GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS TRAVEL TO SYRACUSE TONIGHT
Nov 4, 2023TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (5-2-2-0) make their first visit of the season to Upstate Medical University Arena tonight as they face-off against the Syracuse Crunch (5-2-0-0) at 7:00 p.m. The North Division showdown will be carried live on 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks and Crunch, who enter their 30th AHL season, will meet a total of 12 times during the 2023-24 regular season.
Tonight’s matchup is the sixth of 11 straight against North Division opponents for the Amerks and the second of two meetings between the intrastate rivals this week.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST SYRACUSE
After earning wins in five of the first seven meetings with the Crunch last season, Rochester finished the campaign with a 6-3-2-1 record in 12 games.
The Amerks have scored at least one power-play goal in 22 of their 37 games (32-for-134) games against Syracuse since Seth Appert took over as head coach prior to the 2020-21 season. The team has registered multiple power-play tallies in seven games overall, including three games where they had three.
Tonight is the first matchup in Syracuse between the two teams since meeting in the North Division Semifinals of the Calder Cup Playoffs this past spring. Rochester came back to win the best-of-five series after being down 2-0 on its way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks scored a pair of goals in the third period but were unable to hold the lead before suffering a 4-3 overtime loss to the Utica Comets Friday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Matt Savoie extended his point streak to five games as he redirected Kale Clague’s shot in the first period. Mason Jobst and Jiri Kulich both scored in the final period.
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski (0-1-0) made his season debut after missing the first eight games of the season. In addition to becoming the 18th goaltender in league history to make his 400th AHL appearance, the two-time Calder Cup winner surpassed the 12,000-save mark for his pro career as he stopped 16 of the 20 shots he faced.
STREAKING INTO NOVEMBER
The Amerks closed out the month of October with wins in three straight and five of their first seven games, finishing the first month atop the AHL’s North Division with a 5-1-1-0 record.
By recording 11 points through the first seven games of the season, Rochester had its best start in 14 years. The 2009-10 Amerks started 5-1-1-0 and ultimately jumped out to a 12-1-1-0 record to start to the year, a run that included a franchise-best 11-game win streak.
The Amerks’ 11 points and five wins in October were good for second in the Eastern Conference. Rochester’s 33 goals scored were second-most in the AHL while its 32.0% success rate on the power-play was the best in the Conference. The club was tied for most in the AHL with eight power-play goals and was previously one of six teams without a home regulation loss.
DYNAMIC DUO: THE SEQUEL
Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen both return for their second seasons in Rochester after putting up one of the most impressive and productive seasons as teenagers in the history of the AHL during the 2022-23 campaign.
Kulich continues his torrid start to the season, scoring his team-leading eighth goal in nine games. Kulich, whose 24 goals last season were the second-most ever by an 18-year-old in league history, is currently tied for third in the AHL in goals while his 11 points tie him for eighth in overall scoring. One of only 13 skaters with multiple game-winning goals, Kulich is the first Amerk to score eight goals through his first nine games of the season since Luke Adam did so to open the 2013-14 campaign.
Rosen began the season with the AHL’s longest active point streak after notching a point in each of his first six games.
The duo has combined for 114 points (50+54) in 144 regular season games Rochester owns a 16-3-2-1 record when they each have at least one point and a 6-1-0-0 mark when they both score in the same game.
TOKARSKI JOINS ELITE COMPANY
Veteran goaltender Dustin Tokarski, who missed the first eight games of the season due to an injury he sustained in training camp, made his season debut last against Utica.
Tokarski, who’s in his second stint with the Amerks and 10th different AHL franchise, 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.
On Friday night, the two-time Calder Cup winner and AHL All-Star became 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 is ranked 18th all-time in games played and remains the only active goaltender on the list.
Currently in his 15th season, he joins Marcel Paille and Michael Leighton as the only goaltenders all-time to play at least 15 seasons in the AHL.
In addition to being a two-time Calder Cup winner (2012, 2019), Tokarski won a Memorial Cup in 2008 followed by a gold medal with Canada in 2009.
ANOTHER FIRST-ROUNDER IN ROCHESTER
The Buffalo Sabres last week assigned rookie forward Matt Savoie to Rochester on a conditioning assignment. Savoie made his professional regular-season debut last Wednesday against Charlotte, recording an assist in the 4-3 come-from-behind win.
Savoie, who was selected ninth overall by the Sabres in 2022, has recorded one point in all five games over his conditioning assignment with goals coming on home ice.
Savoie is the second member of Buffalo’s 2022 Draft class to appear in one game with the Amerks, joining Kulich, and the sixth first-rounder since the start of 2016 (Alexander Nylander, Casey Mittelstadt, Ryan Johnson, Jack Quinn, Isak Rosen, Jiri Kulich). With the exception of Nylander and Mittelstadt, all players began their professional careers in Rochester.
WORKING OVERTIME
Rochester’s overtime win against Laval on Oct. 18 was the third straight game that went beyond regulation. Never before in the near 68-year history of the franchise have the Amerks opened a season with three consecutive overtime contests.
The Amerks show a 2-2 record in overtime this season. Rochester is the only team in the league with four games decided beyond regulation this season.
Four of the last six games between Rochester and Syracuse have required overtime to determine a winner and all four were 3-2 decisions.
