**This Week’s Storylines**
**The Amerks come into the final two weeks of the 2017-18 regular season sitting in third place in the AHL’s North Division standings with 83 points, 10 points behind the Syracuse and just one point ahead of the fourth-place Utica Comets.
**The Amerks, who have earned at least one point in 23 of their last 34 games dating back to Jan. 1, enter the week having appeared in 15 games that went beyond regulation since Jan. 1. Overall on the season, Rochester leads the AHL in games decided after the third period with 28. The AHL record for the most overtime games in a season stands at 29, set by the 2006-07 Milwaukee Admirals. Coming into week, Rochester shows a 9-10 mark in overtime while going 3-6 in shootouts.
** Zach Redmond, who reached the 40-point mark for the first time in his professional career last month, comes into the week with points in seven of his last nine games after scoring his 15th goal of the season on Friday to take over the team lead in scoring. He’s now just three goals away from tying the single-season franchise record for the most goals by a defenseman of 18, set by Amerks Hall of Famer Rick Pagnutti during the 1972-73 campaign. In 62 games so far this season, the veteran blueliner has recorded career-highs in all offensive categories with 15 goals, 30 assists and 45 points, placing him fourth in scoring among all AHL defensemen. He’s also tied for second in goals by a defenseman with 15, including a team-best eight power-play tallies, and ranks tied for fourth among all defensemen in assists. Additionally, Redmond has the third-most shots among any other defenseman this season with 170.
** Despite missing the last four games due to injury, rookie forward C.J. Smith continues to pace the team with 17 goals while leading all Amerks forwards in points (43) in 54 games this season. The 2018 AHL All-Star scored his first hat trick last month in Hartford, becoming the first Amerks rookie to score three goals in the same game since Tim Schaller at Toronto on Apr. 5, 2014. Smith is currently seventh in scoring among all AHL rookies while his 26 assists rank ninth-most between all first-year skaters.
**Colin Blackwell, who had a career-best four-point (2+2) effort last Friday night against Charlotte, including the overtime-winning goal just 12 seconds into the extra frame, shows 15 points (6+9) over his last nine games. Blackwell also has nine points (5+4) in his last four outings. More impressively, the second-year pro has recorded five multi-point games dating back to Mar. 11.
**The Amerks added in forward Vasily Glotov on an Amateur Tryout earlier today. The 20-year-old Glotov joins the Amerks after completing his second season in the QMJHL with the Shawinigan Cataractes, scoring a team-high 29 goals and ranking second on the team with 43 points in 64 games. The 5-foot-11, 174-pound forward also made his professional debut last month with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Rochester’s ECHL affiliate, recording two points (1+1) over a five-game stint from Mar. 22 to Mar. 30. Glotov, Buffalo’s seventh-round pick in 2016, tallied a goal and an assist in the 3-2 overtime win over Wheeling on Mar. 24.
**The Amerks kick off another busy stretch of three games in four days with the second two contests coming at The Blue Cross Arena. Rochester has earned at least one point in three straight and seven of the last at home, going 4-1-3-0 over that span. After Wednesday’s matchup with the Laval Rocket, the Amerks will return home to face the Belleville Senators Friday night before wrapping up their season series with the league-leading Toronto Marlies on Saturday to close out the week. Both home games begin at 7:05 p.m. while Wednesday night’s contest is slated for 7:30.
