AMERKS FALL TO CHECKERS IN QUEEN CITY OUTDOOR CLASSIC
Jan 14, 2024The Rochester Americans (16-13-3-1) scored a goal in each of the first two periods Saturday at Truist Field, but a four-goal run by the Charlotte Checkers (18-13-4-0) propelled the home team to a 5-2 win in the Queen City Outdoor Classic.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the loss, which snapped Rochester’s road point streak at four games, the Amerks finished the season-series with the Checkers with a 2-2-0-0 mark for the second straight season. The Amerks, who split the two-game set this weekend, also boast a 3-1-0-0 record in the last four games in the Queen City dating back to the start of last season.
Forwards Linus Weissbach and Michael Mersch both scored their fifth goals of the season in the first and second periods, respectively. Kale Clague, Jiri Kulich, and Lukas Rousek all chipped in one assist each. By way of Rousek’s assist, he pushed his point streak to 10 games, which is a career-long and best in the AHL.
Goaltender Eric Comrie (1-0-0) made his second appearance since joining the Amerks after starting the season with the Buffalo Sabres. The Edmonton, Alberta, native made 32 saves, which included all 16 he faced in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Justin Sourdif (0+3) registered a multi-assist outing while Lucas Carlsson (1+1) and Brendan Perlini (1+1) both added multi-point efforts. Former Amerk Rasmus Asplund, Uvis Balinskis and Mackie Samoskevich capped off the scoring with a goal each for Charlotte.
Goaltender Spencer Knight (11-7-4) made his 22nd appearance of the campaign and second against Rochester in as many nights. The netminder made 25 saves to earn the win.
Facing a 2-1 deficit midway through the second period, the Checkers, who carried a 10-4 shot advantage during the frame, evened the score as Balinskis started the play to the left of Comrie. After a flurry of saves on Wise and Perlini, Balinskis finished off the sequence to right of the netminder as he hammered a one-time feed at the 12:08 mark.
Much like the second period, Charlotte began the third stanza with an early goal to take a 3-2 score 1:16 into the frame on Samoskevich’s 10th of the season.
Roughly 10 minutes later, the Checkers doubled their lead on Perlini’s goal from Sourdif and former Amerk Casey Fitzgerald.
In an attempt to chip into the deficit, the Amerks pulled Comrie for an extra skater in the final minutes of regulation, however, Carlsson sealed the 5-2 score.
Despite being outshot 16-11 in the opening period, Rochester got on the board with nearly five minutes left in the frame.
The Amerks dumped the puck inside the Checkers zone before Rousek stripped a Charlotte player in the left corner. The forward provided a quick pass back to Clague outside the face-off dot and the blueliner sent a perfect one-time feed for Weissbach to rip past Knight, breaking the scoreless game.
Following the intermission break, the two clubs traded a goal less than a minute apart.
After Asplund buried a centering feed from between the circles, Mersch forced a turnover at the Charlotte blueline. Rochester’s captain slid the puck to Kulich and darted towards the top of the crease to finish off Kulich’s return pass from below the goal line for his fifth of the slate.
Charlotte then scored four straight unanswered, including three third-period tallies to close out the 5-2 score.
The Amerks wrap up their three-game stint against Atlantic Division opponents when they return home on Wednesday, Jan. 17 for a 7:05 p.m. face-off with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. All the action from The Blue Cross Arena will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Stars and Stripes:
By earning his secondary assist on Linus Weissbach’s goal in the first-period, Lukas Rousek pushed his point streak to a career-high 10 games, over which he has recorded 11 points (3+8) … The point streak is the longest active in the American Hockey League … Of Michael Mersch’s five goals this season, three have been scored against the Checkers … Tonight was the 12th outdoor game in AHL history and Rochester’s second.
Goal Scorers
ROC: L. Weissbach (5), M. Mersch (5)
CLT: R. Asplund (4), U. Balinskis (2), M. Samoskevich (10), B. Perlini (9), L. Carlsson (11)
Goaltenders
ROC: E. Comrie – 32/36 (L)
CLT: S. Knight – 25/27 (W)
Shots
ROC: 27
CLT: 37
Special Teams
ROC: PP (0/1) | PK (2/3)
CLT: PP (1/3) | PK (1/1)
Three Stars:
1. CLT - M. Samoskevich
2. CLT - J. Sourdif
3. CLT - B. Perlini