GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS OPEN FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND TONIGHT AGAINST CLEVELAND
Nov 12, 2021TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (6-3-0-0) open up a four-game homestand tonight when they take on the Cleveland Monsters (4-2-1-3) in the first of back-to-back meetings at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. matchup is also the first of 10 get-togethers between the North Division rivals and will be carried live on 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks enter the contest having won six of their last eight games to remain in second in the AHL’s North Division standings while Cleveland, who has gone winless in its last three games, comes to Rochester ranked third. Tonight’s contest marks the first time the Monsters have played in Rochester with fans in attendance since Feb. 22, 2020.
WATCH: TONIGHT'S FACE-OFF FIRST LOOK
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Rochester holds a record of 31-11-4-4 against Cleveland over the last 10 years dating back to the start of the 2011-12 campaign and has earned a point in nine of the last 13 games.
The Amerks have scored 10 power-play goals in their last 10 games against the Cleveland dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, going 10-for-42 (23.8%) with the man-advantage over that span. Conversely, Rochester’s penalty kill unit has successfully cleared 42 of the 52 shorthanded opportunities (80.8%) against.
Both teams come into tonight’s matchup unbeaten when leading after the second period this season with Rochester boasting a 4-0-0-0 record and Cleveland showing a 3-0-0-0 mark. Additionally, the Amerks and Monsters each have winning records when scoring the first goal of the game.
WATCH: SETH APPERT FOLLOWING MORNING SKATE
VIEW FROM ROCHESTER
The Amerks come into the weekend winners of six of their last eight games and have scored 30 goals over that span, seven of which have come on the power-play. A total of 20 different Rochester skaters have recorded at least one point and 10 have posted at least one multi-point performance.
With five players currently playing at more than a point-per-game pace, the Amerks have the AHL’s third-best offense and are one of only three teams averaging more than four goals per game. Collectively, Rochester’s 37 goals this seaosn lead all North Division teams and afre third-most in the league behind only Ontario (42) and Springfield (38).
After being held without a point in his first two games of the season, veteran forward Michael Mersch has totaled 11 points (6+5) and four multi-point outings over his seven games since to move into second on the team in scoring. Last Friday’s 4-1 loss to Toronto snapped a five-game goal-scoring streak for the Amerks captain, the longest of his career, while his point streak marked his longest since posting a career-best seven-game point streak from Mar. 27 to April 10, 2015.
With seven points (1+6) in his first nine outings to start the season, Oskari Laaksonen leads all Amerks defensemen and comes into the matchup tied for ninth in scoring among all AHL blueliners.
Currently on recall with Buffalo, Aaron Dell has backstopped the Amerks to three straight wins. Until now, the netminder has never began a season with a win in each of his first three starts at either the NHL or AHL level. He’s currently tied for 14th in the league in wins and is on pace to match his career-best seven-game win streak he posted from Mar. 20 to Apr. 7, 2015.
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 seventh goal of the year in Wednesday’s 5-1 rout at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Dating back to last season, the Ottawa, Ontario, native has totaled 16 points (7+9) in his last 12 games.
Quinn has been held scoreless just twice through his first nine games and comes into tonight having recorded five multi-point performances this year. Entering the second weekend of November, he remains one of four AHL rookies currently leading his respective team in scoring.
He is the third eighth overall pick of the Sabres in the last five years to spend time in Rochester, joining Alexander Nylander and Casey Mittelstadt.
WATCH: JOSH TEVES FOLLOWING MORNING SKATE
ROOKIE TRIFECTA
The Amerks currently own three of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka and Peyton Krebs, who have combined for 29 points
(9+20) through the team’s first nine games of the season.
Quinn, Buffalo’s eighth overall pick in 2020, comes into the weekend leading all AHL rookies in goals (7) and ranking second in points (13). His 13 points also place him inside the league’s top four point-getters overall.
Peterka, meanwhile, is third amongst all first-year players with a team-high eight assists while his 10 points are tied for fifth-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 three rookie duos across the AHL to rank among their respective team’s top three individual scorers.
After recording his first point as an Amerk in Wednesday’s win over the Penguins, Krebs has produced six assists in four games this season, tying for eighth among all AHL rookies. Krebs, who was acquired by Buffalo as part of last week’s blockbuster trade that sent former Sabres captain Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights, has recorded four of his six assists on the power-play, ranking second behind only Laaksonen in that category.
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS
Despite having dropped three straight, Cleveland comes into the matchup as one of the top road teams in the league. The Monsters have claimed at least one point in each of their first six road contests, going 3-0-1-2 over that span, while also outscoring the opposition 15-12. Cleveland is also one of just five teams so far this season without a regulation loss on the road.
