AMERKS, LEVI FLIP THE SCRIPT ON CHECKERS TO SPLIT WEEKEND
Levi picked up his second shutout performance in eight days in 3-0 win over Charlotte
Dec 7, 2024Devon Levi stood out for a second straight week, denying all 30 shots he faced Saturday in Charlotte as the Rochester Americans topped the Checkers by a 3-0 final to split their weekend series at Bojangles Coliseum.
The shutout was Levi’s second in eight days after securing his first pro shutout last Friday on home ice against Syracuse with a 20-save performance.
Graham Slaggert, Nikita Novikov, and Brenden Warren each scored as Rochester won for the fourth time in its last five games, improving to 12-8-3-0 on the 2024-25 season. Charlotte saw its four-game win streak snapped, dropping to 11-5-1-2 on the year.
FIRST PERIOD
Slaggert got the Amerks back on the board after being shut out the night prior, making it 1-0 under seven minutes into the contest.
Following a Levi save, the puck landed on the stick of veteran defenseman Ethan Prow, who surveyed ahead and saw Slaggert splitting the defense at the Checkers’ blueline. A tape-to-tape pass reached Slaggert, who shot with pressure on him to beat Charlotte goaltender Cooper Black low on his stick side.
The goal was Slaggert’s fifth of the season and 12th point of the campaign (5+7), tying his career-high in points set from last year in 23 fewer games. The third-year pro is fourth in team scoring.
Levi’s assist was his second of the season, becoming the first Rochester goaltender to post multiple assists in a season since Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did so with a pair of helpers in 2021-22.
SECOND PERIOD
A scoreless second saw Levi flash his brilliance in goal. The 22-year-old denied Patrick Giles on a breakaway and later stopped Marek Alscher during a developing 2-on-1.
Meanwhile with the puck, the second-year pro flung it through the air down to Slaggert for a second breakaway opportunity, this time one that Black would have the answer for.
THIRD PERIOD
Novikov provided breathing room for Rochester midway through the period, wristing a shot from the left point that found its way through traffic and into the top right corner of the goal to double the Amerks’ lead. Brett Murray tacked an assist onto the goal and leads all Amerks with nine points (2+7) in the season series against Charlotte dating back to the start of the 2022-23 season.
Charlotte outshot Rochester by a 13-6 margin in the third period and emptied the net for a 6-on-5 opportunity with over three minutes remaining. Levi, along with his teammates, saved and blocked several chances thrown toward the net.
Novikov would snatch a puck from the corner, floating it out to Warren, who was able to skate toward the vacant net to score his fifth of the season. Warren, a fifth-year pro, established a new career-high in points with eight (5+3) and ties his career-high in goals from last year, where the Carleton, Michigan, native scored five times in 33 games.
STARS AND STRIPES
With getting a secondary assist on the empty-net goal, Slaggert finished the night with two points (1+1) and has six points (2+4) over his last seven games ... Levi became the first Amerks goaltender since Malcolm Subban to shut out Charlotte ... Subban did so on Dec. 17, 2022 ... Levi won his fourth straight start, improving his numbers on the season to 5-1-1 with an impressive 1.96 goals-against-average to go with a .917 save percentage ... The Amerks went 2-for-2 on their penalty kill, doing so against the league’s top power-play unit ... Entering the night, Charlotte had scored on 42.5% of their power-plays on home ice.
UP NEXT
Rochester makes a brief stop home to the Flower City, only to repack their bags and head to the Great White North. On Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Amerks take on division leading-Laval, who have points in three straight games. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. from Place Bell 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
CLT: None
ROC: G. Slaggert (5 – GWG), N. Novikov (2), B. Warren (5 – EN)
Goaltenders
CLT: C. Black – 16/18 (L)
ROC: D. Levi – 30/30 (W)
Shots
CLT: 30
ROC: 19
Special Teams
CLT: PP (0/2) | PK (4/4)
ROC: PP (0/4) | PK (2/2)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - D. Levi
2. ROC - G. Slaggert
3. ROC - N. Novikov