Amerks keep season alive with shutout win over the Marlies
- Mateo Ortiz
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Rochester Americans hosted the Toronto Marlies for game two of the first round of the North Division playoffs. After a 5-0 loss on in game one on Wednesday night, the Amerks flipped the script on the Marlies as a 29 save shutout by Devon Levi lifted Rochester to a 4-0 win, to force a winner-take-all game three on Sunday.
The first 4:47 of play went uninterrupted, although both teams had a couple of great chances early on, none of their shots were able to get past both netminders, Artur Akhtyamov for the Marlies, and Devon Levi for the Amerks.
Rochester kicked off the scoring with 6:40 left in the opening frame as center Konsta Helenius put the puck top shelf over the right shoulder of Akhtyamov to give the Amerks an 1-0 lead. Helenius’s goal came on the power play after Toronto defenseman Henry Thurn slashed Amerks left winger Anton Wahlberg. Left winger Riley Fiddler-Schultz was credited with the lone assist on the Helenius goal.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X
At the 15:58 mark of the first, Amerks right winger Carson Meyer extended the Rochester lead to two after shooting the puck over the left pad of Akhatyamov. For Rochester, this was their first two goal lead in their last seven games, that game was on April 6th, a 4-3 OT win for the Amerks. Defenseman Ryan Johnson and Wahlberg were credited with the assists on the Meyer goal.
Through one period of play, the Amerks maintained their two-goal lead while also recording a 10-8 advantage on Marlies in shots on goal.
Midway through the second period of play, the score still remained 2-0 with the Amerks still leading in shots on goal, with a 14-12 advantage. Both teams also had a power play opportunity though the halfway point, with both being unsuccessful.
Both teams remained scoreless through the end of the second period. Toronto did tie up the Amerks in shots on goal with both the Amerks and Marlies recording 17 shots apiece through two periods.
With 11:41 remaining in the third period, Amerks defenseman Vsevolod Komarov went top shelf on Akhatyamov on a shot from the blue line to extend the lead to 3-0 midway through the final frame. Konsta Helenius was credited with the primary assist, while right winger Chris Douglas was credited with the secondary assist. For Douglas, this was first career AHL assist.
The Amerks solidified the win after a full rink shot by Ryan Johnson went into the empty Marlies net to give Rochester a four-goal advantage late in the final frame.
Toronto did take the lead in shots late in the third period, posting a 29-24 advantage. However none of them were able to get past Devon Levi as he recorded his first shutout since January 23, in a 4-0 win for Rochester.
Despite this being his first shutout since January, Levi did not consider this win as a confidence boost. “I don’t really care as long as we win the game” Levi said, “We played well as a team, we won the game, just another opportunity to play on Sunday is what i care about.”
This was Rochester’s first shutout win since February 6, a 4-0 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds. Head coach Michael Leone gave some praise to his young defensive core after the game. “We killed a lot of plays, we blocked a lot of shots, we got a lot of sticks, those games are tight checking in the playoffs” Leone said. “It’s not a game where you just go out and outshoot and trade chances.” Leone said. “They defended really hard; I thought we did a really good job at figuring it out.”
Game three of this best-of-three series will take place on Sunday afternoon at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. The winner of Sunday’s decisive game will move on to the North Division Semifinals, where they will meet the top seeded Laval Rocket in a best-of-five series. Puck drop for Sunday’s contest is scheduled for 4 pm.