Dating back to last season, 12 of Rochester’s previous 24 regular-season games have required overtime to determine a winner.
Rochester tied an AHL record with 29 overtime games in 2017-18, showing a 9-11 record in overtime and 3-6 in the shootout.
SERIES NOTABLES
Entering the weekend, Nikita Novikov leads all AHL rookie defensemen in assists (5) while Ryan Johnson is tied for second with four.
Kale Clague tops all Rochester skaters with seven assists, which is tied for third-most amongst the league’s defensemen.
Amerks goaltender Dustin Tokarski spent the 2012-13 season with the Crunch, going 18-8-4 with a 2.46 goals-against average over 33 contests.
Rochester Americans vs Syracuse Crunch: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2023-24 Regular Season | Rochester 0-1-0-0 | Syracuse 1-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Rochester 6-3-2-1 | Syracuse 6-5-1-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 21-18-6-1 | Syracuse 25-15-5-1 |
| Rochester vs. Syracuse Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 8-9-5-1 | Syracuse 15-6-2-0 |
| Rochester vs. Syracuse Last 5 Years record at Syracuse | Rochester 13-9-1-0 | Syracuse 10-9-3-1 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Syracuse 7 @ Rochester 2 (Nov 1 2023) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Syracuse |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 5-2-0-0 -- 10 points | 5-2-2-0 -- 12 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd North | 1st North |
| Conference Ranking | 5th Eastern | 2nd Eastern |
| League Ranking | 9th | 4th |
| Past 10 Games | 5-2-0-0 | 5-2-2-0 |
| Streak | 2-0-0-0 | 0-1-1-0 |
| Last Game | 7-2 W @ Rochester (Nov 1 2023) Final | 4-3 L vs Utica (Nov 3 2023) Final OT |
| Home Record | 2-1-0-0 | 2-1-2-0 |
| Away Record | 3-1-0-0 | 3-1-0-0 |
| GF | 29 | 38 |
| GA | 15 | 42 |
| PP (Overall) | (10/33) 30.3% | (8/32) 25.0% |
| PP (Home) | (4/15) 26.7% | (3/16) 18.8% |
| PP (Away) | (6/18) 33.3% | (5/16) 31.3% |
| PK (Overall) | (2/30) 93.3% | (12/35) 65.7% |
| PK (Home) | (1/12) 91.7% | (6/17) 64.7% |
| PK (Away) | (1/18) 94.4% | (6/18) 66.7% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (2/3) 66.7% | (0/3) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/3) 100% | (2/3) 33.3% |
| Leading Rookie | Groshev (1-3-4) | Savoie (2-3-5) |
| Most PIM | Element - 21 | Cecconi - 28 |
| Team PIM/GM | 13.9/Game | 12.2/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Robert (6-4-10) | Kulich (8-3-11) |
| Chaffee (1-6-7) | Rosen (4-6-10) | |
| Goncalves (1-6-7) | Jobst (5-3-8) | |
| Thompson (1-5-6) | Davies (2-6-8) | |
| Walcott (4-1-5) | Clague (1-7-8) | |
| Last 5 Games | 7-2 W @ Rochester (Nov 1 2023) Final | 4-3 L vs Utica (Nov 3 2023) Final OT |
| 5-0 W vs Laval (Oct 28 2023) Final | 7-2 L vs Syracuse (Nov 1 2023) Final | |
| 4-2 L vs Utica (Oct 27 2023) Final | 5-4 W @ Utica (Oct 28 2023) Final | |
| 4-2 L @ Cleveland (Oct 21 2023) Final | 7-4 W vs Laval (Oct 27 2023) Final | |
| 5-0 W @ Cleveland (Oct 20 2023) Final | 4-3 W vs Charlotte (Oct 25 2023) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 4-0-0-0 | 3-0-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 4-0-0-0 | 3-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 1-0-0-0 | 0-1-1-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 1-0-0-0 | 0-0-2-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 0-2-0-0 | 2-1-1-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 0-2-0-0 | 2-2-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 3-2-0-0 | 3-1-1-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 2-0-0-0 | 2-1-1-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 1-0-0-0 | 4-0-2-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 1-2-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Jiri Kulich | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 23 | Ryan Johnson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Isak Rosen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 93 | Matthew Savoie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Joseph Cecconi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 21 | Filip Cederqvist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 56 | Kale Clague | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 1 | Devin Cooley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Jeremy Davies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 29 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 22 | Zach Metsa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Olivier Nadeau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 74 | Nikita Novikov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 16 | Justin Richards | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | X Lukas Rousek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| 19 | Graham Slaggert | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:56 | 1 | 5.03 | 0.800 |
| 1 | Devin Cooley | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48:04 | 6 | 7.49 | 0.778 |
Syracuse Crunch
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Joe Carroll | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 39 | Gage Goncalves | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Felix Robert | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Maxim Groshev | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Jack Thompson | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Gabriel Dumont | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | Lucas Edmonds | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Devante Stephens | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 85 | Daniel Walcott | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 72 | Declan Carlile | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Cole Koepke | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 84 | Emil Lilleberg | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Philippe Myers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 76 | Roman Schmidt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Max Crozier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 78 | X Jaydon Dureau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Pyotr Kochetkov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Ilya Usau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Pyotr Kochetkov | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59:57 | 2 | 2.00 | 0.905 |