leading 11th goal in just his 15th game. Kulich, whose 24 goals last season were the second-most ever by an 18-year-old in league history, is currently tied for fourth in the AHL in goals. The second-year forward, who hasn’t gone more than three games without a goal this season, joined Luke Adam (2013-14) and Jack Quinn (2021-22) as the only other Amerks skaters to score nine goals through their first 11 games.
With six points over his last three games, which includes a career-best four point (2+2) effort last Saturday in Cleveland, Rosen is fifth in the in AHL in scoring with 19 points while his 11 assists are tied for 14th-most.
The duo has combined for 119 points (57+62) in 158 regular season games. Rochester boasts an impressive 20-3-2-1 record when they each record at least one point in the same game as well as a near-perect 8-1-0-0 mark when they both score in the same game.
TOKARSKI AMONG ELITE COMPANY
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. 3rd 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 4-1-1 in his first six starts, recently 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 appeared in his 400th AHL game against the Comets.
Entering this weekend, the 34-year-old Tokarski is two wins away from tying Nick Damore for 12th all-time in career wins (208). He also ranks 18th all-time in games played (405) and will tie Yann Danis for eighth all-time with his next shutout.
In addition to being a two-time Calder Cup winner (2012, 2019), Tokarski won a Memorial Cup with Spokane in 2008 followed by a gold medal with Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship.
Tokarski has reached the 20-win mark five times over his 15-year pro career, including a career-best 32 wins in 2011-12 when he backstopped the Norfolk Admirals to a professional hockey record of 28 straight wins while leading the club to its and only Calder Cup.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
The Amerks come into the holiday weekend with the AHL’s second-best offense, averaging 3.82 goals per game through their first 16 games of the season. Their 61 goals scored are most in the AHL.
Rochester has put up at least four goals in 10 of its first 16 games, including six outings with five goals or more.
The Amerks are a perfect 6-0-0-0 this season when scoring five goals in a game. Rochester is leading the AHL with 20 first-period tallies this season.
WORKING OVERTIME
Last night’s overtime win over Laval was the second straight game and the fourth this month that went beyond regulation. Overall, the Amerks have gone to extra time seven different times this season, which includes each of the first three games of the campaign.
Never before in the near 68-year history of the franchise have the Amerks opened a season with three consecutive overtime contests.
Rochester is the only team in the league with seven games decided beyond regulation this season. Dating back to last season, 15 of Rochester’s previous 31 regular-season games have required overtime to determine a winner.
Rochester Americans vs Lehigh Valley Phantoms: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2023-24 Regular Season | Rochester 0-0-0-0 | Lehigh Valley 0-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Rochester 0-2-0-0 | Lehigh Valley 2-0-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 3-3-0-0 | Lehigh Valley 3-0-1-2 |
| Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 2-1-0-0 | Lehigh Valley 1-0-1-1 |
| Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley Last 5 Years record at Lehigh Valley | Rochester 1-2-0-0 | Lehigh Valley 2-0-0-1 |
How the two teams match up
|
Lehigh Valley |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 8-6-3-0 -- 19 points | 10-4-2-0 -- 22 points |
| Division Ranking | 4th Atlantic | 2nd North |
| Conference Ranking | 7th Eastern | 4th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 14th | 6th |
| Past 10 Games | 5-2-3-0 | 6-3-1-0 |
| Streak | 4-0-1-0 | 3-0-0-0 |
| Last Game | 2-1 L vs Providence (Nov 24 2023) Final OT | 3-2 W vs Laval (Nov 24 2023) Final OT |
| Home Record | 3-3-1-0 | 5-1-2-0 |
| Away Record | 5-3-2-0 | 5-3-0-0 |
| GF | 47 | 61 |
| GA | 48 | 67 |
| PP (Overall) | (14/61) 23.0% | (12/54) 22.2% |
| PP (Home) | (5/28) 17.9% | (5/25) 20.0% |
| PP (Away) | (9/33) 27.3% | (7/29) 24.1% |
| PK (Overall) | (13/84) 84.5% | (15/58) 74.1% |
| PK (Home) | (7/28) 75.0% | (6/26) 76.9% |
| PK (Away) | (6/56) 89.3% | (9/32) 71.9% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| Leading Rookie | Tuomaala (3-11-14) | Novikov (0-7-7) |
| Most PIM | Wilson - 63 | Cecconi - 30 |
| Team PIM/GM | 20.1/Game | 10.7/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Lycksell (12-4-16) | Rosen (8-11-19) |
| Laczynski (4-11-15) | Kulich (11-6-17) | |
| Marody (5-9-14) | Jobst (7-4-11) | |
| Tuomaala (3-11-14) | Davies (3-8-11) | |
| Wilson (4-7-11) | Biro (5-5-10) | |
| Last 5 Games | 2-1 L vs Providence (Nov 24 2023) Final OT | 3-2 W vs Laval (Nov 24 2023) Final OT |
| 2-1 W @ Toronto (Nov 21 2023) Final | 4-3 W vs Laval (Nov 22 2023) Final OT | |
| 8-1 W @ Belleville (Nov 18 2023) Final | 7-5 W @ Cleveland (Nov 18 2023) Final | |
| 3-2 W @ Laval (Nov 17 2023) Final | 2-0 L @ Cleveland (Nov 16 2023) Final | |
| 4-1 W @ Hershey (Nov 12 2023) Final | 6-0 L @ Utica (Nov 11 2023) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 4-0-1-0 | 6-0-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 8-0-0-0 | 6-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 2-1-1-0 | 1-2-1-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 0-1-2-0 | 2-0-2-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 2-5-1-0 | 3-2-1-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 0-5-1-0 | 2-4-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 6-2-2-0 | 4-2-1-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 2-4-1-0 | 5-2-1-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 4-0-3-0 | 8-0-2-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 0-2-0-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 3-2-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |