Fedun scores 3 points in back-to-back Amerks wins

Before he was recalled to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, Taylor Fedun saw to it that the Rochester Americans ended 2016 on a high note. Fedun scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the Amerks in their 4-3 win over Lehigh Valley on Friday and then collected two assists in a 6-3 win in Utica on New Year's Eve.
Fedun now has 17 points (4+13) in 20 games for Rochester this season in addition to the four points he's collected in eight games with the Sabres.

The Amerks, meanwhile, made up a bit of ground with their back-to-back wins and now sit in fifth place in the North Division at 14-18-0-1. They'll begin a 3-in-3 set this Friday at home against Syracuse, followed by road games in Toronto on Saturday and Sunday.
But before we look ahead, let's look at the week that was down in Rochester.

Wednesday: LV 4 - RCH 2

The Sabres were outshot 29-16 in this one and trailed 4-1 until Cal O'Reilly scored with 1:09 remaining in the game. Rochester native Mark Zengerle did the damage for Lehigh Valley with two goals. Linus Ullmark made 25 saves and allowed all four Phantoms goals.
The one positive from this game was Justin Bailey's fifth goal in four games, which he scored from the high slot at the 7:14 mark of the third period. The goals was Bailey's 13th of the season, and he was recalled to Buffalo two days later.

Friday: LV 3 - RCH 4 (OT)

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The Amerks flipped the script in terms of shots in the second meeting between Rochester and Lehigh Valley, this time outshooting the Phantoms 40-18. O'Reilly scored again, Tim Kennedy scored his first goal since returning to the Amerks, Cole Schneider scored a goal and an assist and Nicholas Baptiste tallied a career-high three helpers.
Fedun scored the winning goal with the Amerks on a 4-on-3 power play 1:39 into the overtime period. The shot was his game-high seventh of the night.
Ullmark earned the win with 15 saves.

Saturday: RCH 6 - UTI 3

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Schneider led the way in Utica with four points, earning an assist on both of Evan Rodrigues' goals in the first period and capping the scoring with two goals of his own in the third. Rodrigues also had an assist for his own three-point night, while Baptiste and Daniel Muzito-Bagenda both scored goals for the Amerks.
It was a busy game for the Rochester penalty kill, which went 8-for-10 on the night. Ullmark got the nod again in net, this time earning the win with 26 saves on 29 shots. Ullmark is now 13-12-1 this season, sitting one win shy of the league lead.
Schneider, meanwhile, is tied for second in the AHL with 34 points (14+20).

Upcoming schedule

Rochester hosts Syracuse at Blue Cross Arena at 7:05 p.m. on Friday night prior to hitting the road for back-to-back games in Toronto on Saturday and Sunday. All three games can be heard on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester.

Scoring leaders

1. Cole Schneider 14G - 20A - 34 PTS
   2. Cal O'Reilly 7G - 24A - 31 PTS
   3. Nicholas Baptiste 15G - 7A - 22 PTS
   4. Justin Bailey* 13G - 9A - 22 PTS
   5. Evan Rodrigues 7G - 12A - 19 PTS

Goaltending leaders

1. Linus Ullmark 13-12-1, 3.00 GAA, .907 SV%
   2. John Muse 1-3-0, 3.15 GAA, .908 SV%
   3. Jason Kasdorf* 0-3-0, 5.75 GAA, .828 SV&
      \Denotes player is not currently on the AHL roster*