AMERKS WEEK 24 ROUND-UP
Mar 27, 2023The Rochester Americans earned seven of eight possible points last week punctuated by a three-in-three weekend sweep. Though the Amerks still sit in fourth place in the North Division, they only trail third-place Syracuse by one point and second-place Utica by two.
“It’s quite the race,” forward Brett Murray said post-game. “But the standings right now come down to us and what we do. As long as play the game we’re playing, we’ll be fine.”
Rochester’s magic number is currently 10, according to the AHL Playoff Primer. It will be exciting to see how things shake-out with three North Division match-ups this week.
CHARACTER-BUILDING WINS
For the second time, the Amerks swept their three-in-three weekend. They did not score 20 goals this time, but they did come up with three impressive and character-building wins.
“It feels so good,” forward Mason Jobst said after Friday night’s win over Hershey. “We had three overtime games recently, so to come back from 3-0 against a really good team, we showed a lot of gut and character, and it was a lot of fun.”
Winning games like that, especially after coming up short, is great for the standings, but also for morale in the locker room. You can see younger guys finding their way, and more players finding confidence in their game.
“It’s really fun, as a coaching staff, when you see players — especially as talented and young as those guys are — buy in to being winning players and not just talented players,” Amerks head coach Seth Appert said after the win on Sunday.” And great teammates,” he added.
“Because that’s what great teammates do: great teammates will back-check, great teammates will block a shot when necessary, great teammates will take a hit to make a play.”
The young guns have been doing that on a far more regular basis right now, but the entire team has been committed to playing the game the “right way” as a group. Appert couldn’t single any guy out after the game on Sunday, after such an impressive weekend from the entire team.
“Our forwards are getting back above people on the back-checks, our defensive gaps are better, we’re making less casual, immature decisions with the puck,” Appert explained. All of these details have improved the team defense, something the coaches have been focused on.
“When your team defense is better, you get the puck more, and you can show what you have on offense.”
Murray tallied three goals on the weekend, and Jiri Kulich added two. Both players lead the teams with 20 and 21 goals on the season, respectively. But the biggest goal-scoring moment of the weekend might just have been the shootout game-winner on Friday.
Aleksandr Kisakov got the nod, in the do-or-die situation for the Amerks, and he came up big. “He has a move that works all the time like that in practice,” Jobst said after the game. “When his number was called, we all felt confident that he was going to get the job done.”
“That was pretty sweet,” Murray added after the game. “To have a guy like that step up, to have the skill and poise to put that one away at such a young age… and in a big playoff race game, that’s unbelievable.”
GAMES AT A GLANCE
TUESDAY, MARCH 21: ROCHESTER 2 — SYRACUSE 3 (SHOOTOUT)
The Amerks hosted the Crunch in a rescheduled game on Tuesday night, and it was a true North Division battle. The teams traded goals in a goaltending battle between Malcolm Subban and Max Lagace, which ended in a shootout — despite the Amerks best effort.
Rochester dominated the five-minute overtime, sending six shots on goal and allowing none. But the Amerks just couldn’t find the back of the net. Jobst scored the lone shootout tally for the Amerks, while Gage Goncalves and Lucas Edmonds secured the win for Syracuse.
FRIDAY, MARCH 24: HERSHEY 3 — ROCHESTER 4 (SHOOTOUT)
Friday’s game, and Hershey’s sole trip to Rochester this season, was also decided in a shootout; only this time, the Amerks came out victorious.
The Hershey Bears started out strong, scoring two goals in the first period and adding a third in the second before defenseman Joseph Cecconi responded just over a minute after the Bears made it 3-0. Murray would add two more goals in the second for the Amerks, sending the teams into the final frame tied at three.
The third period was a solid defensive effort for both sides with only six shots on goal for each team, sending the game past regulation. The Bears headed to an overtime power play with two-and-a-half minutes left, but Jobst drew a penalty of his own to negate that.
