The Rochester Americans face a test of their home-ice success Friday, Nov. 13, when the North Division-leading Laval Rocket visit Blue Cross Arena for a 7:05 p.m. matchup.
Rochester enters the teams’ first meeting of the season at 7-5-0-1, including a 5-2 home record. Laval is 11-3-1-0 and 6-1 on the road, with its 23 points leading the division and Eastern Conference, according to the Americans’ official preview. The teams meet again Saturday at 5:05 p.m. in Rochester.
Laval arrives with three straight wins
The Rocket have outscored opponents 15-4 during a three-game winning streak, beating Cleveland twice before shutting out Syracuse 5-0 on Wednesday. Rochester is returning from a 4-1 loss at Utica on Nov. 7 that ended its own three-game winning streak.
Laval’s early success extends across its offense, defense and special teams. Entering Friday, the Rocket ranked second in the American Hockey League in scoring at 3.87 goals per game and third in goals allowed at 2.00. They also ranked second in both shots generated, at 31.7 per game, and shots allowed, at 24.5.
The Rocket’s power play led the league at 27.6%, while their penalty kill ranked third at 88.2%. Laval had scored at least four goals in 10 victories, the most such wins in the league, and held a plus-28 goal differential over the second and third periods combined.
Rookie defenseman Luke Mittelstadt led the AHL with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists. Defenseman Reilly Walsh and forward Laurent Dauphin each had 16 points, giving Laval three prominent scoring threats. The Rocket are coming off consecutive North Division titles and are playing their first season under head coach Daniel Jacob.
Peca and McDonough carry scoring momentum
Amerks captain Matthew Peca brings an eight-game point streak into the weekend after assisting on Aidan McDonough’s goal at Utica. Peca has four goals and nine assists during the streak, which the team identified as the league’s longest entering Friday.
Peca has recorded a point in 12 of his first 13 games with Rochester. He and teammate Jason Polin were tied for third in the AHL with 10 power-play points apiece.
McDonough has scored in consecutive games and has five goals over his last eight appearances after scoring once in his first five games with the organization. His recent run includes the third-period winner against Hartford on his birthday the previous Friday. He joined Rochester after scoring a career-high 23 goals in 65 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.
Two other Rochester centers have done all their scoring at home. Riley Fiddler-Schultz has four goals and two assists, while Matteo Costantini has two goals and three assists. Fiddler-Schultz has two goals and an assist in his last three home games, and Costantini’s first two career multipoint games have both come at Blue Cross Arena.
Shot generation and special teams shape the matchup
Rochester managed 18 shots in the Utica loss, its second-lowest total of the season. The Amerks are averaging 26.8 shots overall, ranking 23rd in the league, compared with 29 per game in victories and 24.2 in losses.
Creating more chances will be difficult against a Laval team that limits shots and has killed 30 of 34 opposing power plays on the road. Rochester went 0-for-5 on the power play against Utica after getting strong production during its preceding winning streak.
Friday’s pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. on WGR Rochester and AHLTV on FloHockey. Amerks Hall of Famer and Jr. Amerks general manager Domenic Pittis will join the broadcast as a color analyst.
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