**This Week’s Storylines**
**The Amerks come into the week just two points behind the Toronto Marlies for the top spot in the American Hockey League’s North Division with 50 points through 36 games.
**Rochester became the third team in the AHL this season to reach the 50-point mark with Saturday’s 3-1 win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and have back-to-back home wins for the second time this season.
**Goaltender Linus Ullmark and rookie defenseman Brendan Guhle were recalled by the parent Buffalo Sabres earlier today. Similar to last season, no other goaltender has played more games than Ullmark, who has won 16 of his last 22 starts and is 14-2-3 in his last 19 games. Recently named to his second straight AHL All-Star appearance, Ullmark enters the week second in the AHL in saves (722) and minutes played (1,482) and is tied for first in wins (17) and shutouts (2). He’s also tied for fourth and sixth amongst all AHL goaltenders with a .928 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average, respectively. In order to fill the void in goal, the Amerks have recalled fellow netminder Jonas Johansson from the Cincinnati Cyclones.
**Joining Ullmark at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic is rookie forward C.J. Smith, who ended a season-long seven-game scoring drought with his 11th goal of the year in Saturday’s win. The 23-year-old forward paces the team with 20 assists and 31 points while being one of just three skaters to appear in all 36 games thus far this season. His plus-11 on-ice rating is also tops on the team. The Des Moines, Iowa, native currently ranks fourth in scoring among all AHL rookies, while his 20 assists are second between all first-year skaters and are tied for 12th most in the league.
** The Amerks own three of the top 13 point-producing defensemen in the AHL in Zach Redmond, Stuart Percy and Guhle. Redmond, who leads all Amerks defensemen with 24 points (8+16) through 28 games, is tied for third in goals by a defenseman with eight, which matches his career-high of eight he set twice as a member of the St. John’s IceCaps. Guhle ranks tied for second in scoring among all AHL rookie defensemen with 20 points (7+13) while his seven goals are also second-most among first-year blueliners in the league.
**The Amerks kick off a stretch of three games in four days beginning on Wednesday night as they make their third trip of the season to the Yardmen Arena to face the Belleville Senators. Following the 7:00 p.m. tilt, the Amerks return to The Blue Cross Arena for a matchup with the Binghamton Devils on Friday before closing out the weekend Saturday in Syracuse.
