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Amerks comeback falls just short

jcamp214

By: Joey Campbell


ROCHESTER, N.Y. --- The Rochester Americans returned to Blue Cross Arena after a six-day break to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday night. A slow-paced game turned on its head as the Phantoms won in a shootout 3-2 over the Americans.


"These are great games for us," Amerks forward Josh Dunne said. "Being down in the third period and then being down again facing some adversity, that's unbelievable."


For the Amerks, goalie Devon Levi (12-3-1) looked to bounce back after suffering a 6-2 loss against the crosstown rival Syracuse Crunch. The 23-year-old was recognized for his tremendous season by being named a 2025 AHL All-Star. The last Americans netminder to receive the honors was Jonas Johansson back in the 2020 season. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms turned to backup goalie Parker Gahagen (4-1-1), who held an .896 save percentage coming into the game and was fresh off his first AHL shutout just six days ago. Gahagen's roots stem from Buffalo, N.Y. where he grew up playing for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres and eventually with Army University where he played for four seasons.


Devon Levi (27) holding the puck after a shot attempt on Jan. 17, 2025. Photo Credit: Rochester Americans.
Devon Levi (27) holding the puck after a shot attempt on Jan. 17, 2025. Photo Credit: Rochester Americans.

It looked like Rochester would open the scoring with a Brendan Warren breakaway goal fed from newcomer Jagger Joshua. However, the puck hit crossbar and never went past the red line keeping the game tied at zero.


The Phantoms struck first just after the passing of the five minute mark. A faceoff win from Jacob Gaucher in the Amerks zone found its way to the top of the right-hand circle. A slap-shot from Phantoms defenseman Ethan Samson beat the pad of Levi making it 1-0 Phantoms.


Both teams played competitive hockey for the first 20 minutes with the Phantoms just outshooting the Amerks 10-9 on the period. The Amerks power play had two chances, but both were futile against a middle of the pack Phantom penalty kill.


Not much changed at the end of the second period. The Rochester Americans got another power play attempt which was killed off easily by the Phantoms. Both teams registered 18 shots through 40 minutes of play with just one goal to show for it.


Americans center Riley Fiddler-Schultz (12) battling for the puck against an onslaught of Phantom defenders on Jan. 17, 2025. Photo Credit: Rochester Americans.
Americans center Riley Fiddler-Schultz (12) battling for the puck against an onslaught of Phantom defenders on Jan. 17, 2025. Photo Credit: Rochester Americans.

With 11 minutes to go in the third period, the Amerks gave their fans something to cheer about. Riley Fiddler-Schultz gave the puck to Noah Ostlund in the far-right corner of the Phantoms zone. A creeping Josh Dunne from the left circle got the backhanded feed from Ostlund who ripped it over the right shoulder of Gahagen, tying the game at one.

Video Credit: @AmerksHockey on X.


"It was a great play by Ostlund," Dunne said. "Unbelievable pass I was just trying to get it off and give it a chance."


Just four minutes later the Phantoms regained their lead. On the penalty kill, Phantoms winger Brendan Furry chased the puck into the Amerks zone. After getting the puck, Furry took it across to his backhand making Levi reach and lose his balance. He would go untouched completing a backhanded wrap-around goal to give the Phantoms a 2-1 lead.


Late game magic from Rochester tied it up at two after just passing the one minute to play mark. The Amerks pulled Levi and began piling on shots, overwhelming the odd-manned Phantom defense. Defenseman Jack Rathbone from the point sent it down to Lukas Rousek, who sent it across to Brendan Warren for the tic-tac-toe goal, tying it at two.


Video Credit: @AmerksHockey on X.


The game was not decided by 60 minutes of play, taking the game to three-on-three overtime.


The Amerks thought they had the game-winning goal off of the stick of Isak Rosen, however the call was overturned and ruled no goal due to goalie interference.


"I thought it was a really bad call," Amerks head coach Michael Leone said. "When you watch the replay, he goes backhand, the puck is going into the net and he pushes it in. It's mind blowing that you can't review the play."

The Phantoms would take the shootout 2-1 in round 5. Isak Rosen notched a shootout goal in the third round which was matched by Samu Tuomaala. Rodrigo Abols got the game winner for the Phantoms.


With the loss, the Americans drop to 22-10-3-1 and now are tied for second with the Cleveland Monsters as the Laval Rocket enter first place solo in the North division. As for the Phantoms, they now rise to 19-14-5-1, creating a three-way tie for second with the Charlotte Checkers and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.


The Amerks will rematch the Phantoms tomorrow, Jan. 18 in Lehigh Valley. Puck drop is scheduled at 7:05 p.m.

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