AMERKS LOOKING TO TAKE OVER SYRACUSE
May 1, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans can end the North Division Semifinals in the same place they did a year ago. Like last time, they just hope it’s with them moving on and not preparing for exit interviews the following week.
The Amerks and Syracuse Crunch are entrenched in another playoff battle. Last year saw the series reach a fifth and final game, where Rochester pulled off the overtime win, advancing to the North Division Finals while subsequently sending the Crunch into the offseason.
On Thursday, the two teams will play Game 3 with the best-of-five series tied, 1-1. Whomever comes out on top Thursday will force the first elimination game of the series Saturday in Syracuse for Game 4.
“It’s kind of shaking out how we thought,” said veteran defenseman Ethan Prow. “It's a tough opponent. It's going to be a great series. You go through tough battles and we expect nothing less. Last year it took us to Game 5. This year, you know, we'll see where it goes.”
Prow was one of several Amerks returning from last year’s playoff run. He tallied an assist in that crucial Game 5 that started with a goal from Tyson Kozak, who returned to Rochester’s lineup for Game 2 on Sunday after missing nearly four weeks of action due to injury.
“He’s just such an important piece of our team,” said Amerks head coach Seth Appert on the return of Kozak. “He's physical. He's hard to play against. He can play center, he can play wing. He's a really good defensive player. He's one of our best penalty killers. Getting a player like him back, especially when you got a guy like (Brett) Murray out is critical. You need all the heavy bodies you can take against a team like Syracuse.”
Kozak’s goal last year in Game 5 at Upstate Medical University Arena saw an uproar in the stands, but not for the wrong reasons. Amerks fans, as they’re known to do, deployed a large contingent of red, white, and blue in Syracuse. The fans who call Blue Cross Arena home decided to set up a temporary residency an hour and a half down I-90.
“That Game 5; I've never seen anything really quite like it,” said Kozak when reflecting on last year’s series. “All the Amerks fans there; it was like they took over Syracuse's building. That’s what it looked like. It was an exciting game.”
“It was one of the coolest memories I have from my time here over the last few years,” said forward Mason Jobst. “What I remember is sitting in the locker room probably an hour before the game even started and just hearing ‘let's go Amerks’ chants ringing throughout the arena right above our locker room, which is so cool.”
“It's a hard place to go and play. Historically, our fans have done a great job of traveling there and kind of neutralizing that side a little bit for us, which is awesome. And I love playing here so much because of the support from the community, but it's going to be a tough challenge ahead.”
The Amerks players and staff alike know not to live in the past too much. Nostalgia from last year’s run is easy to think, but the task itself will be difficult to duplicate. Add in the fact that Syracuse just received two defensemen and a goaltender back from NHL-Tampa Bay and the challenge gets amplified.
“Right now, our focus is on Game 3,” said Prow. “Getting back to playing the way we can and going into a tough building, but it's one that we've played in plenty and know what to expect.”
“I don't want to say it doesn't help their team,” said Appert when asked about the returnees for the Crunch. “It does. They're good players. But, you know, whoever the other team rolls out is who we have to play. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about the opponent's roster and who goes down and who goes up, because whoever they play is going to be a darn good player that's playing in the playoffs, that's committed to winning, that's hard to play against, so that doesn't bother me. I worry about our roster, not theirs.”
The Amerks had success in their final two trips to Syracuse during the regular season, pulling out 3-2 and 2-0 wins, respectively. The Amerks have taken home ice away from the Crunch before and pulled their own legion of fans into the fight on the road with them. They’ll look to do that again this week. It takes 20 players to fill a lineup, a cast of coaches to lead them, but it requires far more from the fans in the stands who travel to support their team.
“Going back to last year here in the crowd and the way our fans traveled; that game was something special,” said Prow. “Hopefully we get that support here in Game 3 and heading on the road would be huge.”