**This Week’s Storylines**
**The Amerks closed out the 2017-18 regular season with a 4-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch last night, clinching third place in the AHL’s North Division standings while also setting up a first-round matchup between the two teams to kick-off the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs. The best-of-five North Division Semifinals begins with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday in Syracuse before the series shifts to Rochester for Game 3 on Wednesday, April 25. The opening round series will mark the first meeting in the postseason between the two teams since the Amerks defeated the Crunch four games to three in the first round of the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs.
**Zach Redmond became the first Amerks defenseman in seven years to lead the team in scoring since Mike Kostka posted a team-high 55 points during the 2010-11 campaign. Redmond closed out the regular season with points in nine of his last 13 games and was one of just three AHL defensemen to lead his respective team in scoring. Redmond also finished just three goals shy of 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 66 games this season, the veteran blueliner easily established career-highs in all offensive categories with 15 goals, 32 assists and 47 points, placing him fourth in scoring among all AHL defensemen, earning him a selection to the 2017-18 AHL Second All-Star Team. He also ranked third in goals by a defenseman with 15, including a team-best eight power-play tallies, and fifth among all defensemen in assists. Additionally, Redmond had the third-most shots among any other defenseman this season with 180.
**Red-hot Colin Blackwell was Rochester’s top point-getter for the final month, finishing with 22 points (11+11) and a plus-14 on-ice rating over his last 15 games for the Amerks. The second-year pro also totaled 15 points (9+6) during his career-long seven-game point streak and recorded seven multi-point outings dating back to March 11 to finish second on the team in scoring. Since Jan. 1, Blackwell had been held scoreless only nine times.
**Forward C.J. Smith ranked third on the team with 44 points (17+27) through 57 games, good enough for 10th among all AHL rookies. Smith, who was named MVP of the 2018 AHL All-Star Challenge, also finished his first pro season tied for 11th in assists among all first-year players.
**Two-time AHL All-Star Linus Ullmark shouldered most of the workload for the second straight year, boasting a 21-12-10 record with two shutouts in 44 games this season. He finished the regular season third in the AHL in saves (1,242) and seventh in minutes played (2,579) while tying for ninth with 21 wins, his second straight season with 20 or more victories. The former Swedish Goaltender of the Year also ranked seventh and 14th among AHL goaltenders with a .922 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average, respectively. On Friday, he was named the team MVP and Most Popular Player for the second straight year, becoming just the second netminder in franchise history to earn both honors in back-to-back years.