The game would be decided in a shootout, and Jobst would tally the first goal for the Amerks. Subban made two big stops, and Kisakov went on to score the game-winner.
SATURDAY, MARCH 25: ROCHESTER 1 — UTICA 0 (SHOOTOUT)
The Amerks faced the Utica Comets for the first time since December 28 on Saturday night, and it was another defensive battle. Michael Houser, who got the start between the pipes, turned away 36 shots through regulation and overtime.
The game would be decided in a four-round shootout, where Houser made all four stops for the Amerks. Linus Weissbach scored the lone goal of the shootout — and of the game! — to earn the second-straight shootout victory for Rochester.
The shutout victory was the first for Houser in the AHL since March 27, 2015.
SUNDAY, MARCH 26: CLEVELAND 2 — ROCHESTER 5
Rochester finished the weekend with a matinee match-up against the Cleveland Monsters. Both teams were in the third game of a three-in-three, and both are deep in a playoff push, with Cleveland sitting just behind Rochester in the North Division standings.
The Amerks looked strong, getting out to a 3-0 lead thanks to two goals from rookie Kulich and another from rookie Isak Rosen that got Blue Cross Arena buzzing. The Monsters would respond with two of their own, and it was a one-goal game with 15 minutes in the third.
Sean Malone tipped in a power play goal to give Rochester the two-goal lead with just over eight minutes to play, and it wasn’t until Murray’s empty-net goal, and his third of the weekend, that the Amerks could breathe a sigh of relief.
Subban picked up his 17th victory of the season, a career-high.
AMERKS SIGN JANDRIC
The Amerks announced the signing of defenseman Chris Jandric to a two-year American Hockey League contract, starting in the 2023-24 season. Jandric will join Rochester on a professional trout for the remainder of this season.
Jandric played 140 combined games between the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the University of North Dakota. He tallied 13 goals and 72 assists on the blue line.
ROUSEK RECALLED TO BUFFALO
Forward Lukas Rousek was recalled to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, and despite taking warmups on Long Island, did not suit up for the blue and gold.
He was recalled again on Monday, as the Sabres face the Montreal Canadiens from KeyBank Center on Monday night. The Sabres have listed forward Tage Thompson as day-to-day, and if Rousek cracks the lineup tonight, it will be his NHL debut.
Rousek joined Sabres Live ahead of tonight’s game, which can be watched on MSG Networks.
OTHER STATS TO NOTE
The Amerks did not allow a power play goal last week, killing off nine penalties in four games.
Both Jiri Kulich and Brett Murray reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in their career. Kulich has tallied 40 points this rookie season, and Murray has tallied a career-high 42 so far.
This is the first time the Amerks have had rookie 20-goal scorers in back-to-back seasons, after both Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka reached the milestone last season.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
The Amerks have three games this week: two at home and one on the road. They’ll face the Cleveland Monsters again at Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday night before a home-and-home with the Comets.
Rochester heads back to Utica for a Friday night tilt against the second-place team before both teams head to the Flower City for a 5:05pm puck drop on Saturday night.
Saturday is Rochester Red Wings Night, presented by American Diabetes Association | Camp Aspire, at Blue Cross Arena! Join the Amerks as they wear specialty Red Wings-inspired jerseys and incorporate some classic ballpark fun to the night.
The first 1,000 kids at the game will receive Amerks and Camp Aspire-branded ice cream helmets. Jerseys will be revealed later in the week, as well as details surrounding the Red Wings’ involvement.
Saturday is a 321 Weekend: enjoy $3 draft beers, $2 hot dogs, and $1 popcorn all game long at select concession locations.
The Amerks are also hosting their annual Food Drive with Foodlink, the regional foodbank, now through Wednesday, April 5. Fans are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items in the lobby at Blue Cross Arena from 11am-3pm during the week, as well as on Amerks gamedays.
Fans that donate will receive a voucher redeemable for two complimentary tickets to the Amerks home game on Wednesday, April 5 against Syracuse.
