AMERKS ROUT CRUNCH IN PRESEASON WIN
Oct 6, 2024Defenseman Robert Calisti (2+2) finished with a game-high four points as the Rochester Americans cruised to a 7-1 win over the Syracuse Crunch in their lone preseason matchup Sunday afternoon at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
In addition to Calisti recording four points, Riley Fiddler-Schultz (0+2), Olivier Nadeau (2+0), Aleksandr Kisakov (1+2), and Tyler Tullio (1+2) all posted multi-point efforts in the win. Viktor Neuchev (1+0), Noah Laaouan (0+1), Tyson Kozak, Brendan Warren (0+1), Vsevolod Komarov (0+1) and Nikita Novikov completed the scoring.
Felix Sandstrom and Michael Houser split the goaltending duties for Rochester, combining for 24 saves. Sandstrom stopped all 12 shots he faced in the opening 31 minutes of the contest to earn the win while Houser also made 12 saves.
Dylan Duke provided the lone goal for Syracuse from Gabriel Szturc and Niko Huuhtanen during the third period while goaltender Matt Tomkins stopped 27 of the 32 shots he faced.
FIRST PERIOD
On the second power-play of the opening period, Komarov dropped a pass to Neuchev inside Rochester’s own blueline. The latter skated up the ice before he and Kozak exchanged a series of passes as they gained the offensive zone. Neuchev reached the right circle and fired a shot on net before he tucked in his own rebound inside the left leg of Tomkins and the post to open the scoring at the 5:06 mark of the frame.
Syracuse, which allowed the first six shots of the day, had the game’s next six to even the shots, however, Rochester erupted for three more goals in less than two minutes to take a 4-0 lead.
Fiddler-Schultz won a face-off to the left of the Crunch netminder back to Calisti with just under seven minutes remaining in the period. The Amerks defenseman patiently waited as bodies created a screen in-front of Tomkins before ripping a shot to double the lead.
On the ensuing shift, Fiddler-Schultz stripped the pocket of a Crunch player behind the Syracuse net and banked a pass off the boards to Laaouan at the right point. Laaouan connected on a feed to his left and Calisti sent another shot from atop the zone that Nadeau redirected over the shoulder of Tomkins for his first of the game.
To close out the period, Tullio stepped in-front of a clearing attempt just outside the Crunch blueline and quickly sent Kisakov and Warren on an odd-man rush. Kisakov carried the puck down the right wing and wired a shot past Tomkins as reached the top of the circle.
SECOND PERIOD
In the second period, the teams combined for 30 penalty minutes, and despite Rochester heavily outshooting Syracuse 16-4, the score remained unchanged after 40 minutes of play.
Much like the opening frame, Sandstrom stopped all shots he faced in the frame before Houser took over in net at the 9:01 mark. The Gavle, Sweden, native finished with 12 saves in 31 minutes as he made his unofficial debut in the red, white and blue.
THIRD PERIOD
Early in the final stanza, Warren applied pressure in the offensive zone, forcing a Crunch skater to rim the puck around the wall towards the Syracuse bench. Kisakov intercepted the feed and spotted Tullio, who was behind the defense and all alone atop the crease. The forward waited briefly then tucked a shot over Tomkins’ shoulder just four minutes into the frame.
Rochester then gained a two-man advantage for 34 seconds, and after being unsuccessful on the first of the two penalties, Fiddler-Schultz dished a perfect pass for Nadeau to rifle past the netminder to push the lead to six.
The Crunch were able to spoil Rochester’s bid for a shutout as Duke steered in a centering pass as Rochester was forced to kill off its own two shorthanded opportunities.
To conclude the scoring, the Amerks earned their sixth man-advantage of the contest and Calisti wristed in his second of the contest with just over two minutes to play from Tullio and Warren.
STARS AND STRIPES
Rochester’s power-play went three-for-six while its penalty kill unit was five-for-six in the contest … 16 of the 18 Amerks skaters recorded at least shot on goal with Tyson Kozak, Brendan Harris and Nikita Novikov each having four… Goaltenders Felix Sandstrom and Michael Houser each had 12 saves in the game.
UP NEXT
The Amerks will open their 69th season in the American Hockey League on Friday, Oct. 11 as they welcome the Belleville Senators to the Blue Cross Arena for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff. The North Division matchup will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
Goal Scorers
ROC: V. Neuchev (1), R. Calisti (1, 2), O. Nadeau (1 ,2), A. Kisakov (1), T. Tullio (1),
SYR: D. Duke (1)
Goaltenders
ROC: F. Sandstrom – 12/12 (W) | M. Houser – 12/13 (ND)
SYR: M. Tomkins – 32/39 (L)
Shots
ROC: 39
SYR: 25
Special Teams
ROC: PP (3/6) | PK (4/5)
SYR: PP (1/5) | PK (3/6)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - O. Nadeau
2. ROC - R. Calisti
3. SYR - D. Duke