TOP STORYLINES AND MORE HEADING INTO TONIGHT'S MATCHUP AGAINST TORONTO
Subban gets the nod again, Weissbach centering Rosen and Kulich and Military Salute Night!
Jan 14, 2023By Suzie Cool
Tonight, the Rochester Americans take on the North Division’s first place Toronto Marlies at The Blue Cross Arena.
The Amerks come into tonight’s contest having recorded points in five of the last six meetings against the Marlies, including wins in three of the four meetings this season.
However, this is the first time in Amerks head coach Seth Appert’s tenure that Rochester is taking on Toronto rested. With no game last night and no travel, the Amerks have had a less demanding week than the Marlies and Appert is hoping to take advantage.
“You want to make the game hard on your opponent if they're a little tired,” said Appert when asked how the Amerks can take advantage of the Marlies’ hectic week. “How do you make it hard on opponent? You manage the puck, you don't give them line rushes, you don't give them power, so you want to make it hard on them. You want to be physical on them. You want to make this game demanding for them and not give them free offense.”
While the Amerks are in search of win number four against the Marlies this season, here are some additional lineup notes heading into the fifth matchup between the clubs.
SUBBAN STARTING BETWEEN THE PIPES
Amerks goaltender Malcolm Subban will, once again, be getting the start in the crease tonight.
Since suffering a defeat in his season-debut on Nov. 18, Subban has gone 9-1-0 since and is currently riding a seven-game win streak dating back to Dec. 10 – which just so happened to be a 4-3 shootout victory over the Marlies. The seven-game streak is the longest of Subban’s pro career and makes him the first Amerks goaltender to post seven straight wins since Jonas Johansson won nine consecutive matchups during the 2019-20 campaign.
“Malcolm's in a good place right now,” said Appert when asked who would be between the pipes tonight against Toronto. “He’s done a great job of giving us a chance to win some nights, he's been spectacular. Other nights, he's just needed to be solid, but I think that's what you want from your goaltender. Whether you're playing really good as a team, or you're having an off night like we did on Wednesday (against Laval), is your goalie giving you a chance to win.”
On Dec. 28 against the Utica Comets, Subban picked up his 100th career win and has gone on to top the 40-save mark three times in his last six starts.
WEISSBACH DRIVING THE LINE OF ROSEN AND KULICH
Once again, second-year pro Linus Weissbach will be driving the line of rookie forwards Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich.
“I don't think they were excellent in that game, but they still scored the game-winning goal as a line and did some good things offensively,” commented Appert when asked if he would keep this young line combination together.
While Weissbach picked up his 13th goal of the 2022-23 campaign with the game-winner on Wednesday against the Laval Rocket, he’s already established a career-best of four game-winning goals on the season.
“He's (Weissbach) come back this year and he's made another big step – more consistent, better work ethic, better habits. So, he's earned this opportunity,” explained Appert when asked why Weissbach was being challenged with this new opportunity. “Like I've said before, when you challenge your players and you put them in new roles, uncomfortable roles, they're going to get better whether failing or succeeding at it as long as they look at it the right way.”
No matter the challenges that Appert has thrown at Weissbach this season, the Amerks forward has risen to the occasion.
Through his last 17 games, Weissbach has posted 14 points on seven goals and seven assists, including six points in the last six games. Going into this weekend, Weissbach is four points back from the team-lead with 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists through 32 games, while he still remains on pace to match his career-high of 16 goals from last season.
CECCONI AND DAVIES QUITE THE PAIR
With the everchanging defensive core this season, the Amerks have finally found some consistency in the pairing of blueliners Joseph Cecconi and Jeremy Davies.
“They mesh well. They talk a lot on the bench in practice,” commented Appert when asked what was working between Cecconi and Davies to keep the pairing together for so long.
Davies came to Rochester this season after spending much of the 2021-22 campaign with Milwaukee Admirals, posting six goals and 25 assists in 31 games. Additionally, Davies tallied two assists with the Nashville Predators last season before signing a one-year National Hockey League contract with the Buffalo Sabres last July.
With Rochester, Davies have gone on to post seven points on three goals and four assists in 26 games and Appert encourages the blueliner’s aggressive style of play he brings to the defensive unit.
“I think Davies is a really aggressive, attacking player,” started Appert when commenting on Davies’ skillset. “Attacking defensively with how he gaps and how aggressive he tries to shut plays down. Offensively, he loves to jump in on the rush and we encourage that.”
In December, the Sabres acquired Cecconi from the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Oskari Laaksonen.
Cecconi made his professional debut with the Texas Stars, Dallas' AHL affiliate, at the end of the 2018-19 season. The Amerks blueliner then went on to set AHL career-highs with 16 points in 65 games for Texas last season.
Prior to coming to Rochester, Cecconi had two assists in 12 games with Texas this season, his fifth in the AHL. With the Amerks, Cecconi has continued to steady the blue line while producing two assists through nine games.
“I think Cecconi is kind of a steadying presence for Davies,” continued Appert when discussing the pairing. “He's (Cecconi) comfortable defending and he's comfortable letting Davies do some of those things, and then he's consistently back where he needs to be. I think Cecconi has done a really good job at adjusting to the style differences that we want to play, that maybe he wasn't accustomed to playing, how aggressive we want to defend, how we want to play in our zone.”
MILITARY SALUTE NIGHT
Tonight, is the Amerks annual Military Salute Night in partnership with the Veterans Outreach Center who is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023.
Rochester will be sporting their first of seven specialty sweaters on the season. The jerseys are inspired by the region’s involvement in the War of 1812 and pay tribute to Rochester’s militia, “The Valiant 33” and their defense of Port Charlotte. 33 Rochester men defended the area from the British due to a stockpile of U.S. military supplies which were being stored in the Flower City at that time.
All jerseys will be a part of the auction that can be found at www.amerks.com/auction and can be bid on up until 9 p.m. tonight. Additionally, there are t-shirts with the Military Salute jersey crest on sale at the team store TODAY ONLY!
It’s also the first 3-2-1 Weekend of the season where fans can get $3 beers, $2 hot dogs and $1 popcorn all game long. The $3 12 oz. draft special will be available anywhere domestic draft beer is sold: Genny Brewhouse, all alcoves, main pizza, south end bar, Bud Pub. Our $2 hot dogs are available at Court Street location only and the $1 popcorn will be presented in Amerks souvenir cups anywhere popcorn is on the menu.
Additionally, don’t forget to join the pregame early and enjoy the School of Rock Band that will be playing in the Hall of Fame Area from the time gates open to puck drop at 6:05 p.m.