GAME PREVIEW: RETURN TO BLUE CROSS ARENA SEES AMERKS HOST COMETS
Rochester embarks on 11-game stretch of North Division action
Jan 28, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (24-12-3-1) return to Blue Cross Arena where they’ll spend the bulk of the next four weeks beginning Wednesday night as they welcome the Utica Comets (14-20-2-2) to the Flower City.
Rochester has faced Utica more times than any other team so far this season, with Wednesday being round nine of 12 in the season series. The advantage has heavily belonged to the Amerks, who boast a 7-1-0-0 record against the New Jersey Devils’ AHL affiliate, outscoring them 33-17.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks turned back the clocks to some ole time hockey Saturday evening in Hartford, combining for 160 penalty minutes with the Wolf Pack as Rochester emerged from the tail end of its New England trip with a 6-3 win.
Isak Rosén scored twice for his fourth multi-goal game of the season, while Brett Murray tied a career-high in points for a single game with four (1+3), including his league-leading 10th power-play goal of the season. Noah Östlund also had himself a game, registering his first three-point game as a pro (1+2).
Graham Slaggert, Ty Tullio, Vsevolod Komarov, and Jagger Joshua each received fighting majors along with all but Joshua getting a game misconduct. The Amerks totaled a season high-70 penalty minutes. In goal, Felix Sandström stopped 26 shots to pick up his career best-fifth consecutive win, improving to 8-4-1 on the 2024-25 campaign.
On Saturday, Utica fell in the back half of a home-and-home weekend against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, dropping a 2-1 final to the Penguins on the road. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Comets, who remain last in the North Division.
Shane Bowers scored the lone goal for Utica, while Nico Daws took the loss after making 22 saves in net. The loss is Daws’ fifth over his last seven starts.
ALL-STARS, TABLE FOR THREE
It was announced Tuesday afternoon that Amerks forward and alternate captain Brett Murray was added to the North Division’s All-Star team, where he will accompany teammates Isak Rosén and Devon Levi in Coachella Valley for the annual AHL All-Star Classic beginning Sunday, Feb. 3.
The sixth-year pro enters Wednesday second on Rochester in scoring with 33 points (18+15) and is expected in the lineup for what will be his 300th game as an Amerk, becoming just the 24th forward in franchise history to reach said milestone.
Murray, along with Rosen, are each in a multi-player tie for fifth-most goals scored in the AHL. Since the turn of the new year, the Bolton, Ontario, native has scored four goals and 10 points.
Murray is being selected to the All-Star Classic for the first time in his career. He, Rosén, and Levi become the first trio of Amerks to be named to the All-Star Classic since 2017 when Justin Bailey, Cole Schneider, and Linus Ullmark represented Rochester.
Throughout his career, Murray has skated against 15 different AHL teams. He has more points against Utica (17+27=44) than any other club the veteran winger has faced.
ON KU(BEL)
After clearing waivers Tuesday afternoon, the Buffalo Sabres loaned forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel to the Amerks. The forward began the season in Buffalo, where he produced two points (1+1) in 19 games.
Aube-Kubel is a ninth-year pro and Stanley Cup champion, hoisting the cup with Colorado in 2022. He last played in the AHL a season ago, skating in 11 games with the Hershey Bears, but has previously been a steadfast in the NHL since 2020.
Aube-Kubel, 28, was selected in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft by Philadelphia, where he spent parts of his first six professional seasons. The Slave Lake, Alberta, native did most of his damage in the AHL while playing for Lehigh Valley, with his best season being the 2017-18 campaign where Aube-Kubel amassed 18 goals and 46 points across a full season.
In the NHL, his best year was with the Avalanche, tallying 11 goals and 22 points in 67 games.
In 240 career AHL contests, Aube-Kubel has totaled 108 points (51+57).
RUNNING UP THAT HILL
With 34 games to go in their season, the Utica Comets find themselves in a continuous game of catch-up from their early season struggles. The Comets are 13 points out of a playoff spot in the North Division, though they hold games in hand on four of the other six teams, including two on Rochester. Despite its record, Utica has won six of its last eight games and have done so with key pieces from its lineup at times.
Leading goal scorer Brian Halonen (15+9) along with goaltender and prospect Isaac Poulter have both been recalled to New Jersey.
In their absence, Nolan Foote has stepped up offensively, now leading the Comets in point production with 25 (11+14) in 33 games. Foote had a career-best four-point game last Wednesday against Bridgeport with two goals and two assists, while Daws has taken over in goal for the bulk of the action, making 25 or more saves in five of his last six appearances.
Utica’s power-play also leads the North Division at a 19.5% success rate and is seventh-best in the league. Their penalty kill, on the other hand, is seventh-worst in the AHL.