**This Week’s Storylines**
**The Amerks concluded their final three-in-three of the season Sunday afternoon at The Blue Cross Arena and snapped a five-game winless streak to the Syracuse Crunch with a 5-4 shootout victory in the second meeting between the two clubs in less than 24 hours. The win was also their 30th win of the season, a mark the Amerks have now reached for the third consecutive year. Additionally, Rochester has notched at least one point in 20 of its last 28 games since the turn of the New Year, including six of its last seven.
**The Amerks enter the week having appeared in 13 games that went beyond regulation since Jan. 1. Overall on the season, Rochester leads the AHL in games decided after the third period with 26, showing a 7-10 mark in overtime while going 3-6 in shootouts.
** Despite being held out of the lineup since Feb. 16 due to injury, rookie forward C.J. Smith continues to pace the team with 25 assists and 39 points in 50 games thus far this season. The Des, Moines, Iowa native currently ranks eighth in scoring among all AHL rookies while his 25 assists are tied for fifth-most between all first-year skaters.
**Zach Redmond has collected 38 points this season on 13 goals and 25 assists, all three of which are career-highs, moving him into second on the team in scoring and fifth among all AHL defensemen. On the heels of another three-point effort in Sunday’ shootout win over Syracuse, the veteran blueliner also ranks second in goals by a defenseman with 13, including seven that have come on the power-play. His seven power-play tallies lead the team and are tied for third among league rearguards.
**With seven points (3+4) over his last seven games, forward Kevin Porter ranks third on the team in scoring with 37 points (16+21) in 56 contests this season. Rochester’s team captain scored his 16th goal of the year in Saturday’s 4-2 loss against the Syracuse Crunch to grab the team-lead in that category. He’s on pace to record the first 20-goal season of his pro career after scoring 19 during the 2013-14 campaign in his previous stint with Rochester.
**Eric Cornel carries a career-long four-game point streak (1+6) into the week and shows a personal-best 15 points (7+8) through 47 games this season. During Sunday’s 5-4 shootout win, the team’s first at home since Nov. 3, Cornel registered his first multi-point effort of the campaign with a career-high three-point performance as he tallied a goal and two assists.
**The Amerks carry a 16-5-8-3 road record into their three-game trek through the Atlantic Division this week. Rochester embarks on another busy stretch of three games in four nights, visiting Bridgeport on Thursday before closing out the New England swing with stops in Providence and Hartford. All three contests will be the final game of the respective head-to-head series this season. Their five regulation losses on the road are the tied for fewest in the American Hockey League while their 43 road points are third-most in the league.
