**This Week’s Storylines**
**The Amerks come into the New Year tied atop the American Hockey League’s North Division with the Toronto Marlies as each club has 46 points through 34 games to begin January. The Marlies, though, have three more wins, while Rochester has three fewer regulation losses.
**Sandwiched in-between a pair of losses to the Laval Rocket, the Amerks shutout the Marlies 2-0 in their first trip of the season to the Ricoh Coliseum on Friday. With the victory, Rochester improved to 12-1-3-2 in their 18 games away from The Blue Cross Arena and remain the only team in the AHL with one regulation loss while on the road.
**Similar to last season, no other goaltender has played more games than Linus Ullmark. Named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for period ending Dec. 24, 2017, he enters the week second in the AHL in saves (668), minutes played (1,362) and is tied for first in wins (15). He’s also tied for fourth and sixth amongst all AHL goaltenders with a .926 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average, respectively. The former Swedish Goaltender of the Year and reigning team MVP has won 14 of his last 20 starts and is 12-2-3 in his last 17 games dating back to Oct. 25.
** Despite being held scoreless in six straight games for the first time all season, C.J. Smith remains tied for 10th in the AHL in scoring. He paces the team with 20 assists and 30 points and ranks second with 10 goals while being one of just four skaters to appear in all 34 games thus far this season. His 87 shots and plus-12 on-ice rating are also tops on the team. The Des Moines, Iowa, native is currently tied for second in scoring among all AHL rookies behind only Manitoba’s Mason Appleton, while his 20 assists lead all first-year skaters and are tied for seventh-most in the league.
** The Amerks own three of the top 20 point-producing defensemen in the AHL in Zach Redmond, Stuart Percy and rookie Brendan Guhle, with Redmond and Percy accounting for half of the team’s top four point-getters. Redmond, who leads all Amerks defensemen with 24 points (8+16) through 26 games, is tied for third in goals by a defenseman with eight, which matches the career-high he previously set twice as a member of the St. John’s IceCaps. The veteran blueliner is also third in points amongst all defensemen coming into the week and is currently riding a career-long six-game point streak (2+6). Guhle, meanwhile, ranks third in scoring among all AHL rookie defensemen with 18 points (6+12) while his six goals are second-most among first-year blueliners in the league.
**The Amerks usher in the New Year with a pair of Atlantic Division matchups at The Blue Cross Arena beginning on Friday, Jan. 5 when the Bridgeport Sound Tigers come to town. Rochester remains at home the following night as former Amerks Phil Varone and T.J. Brennan lead the Lehigh Valley Phantoms back to Rochester. Both contests are slated for a 7:05 p.m.
