GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS OPEN THREE-GAME SERIES WITH MONSTERS TONIGHT
Apr 10, 2021TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (8-5-2-1) begin a three-game series against the Cleveland Monsters (8-5-1-0) tonight at The Blue Cross Arena.
The 6:05 p.m. contest will be the third of six scheduled meetings between the two teams this season as Rochester opened the season-series with a 7-3 victory while Cleveland returned the favor with a 5-1 win on March 31.
The matchup will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester and AHLTV. Tonight’s game will also be live locally on CW Rochester channel 16.
WATCH: SETH APPERT AFTER MORNING SKATE
LAST TIME OUT
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the closing minutes of the second period, the Amerks reeled off three straight unanswered goals, including the game-winner from rookie forward Dominic Franco, on their way to a 4-2 win over the intrastate rival Utica Comets Friday at the Adirondack Bank Center.
With the win, the Amerks extended their point streak to three straight games (2-0-1-0) and have now collected at least one point in 23 of the last 32 games against Utica dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, going 17-9-2-4 over that span.
Forward Remi Elie and defenseman Oskari Laaksonen each scored a goal with an assist while picking up their third multi-point outings of the season. Laaksonen is now tied for second amongst all AHL rookie defensemen in assists and fourth in points while also showing goals in two of his last five appearances.
Rookie goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (7-4-2) made his fifth consecutive start in the crease for Rochester and 10th in the last 11 games, making 34 saves to pick up his second win of the month. The Finland native ranks sixth in the AHL in wins and has made 25 or more saves in nine of his last 12 appearances dating back to a career-best 43-save performance at Cleveland on Feb. 12.
WATCH: TONIGHT'S GAME PREVIEW
POWER UP
Now 16 games into the campaign, Rochester’s power-play has gone 20-for-67 with a 29.9% conversion rate that is currently tops in the AHL. The Amerks’ 20 goals on the man-advantage are most among all North Division teams and only one off the AHL lead behind only the San Diego Gulls, who have played in 12 more games than Rochester coming into the weekend.
The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in 13 of their 16 games this season and have registered multiple power-play tallies in three of their last 10 outings overall, including three last Saturday against Syracuse.
FINN-ISHING TOUCH
After leaving Finland in January as Liiga’s top point-getter, forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has taken his first season in North America by storm with a team-leading 13 points (5+8) through his first 13 games. The Oulu, Finland, native began the slate by recording a point in each of his first four games and and now shows nine points (4+5) over his last seven outings, including goals in back-to-back games twice over that span.
Last night, Ruotsalainen, who has collected all eight of assists this season on the power-play to rank fourth in the AHL in that category, made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres. He became the 12th different Amerks player this season to earn a recall and the second to make his NHL debut.
WATCH: DOMINIC FRANCO AFTER MORNING SKATE
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Rochester’s roster features 13 incoming rookies ready to make a splash in their first season in the American Hockey League, most of whom are products of the NCAA in forwards Brandon Biro (Penn State), Dawson DiPietro (Western Michigan), Dominic Franco (Army West Point) and Patrick Polino (R.P.I.); defensemen Ryan Jones (Nebraska-Omaha), Nick Welsh (St. Mary’s) Griffin Luce (Michigan) and Mattias Samuelsson (Western Michigan)..
Jack Quinn, Buffalo’s eighth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, rounds out Rochester’s rookie class this season. The highly touted 19-year-old is coming off an explosive 52-goal season for the Ottawa 67’s in 2019-20, during which he became just the eighth player since 2000-01 to reach the 50-goal mark in his NHL Draft Year. He finished the season second in the Ontario Hockey League in goals and tied for fifth with 15 power-play tallies while also adding 37 assists.
Quinn made his professional debut with Rochester back on Feb. 18 against Utica, recording an assist on the game-tying third-period goal before scoring the shootout-clinching goal on a dazzling effort in the second round. Through his first 12 games, the Ottawa, Ontario, native ranks second among Amerks rookies with six points (2+4), including two points over his last three games. Quinn is the third eighth overall pick of the Sabres in the last five years to spend time in Rochester, joining Alexander Nylander (2016) and Casey Mittelstadt (2017), and the second to make his pro debut with the Amerks following Nylander, who spent parts of three seasons in Rochester.
STAND AND DEA-LIVER
After leading the Amerks in points (39) and holding a share of the team-lead in goals (15) during the 2019-20 season, his first in Rochester, forward Jean-Sebastien Dea is again among the team’s top point-getters this season. By posting a season-high three points on a goal and two assists on March 6 against Syracuse, he became the first Amerks skater this season to reach double digits in points with 12 (4+8) through 10 games.
Dea, who has notched at least one point in eight of his first 11 games this season, has already recorded four multi-point games after posting six in 57 contests last season. Currently on recall with the Buffalo Sabres, he also paces all Rochester skaters with an on-ice rating of plus-seven.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Rochester comes into the weekend owning three of the AHL’s top scoring rookie defensemen in Oskari Laaksonen, Mattias Samuelsson and Ryan Jones, all of whom have combined for 25 points (5+20) with just one game all season being missed between the three blueliners.
Among all AHL rookie defensemen, Laaksonen and Samuelsson are tied for second and ninth in assists and fourth and 12th in points, respectively. Samuelsson has six points (1+5) in his last nine games, while Laaksonen has five points (2+3) over his last five outings, including back-to-back multi-point efforts.
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS
Cleveland comes into the matchup on the heels of a 4-2 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins last Saturday night. The Monsters are also 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games and presently riding a three-game win streak.
After signing with the Monsters in October as a free agent, forward Tyler Sikura leads all Cleveland skaters with 12 points and six goals through 14 games this season.
SERIES NOTABLES
Amerks forward Andrew Oglevie scored his first career hat trick back on Nov. 30, 2019 against Cleveland, single-handedly outscoring the Monsters to lead the Amerks to a 3-2 win.
Rochester holds a record of 30-8-4-4 over Cleveland since the start of the 2011-12 campaign and earned a point in eight of the last nine games, which includes all seven meetings last season.
Last season in the head-to-head series, all seven games were decided by one goal, including five that went beyond regulation.
Monsters forward and assistant captain Nathan Gerbe spent five seasons in the Buffalo Sabres organization from 2008-13 and was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2008-09 after leading all first-year players with 56 points (30+26) in 57 games for the Portland Pirates. In 107 career games with the Monsters, Gerbe has recorded 84 points 25 goals and 59 assists since joining Cleveland for the 2017-18 season.