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APPERT PROVIDES UPDATE AHEAD OF GAME 3

APPERT PROVIDES UPDATE AHEAD OF GAME 3

Apr 25, 2023

The Rochester Americans got back to work at Blue Cross Arena today, ahead of Round 2, Game 3 against the Syracuse Crunch. Friday night’s game is a must-win for the young squad, but the group is using the three days of practice to reset and adjust.

 

“We need to continue to be a really good, committed defensive team,” Amerks head coach Seth Appert said after practice. “The recipe for success against Syracuse is not to try to win a 7-5 game.”

 

The Amerks held the Crunch to two goals in regulation in both of the first two games of the series, and Syracuse head coach Ben Groulx applauded the effort. “They’re not giving us anything. We have to work for everything we got,” he told the media on Saturday.

 

The battle was expected from both sides, as the Crunch are always a physical team. “That’s playoff hockey,” Appert said after Game 2. “There’s things you can do to take advantage of that offensively. When they’re running that extra space to take that hit, we need to do a better job of taking advantage of those.”

 

 

Appert was also disappointed in the power play after the first two games: “If our power play was better, we’d probably win both games.” The Amerks went 0-for-7 between the two games in Syracuse, including a five minute major on Saturday.

 

“Any of those, in the first or the second, if we get it to 1-1, or 2-1, it’s a different ballgame,” he said. Though missing two of its top scorers, Jiri Kulich and Brandon Biro, Appert doesn’t blame the lack of power play success on only that.

 

“There’s a lot of guys on it that have been key components this year, too: Rousek, Weissbach, Prow, Pilut, guys like that,” Appert explained. “The other guys have to step up. Guys want these opportunities."

 

“Name the guy that maybe isn’t always getting first line, second line, power play [minutes] and now is: you want these opportunities, but there’s pressure and responsibilities with it. And you need to deliver.”

 

The Amerks will have a chance to deliver in front of the home crowd for Game 3 on Friday night. And there’s hope that there will be a little scoring reinforcement: Kulich participated in the full team practice today, wearing a regular sweater.

 

“Kulich is probable. He had a real good practice today,” Appert said. Forward Filip Cederqvist is “day-to-day, lower body, from the knee that he took.” He did not participate in practice today.

 

Biro is out for the season, after a successful surgery. Forward Brendan Warren, who has missed the last four games, is also still out of the lineup.

 

Without Cederqvist at practice, Sean Malone and Isak Rosen, his linemates from Saturday, skated with Tyson Kozak. While the lines have changed a lot throughout the season for various reasons, it’s nice to have a veteran presence on a line with rookies.

 

“When guys like Mersch or Malone go with younger guys, number one they have an incredible amount of experience at this level, playing in playoff games, playing in big moments. They can help calm those guys down,” Appert explained. And number two: “those guys are really vocal on the ice on the bench, and those things tend to be a calming presence for the young players.”

 

Staying calm will be key for the rest of the series, and it’s something that Appert thought the team did well in Game 1 on Friday. “They scored, and we answered. They scored, and we answered,” he said. “That calms the game down, calms the bench down, calms the crowd down.”

 

Once things calm down, the Amerks just need to convert. There will be big moments, and big opportunities, for guys to deliver, and after a week of focusing on details, they should be ready.  It’s always fun to play in front of the home crowd.

 

Tickets for Game 3 on Friday night are on sale now. Amerks fans can get the playoff party started early at the Playoff Prep Rally at the Genesee Brewhouse from 4-6PM with Brian Duff before heading to Pregame Happy Hour at Blue Cross Arena.

 

The first 5,000 fans will receive an Amerks and Genesee Brewery-branded rally towel, and fans can enjoy $2 beers until puck drop at the Genesee Brewhouse inside Blue Cross Arena. 

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