Amerks snap 5-game winless streak, hit the road this weekend

The Amerks concluded their final three-in-three of the season Sunday afternoon at The Blue Cross Arena and snapped a five-game winless streak to the Syracuse Crunch with a 5-4 shootout victory in the second meeting between the two clubs in less than 24 hours.

The win was also their 30th win of the season, a mark the Amerks have now reached for the third consecutive year. Additionally, Rochester has notched at least one point in 20 of its last 28 games since the turn of the New Year, including six of its last seven.

Scoring leaders

1. C.J. Smith: 14G - 25A - 39 PTS
   2. Zach Redmond: 13G - 25A - 38 PTS
   3. Kevin Porter: 16G - 21A - 37 PTS
   4. Kyle Criscuolo: 15G - 19A - 34PTs
      Seth Griffith: 13G - 21A - 34 PTS

Goaltending leaders

Linus Ullmark: 20-11-4; 2 SO; 2.44 GAA; .923 SV%
Adam Wilcox: 10-5-2; 2.65 GAA; .908 SV%

News and notes

• Rochester's next home game is Friday, Mar. 23 when the Amerks host the intrastate rival Binghamton Devils at 7:05 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena. Individual game tickets for the 2017-18 season start at just $14, while Amerks 2018-19 Season Ticket Memberships, which start as low as just $10 per game, are on-sale now. All memberships are up to 40% off Box Office day of game pricing. For more information, visit www.amerks.com or call 1-855-GO-AMERKS.

March 9: PRO 2 - RCH 1 (OT)

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A goaltending duel between two American Hockey League All-Star goaltenders in Linus Ullmark of the Rochester Americans and Jordan Binnington of the Providence Bruins lived up to its expectation. The Amerks opened their three-in-three weekend by dropping a 2-1 overtime decision Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena.
Despite the overtime loss, the Amerks, who have earned at least one point in 19 of their last 26 games since Jan. 1, while appearing in a league-high 25 games decided beyond regulation this season.
Amerks forward Sahir Gill scored his 15th goal of the season to force the extra session and now shares the team-lead with Kyle Criscuolo and Kevin Porter. Ullmark made 27 saves for Rochester, which has taken six out of a possible eight points through its first four games of March. The Swedish netminder carries a 19-11-10 record in 41 appearances on the campaign.
Ryan Fitzgerald tallied his fourth multi-point (2+0) effort of the slate for Providence, which has won five of its last six games, while Paul Postma chipped in his second two-assist performance in the last four games. Goaltender Jordan Binnington improved to 14-6-1 as he stopped 23 of 24 on the night.

March 10: RCH 2 - SYR 4

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The Syracuse Crunch scored three times in the second period and came away victorious with a 4-2 win over the Rochester Americans in the first half of their weekend home-and-home series Saturday at the War Memorial Arena.
Kevin Porter and Taylor Fedun each finished with a goal and an assist while Eric Cornel and Stuart Percy each tallied assists for the Amerks, who saw their five-game point streak halted. Adam Wilcox made his 23rd appearance of the season between the pipes, stopping 27 shots against his former team.
Leading point-getter Mathieu Joseph began and ended the scoring on the night with a pair of goals while multi-point nights were also had by Erik Condra and Gabriel Dumont. Netminder Eddie Pasquale stopped 21 shots for Syracuse, which won its fifth straight over the Amerks and now has a four-point lead over Rochester in the AHL's North Division standings heading into Sunday's rematch.

March 11: SYR 4 - RCH 5 (SO)

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The Rochester Americans (30-16-10-6) snapped a five-game winless streak to the Syracuse Crunch (36-19-3-4) and captured their 30th win of the season with a 5-4 shootout victory in the second meeting between the two clubs in less than 24 hours Sunday afternoon at The Blue Cross Arena.
With the shootout win, the first at home since Nov. 3, the Amerks have earned at least one point in 20 of their last 27 games dating back to Jan. 1, including six of the last seven. It was also the 26th game decided beyond regulation for Rochester, which has reached the 30-win mark for the third consecutive season.
Amerks forward Eric Cornel recorded a career-high three-point (1+2) while Colin Blackwell (1+2) and Zach Redmond (1+2) also turned in three-point outings with a goal and two assists a piece. Rookie center Justin Danforth completed the scoring as goaltender Linus Ullmark made 28 saves for Rochester, which has taken seven out of a possible 10 points through its first five games of March. The Swedish netminder, who also stopped all three Crunch shooters in the shootout, carries a 20-11-10 record in 42 appearances on the campaign, his second straight with 20 or more wins.
Eric Cernak and Oliver Archambault each posted a two-point (1+1) performance for the Crunch while Gabriel Dumont extended his point streak to seven games as he picked up a pair of helpers. Mathieu Joseph and Dominik Masin each lit the lamp while veteran netminder Peter Budaj took the shootout loss in his second appearance of a rehabilitation stint with Syracuse.
The Amerks elected to shoot first during the shootout. Danny O'Regan, who was reassigned earlier in the day from the Buffalo Sabres, went first and beat Budaj. Kevin Porter and Redmond were turned aside but Ullmark stopped all three Crunch skaters, giving Rochester a 5-4 victory.
With the shootout win, it snaps Rochester's five-game losing skid against the Crunch and give the Amers their first win over Syracuse since Oct. 7.
"I really liked the first two and a half periods," Amerks head coach Chris Taylor said. "A couple of our mistakes led us going to overtime, but I thought we played well. It was a little disappointing that we gave them a point tonight, but I am pleased we got the win."