AMERKS CLOSE OUT PRESEASON WITH DOMINATING WIN OVER CRUNCH
Oct 10, 2021Brett Murray and Sean Malone each scored twice to lead to the Rochester Americans to a convincing 5-2 win over the intrastate rival Syracuse Crunch in the preseason finale between the two teams Sunday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Ryan MacInnis rounded out the scoring while also adding an assist for a two-point night and Jack Quinn collected two assists in the win for the Amerks, who picked up three out of a possible four points during preseason play. Aaron Dell was nearly perfect in net for Rochester, stopping all but two of the 17 shots he faced in his debut as an Amerk.
WATCH: GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Former Amerk Ryan Jones opened the scoring with assists from Antoine Morand and Daniel Walcott before Rochester reeled off five straight unanswered goals. Shawn Element also scored and Hugo Alnefelt made 33 saves in the loss for Syracuse.
After Jones put the Crunch ahead 5:31 into the contest, the Amerks responded with three straight first-period goals, including a pair from Murray in a span of 2:12 to jump out to a 3-1 advantage.
WATCH: BRETT MURRAY POST-GAME
Malone ignited the three-goal run 1:32 after the tally from Jones when he converted a rebound from Quinn for his first two of the night. Murray then struck twice in the closing minutes of the opening period to send Rochester into the first intermission up 3-1.
With momentum on their side, the Amerks piled it on in the middle frame with back-to-back power-play goals. MacInnis connected on a feed from Oskari Laaksonen and Jimmy Schuldt at 8:59 before Malone netted his second of the game less than two minutes later off a set-up from Quinn to give Rochester its largest lead of the night.
WATCH: SEAN MALONE POST-GAME
Syracuse was able to halt Rochester’s surge midway through third period when Element beat Dell midway through the third period, but the deficit proved to be too much and the Amerks cruised to a 5-2 win.
WATCH: JACK QUINN POST-GAME
The Amerks open their 66th American Hockey League season – and 40th as the primary affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres – on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 3:00 p.m. against the Utica Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center.