Amerks on 6-game point streak heading into Friday's home game
Rochester has won 3 in a row, Luukkonen named ECHL Goalie of the Week
by Rochester Americans @AmerksHockey / Amerks.com
The Rochester Americans enter the week riding a six-game point streak (5-0-0-1), the longest active in the Eastern Conference, and have won six of its last nine games, with all six wins coming against North Division opponents.
With Saturday's come-from-behind win against Utica, the Amerks have earned 23 out of a possible 32 points through their first 16 games of the season, putting them tied with the Toronto Marlies for the top spot in the AHL's North Division. The Marlies, however, have a game in hand on the Amerks entering this week.
Goaltending prospects earn accolades
Two Sabres goalie prospects were honored by their respective leagues for recent performances on Tuesday.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (second round, 2017) has been named the ECHL Goalie of the Week. The 6-foot-4 goaltender posted back-to-back shutouts for Cincinnati, during which he stopped a combined 55 shots.
Luukkonen has gotten off to a strong start to his pro career after earning OHL Goaltender of the Year honors in Sudbury last season. He's made five starts since recovering from offseason hip surgery, ranking second in the ECHL in goals-against average (1.79) and fifth in save percentage (.925).
Erik Portillo (third round, 2019), meanwhile, was named the USHL's Goalie of the Week after stopping a combined 43 of 45 shots in a pair of victories for the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The 6-foot-6 native of Sweden is in his first North American season and ranks second in the USHL with a 2.17 GAA.
Portillo, 19, is committed to the University of Michigan for next season.
Scoring leaders
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jean-Sebastien Dea | 16 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Tage Thompson | 16 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 3. Andrew Oglevie | 16 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
Goaltending leaders
| Player | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonas Johansson | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2.40 | .911 |
| Andrew Hammond | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2.93 | .892 |
News and notes
- Coming off his second multi-point effort in three games, first-year forward Brett Murray is tied for ninth in scoring among all AHL rookies with nine points (2+7) in 11 games.
- With five points (3+2) over his last six games, forward Jean-Sebastien Dea begins the week leading the Amerks in goals (7) through the first 16 games of the season.
- Dea, who had his first four-point effort since Apr. 6, 2019 back on Oct. 26 in Syracuse, has recorded 19 points (10+9) over his last 21 AHL contests dating back to last season.
- Goaltender Andrew Hammond is tied for eighth among all netminders with six wins on the season.
- One of the biggest factors attributed to Rochester's early season success is the fact that the Amerks have outshot their opponents in all but two games so far this season, including a season-high 50 shots in Springfield back on Oct. 27.
- The Amerks come into the week ranked third in the AHL in total shots (542) and are averaging 33.38 shots per game, the most in the Eastern Conference. Going into last Friday, the Amerks were the only team in the league to have outshoot their opponent through the first 14 games of the 2019-20 campaign.