Weekly Wrap-Up - North Division (Week 12)
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In the holiday edition of this week’s North Division Notebook, we have a tie at the top of the standings, while at the bottom the struggles continue.
Belleville Senators
Record this week: 0-2
The slump continues for the Senators, as they have dropped their last four and sit just two points ahead of last place Binghamton.
Belleville dropped their third straight on Wednesday night in Rochester, losing to the Amerks 3-1. Recent callup Daniel Ciampini had the lone Senator goal, while Danny Taylor had 21 saves.
It wasn’t any better for the Senators on Friday, as they were stomped on by Syracuse 8-2 on home ice. Andrew Hammond drew the start and gave up 6 goals on 19 shots, then was pulled halfway through the contest for Chris Driedger, who would stop 16 of 18 shots the rest of the way. Colin White and Jordan Murray were the lone goal scorers.
Senator Notes: Forward Chris Kelly was released from his PTO, and will join Team Canada for the Spengler Cup tournament in Switzerland; Filip Chlapik, Ben Harpur, and Andreas Englund were all recalled to Ottawa, while Ciampini was recalled from Brampton and defenseman T.J. Melancon was brought in on a PTO; Taylor and Chris DiDomenico would be recalled on Friday, then reassigned on Saturday, along with Harpur and Englund; the Senators travel to Toronto on Tuesday afternoon for a Boxing Day matinee at Air Canada Centre against the Marlies, return home to face Laval on Thursday and Providence on Saturday, then finish the calendar year back in Toronto on Sunday afternoon.
Binghamton Devils
Record this week: 0-1-1
More of the same struggles from last place Binghamton, who did manage to get one out of four points, but now find themselves in the league basement.
The Devils started their Pennsylvania tour on Friday night in Wilkes-Barre, and things were looking good for the visitors—John Quenneville, Nick Lappin, and Michael Latta had all scored within 7:39 of each other in the first period to take a 3-2 lead over the Penguins. But third period issues would catch up to the Devils once again, as Wilkes-Barre would tie the game up at three 7 minutes into the third period, then win 4-3 in overtime. Ken Appleby stopped 31 of 35 shots, while Lappin and 5 others contributed assists.
The trip continued south to Hershey on Saturday, where Binghamton would drop a 5-2 decision to the Bears. Nathan Bastian and Bracken Kearns would have goals, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 18 of 23 shots.
Devils Notes: Kearns was named playing captain for the AHL Eastern Conference All-Stars on Tuesday; Spencer Abbott has elected to play overseas rather than report to the Devils, signing with Kloten of the NLA in Switzerland; Binghamton is the only team in the Eastern Conference yet to break double digit wins; the Devils host Charlotte on Wednesday, travel south to Bridgeport on Saturday, then return home to host Syracuse on New Year’s Eve.
Laval Rocket
Record this week: 1-1-1
A half and half week for Laval, as they took three of six points in a three game homestand.
The Rocket started their pre-Christmas slate with a 5-2 win against Syracuse on Wednesday night. Adam Cracknell scored twice and had an assist, Chris Terry added a goal and three helpers, and Nikita Scherbak had one goal and two assists.
Friday evening, Laval would carry a 2-1 lead over Rochester into the third period on goals from Terry and Eric Gelinas. But, the Amerks would tie the game at 2 with 1:40 remaining in regulation, then score the game winner with 1:09 remaining in overtime for a 3-2 Laval loss.
In Saturday’s rematch, the Rocket would lose 3-1 to Rochester, after allowing the go-ahead goal and an insurance goal within 3:48 midway through the third period. Terry would have the lone Laval score, and Michael McNiven stopped 26 of 29 shots.
Rocket Notes: Defenseman Brett Lernout was recalled by Montreal on Thursday, but would return to Laval on Sunday; goaltender Zachary Fucale was loaned to Brampton on Thursday; the Rocket will be spending the rest of 2017 on the road, going to Rochester on Wednesday, Belleville on Thursday, then back to Rochester on Saturday.
Rochester Americans
Record this week: 3-0
The new hottest team in the division? Don’t look now, but suddenly Toronto has company at the top, as a four-game winning streak has pulled the Amerks into a tie with the Marlies for standings points.
Rochester started their week with a 3-1 victory over Belleville on home ice on Wednesday. Sahir Gill scored twice, while Zach Redmond added a goal and an assist. Linus Ullmark stopped 31 of 32 Senator shots.
On Friday in Laval, the Amerks found themselves down 2-1 to the Rocket late in the third period. But, Kyle Criscuolo would score his second goal of the game with 1:40 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 2, then Nick Baptiste would score the game winner with just over a minute remaining in overtime to win 3-2.
In the rematch in Quebec on Saturday, Stuart Percy broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third, as Rochester added an insurance goal from Kevin Porter to take a 3-1 win over the Rocket. Adam Wilcox would stop 33 of 34 shots in the win.
Amerk Notes: Forward Steve Moses has been indefinitely suspended by the team due to a “breach of contract”, per a Rochester tweet; Percy, who had been on a PTO since the start of the season, officially earned an AHL contract on Monday; also on Monday, Hudson Fasching returned from Buffalo; Alex Nylander will represent Sweden in the World Junior Championships; the Amerks will host Laval on Wednesday and Saturday, with a huge game in Toronto sandwiched in on Friday.
