Amerks remain in 1st place as set against Toronto starts Friday

The Rochester Americans hold a two-point lead atop the AHL's North Division standings. They closed out the first week of the New Year having won four of the last six games.
The Amerks return home on Friday at 7:05 p.m. as they begin a home-and-home set with the defending Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies. The matchup will be the third straight game at The Blue Cross Arena between the two teams before the season-series shifts to the newly named Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 4 p.m.
All of the action will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester and can also be viewed on AHLTV.

Stats leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1. Zach Redmond | 36 | 16 | 14 | 30 | | Victor Olofsson | 33 | 10 | 20 | 30 | | 3. C.J. Smith (loaned to Buffalo) | 33 | 13 | 16 | 29 | | 4. Danny O'Regan | 36 | 12 | 10 | 22 | | Alexander Nylander | 33 | 8 | 14 | 22 | | Lawrence Pilut (loaned to Buffalo) | 16 | 3 | 19 | 22 |

#

Goaltending leaders

| Player | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Scott Wedgewood | 22 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 2.79 | .913 | | Adam Wilcox | 15 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2.87 | .899 |

#

News and notes

Hockey teams generally come together over the course of the season, but the Amerks are a family on and off the ice, in more ways than one. Check out a sample of this week's feature:
Throughout the course of any season, hockey players, coaches and staff will spend more time with each other than they will their actual families, which is, in part, why they will sometimes refer to each other as a "family." And each season, as these "hockey families" form, the players actual families will often assimilate as well.
Long before they were part of the Amerks hockey "family," assistant coach Gord Dineen, as well as Alexander Nylander, Danny O'Regan, Dalton Smith and Lawrence Pilut, were each born into hockey families of their own, because they all had fathers who played professionally. All five men are part of a unique and rare hockey legacy, where talent, hard work and love of the game is passed down from father to son.
"I had four brothers, so all of us would go to the rink as early as we could get there," said Dineen of his childhood as one of four sons (three of which, including Gord, would go on to also play in the NHL) to NHL player and legendary coach Bill Dineen. "We knew we had that ice time before the team would practice, and the time after they'd get off the ice. So, we'd want our dad to be there with us at 7:00 in the morning, so we'd have more ice time before the actual practice."
The full feature can be read here.

Recaps

Jan. 4: Amerks 3 - Rocket 2
Watch: Youtube Video
For the second consecutive game, the Rochester Americans erased a deficit before completing the come-from-behind win in a shootout. Friday night's 3-2 five-round shootout win against the Laval Rocket at Place Bell served as the first leg of a back-to-back set between the two North Division opponents.
Forward Judd Peterson, who made his Amerks debut after being recalled earlier this week from the ECHL, and Alexander Nylander both lit the lamp for the Amerks while netminder Scott Wedgewood turned in a 22-save effort to push his record to 13-6-1 on the season. Rochester also improved to 8-2-0 in its last 10 meetings with Laval dating back to the 2017-18 season, which includes a perfect 5-0-0-0 mark inside Place Bell.
Jan. 5: Amerks 1 - Rocket 2
Watch: Youtube Video
The Rochester Americans (22-12-2-0) came up on the short-end of a 2-1 score against the Laval Rocket (15-16-3-3) Saturday in the second game of a back-to-back set between the two North Division opponents at Place Bell. Dating back to last season, the one-goal outcome was the fourth straight game that has been decided by a goal.
Despite suffering just its fourth regulation loss on the road this season, which are tied for fewest in the entire AHL.
Defenseman Zach Redmond, who was named to the North Division All-Star roster earlier this week, scored his team-leading 16th goal of season during the first period while goaltender Adam Wilcox stopped 13 of the 15 shots he faced but was given the loss. The netminder shows a 7-5-1 record in 15 appearances this season.