GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS, PHANTOMS CLOSE OUT SEASON SERIES TONIGHT
Dec 18, 2021TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (13-8-0-0) open the back-end of a four-game road swing tonight as they close out their season series with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (6-11-4-1) at the PPL Center. The 7:05 p.m. matchup will be the second and final meeting between the two teams this season and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.y
The Amerks come into the matchup having won five of their last seven games. Following a season-long eight-game winless streak (0-5-2-1), the Phantoms have responded with three straight wins.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
Tonight’s contest is the first against the Phantoms in Allentown since the Amerks were blanked by a 4-0 back score on Jan. 18, 2020. With Rochester’s 5-4 overtime win over the Phantoms earlier this season, the Amerks show a 3-0-1-0 record against Lehigh Valley over the last five years on home ice compared to an 0-2-0-1 mark in Allentown in that same timeframe.
Rochester has earned at least one point in six of the last eight games against Lehigh Valley dating back to Dec. 30, 2016, going 4-2-1-1 over that span. In each of the eight contests over that stretch, the winning team has scored at least three goals.
VIEW FROM ROCHESTER
With five players performing at or near a point-per-game pace, the Amerks have the AHL’s second-best offense and are currently averaging just under four goals per game. Collectively, Rochester’s 81 goals this season are second-most in the North Division and rank fourth overall in the AHL.
The Amerks enter the weekend with four of the league’s top 20 point-getters in Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Sean Malone and Michael Mersch. Quinn led all AHL rookies in scoring for the second straight month and is currently fifth in the league in points (24) and sixth in goals (11) through 17 games this season
Peterka enters tonight with 14 points (3+11) over his last 16 games dating back to Oct. 30. With 19 points (4+15) on the season, he’s tied for the team lead in assists (15) with Peyton Krebs and is fourth on the team in scoring.
Coming off his team-leading 12th goal last Friday against Laval, Mersch is tied for second in the AHL in goals and is on pace to reach the 15-goal mark for the fifth time in eight years. He has totaled 20 points (12+8) and five multi-point outings over his last 19 games. The Amerks captain began that stretch with a five-game goal-scoring streak, the longest of his career and the longest in the AHL this season, while his five-game point marked his longest since posting a career-best seven-game point streak back in 2015.
Malone has been one of Rochester’s most consistent point-getters as of late. Malone, who became the second Amerk this season to reach the 20-point mark, has produced 10 points (6+4) over his last seven games, including three power-play tallies over that span. The fifth-year pro has recorded multi-point showings in four of his last seven games.
Rochester’s power-play is presently tops in the AHL after scoring 21 times on 76 opportunities for a league-best 27.6% conversion rate. In just the last six games alone, the Amerks have gone 10-for-24 on the man-advantage, including scoring four in the 7-3 win over Hershey back on Nov 26. Mersch, Malone and Quinn share the team lead with four power-play goals each.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The Amerks currently own four of the AHL’s top scoring rookies in Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Peyton Krebs and Linus Weissbach who have combined for 68 points (21+47) through the team’s 20 games this season.
Despite missing the last four games, Quinn, Buffalo’s eighth overall pick in 2020, ranks second among all AHL rookies in goals (11) and points (24). Named the AHL Rookie of the Month for October, he is one of only 16 players in the AHL this season to reach the 20-point mark and he, Sean Malone and Michael Mersch are the only Amerks to accomplish the feat.
Peterka, meanwhile, is third amongst all first-year players with a team-high 15 assists while his 19 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 four rookie duos across the entire AHL to rank inside the top four on their team in scoring.
With an assist Tuesday against Charlotte, Krebs has amassed 17 points on two goals and 15 assists in 16 games this season, tying for ninth among all AHL rookie skaters.
Despite missing the previous seven games, Weissbach comes into the contest with three points (1+2) over his last four games. Weissbach, who was Buffalo’s seventh-round selection (192nd overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, has totaled eight points through his first 14 games.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Second-year defenseman Oskari Laaksonen has recorded an assist in six of his last nine games. The Finnish blueliner leads the league with a team-high 11 power-play assists as all but one of his 12 assists this season have come on the power-play.
With his second goal of the season during Wednesday’s contest with the Checkers, Amerks rookie defenseman Mattias Samuelsson has notched 11 points (2+9) over his last 12 outings and is already within one point of matching his offensive output from his truncated 2020-21 campaign. Samuelsson ranks fourth among all Amerks rookies with 12 points and is tied for third in the AHL among all first-year blueliners with 10 assists. Samuelsson had entered the week by having produced multi-point efforts in back-to-back outings for the first time in his pro career.
SCOUTING THE PHANTOMS
Lehigh Valley comes into the matchup with only six wins through its first 22 games so far on the campaign, half of which came in the team’s last three games. Lehigh Valley’s six victories this season are tied for fewest in the AHL and fewest in the Eastern Conference. The Phantoms also opened the season with seven straight losses, going 0-5-2-0 over that span.
The Phantoms will be without the services of their leading goal-scorer Morgan Frost, who was promoted to the big club back on Nov. 24. Prior to earning his first-career recall to the Flyers, the second-year pro produced three goals and a team-high 12 assists in 16 games this season.
Third-year goaltender Felix Sandstrom has handled much of the goaltending duties this season for the Phantoms as he has appeared in a career-high 15 games. The Gavle, Sweden, native has been one of five different netminders to appear in a game for Lehigh Valley. He boasts a 3-7-3 record this season and one shutout along with a 3.07 goals-against average.
