Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The long-standing rivalry between the Rochester Americans and Syracuse Crunch resumes this weekend will plenty of potential postseason implications.
The teams open their home-and-home series tonight in Rochester before Saturday’s rematch in Syracuse. Tonight will be the teams’ 324th regular-season match-up since the Crunch joined the AHL in 1994.
Syracuse has gone 10-0-2-1 in its past 13 games facing Rochester, including a 6-0-1-0 mark this season. The Crunch bring a four-game winning streak into the weekend and are within three points of Cleveland for the North Division lead. They also hold a game in hand on the Monsters.
Syracuse’s blue line took a hit last night when All-Star defenseman Jack Thompson departed in a trade with the San Jose Sharks organization that brought Anthony Duclair to Tampa Bay. Thompson’s 32 points (five goals, 27 assists) in 46 games led all Crunch defenders. Syracuse did add Tyson Feist in a trade with the Chicago Wolves; Feist has a goal and four assists in 23 games with the Wolves after skating in six games with the Crunch as a pro rookie in 2022-23.
The Amerks are in their own standings battle, sitting fifth in the North with 58 points but trailing third-place Belleville by just three points; however, Rochester is also trying to fend off pressure from Laval (54 points) and Utica (53 points). After they finish their home-and-home series with the Crunch, they return home to face the Comets on Sunday.
Rochester added defenseman Calle Sjalin earlier today, acquired by the Buffalo Sabres in the deal that sent Kyle Okposo to Florida.
Cleveland forward Trey Fix-Wolansky will take a six-game goal streak – tied for the longest in the AHL this season – into tonight’s visit to Laval.
Fix-Wolansky, an AHL All-Star last month, has moved into third in AHL scoring with 54 points (23 goals, 31 assists) in 51 games. Tonight will be the Monsters’ first contest against Laval this season, but Fix-Wolansky gave the Rocket plenty of trouble last season, especially at Place Bell where he amassed 10 points (six goals, four assists) in four games.
The Monsters, who will stay in Laval to finish their two-game set with the Rocket on Saturday afternoon, saw their weekend get off to a good start when the parent Columbus Blue Jackets acquired veteran goaltender Malcolm Subban from the St. Louis Blues earlier today. Subban had spent this season with Springfield after taking Rochester to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022-23.
Tonight could also feature the debut of newly acquired Laval forward Jacob Perreault. The 21-year-old was acquired by the Montreal Canadiens from Anaheim for forward Jan Myšák. Perreault comes to the Rocket after spending his first four pro seasons with San Diego, where he had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 31 games with the Gulls this season. He was selected 27th overall by the Ducks in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Another one of the AHL’s oldest rivalries will be on display when the Providence Bruins visit the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHLTV Free Game of the Week tonight (7 ET/6 CT).
Tied with Milwaukee for third overall in the AHL with 73 points, the P-Bruins’ 19 road wins also give them a share of the league lead, and bring a five-game road winning streak into the XL Center. Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro has gone 3-1-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .953 save percentage in four appearances against the Wolf Pack this season, including shutouts in Hartford on Nov. 11 and at home on Feb. 18.
Wolf Pack rookie forward Brett Berard continues to shine. The 21-year-old Rhode Island native and Providence College product has 15 points, including nine goals, in his past 16 games and is tied for third among all AHL rookies with 19 goals overall. Berard was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the parent New York Rangers.
An AHLTV account is required to watch the AHLTV Free Games of the Week, but no subscription is needed. Visit AHLTV.com for details.
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and was most recently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.