GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS OPEN TWO-GAME SET TONIGHT IN LAVAL
Oct 18, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (1-0-1-0) continue their three-game Canadian road swing tonight in the first of back-to-back meetings against the Laval Rocket at Place Bell. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks and Rocket, who enter their seventh season in the AHL and third under head coach Jean-François Houle, will meet eight times during the 2023-24 regular season, with tonight being the first of four in Laval.
Tonight’s matchup begins a stretch in which the North Division rivals will meet three times over the bext four games.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST LAVAL
The Amerks boast are 21-10-1-0 all-time against Laval through 31 games. Rochester has never had a losing season versus the Rocket and have gone 4-3-1-0 each of the last two seasons.
Along with Brandon Biro, who led all Amerks with eight points (4+4) in eight games opposite the Rocket last season, Rochester returns seven of its top seven point getters versus Laval from 2022-23.
Rochester has picked up at least one point in 13 of its first 17 road games in Laval, going 11-4-2-0 over that span. Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the Amerks have posted a near-perfect 11-3-0-0 mark at The Blue Cross Arena versus Laval.
LAST TIME OUT
Facing a 4-1 deficit entering the third period, the Amerks erupted for four straight unanswered goals, including Jiri Kulich’s game-winner halfway through overtime, to prevail with a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Toronto Marlies this past Saturday afternoon at Coca-Coliseum.
In addition to Kulich recording a two-point outing (1+1), Isak Rosen (1+1), Jeremy Davies (1+1), Aleksandr Kisakov (1+1), Michael Mersch (0+2) and Ryan Johnson (0+2) all notched multi-point efforts in the win. Lukas Rousek and Nikita Novikov each had an assist to complete the scoring.
Goaltender Michael Houser made 39 saves in his season debut while facing double digits in shots in each period, including 30 through the first two frames.
MERSCH TO LEAD AMERKS LEADERSHIP GROUP
Veteran forward Michael Mersch returns for fourth season in Rochester and third as the team’s captain, overseeing an Amerks leadership group that also includes three alternate captains in forwards Brandon Biro and Brett Murray and defenseman Ethan Prow.
In addition to captaining the Amerks to the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, Mersch finished last season by matching a career-high 28 assists to go with 17 goals and 45 points.
The 10th-year pro has appeared in 533 career AHL games between the Amerks, Texas Stars, Ontario Reign and Manchester Monarchs, totaling 365 points (173+192). Additionally, Mersch, a five-time 20-goal scorer in the AHL who won a Calder Cup with Manchester in 2015, has skated in 17 career NHL contests with the Los Angeles Kings.
APPERT YEAR FOUR
Seth Appert enters his fourth season as head coach of the Amerks in 2023-24 after being named to the position on August 18, 2020.
Appert is 85-71-16-7 through his first 179 regular season games behind the Amerks bench, which includes a 37-win campaign in 2021-22 that culminated with an extended playoff run as part of team’s first playoff appearance in four years.
Appert led the club to its most impressive and deepest playoff run in 23 years last season when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals. After losing three straight to close out the month of January, the resilient Amerks closed out the 2022-23 regular season going 14-8-4-2, earning points in 20 of their final 28 games.
After dropping their first two games of the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Amerks rattled off seven straight wins to complete the series comeback over the Syracuse Crunch before sweeping the top-seeded Toronto Marlies. The Amerks then came within two wins of advancing to the Calder Cup Finals.
YOUTH MOVEMENT CONTINUES IN ROCHESTER
Of the 27 players on Rochester’s season-opening roster, 13 are Buffalo Sabres draft picks, including three first-round selections.
Isak Rosen (14th overall) and Jiri Kulich (28th overall) both return for their second seasons in Rochester as members of Buffalo’s first-round selections in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Kulich recorded 46 points (24+22) during his rookie campaign to be named to the inaugural AHL Top Prospects Team. He topped all Amerks in goals and finished eighth in the league in scoring amongst all rookies. Rosen ranked ninth on the team in points (37), recording 14 goals and 23 assists in 66 contests.
Ryan Johnson (1st round, 2019), Viktor Neuchev (3rd round, 2022), Olivier Nadeau (4th round, 2021), and Nikita Novikov (6th round, 2021) all began their North American professional careers after being selected by Buffalo. Zach Metsa, the captain of Quinnipiac’s 2023 national championship team, will make his regular season debut after he skated in 13 games during Rochester’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Aleksandr Kisakov (2nd round, 2021), Brett Murray (4th round, 2019), Filip Cederqvist (5th round, 2019), Lukas Rousek (6th round, 2019), Linus Weissbach (7th round, 2017), Tyson Kozak (7th round, 2021) round out the Sabres NHL Draft picks.
