***This Week’s Top Storylines***
*The Amerks will play six of their next seven games at home beginning on Wednesday when they host the North Division rival Toronto Marlies at The Blue Cross Arena. After visiting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, Rochester returns home on Saturday to begin a season-long five-game homestand that keeps the team on home ice through the end of the month. The Amerks play their final game before the Christmas break on Monday, Dec. 19 against Binghamton.
*Christmas came early last week for veteran defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer, who became the 12th different Amerk this season to earn a call-up to the Buffalo Sabres. Burgdoerfer officially made his NHL debut against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 5, just six days shy of his 28th birthday, and appeared in Buffalo’s win over Edmonton the next day before rejoining the Amerks for the team’s weekend three-in-three. He completed his brief two-game stint with two shots on goal while averaging 11 minutes of ice time per game.
*The Amerks own the ninth-best power-play in the AHL to begin the week after converting on 21 of 105 power-play opportunities for a 20.0% efficiency rate. The power-play unit is most effective on home ice, where the Amerks have scored 14 times on 48 man-advantage opportunities (29.2% success rate) to rank third in the league.
