Game One of the back to back series was close, with Abbotsford sneaking by the Amerks in a 3-2 matinee affair.  The Heat netted the game winner in the second period – but a last minute goal by Nick Tarnasky made the score look closer than it actually was.

Last night, the Rochester Americans made no bones about who was the better team, while the teams traded goals through two periods, Brian Flynn potted the game winner with just under five minutes left in the second period.

Captain Kevin Porter, rookie Frederick Roy and veteran Mark Mancari added insurance goals in the third period to blow the score up.

Rochester used last nights win to surge forward in the standings, and now sit in fifth place, comfortably behind division leading Abbotsford by two points.  The even better part of their position is Rochester has three games in hand on the Heat, and could easily find themselves challenging for the top spot in the division.

The Rochester Americans are off for almost a full week, as they don’t return to action until February 12th against the Lake Erie Monsters.

Today’s Matinee at 1:30 for the Rochester Americans is the fifth contest against the Heat this year, and both teams show a loss and a win, splitting the season series 1-1 thus far.

The Amerks were able to make it five in a row against the Toronto Marlies Saturday night, running up the score against the team they have little success with.

While the winning streak has been nice for Rochester, it needs to continue.  The Amerks still find themselves in 7th place in the conference – but have played fewer games than all but two of the fifteen Western Conference Teams.  While they have not moved up much on the playoff ladder, they are putting seperation between them and the teams that won’t be making it to the Calder Cup playoffs.

Rochester has adapted well since the start of the NHL season, with losing products like Cody Hodgson, Marcus Foligno, and T.J. Breanna, the Amerks have needed to rely on younger players to carry the load.  Head Coach Ron Rolston should have little to complain about.

Today’s matinee constest is not on television, but you can listen to it after lunch by tuning in on line or to Sports Talk 1280.