WEEKDAY PREVIEW: Aviators seek revenge against division rivals in a midweek clash
After a well-earned bye week, the Elmira Aviators (16-22-5-3) are back in action on Tuesday for another battle at the Rochester Jr. Americans (32-14-1-0).
Elmira last played in Rochester before getting its off week. The Jr. Americans swept the Aviators with a pair of 5-3 victories.
The purple and black will try to ignite the stretch run by defeating their division rivals at the Rochester Ice Center on Tuesday.
ROUGH TIMES IN ROWDY TOWN
While the Aviators have historically gone toe-to-toe with their in-state rivals, playing three overtime games and splitting four of the six series lifetime, the Rochester Ice Center has not been kind to them.
After being swept in Rochester on Feb. 20 and 21, Elmira has now dropped four in a row at the Jr. Americans. The Aviators are now 1-5-0-0 at the Rochester Ice Center, all-time, conceding five goals or more in all five losses.
The one outlier, the one win, was a 6-0 thrashing over the Jr. Americans on Nov. 16, 2024. That victory still stands as the largest margin of victory in team history.
Elmira won’t need to have that dominant a performance to have a successful Tuesday, but it will certainly have to up the intensity to come away with two points.
In the Aviators’ favor is rest. Elmira has not played since Feb. 21, meaning the Aviators will have had nine full days of rest before the Tuesday trip to Rochester.
Meanwhile, the Jr. Americans played last weekend, and both of their games went to overtime.
The Aviators should have fresher legs on Tuesday and need to get off to a fast start to put the Jr. Americans on their heels.
Another area Elmira needs to capitalize on is special teams. Rochester is the most disciplined team in the East Division, yet Elmira got 11 power-play opportunities during the last series.
Elmira converted just 2/11 chances, going 1/6 on Friday and 1/5 on Saturday. The Aviators simply must take advantage of their power play opportunities if they hope to steal a game on the road.
On the other side, Rochester’s power play was efficient last time out against Elmira. The Jr. Americans went 2/5 on the man-advantage in the Friday game and added a penalty shot goal.
Elmira did a much better job on Saturday, staying disciplined and holding Rochester to 0/2 on the power play.
The Aviators will likely have to win the battle on special teams to earn a positive result on Tuesday.
THE JR. AMERICANS
Despite splitting five of its last six series, Rochester continues to march along as it attempts to grab the No. 2 seed and a precious bye week for the East Division playoffs.
The Jr. Americans have opened up a four-point lead on rivals Maine and will not want to mess around against an Elmira team near the bottom of the standings.
Since the Aviators met the Jr. Americans recently, not much has changed. Rochester plays great defense, and it blows a lot of teams out. The Jr. Americans are 21-6 in games where a team wins by two or more and 11-9 in one-score games.
Johnstown outlined the formula for success as it picked up three of four points last weekend in Rochester.
The Tomahawks never trailed by more than one; they scored the opening goal in both games and they took advantage of power play opportunities.
Johnstown was nearly 50% on the man-advantage for the weekend, going 3/8. The Tomahawks were 2/4 in the win on Saturday.
By getting off to good starts, staying within striking distance, taking advantage of power plays and burying their chances, the Tomahawks had a very successful weekend in a tough place to play.
If Elmira can follow that formula, it can pick up an upset victory on Tuesday.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Rochester: Adam Gionta (‘05 F)
Gionta has tortured the Aviators throughout the bulk of his NAHL career. The son of longtime NHLer and Jr. Americans assistant coach Brian Gionta has a whopping nine goals and four assists in 11 career games against the Aviators.
He tallied three goals in the last series versus Elmira, including the game winners in both matchups.
Gionta is exceptional as an all situations player. The Aviators will need to limit his time and space at five-on-five, power play and even penalty kill to keep him off the score sheet.
Elmira: Corson Maguire (‘05 F)
A repeat of last week, but how could it not be? Maguire has been on fire since he arrived in Elmira from Rochester, registering at least a point in all six games in the purple and black.
Despite the tough team results, Maguire was great against his old team in the Aviators’ previous trip to Rochester. The Toronto native scored goals on both nights and added an assist for a three-point weekend.
Maguire has a chance to have the longest career goal streak in Aviator history if he buries one on Tuesday. He’s currently scored goals in four straight games, tying a run Jett Otwell had last season.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans can track all the exciting action by streaming the game on NATV or listening live on WINGZ93.
Tuesday’s game at Rochester Ice Center is set for a 6:30 p.m. puck drop. Fans can also keep tabs on the games by following the Aviators on social media @Elmiraaviatorsnahl.
Mac Young is the play-by-play voice of the Elmira Aviators. To contact him, email [email protected].