SERIES NOTABLES
Tonight’s contest features three players selected in the 2020 NHL Draft, which includes Lehigh Valley’s Tyson Foerster (1st round, 23rd overall) and Rochester’s Jack Quinn (1st round, 8th overall) and JJ Peterka (2nd round, 34th overall).
In addition to Quinn, Peterka and Foerster, Rochester’s Peyton Krebs (17th, 2019) and Lehigh Valley’s German Rubstov (22nd overall, 2016) and Cam York (14th overall, 2019) all were taken in the first round of the NHL Draft.
Lehigh Valley captain and five-time AHL All-Star Cal O’Reilly spent two seasons with the Amerks, recording 71 points on 15 goals and 56 assists in 94 games from 2015 to 2017. O’Reilly served as Rochester’s captain during both seasons and represented the Amerks at the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic.
Phantoms forward Max Willman is a former draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres. He was selected in the fifth round in 2014, the same draft year as current Amerks forward Ryan MacInnis and current Sabre Victor Olofsson.
Lehigh Valley goaltender Pat Nagle posted an 0-2-0 record in two appearances with Rochester during the 2014-15 campaign.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Lehigh Valley 0-0-0-1 | Rochester 1-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2020-21 Regular Season | Lehigh Valley 0-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-0-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Lehigh Valley 4-1-1-1 | Rochester 3-2-1-1 |
| Lehigh Valley vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Lehigh Valley | Lehigh Valley 3-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-2-0-1 |
| Lehigh Valley vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Lehigh Valley 1-1-1-1 | Rochester 3-0-1-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Lehigh Valley 4 @ Rochester 5 (Nov 19 2021) Final SO |
How the 2 teams match up
|
Rochester |
Lehigh Valley |
|
| Team Record | 13-8-0-0 -- 26 points | 6-11-4-1 -- 17 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd North | 8th Atlantic |
| Conference Ranking | 4th Eastern | 15th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 8th | 31st |
| Past 10 Games | 6-4-0-0 | 3-4-2-1 |
| Streak | 0-2-0-0 | 3-0-0-0 |
| Last Game | 4-2 L @ Charlotte (Dec 15 2021) Final | 3-1 W @ Hartford (Dec 17 2021) Final |
| Home Record | 7-3-0-0 | 3-4-3-0 |
| Away Record | 6-5-0-0 | 3-7-1-1 |
| GF | 81 | 55 |
| GA | 79 | 71 |
| PP (Overall) | (21/76) 27.6% | (11/88) 12.5% |
| PP (Home) | (10/37) 27.0% | (5/34) 14.7% |
| PP (Away) | (11/39) 28.2% | (6/54) 11.1% |
| PK (Overall) | (15/76) 80.3% | (15/75) 80.0% |
| PK (Home) | (7/41) 82.9% | (5/38) 86.8% |
| PK (Away) | (8/35) 77.1% | (10/37) 73.0% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (1/2) 50% | (1/5) 20% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (1/5) 80% | (1/2) 50% |
| Leading Rookie | Quinn (11-13-24) | York (1-6-7) |
| Most PIM | Pekar - 37 | Wilson - 56 |
| Team PIM/GM | 14.1/Game | 13.0/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Quinn (11-13-24) | Frost (3-12-15) |
| Mersch (12-8-20) | Mayhew (9-5-14) | |
| Malone (8-12-20) | Wilson (5-8-13) | |
| Peterka (4-15-19) | Willman (8-2-10) | |
| Krebs (2-15-17) | Clendening (3-7-10) | |
| Last 5 Games | 4-2 L @ Charlotte (Dec 15 2021) Final | 3-1 W @ Hartford (Dec 17 2021) Final |
| 11-1 L @ Charlotte (Dec 14 2021) Final | 4-3 W vs Hartford (Dec 12 2021) Final SO | |
| 5-3 W vs Laval (Dec 10 2021) Final | 4-2 W vs Cleveland (Dec 11 2021) Final | |
| 4-3 W vs Utica (Dec 8 2021) Final OT | 5-3 L vs Charlotte (Dec 3 2021) Final | |
| 4-2 W @ Syracuse (Nov 27 2021) Final | 4-1 L vs Bridgeport (Nov 27 2021) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 10-2-0-0 | 2-3-1-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 9-0-0-0 | 5-1-2-1 |
| Tied After 1st | 1-0-0-0 | 3-3-2-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 1-1-0-0 | 1-4-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 2-6-0-0 | 1-5-1-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 3-7-0-0 | 0-6-1-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 2-5-0-0 | 4-6-1-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 11-3-0-0 | 2-5-3-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 5-2-0-0 | 1-3-4-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 4-2-0-0 | 3-3-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-1-0-0 | 1-4-0-0 |
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | X Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Connor Bunnaman | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Gerry Mayhew | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 49 | Garrett Wilson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Adam Clendening | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Logan Day | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | Cam York | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Egor Zamula | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 7 | Cooper Zech | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | X Jackson Cates | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 39 | Charlie Gerard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 6 | Linus Hogberg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Cal O’Reilly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Isaac Ratcliffe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | German Rubtsov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 32 | Felix Sandstrom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Brennan Saulnier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 16 | Matthew Strome | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 15 | Maksim Sushko | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Felix Sandstrom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 64:10 | 4 | 3.74 | 0.826 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | X Brett Murray | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 77 | JJ Peterka | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Oskari Laaksonen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 22 | Jack Quinn | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Mattias Samuelsson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Josh Teves | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Casey Fitzgerald | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 41 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | X Mark Jankowski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 19 | Peyton Krebs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 72 | Ryan MacInnis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Matej Pekar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Michael Houser | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 65:00 | 4 | 3.69 | 0.875 |