GAMEDAY NOTES AND QUOTES: AMERKS CHASING DOWN SECOND-PLACE MONSTERS
Apr 3, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (33-22-6-3) are two points back of the Cleveland Monsters (35-22-4-3) for second place in the North Division standings and will meet in a Wednesday night showdown in downtown Rochester.
ROSTER SHEET GAME NOTES MEDIA KIT
LEVI DRAWS THE START
Earlier Wednesday morning, goaltender Devon Levi was reassigned from Buffalo to Rochester, and Amerks head coach Seth Appert confirmed that the team would waste no time, throwing Levi in for the start in what will be the 22-year-old’s 20th appearance for the Amerks this season.
“He’s been very good for us,” said Appert when asked about Levi’s importance to the Amerks. “Levi is a really high-quality goaltender. You just need depth in goaltending. It seems like every year we’ve been in Rochester, you end up needing your depth goaltenders to step up and deliver. The separation in the North Division is razor thin. There’s no margin for error.”
Levi boasts a .927 save percentage in his 19 appearances as an Amerk, ranking third amongst rookie AHL goalies with 10 or more games played. Levi has yet to face Cleveland.
HITTING THEIR STRIDE?
The Amerks and Monsters are two teams heading in opposite directions. While Rochester has been on the up-and-up winning seven of its last 10 and riding a five-game point streak (4-0-0-1), Cleveland has fell into a slumber, dropping five straight games. As a result, the separation in points is just two, with the Amerks owning 75 points and Cleveland yielding 77.
On Saturday, the Amerks were the visiting team in this encounter and overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit to rally for a 4-3 overtime win in front of over 15,000 fans in Cleveland.
“I don’t think we deserved to be down 3-1,” said Appert recapping Saturday’s game. “It just happened. We were heavily outshooting them. Jet Greaves was playing excellent in net and we couldn’t get that lead. They made a couple of really good plays. This team is really resilient and has been all year long. Biro, Weissbach, and Neuchev went out and made a really high-end play with skill and intelligence to get us right back in it, and credit all of the guys for getting it to overtime and coming up with it.”
A month ago, Rochester sat fifth in the North. Tonight, a regulation win could put them in a tie for second. Have the Amerks been playing their best hockey all season?
“Hopefully not,” said team captain Michael Mersch. “We want to keep building and become a better team each day so that come playoff time, we’re hitting the ground running. We have to get there first, so we just need to focus on the task at hand and that’s tonight. We played pretty good hockey in March, but there’s still room for growth.”
A MONSTEROUS ADVERSARY
The Amerks are 3-2-1-0 in six prior meetings with the Monsters this season, with four of the prior six matchups coming on the road. The Amerks host the Monsters both tonight and April 19 to close out their season series. If the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs started today, these teams would face each other in a best-of-five series.
“They’re a good team with a lot of skill,” said Mersch. “They can put the puck in the back of the net. Their power-play is really good. You can just go down the list with them. That’s why they’ve been at the top of the standings in our division for most of the year.”
Since Wednesday, the Monsters have underwent some changes due to transactions through their parent club in Columbus. The team recalled Pavel Cajan from ECHL-Cincinnati due to Greaves being recalled to the Blue Jackets. The NHL and AHL teams traded blueliners as well, with Jake Christiansen returning to Cleveland and David Jiricek getting the call to Columbus.
“Christiansen is an elite defender at this level,” said Appert. “Cleveland’s got weapons throughout their lineup both on defense and up front.”