Article written by Aidan Charde
Recap: New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Nov. 14 and 15
The Rochester Jr. Americans extended their win streak to six and moved into second place in the East Division last weekend with a sweep of the New Hampshire Mountain Kings.
Game one was a pretty standard affair, but it was highlighted by a goal from forward Jackson Schouten early in the first period. It was his second in four games after he went scoreless in his first 44 games with Rochester.
The period settled down from there, though, even with both teams notching double digit shots on goal. In the second frame, forward Ryan Shaw got his 13th goal of the season, putting him among the top-five goal scorers in the NAHL.
Two minutes later, forward Keanan Dewberry got his fourth of the season on a powerplay strike to give the Jr. Amerks a 3–0 lead.
In the third period, the Mountain Kings clawed back to striking distance, scoring twice to make the game 3–2. Goalie Jensen Carlstrom locked in, though and the team was able to keep the lead and add one more on a Corson Maguire empty netter to take a 4–2 win.
Game two was a far more comfortable contest; the Jr. Amerks came out strong and rode the momentum all night. Forward Cameron Doran led off the scoring with an unassisted snipe after a costly turnover, which set the tone to a domineering win.
Dewberry stayed hot with his second goal in as many games later in the first period to make it 2–0, followed by another from Maguire early in the second. Forwards Michael Sandruck and Colin Dustin joined the party before the second frame ended too, scoring one minute apart to make the game 5–0.
Dustin’s was the last goal of the contest for Rochester, though, as they took their foot off the gas in the third period. New Hampshire did score once in the final period, but it was not enough to make up the gap and Rochester came away victorious once again.=
Out-of-town results paired with the four points bumped Rochester up to a tie for second place in the division. In just over one month, the Jr. Amerks have gone from ninth place on Oct. 11 to second due to a 9–2–0 record in that span.
The team will look to stay hot this weekend when they welcome the Maine Nordiques to town for their first matchup at the Ice Center this season.
Preview: Maine Nordiques on Nov. 21 and 22
WHERE: Rochester Ice Center | Fairport, NY
WHEN: Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. | Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
The Maine Nordiques won both matchups between these teams earlier this season, but in an away environment that has always proven tough for Rochester. All-time, the Jr. Amerks carry a 12–9–4 record against Maine, their most storied opponent, because of a pair of playoff series against each other. Each team has come out on top once in the postseason.
By The Numbers
Rochester
13–8–0 | 26 pts | T – 2nd place | 70 GF | 53 GA | W6 streak
Maine
12–6–2 | 26 pts | T – 2nd place | 54 GF | 53 GA | L3 streak
Stat of the Series
This weekend includes Rochester’s military appreciation night on Saturday, meaning the team will wear special alternate jerseys. Between military and first responders appreciation nights, the team has gone 6–1–1 in alternate uniforms, including a perfect 4–0–0 last year.
Blistering hot offense
After starting the season on a slow note, the Rochester offense has exploded in recent weeks to be among the best in the NAHL. For the first 10 games of the season, the team averaged a measly two goals per game. But since Oct. 11, the team has kicked it into another gear, averaging 4.54 goals per game in 11 contests. In that stretch, the Jr. Amerks have scored four or more goals in all but two games — both were losses against Maine.
Time to pounce
Despite being in ninth place in the division just over one month ago, the Jr. Amerks are now in a three-way tie for second with the Nordiques and Northeast Generals. The Generals have lost three of their last four while Maine has lost three straight and has not won in regulation since Oct. 25, perfectly coinciding with Rochester’s league-leading six straight wins. A sweep in this series may end up being crucial too, as the Nordiques and Jr. Amerks will only see each other in one more series this year, making this weekend a potential tiebreaker scenario.
Right time for breakouts
After going 44 games without scoring his first Rochester goal — a franchise record among forwards — Jackson Schouten finally made his mark with a strike on Nov. 1. He then did it again last weekend to go along with an assist, giving him nine points on the season and putting him on the cusp of his first double-digit points total in his NAHL career. Additionally, forward Colin Dustin has emerged recently as a shooter to watch; he has scored goals in four of the last six games and carries a six-game points streak into this weekend. His 14 points and seven goals are third on the team, putting him on pace for 20 goals. Even if he does not reach that mark, being in the vicinity would put him in elite company: Only 11 Jr. Amerks have scored 17 or more goals in a season.
Strange makeup
Although the Nordiques are a good team and the last ones to defeat Rochester, there may be no better time to face them than this weekend. Aside from the Jr. Amerks being the hottest team in the league, Maine enters off a six game stretch where their only two wins came in overtime. Furthermore, this Nordiques team is hard to get a read on by past results. They started the season 5–0 with a +10 goal differential before losing the next four by a combined 18 goals. They also played back-to-back weekends where they tallied five goals on Friday before managing one and zero, respectively, on Saturday.
