As the regular season enters its final full month, the Amerks are looking for consistent success, as they push for the playoffs, and after losing two of three games last week, wins are necessary this late in the year. With three matchups against divisional opponents, this week’s games are crucial for their place in the standings as the playoffs near.
| # |  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 |
February 26: vs. Utica (L 3-2/SO)
This game had an interesting start when Andrew Hammond took a delay of game penalty, which Brogan Rafferty scored on, one of their two shots in the first, for an early lead. While the Comets held their lead throughout the period, Casey Mittlestadt (8) scored with over a minute to go in the period, and the game was tied after one despite a 15-2 lead in shots for the Amerks.
Mittelstadt can make scoring look so easy. Tie game 1-1. pic.twitter.com/oR45az3BNy
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) February 27, 2020
The second period saw Utica gain momentum, as they earned more scoring opportunities, and at 5:09, Sven Baertschi put Utica up 2-1 and held the one-goal lead after forty minutes. As the third period progressed, Utica remained in front, despite Rochester outshooting them by a 2:1 margin, and nearly won in regulation, until Scott Wilson (10) tied the game with 27 seconds to go in regulation.
Scott Wilson scored to send the game to OT! pic.twitter.com/pHvAjvf5yq
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) February 27, 2020
With no goals in OT, the game went to a shootout, which lasted five rounds until Baertschi scored the game-winner for Utica, as Rochester lost 3-2. Hammond made 19 saves in the start, as the Amerks lose to end their homestand next game with a win.
February 28: vs. Laval (W 4-2)
After the opening faceoff, both teams started fast, and Remi Elie’s seventh of the year gave the Amerks a 1-0 lead two minutes into the game. As the period neared its conclusion, Casey Mittlestadt (9) scored on the power-play with under a minute to go and Rochester held a two-goal lead after the first.
Put it on net, see what happens, pick up the loose change! Mittelstadt scored his 9th of the season. pic.twitter.com/vJ9dmD8Pj0
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) February 29, 2020
Similar to the opening period, Nikita Jevpalovs trimmed Laval’s deficit to one, and with a few minutes remaining, Laurent Dauphin tied the game at 2, as the final period would start with a tie between both teams.
CORNEL EXTENDS HIS CAREER HIGH TO 1️⃣1️⃣!!#UnitedWeROC | @ecornel10 pic.twitter.com/laBEMrj9ef
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) February 29, 2020
The game stayed at a stalemate until Eric Cornel (11) scored at 14:44 to put the Amerks in front, and he ultimately sealed it with an empty-netter for his second of the game, as Rochester ended their homestand with a 4-2 win. Andrew Hammond played solid, making 34 saves in net.
February 29: @ Syracuse (L 4-2)
Andrew Oglevie got the scoring started early, as his 14th of the year gave Rochester the lead 4:20 into the game until Gemel Smith tied it for the Crunch 33 seconds after to tie it at 1.
Andrew Oglevie gave the #Amerks a 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/NrfHI2bwV8
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) March 1, 2020
Throughout the period, both teams earned scoring chances, as the Amerks led Syracuse in shots on goal, 10-7 after one period, and this trend continued for the rest of the game. Alexander Volkov gave Syracuse their first lead of the night on a power-play goal at 8:03 of the second, despite a 27-13 edge in shots, the Amerks trailed heading into the third period. Not even a minute into the third, and Rasmus Asplund (3) scored with the man advantage to tie the game at 2.
Leier to Mittelstadt to Asplund and the #Amerks tie it 2-2 with a PP goal in the first min of the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/0dCju30EI9
— LGA585 (formerly LetsGoAmerks) (@LGA585) March 1, 2020
Just five minutes into the third, Boris Katchouk put the Crunch in front, 3-2, which would be the game-winner, as Ross Colton scored an empty-net goal, as the Amerks fell 4-2 despite outshooting Syracuse 45-20. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 16 of 19 shots faced, as the team continues to have up and down stretches at this stage of the season.
The last two weeks saw Rochester win two of their last six games, and with them traveling to Utica (67 pts), followed by two straight games in Belleville (79 pts) this weekend against the Senators, improvement is needed. Casey Mittelstadt scored two goals for a total of four points in one of his best stretches of play this season. With the Amerks’ overall record of 31-18-4-5, the team has accrued 71 points in 58 games, the positive play has to continue in order to move up or prevent falling from second in their 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 |