AMERKS HANG ON TO SECURE 3-2 WIN IN CLEVELAND
Rochester spoils Cleveland’s Teddy Bear Toss night for fifth straight road win
Dec 22, 2024Zachary Metsa scored the game-winning-goal moments after Cleveland’s teddy bear toss tally, while Devon Levi and Rochester’s defense stood tall to secure a 3-2 win over the North Division rival Monsters Sunday afternoon at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The win is Rochester’s fifth consecutive victory on the road, along with its sixth win over the past seven games. The Amerks improved to 16-9-3-0, giving them 37 points on the season and tying them with Cleveland for second in the North Division as the AHL starts its annual holiday break.
FIRST PERIOD
The Amerks jumped on the attack early with several scoring chances before breaking through under five minutes into the game.
Brett Murray and Viktor Neuchev exchanged possession with the puck right in front of the net. Neuchev took a shot from the right side that was kicked free by Cleveland’s Zach Sawchenko. The bouncing puck was scooped up by Murray, who knocked it through multiple bodies and into the back of the goal for his team-leading 13th goal of the season.
For the first time, Josh Dunne scored against his former team.
Dunne, who centered a hard-working line with Brendan Warren and Graham Slaggert, circled the zone with his linemates as Rochester maintained pressure throughout the shift. It culminated at the 10:11 mark of the first, when Warren slid a puck across to Metsa, who took a shot from the right point that Dunne tipped through traffic, eluding Sawchenko and doubling Rochester’s lead with Dunne’s fifth goal of the season.
SECOND PERIOD
Rochester dominated in shots with a 21-6 difference in the middle period, but Stanislav Svozil broke through first for Cleveland, taking a shot from the right wing with traffic taking the eyes away from Levi, making it 2-1 with 6:22 to play in the period. The goal served as the teddy bear toss goal for Cleveland, forcing the game into delay while thousands of stuffed animals were collected and donated.
After the festivities ended, the Amerks jumped right back into the action, scoring 35 seconds later with Metsa blasting a one-timer by Sawchenko. Metsa’s shot from the right point was unintentionally tipped by Cleveland defenseman Corson Ceulemans, surprising Sawchenko and putting the Amerks back up by a pair of goals, heading into the third period with a 3-1 advantage.
THIRD PERIOD
Cleveland notched the lone third-period goal in the dying seconds of the game when Daemon Hunt managed to solve Levi with 7.5 seconds remaining and the net pulled for the Monsters to have a 6-on-5 advantage. Nikita Novikov took a matching roughing penalty with Cleveland’s Owen Sillinger with 2:56 to play. The penalty was the lone infraction called against the Amerks as the red, white, and blue never allowed Cleveland a power play, marking the first time this season Rochester did not have to kill a penalty.
STARS AND STRIPES
With 23 saves, Levi picked up his ninth win of the season and his eighth in the last nine starts. The 22-year-old ranks eighth across the AHL 2.14 goals-against-average ... Murray’s 13th goal of the season is his sixth in the last five games and 11th in the last 20 ... The sixth-year pro is tied for the eighth-most goals in the AHL … Rochester extended its point streak in Cleveland to six games, going 5-0-1-0 in their last half dozen visits to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
UP NEXT
Rochester enters the AHL’s annual holiday break, with the team taking off Dec. 23-26. The Amerks return to play on Friday, Dec. 27 to begin a home-and-home weekend against the Utica Comets (6-14-1-2). The weekend begins at Blue Cross Arena with puck-drop slated for 7:05 p.m. Friday night and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
Goal Scorers
CLE: S. Svozil (3), D. Hunt (1)
ROC: B. Murray (13), J. Dunne (5), Z. Metsa (2-GWG),
Goaltenders
CLE: Z. Sawchenko – 30/33 (L)
ROC: D. Levi – 23/25 (W)
Shots
CLE: 25
ROC: 33
Special Teams
CLE: PP (0/0) | PK (3/3)
ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (0/0)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - Z. Metsa
2. ROC - J. Dunne
3. CLE - S. Svozil