After winning three of their first four games, the Amerks played at home on Friday against Cleveland before traveling to face Utica on Saturday. Both teams, along with Rochester, are among the best in their division, and a strong weekend was needed to boost their division standing.
| # |  Top Scorers | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | J.S. Dea | 57 | 15 | 24 | 39 |
| 17 | Sean Malone | 58 | 12 | 18 | 30 |
| 22 | Zach Redmond | 59 | 5 | 25 | 30 |
| 15 | Andrew Oglevie | 55 | 15 | 14 | 29 |
| 19 | C.J. Smith | 50 | 12 | 15 | 27 |
October 18: vs. Cleveland (L 4-3/SO)
Returning home after last weekend’s road trip, the Amerks hosted the Cleveland Monsters, who were coming off losses in their first two home games against Syracuse last weekend. Although the first period was quiet with no goals, the second period was quite the opposite.
Despite a 24-10 advantage in shots through 40 minutes, Rochester held a slim 3-2 lead. This game saw multiple one-goal leads, with Stefan Matteau opening the scoring for Cleveland, while Dalton Smith tied the game 25 seconds later. His first of the year came off assists by Casey Nelson and Andrew MacWilliam. Kevin Stenlund scored to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead almost midway through the second, but Jean-Sebastian Dea tied the game at 2 under a minute later, and Scott Wilson gave the Amerks their first lead at the 12:24 mark of the period, assisted by Dea and concluded the high-scoring period.
Scott Wilson gives the Amerks a 3-2 lead with a quick shot off the face off. pic.twitter.com/pwQcn83EKz
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) October 19, 2019
With under six minutes left in the game, Matteau scored his second of the game, coming off the third assist of the game for former Sabre Nathan Gerbe and sent it to OT.
For the second straight game, the Amerks went to a shootout, where Gerbe buried the game-winner, handing Rochester a 4-3 loss despite being outshot 31-20. Starting in net, Andrew Hammond made 16 saves on 19 shots faced in the loss.
Nathan Gerbe scores the only goal of the shootout and the Monsters win 4-3. pic.twitter.com/spJiD2MdsV
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) October 19, 2019
October 19: @ Utica (L 7-1)
After losing in a shootout the night before, the Amerks went into Saturday’s night game against Utica looking for another road win after winning two of three away from home thus far. While Rochester had the shot advantage, Utica was dominant in scoring from the start. The opening period ended with the Comets holding a 3-1 lead, earning goals from Sven Baertschi, Reid Boucher and Wacey Hamilton. However, Tage Thompson trimmed their lead to two with his third of the year, along with assists from Sean Malone and Brett Murphy with 1:28 left in the first.
Tage Thompson don't ever leave or no one will score. Amerks get on the board. Comets lead 3-1. pic.twitter.com/qvlwjDPIOz
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) October 19, 2019
The second was an eventful period for penalties, as the Comets had five minor penalties called, but had an effective PK unit as the Amerks were unable to capitalize on these chances. Utica also regained their three-goal lead with a goal from Zack MacEwen, with former Sabre Justin Bailey providing the assist.
The third period saw Rochester take four penalties, and Utica’s PP unit scoring one just over 10 minutes in, with Boucher scoring his second of the game. Nikolay Goldobin and Lukas Jasek scored 10 seconds apart at 13:07 and 13:17 for Utica’s last tallies as they dominated the Amerks, 7-1, remaining unbeaten.
Getting his second straight start, Hammond saved 23 of 30 shots.
This week, the Amerks will host the Hershey Bears on Wednesday, before embarking on another weekend road trip to Syracuse and Springfield. Of their three opponents, Hershey has the best record, with Syracuse struggling early in the year. After being assigned to Rochester, UPL’s debut is nearing closer and will be an interesting development as we go forward in the season. Currently sitting third in their division with 7 points in 6 games, Rochester will need to earn some big wins this week in order to keep pace with the top of the division.
