The Amerks and Bears meet for the first time since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals this past spring
Dec 29, 2023
The oldest rivalry in the American Hockey League will be renewed tonight in Rochester when the Amerks (13-11-2-1) welcome the defending Calder Cup champion and league-leading Hershey Bears (25-6-0-0) back to The Blue Cross Arena for the only time this season. The puck drops on the 465th all-time meeting between the league’s two oldest teams at 7:05 p.m. with all the action being carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Tonight’s highly anticipated reunion between the league’s two cornerstone franchises is the first since meeting in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals this past spring. Hershey ended Rochester’s longest playoff run in 20 years on its way to capturing its AHL-best 12th Calder Cup.
Coming into tonight’s matchup, the Amerks carry a three-game home win streak against Hershey dating back to the 2019-20 season, over which they have outscored the Bears 16-7 in that span.
The Amerks have collected at least one point in six of their last 13 games against Hershey overall, going 5-7-1-0 over that span dating back to the start of the 2016-17 campaign. Rochester has posted an even record or better against Hershey in each of last five seasons dating back to the 2018-19 season.
Brett Murray, who recently returned from a two-game stint with the Buffalo Sabres, led all Amerks skaters with two goals and three points in two games opposite the Bears last season.
The Amerks were unable to complete a two-game sweep over the Syracuse Crunch, dropping a 3-1 contest in a rematch with their intrastate rival Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Forward Lukas Rousek scored for the second time in as many games and pushed his point streak to four games as he has five points (3+2) dating back to Dec. 20. The Czech native has a goal in three of his last four outings over that same span for the Amerks, who remain winless on home ice in December.
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski (5-6-1) made his 12th appearance of the campaign and stopped 12 of 15 shots he faced.
The Amerks own two of the league’s top scoring defensemen in Jeremy Davies and Kale Clague, who have combined for five goals and 29 points this season. Davies’ four goals are tied for 20th-most amongst all blueliners.
Davies, who scored a career-high 11 goals…
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