Month in Review
After 11 games played, the Rochester Americans are slotted in second place in the North Division with an overall record of 7-4-0.
The Amerks have split the majority of their matchups against division opponents, but have remained perfect on home ice. Some of those wins feature blowout victories including a 7-2 win on Wednesday, November 2 against the Syracuse Crunch and a 5-1 win on Saturday, October 29 in Laval.
The team has also been on the other side of some lopsided games. The Rocket defeated the Americans 8-1 the previous evening and the Crunch won by a score of 6-2 on Saturday, October 22.
Power Play: The Amerks’ power play is ranked 15th in the AHL after converting 9 of 42 opportunities for a 21.4% efficiency percentage.
Penalty Kill: Rochester’s penalty kill is in the lower half of the league at 26th with a 75.0% efficiency percentage after allowing 9 power play goals through 10 games played.
Leading the Way
- Brandon Biro – GP 11, 3 G, 9 A, 12 PTS
Brandon Biro returns for his third season with the Amerks after 48 games played last season. The forward leads the team in points with 3 goals and 9 assists. Biro’s 12 points make him the only Amerks player over a point-per-game so far this season.
- Lukas Rousek – GP 11, 4 G, 7 A, 11 PTS
After a short stint last year, Lukas Rousek has already surpassed his 2021-22 regular season production numbers after 11 games played. Last season, the forward tallied a goal and 3 assists after 19 games played. This season, Rousek has 4 goals and 7 assists with a goal and two assists coming on the man advantage. In Rousek’s recent game, the forward pushed the Amerks to a 3-1 victory over the Crunch with a goal and assist on the road.
- Linus Weissbach – GP 11, 6 G, 4 A, 10 PTS
Another returner listed high in the points is Linus Weissbach. The left-handed shot leads Rochester in goals with 6 this season and tied for 8th across the AHL. His 4 assists slot him in third in points on the team with 10 total. However, Weissbach leads the Amerks in penalty minutes with 20 minutes in the sin bin.
Rookies
- Jiri Kulich – GP 11, 2 G, 6 A, 8 PTS
The 28th overall draft pick of the 2022 draft has done a nice job getting used to the North American style of the game. Kulich has 2 goals and 6 assists through 11 games played. His first AHL goal was an empty net tally during the October 29 game versus Laval. The following game, Kulich showed off his powerful shot on the power play with a one-timer goal from the faceoff dot. The rookie strung together a four-game point streak that recently ended on November 5 against Utica.
- Isak Rosen – GP 11, 2 G, 5 A, 7 PTS
Isak Rosen tallied his first goal in his first AHL game against the Toronto Marlies in the home opener. The power play goal was another one-timer goal as Rosen showed his power and shot placement capabilities. Since then, Rosen has been on and off the box score. The forward had another multiple-point game against Laval with another goal and assist.
- Filip Cederqvist – GP 11, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS
The 5th-round draft pick from the 2019 NHL Draft has dressed in all the Amerks contests this season. Cederqvist has registered 3 assists with one of those coming on the power play. The Swedish-born forward is still seeking his first AHL goal after taking 15 shots so far this season.
- Tyson Kozak – GP 11, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS
Tyson Kozak is another rookie that has solidified his spot in the Amerks gameday roster. The Canadian has a goal and assist through the first 11 games of the season. His first goal of the campaign was against the Crunch in a 4-3 win on October 21. Kozak added his first assist of the season on Brett Murray’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss against the Devils.
- Aleksandr Kisakov – GP 7, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS
Aleksandr Kisakov is the only rookie that has not dressed in every game this season for Rochester. The 2021 NHL draft product was out of the lineup for a stretch of games in late October before returning to the gameday roster against Syracuse. Kisakov posts a -3 plus/minus rating so far this year and was on the ice for 2 of Laval’s 8 goals during the contest.
Goaltending
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – GP 9, 3.07 GAA, .898 SV%, 6-3-0
UPL returns for his 4th season with Rochester after seeing action in 35 games last season for the Americans. After 9 games played, the Finnish netminder has shown similar form compared to last season with a 3.07 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. In the Amerks’ previous game against Syracuse, the netminder made 34 saves with 1 goal against, posting his best game this season to date. The Sabres organization stated that the netminder would get reps this season and he has gotten those with the Americans to start the year.
- Michael Houser – GP 3, 2.30 GAA, .923 SV%, 1-1-0
AHL veteran Michael Houser returns for his 5th season within the Sabres organization. Last year, Houser appeared in 11 contests for the Amerks and tallied a 2.98 goals against average and .900 save percentage. This season, Houser has continued to maintain the backup role behind UPL with 3 games played. The 30-year-old has a win and loss to his name with a 2.30 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Expect the netminder to continue to relieve some of the workload from UPL in the weaker matchups moving forward.
