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AMERKS FIGHT BACK, FORCE GAME 6 OF CONFERENCE FINALS

AMERKS FIGHT BACK, FORCE GAME 6 OF CONFERENCE FINALS

Jun 1, 2023

By Emily Wade

 

“It’s what I expected,” Amerks head coach Seth Appert said of Rochester’s Game 5 win in Hershey on Wednesday night. “This group, as I’ve said many times, has been through a lot together and they love playing for each other.”

 

The energy all day in the locker room was positive and palpable. Thought it can be assumed that the Bears expected to close-out the series in front of a sold-out crowd on home ice, the Amerks locker room expected to send the series back to Rochester.

 

“When your back’s against the wall people think you’re done, most people don’t have that belief in you,” Appert added. “But you do, inside each other. And you’re playing with a group of guys you love.”

“There will be very few moments in your life that are better than this: when you’re in adverse situations with a group of guys that you love playing for.”

 

 

One guy that Appert had an outpouring of praise for was goaltender Malcolm Subban. He made 32 saves and was named first star. But it might have been his first five minutes that really set him apart.

 

"The first five minutes, Subby was excellent and let us get our feet underneath us,” he said. And after that initial barrage, he liked how the team responded: “I think we were getting out-shot 6-0 at one point in the first, and I think we out-shot them 9-1, maybe 9-2 the rest of the period.”

 

Even though the Amerks controlled a lot of the final two periods, and got out to a 2-0 lead off a beautiful feed from Mason Jobst to Lukas Rousek, the Bears attempted a comeback. Hershey scored on a power play, but the Amerks responded almost immediately with a power play goal of their own. Finally.

 

“The power play wasn’t real good tonight, but they scored,” Appert said. “They scored when we needed them to. I thought [the Bears] were gifted a power play there that they probably didn’t deserve and they scored on it, credit to Hershey for that, and now the crowd was going crazy and we needed to deliver.”

 

The power play had struggled in the best-of-seven series, failing to convert on their first 10 attempts. But Michael Mersch, the captain, delivered when his team needed it the most. “That was a big moment there,” Appert said.

 

And after that, the Amerks never looked back. Hershey has been known to fight their way back into the games, and that’s a lesson Rochester learned in Game 4, as they saw their third period lead evaporate into a loss.

 

 

The same would not be true for Game 5, as Rousek delivered the empty-net dagger to send the series back to Blue Cross Arena for Game 6. “We learned from our mistakes in Game 4,” Appert noted of the third period. He’s been saying it all postseason: the team needs to learn and get better every single day.

 

“The lesson the last 10 minutes of Game 4 was we were not assertive in our positional play, in how aggressive we played, and in our voice,” he elaborated. “When you’re in big moments and you’re quiet, it feels very lonely. When you’re in big moments and you’re loud, you feel connected.” The Amerks certainly felt the strength in numbers last night.

“We weren’t perfect, but we were a much more composed team. We were a more connected team.”

 

Appert was also appreciative of defenseman Austin Strand, who suited up in his first Calder Cup Playoffs appearance for Game 5. “That man has worked hard every day,” Appert praised. “First guy at the rink. Unreal attitude. And we needed him tonight, and he went in and stepped up big time.”

 

It comes as no surprise that everyone on this team is ready at a moment’s notice: many times during the season, players have stepped up for the squad. Josh Passolt played his first AHL game and scored his first AHL goal to earn the Amerks a first-round bye. Mitch Eliot played forward when the Amerks were plagued with injuries during the first two series.

 

Jobst shares the team lead in postseason points after re-signing in Rochester and ascending to a top 6 forward. Rookie Jiri Kulich has seven goals, and 11 points, in 11 games. And every game he’s on the scoresheet, the Amerks have won.

 

It’s just how this team operates: they play for each other, every single day. “We have a great group of men in that locker room that are just awesome to be with every day,” Appert praised.

“I didn’t want this to be the last day I get to coach this group. This group is just phenomenal.”

 

And this group is still playing hockey in June. The Eastern Conference Finals return to Rochester for Game 6 on Friday night. It’s another must-win game for the Amerks, who will now have the home crowd on their side. Tickets are on sale now!

 

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