GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS OPEN BUSY STRETCH TONIGHT IN CLEVELAND
Feb 14, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (22-18-2-1) embark on a grueling stretch of four games in six nights tonight when they take on the Cleveland Monsters (19-20-3-2) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. All the action will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Two of the three games between the two teams this season have been decided beyond regulation with the road team emerging victorious once. After tonight, the teams are idle until the final week of March when the Monsters return to Rochester for a two-game series over a four-day stretch from Mar. 26 to Mar. 29.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Rochester boasts a 37-17-5-4 record against Cleveland over the last 10 years dating back to the start of the 2011-12 campaign and have earned at least one point in 25 of the last 37 games overall. The Amerks boast an 11-6-0-0 record in Cleveland over the last five seasons.
Through the first three games of the season series, Rochester has had nine different goal-scorers and 16 different players record at least one point.
The Amerks have used three different goaltenders so far in the three games with Cleveland and all three have allowed at least three goals. Michael Houser (46), Malcolm Subban (31), and Beck Warm (5) have combined to make 82 saves in nearly 187 minutes of game action.
LAST TIME OUT
On the strength of his first three-point outing in the AHL in over five years, Vinnie Hinostroza (2+1) powered the Amerks to a 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch Saturday night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Defenseman Ethan Prow (0+2) recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season while Jiri Kulich and Lawrence Pilut both scored their 10th and second goals of the season, respectively. Brandon Biro capped off the scoring, reaching the 30-point mark with an assist on the opening goal.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (11-8-1) made his 20th appearance of the season and stopped 32 shots in his second straight contest.
SUBBAN SHOULDERING THE WORKLOAD
After suffering a defeat in his season-debut on Nov. 18, Subban has gone 11-7-1 since over his last 19 starts, including seven straight wins between Dec. 10 to Jan. 14. The seven-game win streak was the longest of his pro career and the third-longest streak among all AHL goaltenders behind Toronto's Joseph Woll and Calgary's Dustin Wolf.
He was the first Amerks goaltender to post seven straight wins since Jonas Johansson won nine consecutive contests during the 2019-20 campaign.
Subban had arguably his best performance of the season during a 75-save weekend in Rochester’s two-game sweep over the Charlotte Checkers in mid-December. A night after stopping a regular-season career-high 45 saves, Subban was flawless in a 30-save shutout on Dec. 17, his first in the AHL since April 8, 2017, with the Providence Bruins.
Subban, who picked up his 100th career win in the 5-4 overtime victory over Utica on Dec. 28, has topped the 30-save mark six times in his last 15 starts and is currently tied for 19th amongst all netminders with 10 wins.
BIRO PILING UP THE POINTS
Despite missing six games due to injury, third-year forward Brandon Biro has blazed his way atop the team's scoring lead following a productive December in which he led the team with 16 points (6+10) in 10 games. He recorded multi-point efforts in seven of his 10 appearances, including six straight between Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 before closing out the month with an assist in the 3-2 win in Toronto.
Biro, who made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres last season, currently paces the Amerks in assists (21) and points (30) through 33 games and his recent seven-game point streak to close out the 2022 calendar year was the longest of his career.
Dating back to last season, Biro has totaled 71 points on 21 goals and 50 assists over his last 81 games and hasn't gone more than seven games without a point since Nov. 27, 2021.
JOBST HAVING A CAREER YEAR
Mason Jobst has made the most of his second opportunity with the Amerks as the fourth-year pro is in the process of assembling a career-year.
Through 36 games this season, the Speedway, Indiana, native has already established career-highs in all offensive categories, including goals (7), assists (13) and points (20).
With an assist in last Saturday's overtime win in Belleville, Jobst reached the 20-point mark for the first time in his pro career, becoming the ninth different Amerk to eclipse the mark.
Since the turn of the New Year, Jobst has amassed four goals and seven points over his previous 10 games, including his first career hat trick in the 7-5 loss to the first-place Toronto Marlies back on Jan. 14. Jobst single-handedly outscored Toronto in the second period with back-to-back goals before netting what was the go-ahead goal in the third period.
Jobst has totaled 33 points (11+12) over 62 career games with the Amerks dating back to last season.
PROWESS ON THE BLUELINE
Entering the Jan. 19 game against Laval, Ethan Prow was the only Amerks defenseman to appear in every game this season. Overall, he has skated in 112 of the 118 games dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
Through 42 games this season, Prow is tied for 13th in scoring amongst all AHL defensemen with 26 points while his 22 assists are tied for 11th. This season marks the fourth straight in which the veteran blueliner has reached the 20-assist mark and the fifth consecutive year with 20 or more points, which includes an abbreviated campaign overseas in 2020-21.
The seventh-year veteran has posted 14 points (2+12) in his last 17 outings dating back to Dec. 28 and comes into tonight with seven assists over his last seven games.
He leads all Amerks defensemen with five multi-point outings, including a two-goal effort in the 4-3 win at Syracuse back on Jan. 7.
Prow has never gone more than five games all season without a point.
SERIES NOTABLES
So far this season, both Rochester and Cleveland have used five different goaltenders. It marks the third straight season that the Amerks have used at least five different goaltenders.
Earlier this season, the Monsters signed former Amerk defenseman Brandon Davidson to an American Hockey League contract for the remainder of the season. In 34 career games with Rochester, the veteran blueliner posted one goal and six assists for seven points from 2020-23. As an alternate captain last season, Davidson also appeared in six postseason contests.
The Amerks and Monsters have played in a combined 21 games this season decided beyond regulation, including each of the last two meetings between the two teams. The Amerks are 7-3 in overtime this season while the Monsters are 6-5.
Tonight is the sixth time since the start of the 2004-05 campaign the Amerks have played on Valentine's Day. Rochester shows a 1-3-1-0 mark in the previous five instances. The only win during that span came by way of a 7-3 victory over Utica during the 2013-14 season.