Syracuse Crunch
Record this week: 1-2
It looks as if the Crunch are struggling to get back to their ten-game win streak form, with only one victory for the week.
Syracuse would drop their second straight on Wednesday night, a 5-2 decision in Laval against the Rocket. Mathieu Joseph and Matthew Peca would each have a goal, while Louis Domingue had 20 saves.
Friday night, the Crunch would break out of a brief losing streak in a huge way, crushing Belleville in Ontario 8-2. Mat Bodie scored twice, Carter Verhaeghe and Alexander Volkov each had three assists, and Joseph, Erik Condra, and Peca would each have one goal and two assists.
Back at home on Saturday against the Comets, Syracuse would drop a 2-1 loss to their Thruway rivals. After only managing one shot through the first twenty minutes of the contest, Condra would be the lone Syracuse goal scorer, picking up his 4th of the year in the second period. Domingue took the hard luck loss with 23 saves.
Crunch Notes: Forward Shane Conacher was recalled from Adirondack on Monday, while defenseman Mathieu Brodeur was released from his PTO on Saturday and returned to the Thunder; the Crunch homestand continues after Christmas, as they host Toronto on Wednesday and Utica on Saturday, then they close out 2017 in Binghamton on Sunday night.
Toronto Marlies
Record this week: 1-1
With Rochester breathing down their necks in the North Division standings, first place Toronto finally got back on track this week after splitting a pair against the Comets.
The Marlies would drop their third straight loss on the road Wednesday, a 5-2 defeat to Utica. Ben Smith and Dmytro Timashov would have one goal each, while Miro Aaltonen added two assists.
In Friday’s rematch, Smith’s second goal of the evening in the third period would prove to be the game winner, as Toronto broke their losing skid with a 4-3 win over the Comets. Justin Holl would add a goal and an assist, Timashov added two helpers, and Calvin Pickard stopped 24 of 27 shots.
*Marlies Notes: Defenseman Sam Jardine was recalled from Orlando on Tuesday, then returned to the Solar Bears on Saturday; goaltender Drew Fielding was recalled from Adirondack to back up in Friday’s contest; the Marlies host Belleville on Tuesday at Air Canada Centre for a Boxing Day matchup, travel to Syracuse on Wednesday, then finish off the calendar year with a pair of home games: Rochester on Friday, then Belleville on Sunday.
Utica Comets
Record this week: 2-1
Despite the injuries and callups to Vancouver, the Comets seem to be hanging in there as they sit in the middle of the division pack.
Utica started their week with a 5-2 win over the slumping Marlies at home on Wednesday evening. Alexis D’Aoust, Jayson Megna, and Philip Holm all had one goal and one assist each, while Carter Bancks added two helpers. Thatcher Demko stopped 32 of 34 Toronto shots.
Toronto would return the favor in Friday’s rematch, a 4-3 Comets loss. In his first AHL appearance since the 2015-16 season with San Jose, forward Vincent Arseneau scored in his Comets debut, while Cole Cassels and Joseph LaBate also contributed goals. Richard Bachman stopped 24 of 28 shots.
Utica would head west to Syracuse on Saturday and defeat the Crunch 2-1. Demko stopped 23 of 24 Syracuse shots, and Griffen Molino would add a goal and an assist.
Comets Notes: It was a busy week roster wise: Ashton Sautner and Michael Chaput returned from Vancouver, while Reid Boucher was recalled to the Canucks; defenseman Mackenze Stewart was returned to Kalamazoo, while forward Danny Moynihan was recalled from the K-Wings; forward Joel Lowry signed, and was later released from, a PTO agreement, with Arseneau taking his place on Friday; the Comets host Providence on Wednesday and Friday, then return to Syracuse on Saturday.
North Division Standings as of December 26th, 2017:
Toronto: 30 GP, 22-8-0-0, 44 points, .733 pct Rochester: 31 GP, 19-6-3-3, 44 points, .710 pct Syracuse: 30 GP, 15-12-1-2, 33 points, .550 pct Utica: 30 GP, 13-12-4-1, 31 points, .517 pct Laval: 32 GP, 11-14-5-2, 29 points, .453 pct Belleville: 30 GP, 11-16-0-3, 25 points, .417 pct Binghamton: 29 GP, 9-15-4-1, 23 points, .397 pct
This Week's North Division Schedule
Tuesday, December 26th
Belleville @ Toronto, 3:00 PM
Wednesday, December 27th
Toronto @ Syracuse, 7:00 PM Providence @ Utica, 7:00 PM Charlotte @ Binghamton, 7:05 PM Laval @ Rochester, 7:05 PM
Friday, December 29th
Rochester @ Toronto, 7:00 PM Providence @ Utica, 7:00 PM
Saturday, December 30th
Providence @ Belleville, 7:00 PM Binghamton @ Bridgeport, 7:00 PM Utica @ Syracuse, 7:00 PM Laval @ Rochester, 7:05 PM
Sunday, December 31st
Belleville @ Toronto, 3:00 PM Syracuse @ Binghamton, 6:05 PM
