Amerks take 2-0 series lead with shutout
- Dylan O’Loughlin
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
By: Dylan O'Loughlin / Sports Director
ROCHESTER, NY --- After a come from behind 3-2 victory in game one, the Rochester Americans carried that momentum into game two of the North Division semifinals at Blue Cross Arena against the Syracuse Crunch. In a battle where fists were flying and bodies were falling, the Amerks pulled away with a 4-0 victory including three goals in the last 21 minutes.
"Just a bunch of guys with self-worth," Rochester Americans head coach Michael Leone said. "Everything throughout the course of the year prepared us for this moment. We talked about being selfless, adversity through a game, the highs and lows, and the guys, they willed it out and gave a really incredible effort. You could feel it on the bench, they were connected. Guys sacrificed a lot."
This is the third straight year the Amerks and Crunch have played each other in the North Division semifinals. Last year, after two games at Blue Cross, the series was split 1-1. This time around, the Amerks head to Syracuse with a 2-0 lead and only one win away from the North Division Finals.
It was a rematch in between the pipes for game two as Devon Levi got the start again for the Amerks while Brandon Halverson notched the start for the Crunch. In game one, Levi won the battle in net with 25 saves, two goals allowed and a .926 save percentage while Halverson racked up 27 saves, allowed three goals and a .900 save percentage.
In the regular season, Levi produced a 25-13-4 record with a 4-3-2 line against Syracuse while the ninth-year goalie for the Crunch earned a 22-11-8 record while going 3-4-1 on the season against the Amerks. To go along with that, the two goalies ranked in the top 15 in the AHL in saves, top 10 in save percentage and goals allowed.
In the first period, it was a physical battle between the two teams. Multiple bodies hit the floor due to body checks and blindsides from each team while three scuffles nearly broke out.
The loudest hit of the period came from Rochester's Jack Rathbone as the defenseman slammed a Crunch attacker into the side boards causing a turnover that brought life to Blue Cross Arena.
That energy surged the Amerks offense. With 9:23 remaining in the opening period, Rochester got on the board first with a wrist shot from Konsta Helenius just in front of the goalie box. Defenseman Kale Clague and forward Tyson Kozak picked up the assists on the play for the Finland forward's first playoff goal.
Rochester was able to maintain possession throughout the physical first period. In the opening 20, the Amerks had eight shots on goal compared to Syracuse's six. The Crunch had a chance to put points on the board with under a minute left in the frame, but a save by Levi in a 2-on-1 chance for the Crunch shut down the opportunity. After one, the Amerks led 1-0.
"I think that there's momentum swings within a game where sometimes the team doesn't rely on me as much and I guess that last minute was my moment to try to step up for the group and keep it a one-nothing game," Levi said. "That's why I'm there, for breakdowns, so I take my opportunity when it comes, and I follow it."
In the second period, the physicality only intensified. After every pause in action, there was a player from each squad getting into the face of the other requiring the officials to shut down multiple potential fights.
Despite the physicality, the first power play of the game came midway through the second period when Syracuse's Anthony Angello got called for holding. The Amerks did not capitalize on the man-advantage though as the score remained 1-0.
With the physicality, it was only a matter of time until the emotions boiled over. It was with 3:22 remaining in the second when the first fight of the night broke out as Amerks defenseman Vsevolod Komarov and Crunch forward Jack Finley started throwing haymakers.
The fight ended with a shot right to the chin from Finley that knocked out Komarov on the ice. The two were both put into the penalty box for fighting, but Komarov did not return to the game. Due to the fight and Komarov injury, there was a five-minute pause in the game that let each team regroup, collect their emotions and focus on the rest of the game.
"I think everyone knew that we were doing it for him [Komarov]," Levi said. "It's scary to see that, I'm super proud of him for being the guy to step up and try to change the momentum in a game like that. They had momentum at that time in the game and for him to go into that fight against a tough guy like Finley, we were going to fight back for him."
Just a few minutes later, another big hit from the Syracuse Crunch took Rathbone out for the rest of the second period. Despite being down two defenders, the Amerks defense held strong and drew a slashing penalty on Syracuse forward Joel Teasdale for another power play with 17 seconds remaining.
This time the Amerks took advantage of the man-up opportunity. It started with a faceoff win by Amerks forward Josh Dunne to put the puck in the o-zone. Clague then corralled the puck and passed it to forward Jiri Kulich who sent a slap-shot into the bottom of the net right in front of the goal to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Buffalo Sabres forward returned to the Amerks for the postseason after the Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention in the NHL. Despite this game being just his fifth appearance of the season, the forward from Kadan, Czechia made an instant impact.
"Yeah it was a big one," Leone said. "We put in Dunner [Dunne] to take the faceoff. Helly [Helenius] didn't get a point in that play, but he set a really nice pick, a great pass through by Clague and then that's what Jiri does. Big time players come up in big time moments."
Jiri Kulich's game goal with under a minute remaining in the second to give the Amerks a 2-0 lead. (Video/ Rochester Americans via X)
After the score, the period ended with another brawl between the Amerks and the Crunch. This time around, two misconduct penalties were called, one on Rochester's Zach Metsa and the other on Syracuse's Derrick Pouliot that sent both players to the penalty box for 10 minutes to start the third.
Despite losing two players on the defensive side, and being outshot 15-6 in the frame, the Amerks did not allow a goal and went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. In the series, Rochester is 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, still 100% with six other teams in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
"I think for a good portion our 4-D was incredible," Levi said. "I think especially against a team like Syracuse where it's war out there, our defensive core really stepped up. We stepped up for Komy [Komarov]. We came back and locked it down. They're a good team; it's a 4-0 game but the score doesn't really show you what really happened out there. It's a game of bounces and we got fortunate, but we put in the work to get those bounces."
In the third period, the Amerks came out firing. Rochester took control of the game when Syracuse's Dylan Duke was called for a high stick that put the Amerks on the power play. Even though Rochester did not score on the man-up chance, just 30 seconds after Kulich returned the favor to Clague.
With 14:00 remaining, Kulich obtained the puck in front of the net and passed it out to Clague. Clague then delivered a powerful slap-shot from deep in the o-zone into the top-right corner where Halverson couldn't even see it to give Rochester a 3-0 lead.
In the defender's first postseason appearance for the Amerks, Clague now has more points than games played. In just two playoff games, he leads Rochester in assists and goals with two apiece for four points including the game-winner in game one to cap off a 2-0 comeback.
"It's fun, especially when you don't get many opportunities," Clague said. "Obviously, I haven't been in the playoffs in my pro career yet and the team that we have, there's a lot of talent and we want to win. We believe we have the group to continue to roll along and win the series."
The Amerks were outshot 14-8 in the third and 35-22 on the game. That didn't matter though as the Crunch didn't score once due to the very physical defense from Rochester. The last score of the game came from the stick of Isak Rosen on an open net with under five minutes remaining. The leading goal scorer for the Amerks in the regular season notched his 29th of the season including postseason off an assist from Rathbone.
For Rochester, Clague led the way with three points (1+2) while Kulich followed with two (1+1). Rathbone, Rosen, Dunne, Helenius and Kozak all tallied a point as well. Levi played lights out in between the pipes, racking up 35 saves for his first shutout of his postseason career. Halverson finished with 18 saves for the Crunch.
The Amerks also finished 1-4 on the power play compared to the Crunch going 0-2. So far in the series, the Rochester is 2-7 on man-up chances while Syracuse has not scored yet, going 0-5.
Rochester improves to 2-0 in the series with the win and are just one away from the North Division Finals. The Amerks will look to wrap up the series on the road in Syracuse for game three on Thursday, May 1. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Comments