HINOSTROZA POWERS AMERKS TO 4-1 WIN IN SYRACUSE
Veteran forward records three points (2+1), Kulich scores for third straight game in win over Crunch
Feb 11, 2023On the strength of his first three-point outing in the American Hockey League in over five years, Vinnie Hinostroza (2+1) powered the Rochester Americans (22-18-2-1) to a 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch (21-17-4-3) Saturday night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
With the win, the Amerks, who have won two of their last three games, have taken five of the first seven games of the 12-game season series against the Crunch. In addition, Rochester has won three of the four games in Syracuse this season.
Along with a two-goal effort, Hinostroza added an assist for his first three-point performance since Dec. 2, 2017 as a member of the Rockford IceHogs. Defenseman Ethan Prow (0+2) recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season while Jiri Kulich and Lawrence Pilut both scored their 10th and second goals of the season, respectively. Brandon Biro capped off the scoring as he netted an assist to become the first Amerk this season to reach the 30-point plateau.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (11-8-1) made his 20th appearance of the season and stopped 32 shots for the second straight night. The Toronto, Ontario, native, who carried a shutout into the third period, has won his last two games against the Crunch and snapped a personal four-game slide in the process.
Forward Gabriel Fortier logged his 10th goal of the season for Syracuse, which is now winless in its last five home games for the first time under head coach Benoit Groulx. Darren Raddysh collected his team-leading 33rd assist of the campaign while Sean Day also was credited with a helper.
Netminder Max Lagace (8-8-5) turned aside 26 of the 29 shots he faced but took the defeat in his 24th appearance of the season. Lagace is 1-3-0 in six games versus Rochester this season.
Entering third period leading 1-0, Hinostroza had the puck along the right wall before skating below the extended goal-line. The Notre Dame product flung a shot that handcuffed Lagace before pinballing its way across the line to double Rochester’s lead 26 seconds into the frame.
Later in the frame, Syracuse pulled within a goal as Fortier redirected Raddysh’s right-point shot at the 8:11 mark.
Less than four minutes later, though, Kulich restored the Amerks’ two-goal cushion with 9:04 left in regulation. The rookie forward scooped up an errant pass at center ice before sprinting in all alone towards Lagace and rifling a slapshot under the cross-bar for his 10th of the season.
In addition to scoring his third goal in the last his last three games and recording his fifth point over his last four, the 18-year-old has seven (3+4) points over his previous six outings.
Syracuse tried to stage a late comeback by pulling Lagace for the final five minutes, however, Pilut sealed the 4-1 victory as he one-hopped a shot from inside the Amerks zone.
Pilut has six points (2+4) over his last seven games, while Prow shows 14 points (2+12) in his last 17 outings dating back to Dec. 28.
After being unable to capitalize early in the first period while on the man-advantage and the game scoreless, the Amerks drew a pair of penalties 1:17 apart.
Rochester, much like the first half of the frame, pressured the Crunch and tested Lagace. The club saw two grade-A chances denied by the Syracuse netminder. The Amerks continued to pressure, though, as just one second after the first of the two infractions expired, Hinostroza wired his second goal of the campaign to open the scoring at the 12:20 mark.
Prior to Hinostroza picking the top-right corner of the net, Prow and Biro exchanged passes.
The score remained 1-0 until the first 30 seconds of the third period when Hinostroza doubled the lead.
Rochester then outscored the Crunch 2-1 over the final 19:34 of regulation to earn the 4-1 win.
To close out their brief two-game road swing, the Amerks face the Cleveland Monsters on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. All the action from the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Storyline Stripes:
Amerks defenseman Joseph Cecconi returned to the lineup after missing the previous eight games due to injury ... With his goal tonight, Jiri Kulich is the first Amerks rookie this season to reach double digits in goals and the 22nd in the AHL ... Since Jan. 25, Ethan Prow has recorded seven assists in his last seven games, which includes a pair of two-assists games.
Goal Scorers
ROC: V. Hinostroza (2, 3), J. Kulich (10), L. Pilut (2)
SYR: G. Fortier (10)
Goaltenders
ROC: M. Subban – 32/33 (W)
SYR: M. Lagace – 26/29 (L)
Shots
ROC: 30
SYR: 33
Special Teams
ROC: PP (1/4) | PK (2/2)
SYR: PP (0/2) | PK (3/4)
Three Stars
1. ROC - V. Hinostroza
2. ROC - M. Subban
3. SYR - G. Fortier