GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS SETTLE IN FOR WEEKEND IN UTICA
Four-game road trip continues with Amerks seeking third straight win
Oct 31, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (3-3-0-0) enter November by heading to Utica for games Friday and Saturday night against the Comets (0-7-0-0) at Adirondack Bank Center.
Friday marks the second of 12 meetings against Rochester’s intrastate rival. Previously, the Amerks topped Utica, 4-1 on Oct. 12. Viktor Neuchev and Isak Rosen each tallied goals and an assist, while Michael Houser made 19 saves to secure the win. Last season, the Amerks posted an 8-3-1-0 mark when facing Utica.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks strung together consecutive wins for the first time this season with 6-1 and 5-4 shootout wins against Cleveland to close out the month of October. Konsta Helenius netted the game-winning conversion in the sixth round of Saturday’s shootout, while Tyson Kozak extended his goal streak to three games with goals both Wednesday and Saturday. Houser earned both wins in goal, with Saturday being the 200th of his professional career.
The Comets are coming off a 3-2 loss Wednesday evening to the Rocket in Laval. Utica played and lost three straight to the Rocket as its winless season sees them at an 0-7-0-0 mark to begin the year. Nolan Foote, a 2019 first-round draft pick (Tampa Bay), leads all Comets with six points (2+4).
POWER-PLAY HAS A PULSE
In their sixth game of the season Saturday, Brett Murray cashed in on a power-play goal, the first for the Amerks in 2024-25, as part of the team’s 5-4 shootout win against Cleveland.
“I think a power-play can really put you over the edge,” said Murray. “I think every game is won five on five, but power-plays can truly give you a little bit extra on nights where maybe you don't quite have it five on five or it's a low scoring, very defensive game. I think finally getting that first power-play goal is hopefully a sign that the floodgates will open now. We've been working hard and really, really studying our game and what wasn't clicking for us in the first couple of games. Hopefully we can turn it around and make it click the rest of the season.”
Murray has scored 28 of his 74 career goals as an Amerk on the power-play.
“I jumped like we'd won the cup after we scored,” said team captain Mason Jobst. “There’s obviously been some frustration. You know, I think we've generated quite a few chances and had some really good looks and stuff. We just haven't found the back of the net. And I think everyone was kind of squeezing the stick a little bit harder and rushing things. Being 20-plus percent on the power-play in this league is vital if you want to have success and win in the long run. I think we're headed in the right direction. We're doing a lot of the right things. I think the group is believing that things will start going in for us.”
In 12 games against the Comets last season, Rochester’s power-play went 7-for-35, operating at exactly 20% efficiency.
TIME TO SPLIT
Amerks head coach Michael Leone confirmed on Thursday that both Houser and fellow goaltender Felix Sandström will split this weekend’s games in Utica, though Leone did not confirm who will start which night.
Houser has taken the crease for three straight games and is 3-1-0 on the season with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Over his last nine appearances in Utica, the veteran goaltender boasts a 7-1-0 record, coupled by a 1.86 goals-against average and .924 save percentage, along with one shutout.
Sandström last took the crease for Rochester on Oct. 18 and has yet to make a start away from home ice. In three career appearances against Utica (all as a goaltender for Lehigh Valley), the Swedish born netminder shows a 2-0-0 record, including a 37-save performance April 2, 2022.
DESPERATION
The Utica Comets enter November as the only team across 32 AHL rosters yet to win a game or earn a standings point. On one hand, that can be viewed as a vulnerable opponent for the Amerks to feast on, but the red, white, and blue see it as the opposite.
“I mean, they're trying to get a win,” said Leone. “I don't think they've been playing bad hockey. Look at the last three games they played against Laval. They could have won every one of those games. Obviously, they haven't had a win, but they're a good team.”
“I mean, if I were in their shoes, I think they're playing desperate for sure,” said Murray. “No one ever wants to start a season or expects to start the season 0-7. They're going to come out and they're going to be playing for their lives in here. They're going to be playing for pride.”
“When I think of Utica, I think of just like a hard physical team,” said Jobst. “They don't give you much time and space. They're very aggressive in all areas of the ice. They get on the forecheck. That barn can be hard to play in if you get behind there, it can get loud. We've played against these guys for so many years. Their core is still there. Some guys just aren't finding the back of the net right now and they're not winning games. But things change pretty quick in this league and especially in this division, there's just no easy games ever.”