| Date | Opponent | Time/Result |
|---|---|---|
| 10/04/19 |  vs. Syracuse Crunch | W 3-2 (OT) |
| 10/11/19 |  @ Springfield Thunderbirds | W 2-1 |
| 10/12/19 |  @ Providence Bruins | L 3-2 |
| 10/13/19 |  @ Hartford Wolf Pack | W 3-2 (SO) |
| 10/18/19 |  vs. Cleveland Monsters | L 4-3 (SO) |
| 10/19/19 |  @ Utica Comets | L 7-1 |
| 10/23/19 |  vs. Hershey Bears | W 5-1 |
| 10/26/19 | @ Syracuse Crunch | W 7-6 (OT) |
| 10/27/19 | @ Springfield Thunderbirds | L 2-1 (OT) |
| 10/30/19 | vs. Providence Bruins | L 4-3 |
| 11/01/19 |  vs. Binghamton Devils | W 4-2 |
| 11/02/19 | @ Utica Comets | W 6-0 |
| 11/08/19 | vs. Binghamton Devils | L 4-3 (SO) |
| 11/13/19 | vs. Syracuse Crunch | W 4-3 |
| 11/15/19 | vs. Cleveland Monsters | W 4-3 (OT) |
| 11/16/19 | @ Utica Comets | W 4-3 |
| 11/22/19 | vs. Hartford Wolf Pack | W 4-0 |
| 11/23/19 | @ Binghamton Devils | W 4-2 |
| 11/29/19 |  vs. Toronto Marlies | L 3-2 (OT) |
| 11/30/19 | @ Cleveland Monsters | W 3-2 |
| 12/04/19 | vs. Toronto Marlies | W 4-0 |
| 12/06/19 |  vs. Charlotte Checkers | W 4-0 |
| 12/07/19 | vs. Charlotte Checkers | L 3-1 |
| 12/11/19 |  vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | W 4-2 |
| 12/13/19 |  @ Laval Rocket | W 3-2 |
| 12/14/19 | @ Laval Rocket | W 5-0 |
| 12/18/19 | @ Binghamton Devils | L 2-1 |
| 12/20/19 | vs. Binghamton Devils | W 3-0 |
| 12/21/19 | vs. Utica Comets | W 4-3 |
| 12/27/19 |  vs. Belleville Senators | W 4-3 |
| 12/28/19 | @ Binghamton Devils | L 2-0 |
| 12/31/19 | @ Utica Comets | L 3-2 |
| 01/03/20 | @ Belleville Senators | W 4-3 (OT) |
| 01/04/20 | @ Toronto Marlies | L 5-2 |
| 01/08/20 | vs. Binghamton Devils | L 4-3 (SO) |
| 01/10/20 | vs. Belleville Senators | L 5-1 |
| 01/11/20 | @ Syracuse Crunch | L 5-4 |
| 01/17/20 | vs. Cleveland Monsters | L 4-3 (SO) |
| 01/18/20 |  @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms | L 4-0 |
| 01/19/20 | @ Hershey Bears | L 4-1 |
| 01/22/20 | @ Cleveland Monsters | W 3-2 (OT) |
| 01/24/20 | vs. Laval Rocket | W 5-2 |
| 01/25/20 | @ Syracuse Crunch | W 3-2 |
| 01/31/20 | vs. Syracuse Crunch | W 4-2 |
| 02/01/20 | @ Binghamton Devils | W 3-2 |
| 02/05/20 | @ Cleveland Monsters | W 4-2 |
| 02/07/20 | vs. Syracuse Crunch | L 5-2 |
| 02/08/20 | @ Toronto Marlies | L 4-0 |
| 02/11/20 | @ Charlotte Checkers | L 4-2 |
| 02/12/20 | @ Charlotte Checkers | L 5-2 |
| 02/15/20 | @ Syracuse Crunch | W 4-3 (SO) |
| 02/16/20 | vs. Utica Comets | W 3-2 |
| 02/19/20 | vs. Belleville Senators | L 3-2 (OT) |
| 02/21/20 | vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms | W 3-2 (OT) |
| 02/22/20 | vs. Cleveland Monsters | L 3-2 (OT) |
| 02/26/20 | vs. Utica Comets | L 3-2 (SO) |
| 02/28/20 | vs. Laval Rocket | W 4-2 |
| 02/29/20 | @ Syracuse Crunch | L 4-2 |
| 03/04/20 | vs. Utica Comets | L 3-1 |
| 03/06/20 | @ Belleville Senators | W 5-3 |
| 03/07/20 | @ Belleville Senators | W 4-2 |
| 03/11/20 | vs. Binghamton Devils | L 5-2 |
| 03/13/20 | vs. Syracuse Crunch | 7:05 PM |
| 03/15/20 | @ Cleveland Monsters | 3:00 PM |
| 03/17/20 | @ Toronto Marlies | 1:30 PM |
| 03/20/20 | vs. Springfield Thunderbirds | 7:05 PM |
| 03/21/20 | vs. Springfield Thunderbirds | 7:05 PM |
| 03/25/20 | vs. Toronto Marlies | 7:05 PM |
| 03/28/20 | @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 7:05 PM |
| 03/29/20 |  @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers | 3:00 PM |
| 04/01/20 | vs. Utica Comets | 7:05 PM |
| 04/03/20 | vs. Syracuse Crunch | 7:05 PM |
| 04/04/20 | @ Syracuse Crunch | 7:00 PM |
| 04/08/20 | @ Utica Comets | 7:00 PM |
| 04/10/20 | vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers | 7:05 PM |
| 04/11/20 | @ Binghamton Devils | 7:05 PM |