AMERKS SCORE SIX IN SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN
Jobst nets two against former team as Rochester doubles up Bridgeport, 6-3, for eighth consecutive road win
Jan 4, 2025Mason Jobst scored twice against his former team as the Rochester Americans (21-9-3-0) topped the Bridgeport Islanders (7-20-2-2) by a 6-3 final Saturday at Total Mortgage Arena.
The win extends Rochester’s overall win streak to six games, while the team has won each of its last eight away contests. Over their current road win streak, the Amerks have outscored their opposition, 38-16. The Amerks remain in front of their peers, sitting first in the North Division with 45 points. The team has won 13 of its last 15 games and Rochester has now earned points in 14 of its last 15 meetings with Bridgeport.
In addition to Jobst’s performance, Graham Slaggert scored his league-leading fifth shorthanded goal, while Aleksandr Kisakov recorded a goal and an assist in his first game since Nov. 23. For a second straight night, Lukas Rousek scored an empty-net goal, which was followed by Brett Murray also firing one through the vacant cage to up his goal total to 16 through 33 games this season.
Felix Sandström recorded his third straight win, improving to 6-4-1 on the season. Additionally, the veteran goaltender is 2-2-1 lifetime against Bridgeport. Saturday’s start was the 99th AHL appearance for Sandström.
FIRST PERIOD
Having not played in a week, the Islanders came out well-rested and energized by their home crowd. Taking advantage was Liam Foudy, who was sprung for a breakaway less than three minutes into the contest, solving Sandstrom glove-side for the 1-0 lead.
Rochester found its footing toward the midway point of the period. A failed Bridgeport clear allowed Vsevolod Komarov and Kale Clague to go point-to-point for a pass. After Clague received the puck, the seasoned blueliner feathered it to Jobst in the slot, who turned and blasted the puck past Bridgeport goaltender Henrik Tikkanen, tying the game at 1-1 8:52 into the first.
Less than three minutes later, the Amerks broke up a scoring chance for the Islanders and capitalized in transition. Rousek sprung Kisakov for an odd-man rush developing down the right-wing side. Kisakov penetrated the zone, kept his head up, then wristed a shot by Tikkanen to put the Amerks up, 2-1.
SECOND PERIOD
As the first period expired, Ty Tullio was tagged for a double-minor high-sticking penalty. The four-minute advantage bared fruitful early for the Islanders, with Alex Jeffries evening the game under a minute into the second.
Just 54 seconds later, however, the Amerks would even the special teams success with Slaggert burying his fifth shorthanded goal of the season. In the defensive zone, Josh Dunne cleared a puck through center and down the ice. As the puck sputtered into the Islanders’ zone, Slaggert hunted it down, and with little time to make a move, shuffled the puck toward the five-hole, tucking it through for his eighth overall goal of the season.
Jobst doubled the lead 2:47 later, capitalizing on a turnover in transition. The Speedway, Indiana, native lived up to his hometown, racing from end-to-end with the puck before ripping it through for his second two-goal game over the last week, making it 4-2 Amerks under five minutes into the second period. The goal chased Tikkanen out of the crease after the Islanders’ netminder allowed four goals on 12 shots.
Jakub Skarek appeared in relief, making nine saves over the final 35 minutes of the game.
William Dufour would cut the deficit in half for the Isles 9:03 into the second, chopping at a puck that bounced through the air out in front of Sandström, making it 4-3 heading into the third period.
THIRD PERIOD
In a rare occurrence, the Amerks were heavily outshot throughout the contest, most notably in the third when Bridgeport had a 16-7 shot margin read in its favor.
The Islanders may have tied the game on their fifth power-play of the night had it not been for Dunne’s heroics. With Rousek in the box for hooking, the Islanders immediately pressed off the face-off. A net-front scramble saw Sandström collapse to make multiple saves, eventually finding himself out of position. With a relatively wide-open target, veteran forward Chris Terry, who has played in over 1,000 pro games, wristed a puck from the left circle that was turned away by Dunne. The forward swam into the crease and on his knees, lunged up, making a save with his left arm while facing away from the puck.
Dunne’s selflessness allowed for the Amerks to hold on throughout the period until Bridgeport pulled the goalie for an extra attacker, at which point, Rousek carried the puck away from an Islanders forward and skated all the way down to the empty net. His goal was followed by Murray 32 seconds later, who swatted a puck down in the middle of the ice, then hammered it to the available target for the 6-3 final.
STARS AND STRIPES
Jobst’s performance marked the second two-goal game over his last three contests … Rousek’s goal and assist gives him points in four straight games (2+4) … Zachary Metsa logged an assist for a fifth straight game … Murray’s goal was his team-leading 16th goal of the season … Murray has nine goals over his last nine games and is top six in the AHL for goals … With his fifth shorthanded goal, Slaggert becomes the first Amerk to reach that number since Viktor Gordiouk posted five during the 1994-95 season.
UP NEXT
Following their long bus ride back to the Flower City, the Amerks remain idle until next weekend when they welcome the Utica Comets to Blue Cross Arena on Friday, Jan. 10 for Segar and Sciortino Hat Night, where the first 2,000 fans will receive an Amerks branded hat, courtesy of Segar and Sciortino. Following Friday, the Amerks will venture to Syracuse the next night for a matchup against the Crunch.
Goal Scorers
BRI: L. Foudy (9), A. Jeffries (8-PPG), W. Dufour (5)
ROC: M. Jobst (6, 7 – GWG), A. Kisakov (2), G. Slaggert (8-SHG), L. Rousek (5-EN), B. Murray (16-EN)
Goaltenders
BRI: H. Tikkanen – 8/12 (L) | J. Skarek – 9/9 (ND)
ROC: F. Sandström – 36/39 (W)
Shots
BRI: 39
ROC: 23
Special Teams
BRI: PP (1/5) | PK (2/2)
ROC: PP (0/2) | PK (4/5)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - M. Jobst
2. ROC - A. Kisakov
3. BRI - A. Jefferies