After losing against Toronto on the road to end last week, the Amerks need to turn around their recent run of losses in order to maintain their spot in the standings. In a week in which they will play three divisional opponents in Binghamton, Belleville and Syracuse wins as well as points are crucial, especially with the season nearing the halfway point.
| # |  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 |
January 8: vs. Binghamton (L 4-3)
After being shutout in their last meeting with Binghamton, the Amerks got on the board in the first. Following a Nick Merkley goal, Casey Mittlestadt (3) tied the game at 11:31 of the first, with each goal coming on the power play, as the opening period ended in a tie.
MacAttack is BACK and he's on 🔥🔥#UnitedWeROC pic.twitter.com/jB8zLY16H1
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) January 9, 2020
After half the second had passed, Andrew MacWilliam scored his first of the year to give Rochester their first lead of the game but lasted a few minutes as a goal from Brandon Gignac evened the game at 2 after forty minutes. The third period began similar to the other two, with each team getting chances, but taking a while to capitalize, as Brandon Braddock scored at 9:16 to give the Devils a 3-2 lead, only for Eric Cornel (7) to tie it once again, as the game went to OT tied at 3.
IT'S A TIE GAME PEOPLE (again)#UnitedWeROC pic.twitter.com/g232KYOyji
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) January 9, 2020
After the game remained tied after OT, Mikhail Maltsev’s shootout goal would earn them the 4-3 win over the Amerks, as their struggles continue. Johansson made 27 saves, and despite the loss, has played solid all year as they look to beat Belleville in two straight weeks.
January 10: vs. Belleville (L 5-1)
Unlike their last meeting, the Senators started fast, with Alex Formenton scoring both of their first period goals, and finished the opening period up two goals despite trailing 14-9 in shots. Although it took nearly half the next period, C.J. Smith scored his sixth goal of the year on the power-play to cut their deficit in half.
LIGHT THAT LAMP, CJ! 🚨#UnitedWeROC | @_CJ_Smith_ pic.twitter.com/8ltiI8q2qm
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) January 11, 2020
However, near the end of the period, Vitaly Abramov and Jean-Christophe Beaudin scored under two minutes apart to finish the period with a 4-1 lead. While they had a three-goal lead, goalie Filip Gustavsson had a tremendous third period, stopping all 14 shots, before Formenton scored an empty-netter late in the game to earn a hat trick en route to a 5-1 win for Belleville. The goaltending was an issue, with Johansson allowing three goals on 16 shots faced, with Andrew Hammond finished the game, making six saves in over 21 minutes of game action. With all their struggles the last few weeks, a win over Syracuse is key to prevent the losing from continuing.
January 11: @ Syracuse (L 5-4)
The Amerks started the game on a positive note, courtesy of Tyler Randall (5) giving his team the lead at 5:55 of the first, which was followed by John Gilmour scoring his fourth of the season, which gave Rochester a two-goal lead after one period.
Tyler Randell unassisted breakaway goal! Amerks up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/3kAdXXF45M
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) January 12, 2020
Nearly halfway through the next period, Ross Colton scored to put Syracuse on the board and cut their deficit in half, but only 67 seconds later, Brett Murray scored his fifth goal on the season, and despite both teams having 17 shots after two periods, the Amerks held a 3-1 lead.
Brett Murray from Casey Mittelstadt and CJ Smith gives the Amerks a 3-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/MymYJ0u7sX
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) January 12, 2020
However, they needed to finish strong and were unable to do so. Taylor Raddysh scored 2:47 into the period and pulled the Crunch within one, until Jean-Sebastian Dea (12), the team’s leading scorer, responded a minute and a half later for a 4-2 lead under five minutes in.
JS Dea shorty gives the Amerks a two goal lead again. Redmond assist! 4-2 game. pic.twitter.com/OOKwwN638r
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) January 12, 2020
However, Syracuse dominated the remainder of the game, scoring three unanswered, from Boris Katchouk, Patrick Sieloff, and Daniel Walcott, who scored the game-winner with 2:28 left and would hand the Amerks a crushing 5-4 loss on the road, as their losing continued. After a strong start, Andrew Hammond’s struggles continued, stopping 28 of 33 shots faced, and went 12 for 16 in the third, and has not won a start since December 14, a sign of the Amerks struggles in their overall game.
Now having lost four straight, and only win in their last six, Rochester has fallen to second in their division, currently with a 21-11-2-3 record for 47 points, and trail Utica by one point. This week, they will host Cleveland (37 pts) on Friday, before heading on the road for the weekend to face Lehigh Valley (35 pts) and Hershey (51 pts). Another storyline to follow this week is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen being recalled from Cincinnati and the amount of playing time he will receive. Having struggled to win as of late, wins this week are important to prevent a mid-season slide and build off their momentum from earlier in the season.
| 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 |