The Monsters return to the Flower City fueled by rookie forward Tyler Angle, who leads the team with nine assists and nine points through 10 games. Columbus’ seventh-round selection in 2019, Angle’s nine assists currently ranked tied for fourth-most league-wide and second among AHL rookies.
Third-year defennseman Jake Christiansen currently ranks second among the AHL’s defensive leaders in goals (3, T-2nd), shots on goal (27, 4th) and points (8, T-5th.
SERIES NOTABLES
During the 2019-20 season, all seven games between Cleveland and Rochester were decided by one goal, including five that went beyond regulation. Over that same span, Rochester posted a 4-0-1-2 record.
Last year, Rochester went 2-4-0-0 in the six games against the Monsters. It marked the first time since the 2010-11 season the club had a losing record versus Cleveland (1-4-2-1).
Cleveland’s Tyler Angle (0+9) and Rochester’s Jack Quinn (7+6) are two of four AHL rookies currently leading their respective teams in scoring.
Amerks forward Ryan MacInnis is set to face his former team for the first time after appearing in 121 career games for the Monsters over the last three seasons, including a brief five-game stint in 2020-21. The sixth-year pro posted his best season with Cleveland during the 2019-20 campaign when he established career-highs in all offensive categories, including goals (7), assists (23) and points (30) to finish second on the team in scoring.
Cleveland Monsters vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Cleveland 0-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Cleveland 4-1-0-1 | Rochester 2-4-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Cleveland 9-8-3-1 | Rochester 12-6-1-2 |
| Cleveland vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Cleveland | Cleveland 2-5-2-1 | Rochester 8-2-0-0 |
| Cleveland vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Cleveland 7-3-1-0 | Rochester 4-4-1-2 |
How the two teams match up
|
Rochester |
Cleveland |
|
| Team Record | 6-3-0-0 -- 12 points | 4-2-1-3 -- 12 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd North | 3rd North |
| Conference Ranking | 4th Eastern | 5th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 7th | 9th |
| Past 10 Games | 6-3-0-0 | 4-2-1-3 |
| Streak | 1-0-0-0 | 0-1-1-1 |
| Last Game | 5-1 W @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Nov 10 2021) Final | 3-2 L vs Belleville (Nov 6 2021) Final SO |
| Home Record | 2-1-0-0 | 1-2-0-1 |
| Away Record | 4-2-0-0 | 3-0-1-2 |
| GF | 37 | 28 |
| GA | 35 | 31 |
| PP (Overall) | (7/31) 22.6% | (6/45) 13.3% |
| PP (Home) | (2/10) 20.0% | (3/22) 13.6% |
| PP (Away) | (5/21) 23.8% | (3/23) 13.0% |
| PK (Overall) | (7/33) 78.8% | (6/40) 85.0% |
| PK (Home) | (4/16) 75.0% | (4/16) 75.0% |
| PK (Away) | (3/17) 82.4% | (2/24) 91.7% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| Leading Rookie | Quinn (7-6-13) | Angle (0-9-9) |
| Most PIM | MacInnis - 18 | Bayreuther - 20 |
| Team PIM/GM | 13.9/Game | 13.3/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Quinn (7-6-13) | Angle (0-9-9) |
| Mersch (6-5-11) | Christiansen (3-5-8) | |
| Peterka (2-8-10) | Sikura (2-4-6) | |
| Malone (2-6-8) | Foudy (3-2-5) | |
| Laaksonen (1-6-7) | Gaunce (3-2-5) | |
| Last 5 Games | 5-1 W @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Nov 10 2021) Final | 3-2 L vs Belleville (Nov 6 2021) Final SO |
| 4-1 L vs Toronto (Nov 5 2021) Final | 6-2 L vs Belleville (Nov 5 2021) Final | |
| 4-3 W vs Belleville (Nov 3 2021) Final | 4-3 L @ Hershey (Oct 31 2021) Final OT | |
| 6-5 W @ Laval (Oct 30 2021) Final OT | 2-1 W @ Hershey (Oct 30 2021) Final SO | |
| 4-3 W @ Laval (Oct 29 2021) Final | 3-2 L @ Syracuse (Oct 29 2021) Final SO | |
| Leading After 1st | 4-0-0-0 | 3-0-1-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 4-0-0-0 | 3-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 1-0-0-0 | 0-1-0-2 |
| Tied After 2nd | 1-0-0-0 | 1-0-1-2 |
| Trailing After 1st | 1-3-0-0 | 1-1-0-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 1-3-0-0 | 0-2-0-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 0-3-0-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 6-0-0-0 | 3-1-1-3 |
| 1-Goal Games | 3-0-0-0 | 3-0-1-3 |
| 2-Goal Games | 1-0-0-0 | 0-1-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |