GAME PREVIEW: HOME-AND-HOME SERIES SHIFTS NORTH OF THE BORDER THIS AFTERNOON
Feb 18, 2023TODAY'S GAME OVERVIEW
Following a quick turnaround, the Rochester Americans (23-19-2-1) make their final trip of the season north of the border for a rematch with the Toronto Marlies (33-13-2-1) this afternoon. Opening face-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. at Coca-Cola Coliseum and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
The Amerks have claimed three of the last four meetings and four of the six overall so far this season. Last night the Amerks twice overcame a pair of one-goal deficits before erupting for five straight unanswered goals, including three in the second period, on their way to a decisive 6-2.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES SNAPSHOT
The Amerks come into today having recorded points in six of the last eight games between the two teams. The Amerks have earned wins in four of the last six affairs in Toronto dating back to last season.
Lukas Rousek (3+3) and Michael Mersch (1+5) are averaging at least a point per game in the season series against the Marlies with Mersch recording all five of his points in his last three games.
Rochester has used four different goaltenders in Michael Houser, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Malcolm Subban and Eric Comrie with each earning a win.
LAST TIME OUT
Rochester was able to overcome a slow start, rallying back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits before reeling off five straight goals and never looking back in what became a 6-2 blowout win over the North Division-leading Marlies.
Vinnie Hinostroza (1+1), Jiri Kulich (1+1), Jeremy Davies (0+2), and Lukas Rousek (0+2) all recorded multi-point efforts for the Amerks while Sean Malone, Lawrence Pilut, Chase Priskie and Brett Murray all scored one goal each. Joseph Cecconi, Ethan Prow, Brandon Biro, Isak Rosen, and Michael Mersch rounded out the scoring as they all collected one assist.
Goaltender Michael Houser (5-5-1) made his 12th appearance of the season and 100th of his AHL career. The netminder not only stopped 24 shots, but he also recorded his first assist in the AHL since Oct. 25, 2014.
SUBBAN SHOULDERING THE WORKLOAD
After suffering a defeat in his season-debut on Nov. 18, Subban has gone 11-8-1 since over his last 20 starts, including seven straight wins between Dec. 10 to Jan. 14. The seven-game win streak was the longest of his pro career and the third-longest streak among all AHL goaltenders behind Toronto's Joseph Woll and Calgary's Dustin Wolf.
He was the first Amerks goaltender to post seven straight wins since Jonas Johansson won nine consecutive contests during the 2019-20 campaign.
Subban had arguably his best performance of the season during a 75-save weekend in Rochester’s two-game sweep over the Charlotte Checkers in mid-December. A night after stopping a regular-season career-high 45 saves, Subban was flawless in a 30-save shutout on Dec. 17, his first in the AHL since April 8, 2017, with the Providence Bruins.
Subban, who picked up his 100th career win in the 5-4 overtime victory over Utica on Dec. 28, has topped the 30-save mark six times in his last 16 starts.
BIRO PILING UP THE POINTS
Despite missing six games due to injury, third-year forward Brandon Biro has blazed his way atop the team's scoring lead following a productive December in which he led the team with 16 points (6+10) in 10 games. He recorded multi-point efforts in seven of his 10 appearances, including six straight between Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 before closing out the month with an assist in the 3-2 win in Toronto.
Biro, who made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres last season, currently shares the team lead in points (31) and ranks second in assists (22) through 35 games and his seven-game point streak to close out the 2022 calendar year was the longest of his career.
Dating back to last season, Biro has totaled 71 points on 21 goals and 51 assists over his last 83 games and hasn't gone more than seven games without a point since Nov. 27, 2021.
JOBST HAVING A CAREER YEAR
Mason Jobst has made the most of his second opportunity with the Amerks as the fourth-year pro is in the process of assembling a career-year.
Through 36 games this season, the Speedway, Indiana, native has already established career-highs in all offensive categories, including goals (7), assists (13) and points (20).
With an assist in the 5-4 overtime win in Belleville on Feb. 4, Jobst reached the 20-point mark for the first time in his pro career, becoming the ninth different Amerk to eclipse the mark.
Since the turn of the New Year, Jobst has amassed four goals and seven points over his previous 10 games, including his first career hat trick in the 7-5 loss to the first-place Toronto Marlies back on Jan. 14. Jobst single-handedly outscored Toronto in the second period with back-to-back goals before netting what was the go-ahead goal in the third period.
Jobst has totaled 33 points (11+12) over 62 career games with the Amerks dating back to last season.
PROWESS ON THE BLUELINE
Entering the Jan. 19 game against Laval, Ethan Prow was the only Amerks defenseman to appear in every game this season. Overall, he has skated in 114 of the 120 games dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
In 44 games this season, Prow is tied for 13th in scoring amongst all AHL defensemen with 27 points while his team-high 23 assists are tied for 11th in the league. This season marks the fourth straight in which the veteran defenseman has reached the 20-assist mark and the fifth consecutive year with 20 or more points, which includes an abbreviated campaign overseas in 2020-21.
The seventh-year veteran has posted 15 points (2+13) in his last 19 outings dating back to Dec. 28 and comes into today with eight assists over his last nine games.
He leads all Amerks defensemen with five multi-point outings, including a two-goal effort in the 4-3 win at Syracuse back on Jan. 7, and has never gone more than five games all season without a point.
SERIES NOTABLES
Of the 41 different players the Marlies have used this season, 32 have produced at least one point while 25 have scored. Toronto is the only team in the league to use five netminders, three of which are first-year players.
In 23 of the last 34 meetings between the two teams dating back to the 2016-17 season, the team that scored first has gone on to come away with the victory. Additionally, in 22 of the last 26 meetings, the winning team has scored at least four goals dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Over the last 23 games, Rochester has scored at least one goal in the first period 18 times, which includes a four-goal outing in the series-opener on Oct. 23, 2021. Toronto, on the other hand, has scored 16 times in the final 20 minutes of regulation, which includes a five-goal mark on Jan. 14, 2023.
Last night, Michael Houser became the fourth different netminder to play against Toronto this season, joining Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Malcolm Subban and Eric Comrie. It was also Houser’s second career start against the Marlies and first since Jan. 2, 2015.
Rochester Americans vs Toronto Marlies: Head To Head Stats
Summary
|
Description |
Result |
|
| Head to Head Record 2022-23 Regular Season | Rochester 4-2-0-0 | Toronto 2-3-0-1 |
| Head to Head Record 2021-22 Regular Season | Rochester 2-3-0-1 | Toronto 4-2-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Rochester 12-8-1-1 | Toronto 10-9-1-2 |
| Rochester vs. Toronto Last 5 Years record at Rochester | Rochester 5-4-1-1 | Toronto 6-4-0-1 |
| Rochester vs. Toronto Last 5 Years record at Toronto | Rochester 7-4-0-0 | Toronto 4-5-1-1 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Toronto 2 @ Rochester 6 (Feb 17 2023) Final Toronto 7 @ Rochester 5 (Jan 14 2023) Final Rochester 3 @ Toronto 2 (Dec 31 2022) Final Rochester 4 @ Toronto 3 (Dec 10 2022) Final SO Rochester 1 @ Toronto 3 (Oct 15 2022) Final Toronto 2 @ Rochester 4 (Oct 14 2022) Final |
How the two teams match up
|
Toronto |
Rochester |
|
| Team Record | 33-13-2-1 -- 69 points | 23-19-2-1 -- 49 points |
| Division Ranking | 1st North | 4th North |
| Conference Ranking | 1st Eastern | 9th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 2nd | 19th |
| Past 10 Games | 5-4-1-0 | 4-6-0-0 |
| Streak | 0-1-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Last Game | 6-2 L @ Rochester (Feb 17 2023) Final | 6-2 W vs Toronto (Feb 17 2023) Final |
| Home Record | 14-7-0-1 | 12-10-1-0 |
| Away Record | 19-6-2-0 | 11-9-1-1 |
| GF | 171 | 140 |
| GA | 154 | 150 |
| PP (Overall) | (51/192) 26.6% | (32/160) 20.0% |
| PP (Home) | (25/79) 31.6% | (23/83) 27.7% |
| PP (Away) | (26/113) 23.0% | (9/77) 11.7% |
| PK (Overall) | (37/197) 81.2% | (32/147) 78.2% |
| PK (Home) | (11/74) 85.1% | (16/72) 77.8% |
| PK (Away) | (26/123) 78.9% | (16/75) 78.7% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (6/24) 25% | (5/21) 23.8% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (5/21) 76.2% | (6/24) 75% |
| Leading Rookie | Abruzzese (15-20-35) | Kulich (11-15-26) |
| Most PIM | Hoefenmayer - 99 | Weissbach - 41 |
| Team PIM/GM | 12.8/Game | 10.4/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Shaw (17-38-55) | Rousek (10-21-31) |
| Steeves (17-23-40) | Biro (9-22-31) | |
| Abruzzese (15-20-35) | Weissbach (13-15-28) | |
| Gaudette (20-14-34) | Murray (15-12-27) | |
| Hoefenmayer (10-23-33) | Mersch (9-18-27) | |
| Last 5 Games | 6-2 L @ Rochester (Feb 17 2023) Final | 6-2 W vs Toronto (Feb 17 2023) Final |
| 2-1 W vs Utica (Feb 15 2023) Final | 2-1 L @ Cleveland (Feb 14 2023) Final | |
| 4-3 W @ Charlotte (Feb 11 2023) Final | 4-1 W @ Syracuse (Feb 11 2023) Final | |
| 4-3 L @ Charlotte (Feb 10 2023) Final OT | 4-0 L vs Springfield (Feb 10 2023) Final | |
| 7-3 L vs Laval (Feb 4 2023) Final | 5-4 W @ Belleville (Feb 4 2023) Final OT | |
| Leading After 1st | 19-0-2-1 | 13-3-0-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 22-0-2-1 | 15-4-1-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 10-7-0-0 | 5-7-2-1 |
| Tied After 2nd | 7-3-0-0 | 3-2-1-1 |
| Trailing After 1st | 4-6-0-0 | 5-9-0-0 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 4-10-0-0 | 5-13-0-0 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 14-7-0-0 | 8-8-1-0 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 16-6-2-1 | 15-8-1-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 18-3-2-1 | 12-5-2-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 8-4-0-0 | 6-5-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 7-1-0-0 | 1-3-0-0 |
Rochester Americans
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Lukas Rousek | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 | Michael Mersch | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 26 | Mason Jobst | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | -1 |
| 10 | Brandon Biro | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| 25 | Jiri Kulich | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 13 | Linus Weissbach | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | Jeremy Davies | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 20 | Lawrence Pilut | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -1 |
| 18 | Isak Rosen | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| 96 | Anders Bjork | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -1 |
| 81 | Brett Murray | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 27 | Chase Priskie | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Vinnie Hinostroza | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 71 | Filip Cederqvist | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Joseph Cecconi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Michael Houser | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Tyson Kozak | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | -1 |
| 7 | Ethan Prow | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
| 16 | Peter Tischke | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 43 | Matt Bartkowski | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 56 | X Kale Clague | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | X Eric Comrie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Mitch Eliot | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Aleksandr Kisakov | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | X Oskari Laaksonen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | X Kohen Olischefski | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 47 | Malcolm Subban | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Brendan Warren | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | X Eric Comrie | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 2 | 2.00 | 0.944 |
| 29 | Michael Houser | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59:26 | 2 | 2.02 | 0.923 |
| 1 | X Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 117:37 | 4 | 2.04 | 0.937 |
| 47 | Malcolm Subban | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 124:11 | 9 | 4.35 | 0.845 |
Toronto Marlies
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Logan Shaw | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | -1 |
| 46 | Alex Steeves | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| 2 | Noel Hoefenmayer | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 23 | -1 |
| 74 | Bobby McMann | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Nick Abruzzese | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -2 |
| 28 | X Joey Anderson | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 36 | Joseph Blandisi | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -1 |
| 85 | Semyon Der-Arguchintsev | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | -3 |
| 22 | Max Ellis | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | Marc Johnstone | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 71 | Adam Gaudette | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -4 |
| 89 | X Nicholas Robertson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 |
| 76 | William Villeneuve | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Marshall Rifai | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 90 | Graham Slaggert | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 95 | Mikhail Abramov | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Kyle Clifford | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -4 |
| 81 | Mac Hollowell | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | X Pontus Holmberg | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 84 | Mikko Kokkonen | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -3 |
| 92 | X Orrin Centazzo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Ryan Chyzowski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 53 | X Curtis Douglas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Dylan Ferguson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Matthew Hellickson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 20 | Dryden Hunt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 50 | Erik Källgren | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 82 | Filip Kral | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 98 | X Victor Mete | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Tommy Miller | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 80 | Keith Petruzzelli | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Matteo Pietroniro | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 |
| 60 | X Joseph Woll | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Keith Petruzzelli | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 82:45 | 2 | 1.45 | 0.947 |
| 1 | Dylan Ferguson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29:45 | 2 | 4.03 | 0.714 |
| 50 | Erik Källgren | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 186:42 | 13 | 4.18 | 0.860 |
| 60 | X Joseph Woll | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 5 | 5.00 | 0.848 |