GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS WELCOME BACK CHECKERS TONIGHT
Oct 25, 2023
Amerks PR | @AmerksPR
TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Americans (2-1-1-0) embark on a stretch of three games in four nights tonight when they host the Charlotte Checkers (2-2-0-0) in an Eastern Conference showdown at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Tonight’s matchup is the first of two in Rochester with the only other coming on Dec. 8. The teams will conclude their season-series after the New Year culminating with the Queen City Outdoor Classic on Saturday, Jan. 13 at Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights. The contest will be the first of its kind in Charlotte and the 12th outdoor game in league history.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS AGAINST CHARLOTTE
The Amerks are 6-14-0-0 all-time against Charlotte through 20 meetings. Among Rochester’s six victories include a pair of 4-0 shutout wins, the last being a 30-save effort by Malcolm Subban last season on Dec. 17, 2022.
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Brett Murray (3+4), Brandon Biro (5+9) and Linus Weissbach (2+5) have combined for 10 goals and 18 assists in 18 games against the Checkers. Murray topped all skaters in 2022-23 with five points (2+3) while appearing in all four games.
Last season, the Amerks won the first two games of the season-series before dropping the final two in the Flower City. Rochester’s 4-2 road victory on Dec. 16, 2022 was the first over the Checkers in Charlotte since Jan. 20, 2018, snapping a six-game skid against the club.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks completed their three-game road swing on the wrong side of an 8-4 score in a rematch with the Laval Rocket Friday at Place Bell.
Isak Rosen (0+2) extended his point streak to four games as he tallied a pair of assists for his second multi-point effort in three games while Kale Clague (1+1) also had two points in the defeat for Rochester.
Aleksandr Kisakov and Jeremy Davies each scored their second goals of the season while Brendan Warren, who made his season debut, also netted a goal for the Amerks. Linus Weissbach, Justin Richards, Filip Cederqvist, and Mason Jobst all notched an assist.
Goaltender Michael Houser (1-1-0) made 26 saves in his second contest of the season.
KEEPING IT KULICH
Jiri Kulich returns for his second season in Rochester after putting up one of the most impressive and productive seasons as teenager in the history of the American Hockey League during the 2022-23 campaign.
Through the first four games of the season, Kulich is tied for 14th among all AHL skaters with six points while his four goals are tied for seventh. Additionally, he is one of six skaters in the league with a pair of game-winning goals. He shows five goals and seven points over his last six games dating back to the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.
In 66 career AHL games, the Buffalo Sabres’ first-round selection (28th overall) in 2022 has totaled 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points. Of his 52 points, Kulich has produced 22 career points (10+12) on the power-play.
APPERT YEAR FOUR
Seth Appert is in his fourth season as head coach of the Amerks in 2023-24 after being named to the position on August 18, 2020.
Appert is 86-72-16-7 through his first 181 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 28 players on Rochester’s current roster, 14 are Buffalo Sabres draft picks, including four 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 this past spring.
Matt Savoie (1st round, 2022) 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.
ANOTHER FIRST-ROUNDER IN ROCHESTER
Earlier this week, the Buffalo Sabres loaned rookie forward Matt Savoie to Rochester on a conditioning assignment. Savoie is expected to make his regular season debut after starting the campaign on the injured reserved.
Prior to joining the Amerks in Games 2 and 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Hershey this past May, the highly touted 19-year-old totaled 192 points (73+119) in 149 career games with the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice from 2019-23. He was named a WHL East First All-Star Team selection in 2022.
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
Last Wednesday night’s overtime win against Laval was the third straight game that went beyond regulation for Rochester. Never before in the near-68-year history of the franchise have the Amerks began a season with three consecutive overtime contests.
Dating back to last season, 11 of Rochester’s previous 16 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
Kulich (4+2) and Rosen (2+4) lead the Amerks through their first four games this season. Entering the weeked, Johnson’s three assists are tied for most in the AHL amongst all rookie defenseman while his three points are second-most.
Checkers captain Zac Dalpe scored 16 goals as part of a 28-point campaign with the Amerks in 2014-15, his only season in Rochester. He also appeared in 21 games for the Buffalo Sabres that season, recording three points (1+2).
Charlotte defenseman Casey Fitzgerald totaled 34 points in 79 games in four seasons with Rochester from 2018-22. He also appeared in 10 games for the Amerks during the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Along with Fitzgerald, Rasmus Asplund also makes his first trip back to Rochester after posting 62 points (13+49) in 111 games from 2018-2021.
Amerks goaltender Dustin Tokarski won his second Calder Cup with Charlotte in 2019, going 5-0 with a 1.74 GAA in the postseason that year.
Charlotte Checkers vs Rochester Americans: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2023-24 Regular Season | Charlotte 0-0-0-0 | Rochester 0-0-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Charlotte 2-2-0-0 | Rochester 2-2-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Charlotte 8-4-0-0 | Rochester 4-8-0-0 |
| Charlotte vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Charlotte | Charlotte 4-2-0-0 | Rochester 2-4-0-0 |
| Charlotte vs. Rochester Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Charlotte 4-2-0-0 | Rochester 2-4-0-0 |
How the two teams match up
|
Rochester |
Charlotte |
|
| Team Record | 2-1-1-0 -- 5 points | 2-2-0-0 -- 4 points |
| Division Ranking | 3rd North | 5th Atlantic |
| Conference Ranking | 6th Eastern | 9th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 12th | 17th |
| Past 10 Games | 2-1-1-0 | 2-2-0-0 |
| Streak | 0-1-0-0 | 0-1-0-0 |
| Last Game | 8-4 L @ Laval (Oct 20 2023) Final | 4-2 L @ Toronto (Oct 22 2023) Final |
| Home Record | 0-0-1-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| Away Record | 2-1-0-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| GF | 17 | 11 |
| GA | 20 | 11 |
| PP (Overall) | (4/15) 26.7% | (3/18) 16.7% |
| PP (Home) | (0/2) 0.0% | (1/8) 12.5% |
| PP (Away) | (4/13) 30.8% | (2/10) 20.0% |
| PK (Overall) | (6/19) 68.4% | (1/18) 94.4% |
| PK (Home) | (1/2) 50.0% | (0/9) 100.0% |
| PK (Away) | (5/17) 70.6% | (1/9) 88.9% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| Leading Rookie | Johnson (0-3-3) | McAllister (1-1-2) |
| Most PIM | Cecconi - 24 | Bezeau - 9 |
| Team PIM/GM | 17.8/Game | 10.8/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Kulich (4-2-6) | Kinnunen (0-6-6) |
| Rosen (2-4-6) | Lockwood (2-1-3) | |
| Davies (2-2-4) | Khodorenko (2-1-3) | |
| Kisakov (2-2-4) | Dalpe (1-2-3) | |
| Weissbach (1-3-4) | McAllister (1-1-2) | |
| Last 5 Games | 8-4 L @ Laval (Oct 20 2023) Final | 4-2 L @ Toronto (Oct 22 2023) Final |
| 5-4 W @ Laval (Oct 18 2023) Final OT | 3-2 W @ Toronto (Oct 21 2023) Final | |
| 5-4 W @ Toronto (Oct 14 2023) Final OT | 4-1 W vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Oct 14 2023) Final | |
| 4-3 L vs Bridgeport (Oct 13 2023) Final OT | 4-2 L vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Oct 13 2023) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 1-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 1-0-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 0-0-0-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 0-0-1-0 | 0-1-0-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 1-1-1-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 1-1-0-0 | 0-1-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 2-0-1-0 | 2-2-0-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 2-0-1-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| 2-Goal Games | 0-0-0-0 | 0-2-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |