Rochester is home Wednesday to the Binghamton Senators.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Americans hit the 60-game mark of the regular season this past week, which began with a 4-3 win over the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night.
Rookie forward Alexander Nylander sealed the second straight win for the Amerks as he potted his eighth goal of the campaign with just 1:20 left in contest after assisting on the game-tying goal earlier in the third period. Cole Schneider recorded a pair of assists for his team-leading 14th multi-point of the year while Derek Grant scored his first goal as an Amerk and first since Mar. 26 of last season as a member of the Stockton Heat. Mac Bennett opened the scoring on the night with his third of the season while Jean Dupuy netted his second of the slate. Goaltender Linus Ullmark made 18 saves.
With the win, Rochester improved to 6-1-0-1 against the Marlies this season and closed out home portion of the season series with a near-perfect 4-0-0-1 record.
Rochester hosted St. John’s again for the second time in seven days on Friday night, and despite putting two past IceCaps goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who a week prior shutout the Amerks, it was the same result. Nylander scored for the second straight game for the first time all season while Kyle Bonis added his eighth of the campaign as the Amerks put the finishing touches on a four-game homestand. Nylander currently sits in fourth for points on Rochester’s active roster.
ROCHESTER (0) AT SPRINGFIELD (2)
The Amerks then travelled to Massachusetts to face the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon at MassMutual Center, where netminder Adam Wilcox led his team to a 2-0 win and his second shutout of the season. Ullmark, who has started 18 of the last 20 games for Rochester, stopped 24 of 26 in the losing effort.
COMING UP
The Amerks return home on Wednesday, Mar. 15 for a North Division showdown against the intrastate rivals Binghamton Senators at The Blue Cross Arena. The B-Sens return to Rochester fueled by former Amerks Phil Varone and Jason Akeson, both of whom were part of the trade that brought Cole Schneider to Rochester last season. Amerks defenseman Patrick Mullen also played three full seasons in Binghamton and has two goals against his former club.
Schneider enters the week leading Rochester with 49 points on the campaign as he approaches his fourth-straight 20-goal season. Prior to Sunday’s loss in Springfield, Schneider was riding a three-game assist-streak (0+4).
Following Wednesday’s game against Binghamton, the Amerks head north of the border for three straight, beginning with their final visit to St. John’s for a two-game set with the IceCaps. In all, the two teams will face-off a total of four times this month.
Gionta scores 1st
Greece native and Fairport resident Stephen Gionta scored his first goal of the season for the New York Islanders on Monday night in an 8-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. His goal tied the score 2-2 in the first period.