AMERKS WIN STREAK SNAPPED IN 5-1 LOSS TO BELLEVILLE
Comrie makes 24 saves in second game of conditioning assignment
Jan 4, 2023The Rochester Americans (17-10-1-1) saw their season-long six-game win streak come to an end after dropping a 5-1 decision to the Belleville Senators (13-16-3-0) Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the defeat, the Amerks maintain a 14-9-5-2 mark over the last five years versus Belleville. Overall, Rochester, whose last regulation loss came on Dec. 9, remains in second place of the North Division with 36 points, trailing the Toronto Marlies by six points.
Linus Weissbach scored for the second straight game to record his 12th point (6+6) over his last 13 outings. The Swedish forward is tied for the team lead in goals (12) and is only four away from matching a career high. Lukas Rousek pushed his point streak (2+3) to four games, which equals a season-best, as he tallied an assist. Ethan Prow closed out the scoring as he logged his third assist in the last four contests.
Goaltender Eric Comrie (1-1-0) made his second straight start of his conditioning assignment from the parent Buffalo Sabres. Despite stopping 24 shots, he suffered his first AHL regulation loss since Feb. 21, 2022. The netminder entered the matchup with a 6-0-1 record in his previous seven appearances in the AHL.
Egor Sokolov led Belleville with his second career AHL hat trick and established a new career-high as he chipped in four points. Viktor Lodin (0+3) and Ridly Greig (0+3) each registered multi-point games with Greig notching his third straight two-point effort. Jonathan Aspirot scored his second goal of the campaign while goaltender Mads Sogaard (4-6-1) earned the victory by making 29 saves.
Following a scoreless opening 20 minutes of play, Belleville stormed out to a 3-0 lead at the 11:15 mark, which included a pair of tallies by Sokolov.
The Senators forward earned the primary assist on Greig’s goal 4:11 into the period before he scored twice in a span of 5:46 to make it a three-score game.
The Amerks managed to chip into the deficit as Weissbach sniped in a cross-ice feed from Rousek and Prow while on the power-play with just over seven minutes to play in the frame.
With the power-play goal, Rochester has scored on the man-advantage in four straight home games. It’s the second time this season the club has capitalized on the power-play in at least four consecutive contests.
Rochester faced a two-goal deficit to enter the third period and was unable to capitalize on an early man-advantage.
Belleville rode the momentum from the successful kill and reclaimed its three-goal cushion as Aspirot blasted a shot from the face-off circle to Comrie’s right.
Later in the final period and facing a 4-1 score, the Amerks summoned Comrie to the bench for an extra skater. The attempt was unsuccessful as Sokolov sealed the victory and fired the puck the length of the ice into the vacant net to complete the hat trick.
The Amerks remain at home on Friday, Jan. 6 when they conclude their season series with Lehigh Valley Phantoms at 7:05 p.m. All of the action from The Blue Cross Arena will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV. The contest can also be viewed locally on CW Rochester.
Storyline Stripes:
With 58 saves over his two games with Rochester, goaltender Eric Comrie has made 5,840 saves over 209 career AHL appearances dating back to the 2013-14 season ... Brandon Biro saw his seven-game point streak come to an end ... Dating back to last season, the Penn State product has totaled 31 points on 11 goals and 20 assists over his last 26 games and hasn't gone more than one game without a point over that span.
Goal Scorers
BEL: R. Greig (10), E. Sokolov (9, 10, 11), J. Aspirot (2)
ROC: L. Weissbach (12)
Goaltenders
BEL: M. Sogaard – 29/30 (W)
ROC: E. Comrie – 24/28 (L)
Shots
BEL: 29
ROC: 30
Special Teams
BEL: PP (1/5) | PK (4/5)
ROC: PP (1/5) | PK (4/5)
Three Stars
1. BEL - E. Sokolov
2. BEL - V. Lodin
3. BEL - M. Sogaard