DEPTH ON DEFENSE
Excluding Riley Stillman, Novikov and Johnson, the other five defensemen patrolling Rochester’s blueline all appeared in at least one game at some point in 2022-23.
Ethan Prow paced the team’s blueliners in scoring for the second straight season with 41 points (6+35) in 70 games. The veteran defenseman reached the 40-point mark for the third time in four years and recorded more than 30 assists for the second straight season.
During the regular season in 2022-23, the current rostered blueliners of Jeremy Davies, Joseph Cecconi, Kale Clague and Prow combined for 21 goals and 57 assists for 78 points in 188 man games with Rochester. Johnson and Metsa both completed their collegiate careers while Novikov played the last two seasons in the KHL with the Moscow Dynamo.
SERIES NOTABLES
Rochester returns a total of 18 players from last year’s team, the most in recent years, including the team’s top nine point-getters.
Amerks goaltender Dustin Tokarski rejoins the organization for his second stint. The netminder of 399 career AHL games 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.
With his next game in the AHL, the two-time Calder Cup winner and AHL All-Star will become 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). The 34-year-old Tokarski comes into the 2023-24 season ranked 18th all-time in games played and remains the only active goaltender on the list.
Buffalo’s three first-round selections in Isak Rosen (2+1), Jiri Kulich (1+2) and Ryan Johnson (0+3) all have three points through their first two games this season, which top all Amerk skaters. Entering the week, Johnson’s three assists and thee points are tied for most in the AHL amongst rookie defenseman.
Rocket forward Joel Armia spent parts of two seasons (2013-15) with the Amerks, recording 52 points (17+35) in 87 career games. Armia was formerly a first-round pick (16th overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in 2011.
Laval’s goaltending trio of Zachary Emond, Strauss Mann and Jakub Dobešhave combined for 1,105 saves in 35 appearances while showing a 11-13-2 record in the AHL. Coversely, Rochester’s goaltending trio of Dustin Tokarski, Devin Cooley, and Michael Houser boast a 279-196-49 record in 562 combined AHL contests with 13,975 saves.
Rochester Americans vs Laval Rocket: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2023-24 Regular Season | Rochester 0-0-0-0 | Laval 0-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Rochester 4-3-1-0 | Laval 4-4-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 12-6-2-0 | Laval 8-10-2-0 |
| Rochester vs. Laval Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 7-3-0-0 | Laval 3-6-1-0 |
| Rochester vs. Laval Last 5 Years record at Laval | Rochester 5-3-2-0 | Laval 5-4-1-0 |
How the two teams match up
|
Laval |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 0-2-0-0 -- 0 points | 1-0-1-0 -- 3 points |
| Division Ranking | 7th North | 3rd North |
| Conference Ranking | 15th Eastern | 4th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 30th | 10th |
| Past 10 Games | 0-2-0-0 | 1-0-1-0 |
| Streak | 0-2-0-0 | 1-0-1-0 |
| Last Game | 4-3 L vs Abbotsford (Oct 14 2023) Final | 5-4 W @ Toronto (Oct 14 2023) Final OT |
| Home Record | 0-2-0-0 | 0-0-1-0 |
| Away Record | 0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| GF | 7 | 8 |
| GA | 11 | 8 |
| PP (Overall) | (3/15) 20.0% | (2/5) 40.0% |
| PP (Home) | (3/15) 20.0% | (0/2) 0.0% |
| PP (Away) | (0/0) % | (2/3) 66.7% |
| PK (Overall) | (1/6) 83.3% | (3/7) 57.1% |
| PK (Home) | (1/6) 83.3% | (1/2) 50.0% |
| PK (Away) | (0/0) % | (2/5) 60.0% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| Leading Rookie | (0-0-0) | (0-0-0) |
| Most PIM | Mailloux - 5 | Cecconi - 22 |
| Team PIM/GM | 10.5/Game | 18.0/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Roy (2-2-4) | Rosen (2-1-3) |
| Armia (2-1-3) | Kulich (1-2-3) | |
| Andersson (2-0-2) | Johnson (0-3-3) | |
| Gignac (1-1-2) | Davies (1-1-2) | |
| Beaudin (0-2-2) | Kisakov (1-1-2) | |
| Last 5 Games | 4-3 L vs Abbotsford (Oct 14 2023) Final | 5-4 W @ Toronto (Oct 14 2023) Final OT |
| 7-4 L vs Abbotsford (Oct 13 2023) Final | 4-3 L vs Bridgeport (Oct 13 2023) Final OT | |
| Leading After 1st | 0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 0-1-0-0 | 1-0-1-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 0-1-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 0-2-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 0-0-0-0 | 1-0-1-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 1-0-1-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |