GAMEDAY NOTES AND QUOTES: AMERKS BEGIN PLAYOFF RUN AGAINST CRUNCH
Apr 26, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans begin the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs with game one on home ice against the Syracuse Crunch at Blue Cross Arena Friday night.
GAME NOTES ROSTER SHEET MEDIA KIT
“This is the best time of the year,” said forward Mason Jobst. “You play 72 games to get ready for these moments. I think everyone’s amped up and super excited to get going. It gets you fired up.”
CHRISTMAS IN APRIL
The Amerks have played six-plus months of hockey to reach this point, just to earn a shot at competing in the postseason.
“Playoff hockey is just another animal,” said Amerks head coach Seth Appert. “You feel very grateful just to be a part of it. This isn’t given. This has to be earned. You have to earn the right to continue to play. It’s easy to get up in the morning and it’s great to come to the rink.”
“It’s what you work for,” said Zach Metsa. “You get a little bit of everything. It’s the work, it’s the grit, it’s the sacrifice, but it’s also so fun. The energy and intensity is different and everything about it is ramped up. Even when you’re going to bed all (this) week, you’re looking forward to it. It’s like Christmas morning. You just can’t wait to get it started. Sometimes you need to find things to relax you just so you can get to sleep because you’re so excited.”
Rochester will play playoff hockey for a fifth straight year. They do so with their best regular season finish of the past three seasons, going 39-23-7-3 for an 88-point total to finish tied for first in the North Division. Because of the tiebreaker with Cleveland, the Amerks enter the postseason as the second seed, where they will have home ice advantage for the North Division Semifinals.
“Our body of work’s been good,” said Appert. “Our guys bought into a process this year that we believe in. The guys believe in it individually and collectively. Our older guys do a great job of bringing the younger guys into the fold. I think guys have seen that individuals get better and grow as the team grows. Our team has become a harder team to play against.”
SOPHOMORES
Several players on Rochester’s roster are returnees from last year, including star forward Jiri Kulich, who scored seven playoff goals and 11 points during last season’s run. This year, he’ll enter playoffs with some expectations based on his experience.
“Last year for me was a welcome to the league,” said Kulich, who led the Amerks in goals back-to-back seasons for the first time since Hall of Famer Jody Gage did so in the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. “I was mainly playing in just the offensive zone and now I’m playing both ways. I had to improve on my defensive zone play and physicality. I had to get better and not just be someone who only scores goals.”
Another playoff returnee is Zach Metsa. The rookie blueliner made his pro debut with the Amerks in the playoffs against Syracuse. This season, he posted 24 points (7+17) in 54 games.
“I think I’m a little more prepared,” said Metsa. “I think last year I was just blind to exactly what professional playoff hockey was. I’m a better player now and more mentally ready for playoffs than I was last year. I’m excited to help this team. I felt like last year I was kind of just trying to find a role and help in any way I can. This year, I want to be a key factor in why we go far and a key contributor throughout playoffs.”
THE PAST IS THE PAST
While this series serves as a rematch from the 2023 playoffs, the Amerks aren’t really looking at things through that lens.
“I’ll give ‘Merschy’ (Michael Mersch) a shoutout here,” said Jobst. “He said something that really struck a chord with me. It was just because you have success individually or as a team in one year of playoffs doesn’t mean you can just think it’s going to happen again automatically. It’s a new year. No one cares about last year. It’s a new team and a totally different dynamic. We have to be present in this year and put last year behind us.”
“I completely agree,” said Appert. “I talk about it all the time. Momentum can be irrelevant if you don’t do the right things the next day. This is a different series. They (Syracuse) have different players. We have different players. They have a different coaching staff. We have different coaches. We’re not thinking about last year.”