AMERKS WEEK 9 ROUND-UP

Amerks getting those gutsy wins, Subban backstops Rochester to comeback win over first-place Marlies

Dec 12, 2022

By Suzie Cool

 

Week 9 of the 2022-23 American Hockey League campaign marked another week of three games over four days for the Rochester Americans. This time around, the week’s competition consisted of action all against North Division opponents, culminating with a 4-3 shootout win over the first-place Toronto Marlies in a Saturday showdown north of the border.

 

We caught up with Amerks head coach Seth Appert following the big win on Saturday to get his thoughts on Week 9.

 

GETTING THAT GUTSY WIN

 

After Sean Malone tied the contest in the final two minutes of regulation, the Amerks finished off the 4-3 victory in a shootout over the first place Marlies Saturday at Coca-Cola Coliseum. And that victory can be contributed to big defensive play.

 

The Amerks were called for too many men during overtime, but "realistically, it was three and a half minutes," head coach Seth Appert explained. The Marlies took advantage of the delayed penalty and pulled their goalie, essentially extending the penalty kill for the Amerks.

 

"The whole thing was [Mason] Jobst, [Chase] Priskie, and [Matt] Bartkowski with [Malcolm] Subban... and then Priskie broke his stick," Appert chuckles, "So now you’re really 4-on-2 and a half. It was just a gutsy effort by those guys to not give up anything major, to make the shots come from the outside, to let Subs do his job.

 

"Really, really incredible effort by those guys."

 

The huge overtime PK might've made up for the two early power play goals allowed, which found the Amerks in an 0-2 hole in the second period. 

 

The Amerks would respond to tie it up, however, with two goals in 20 seconds. On the strength of his third two-point outing in the last four games, forward Brandon Biro helped the Amerks to the comeback win with a goal and an assist while forward Lukas Rousek and Malone both scored their sixth and eighth goals of the season, respectively. Jobst and Linus Weissbach both recorded assists in the win.

 

 

If we had to choose who stole the show, though, we’d pick Subban... And we don't think Appert would disagree after the netminder’s 23-save effort.

 

“The third period, [Subban] did a really good job making the saves he needed to make to keep it at three and give us a chance and then overtime, obviously, on the penalty kill he was outstanding along with our penalty-killers." 

 

"Then the shootout, he’s been really good in his career in shootouts, and he lived up to it. I thought the last save was really, really dynamic because it was a heck of a move.”

 

 

Subban appeared in his fifth contest of the season, earning his third win while making 23 saves between regulation and overtime and stopping all three shots he faced in the shootout.

 

MOMENTUM-SHIFTING WINS

 

Some wins just hit different and one of those wins just happened to be Saturday night for Appert and the Amerks.

 

“There are some wins through the year that are momentum-generating wins, and I think that you want to make [Saturday night] one of those,” explained Appert when discussing just what Saturday night’s win could do for the team mentality.

 

 

The win, Rochester’s second of the season against the Marlies, snapped its season-long three-game skid, and the team has now earned at least one point in eight of its last 13 games. Rochester sits at second in the North Division standings with 26 points through its first 23 games of the campaign and remains only four points back of Toronto.

 

“You came off a game that you should’ve won, you played really well, and you didn’t [win]. We needed everybody [Saturday], and we needed a gutsy effort to win, and we got it. That’s the kind of stuff that usually carries momentum for you.”

 

ABOUT LAST WEEK

 

It’s safe to say that the Amerks’ 4-3 shootout victory was the highlight of their week last week.

 

“It was a big win, it was gutsy, it was needed,” said Appert when talking about snapping his team’s three-game skid. “Needed not because we were playing poorly, in two of the three losses, I think we had great efforts and probably should’ve won. I thought we were really good again [Saturday].”

 

Last week, the Amerks went 1-2 against three straight North Division opponents.

 

 

On Wednesday, Rochester was handed a 5-1 loss against the Syracuse Crunch before dropping a 5-2 decision on Friday against the Utica Comets. Appert admitted one was the result of a poor effort from his team while the other was a much better battle, however, Utica’s goaltending remains to be no joke.

 

Appert’s biggest concern from the week wasn’t the losses though, as he knows the team will face those throughout the course of a 72-game campaign. The Amerks head coach was more concerned that the younger players would deter from their skillset from not being rewarded with a win for playing the right way.

 

“You always worry with a young team when you’re not getting rewarded for playing the right way that it deters them from continuing to play the right way. It was just good to see the guys get rewarded. I thought we were excellent last night (Friday) and didn’t get rewarded. I thought we were really good again tonight (Saturday),” finished Appert.

 

 

LOOKING AT THE WEEK AHEAD

 

This week, the Amerks continue their three-game road-swing as they head south for a pair of contests against the Charlotte Checkers beginning on Friday, Dec. 16 at 7:00 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend with another go-around on Saturday. All of the action from Bojangles' Coliseum will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.