Amerks Update | Subban returns to practice

The Rochester Americans will wrap up their set of three road games Friday and Saturday when they visit the Laval Rocket for back-to-back meetings at Place Bell.
Rochester currently sits atop the North Division with a 3-2-0 overall record.
The Amerks are off to a hot start at home, recording a 3-0-0 start on home ice for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The team will look for its first road win against the Rocket who are currently 1-3-1 on the year.

Forward Linus Weissbach leads the Amerks with three goals and six points while goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has started all five contests, posting a 3-2-0 record and amassing 124 saves and a .892 save percentage.
Forward Anders Bjork has recorded two points (1+1) in three games since being reassigned to Rochester by the Buffalo Sabres.
Last week, Bjork scored the overtime game-winner in a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Belleville Senators on October 19. On Friday, the Amerks secured their second-straight 4-3 win versus the Syracuse Crunch at Blue Cross Arena. Rochester was unable to complete the home-and-home sweep and fell to the Crunch 6-2 on Saturday.
Watch: Youtube Video
"Playing on the road is hard. We have a young team, your mistakes are amplified on the road and we've played two good teams in tough buildings," head coach Seth Appert said when asked about the difference between the wins at home and losses on the road.
"I think the good thing is both games on the road we put ourselves in a position to win the game with about 10 minutes to go in the game."
Following the road swing, the Amerks open November with a two-game homestand against North Division rivals Syracuse on November 2 and Utica on November 4.

Subban eyes return

Watch: Youtube Video
Goaltender Malcolm Subban practiced with the team on Tuesday for the first time since exiting Rochester's preseason game on October 9 with a lower-body injury. Appert is hopeful that Subban will make his return in two weeks.

During his media availability Tuesday, Appert explained what it means to have a guy like Subban back.
"In a long season, when it's a grind at times and travel and coming home late from bus rides and all those things, and you see him and he's bouncing and he's smiling and he's laughing, those things are extremely valuable on a team," he said. "Especially when you combine that with his talent and his competitiveness."
When asked about how excited he is to get back to playing, Subban was all smiles.
"It's a 10 out of 10, I'll tell you that," Subban said. "I've been watching a lot of hockey, just ready to get back in there."

Injuries test depth

Watch: Youtube Video
The Amerks are dealing with several other injuries to begin the campaign.
In Tuesday's injury update, Appert announced that captain Michael Mersch and defensemen Chase Priskie and Peter Tischke are out. Mersch is week-to-week while both Priskie and Tischke are expected to be out for a few weeks.
Forward Matej Pekar is practicing and Appert is hopeful that he will make his return within the next two weeks.
To help with the injuries, the Amerks recalled defenseman Zach Berzolla from the Cincinnati Cyclones.
"We're also going to have to add one or two other defensemen here over the course of the week or so," Appert said. "To make sure that we have enough players and enough depth to withstand not only the injuries we have, but the injuries that Buffalo has up top.
"So two of our defensemen are up because of Buffalo injuries and two of our defensemen are out because of our injuries. So that's testing the depth of our defensive core early in the season."
This morning, Rochester signed veteran defenseman Brandon Davidson to a professional tryout. He appeared in 23 games for the Amerks during the 2021-22 season, recording one goal and five assists.

#

Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1. Linus Weissbach | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | | 2. Sean Malone | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | | T-3. Lukas Rousek | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | | T-3. Brandon Biro | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | | T-3. Isak Rosen | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 |

#

Goaltending leaders

| Player | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | SO | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 | .892 | 0 |