Amerks kick off 2020 with two road games this weekend
With 44 points, Rochester is tied with Utica for 1st place in North Division
by Rochester Americans @AmerksHockey / Amerks.com
The Rochester Americans show a 15-5-1-1 record over their last 22 games dating back to Nov. 1, earning points in 17 games over that span, and share the top spot in the AHL's North Division standings with Utica going into 2020.
Additionally, Rochester has picked up points in 22 of the last 29 contests overall, going 18-7-2-2, while also earning 44 out of a possible 64 points through its first 32 contests of the season.
The Amerks head north of the border for their first two games of the New Year beginning on Friday, Jan. 3 when they take on the Belleville Senators at 7 p.m. at CAA Arena.
The following day, Rochester makes its first trip back to Coca-Cola Coliseum since Game 3 of the Calder Cup Playoffs for another go-around with the Toronto Marlies at 4 p.m. Both games will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Check out 10 Takeaways from December here.
Scoring leaders
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jean-Sebastien Dea | 30 | 10 | 11 | 21 |
| Zach Redmond | 29 | 5 | 16 | 21 |
| 3. Lawrence Pilut | 27 | 4 | 16 | 20 |
| 4. Andrew Oglevie | 28 | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| Kevin Porter | 28 | 6 | 13 | 19 |
Goaltending leaders
| Player | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Hammond | 19 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2.35 | .911 | 4 |
| Jonas Johansson | 15 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2.00 | .933 | 2 |
News and notes
- Amerks head coach Chris Taylor has clinched the honor of serving as coach of the North Division All-Star team for the upcoming 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport, to be held Jan. 26-27 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. He becomes Rochester's first All-Star coach since John Tortorella in 1997.
- Currently in his third season as Amerks head coach, Taylor earns his first AHL All-Star coaching selection after guiding Rochester to a 20-7-2-2 record and 44 points in 31 games this season. The Amerks lead the North Division and rank third overall in the American Hockey League with a .710 points percentage and are one of just four teams to reach the 20-win mark.
- Taylor, who spent the first two months of the 2019-20 season assisting the Buffalo Sabres coaching staff, boasts a 91-66-8 record as Rochester's bench boss while also leading the Amerks to back-to-back playoff appearances.
- Jean-Sebastien Dea and Zach Redmond lead the team with 21 points each. Dea is tied with Andrew Oglevie for the team lead with 10 goals.
- Coming off his third three-point outing of the season on Friday, Lawrence Pilut posted his third multi-point game of the season on Friday and has 15 points (3+12) over his last 18 games. Pilut has already matched his goal total from last season and is on pace to set a new career-high in points. His 16 assists are tied with Redmond for the most on the team.
- Andrew Hammond (10-6-2) comes into the New Year ranked second among all netminders with four shutouts on the season after a 5-0 win over Laval on Dec. 14, a new career-high.
- With four shutouts through just 19 games this season, he's on pace to match the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.