Amerks shutout Thunderbirds
- rolek16
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
Ryan Oleksyn / Sports writer
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Rochester Americans defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds Friday evening by a final score of 4-0. Amerks winger Isak Rosén had a night, scoring three goals to help lead the Amerks offensive attack. Also, Amerks goaltender Scott Ratzlaff earned his first shutout as a Amerk and Ratzlaff became the first Amerks rookie goalie to notch a shutout since 2015.
"I'm just going to go out there and have some fun," said Ratzlaff. "That's what hockey's about."
The game began with an aggressive tone set early by Rochester as they were relentless with the shots on net towards Springfield's goaltender Georgi Romanov.
The Amerks spent a majority of the first period in the Springfield zone and put up seven shots on net before the Thunderbirds could even muster one shot of their own, and they were rewarded as a result.
Rochester winger Isak Rosén would light the lamp first with a redirection put back in front of the net and the Amerks would promptly jump in front to an early 1-0 lead with 11:56 remaining in the period. Rosén earned his 21st goal of the season and he was assisted by Anton Wahlberg and Zac Jones.
Video: @ AmerksHockey on X
With tensions mounting, the physicality only followed suit. While both teams were serving roughing penalties, Rochester took advantage in a four-on-four situation by burying a cross net one timer to increase their lead to two over Springfield.
It was Isak Rosén finding the back of the net for the Amerks as he notched his 22nd goal of the season and he was assisted by Konsta Helenius and Gavin Bayreuther.
After one period of play, Rochester led on the scoreboard 2-0 and also led in shots on net 13-7.
The second period began with a lot of animosity as the two sides finally broke out into a fight at center ice between Mason Geertsen and Quinton Burns, which would tell the tale for the type of game that took place Friday night.
With 14:26 remaining in the second period, Rochester struck once again as Isak Rosén scored his third goal of the game, clinching the hat trick. It was Rosén's 23rd goal of the season and he was assisted by Konsta Helenius.
The Amerks now took a commanding 3-0 lead over the Thunderbirds and hats began to rain down on the ice at Blue Cross Arena.
"It's nice to get a rebound right on your stick," said Rosén. "As a team today, we did a really good job of the details and be above their guys all the time and that's why we won the puck back all the time on the forecheck."
Video: @ AmerksHockey on X
Later in the frame, the Amerks entered the Springfield zone and continued to put pedal to metal by finding the back of the net with a redirection by Trevor Kuntar. It was Kuntar's 12th goal of the season and he was assisted by Nikita Novikov and Jagger Joshua.
With 5:11 remaining in the second period Rochester now led by a large margin of 4-0.
After two periods of play Rochester led Springfield by a score of 4-0 and dominated shots on goal 33-15.
The third period began fairly quietly as both sides split zone time and did not create many scoring opportunities.
Through the first half of the third period, the only notable moment occurred when both sides exchanged another pair of roughing penalties.
More shots were taken towards both team's goalies but neither side were able to land a late blow, and with the final seconds ticking down, Rochester held the puck behind their own net to clinch the 4-0 victory over Springfield.
"We did a really good job in the neutral zone," said Amerks head coach Michael Leone. "I thought we were outstanding in the o-zone and winning faceoffs."
The Amerks next game is Saturday when they travel out to Utica to face the Comets. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. With the win, Rochester improves to 22-15-4-3 on the season and remains in fifth place in the North Division.