QUINN NETS HAT TRICK IN 6-5 OVERTIME LOSS TO SENATORS
Jan 15, 2022On a night where Jack Quinn recorded his first pro hat trick and the Rochester Americans (19-10-1-1) scored late in the third period to force overtime for the second straight game, it was the Belleville Senators (15-15-0-0) scoring just 34 seconds into the extra session to come away with a 6-5 win to cap a thrilling back-and-forth affair Saturday at The Blue Cross Arena.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | FINAL |
| Belleville | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -- | 6 |
| Rochester | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -- | 5 |
POST-GAME REPORT GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY
The contest was the second in as many nights decided beyond regulation after Belleville earned a 4-3 shootout win on Friday to earn the two-game sweep.
The Amerks have earned points in 13 of their last 19 games dating back to Nov. 19 and are 5-3-1-1 over their previous 10 games. Rochester is 10-10-2 all-time against Belleville following tonight’s overtime loss, while being outscored 81-74 through the first 22 meetings with the Senators.
Quinn not only tallied three goals, he also collected his second four-point performance in the three games after picking up the primary assist on Rochester’s game-tying goal with four seconds remaining in regulation. Michael Mersch (1+1) Ethan Prow (1+1), Brandon Biro (0+2), Arttu Ruotsalainen (0+2), Mattias Samuelsson (0+2) all recorded a multi-point outing for the Amerks, who dropped their first two games beyond regulation. Linus Weissbach earned an assist on Quinn’s second goal of the contest, extending his point streak to three games.
Goaltender Charles Williams (0-0-1) made 29 saves in his Amerks debut after joining the club on a PTO on Friday. The Canton, Mich., native became the fifth different netminder to appear in a game for Rochester this season. Additionally, tonight was Williams’ first AHL appearance since Nov. 25, 2018, and his first AHL start since Nov. 17, 2018, both of which came during a four-game stint with the Ontario Reign in 2018-19.
WATCH: GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Cole Reinhardt (1+1) and Michael Del Zotto (1+1) both turned multi-point efforts to give Belleville its second straight win in as many nights and sixth in the last 10 games. Jonathan Aspirot, Matthew Wedman, Logan Shaw and Lassi Thompson all scored before Egor Sokolov netted the overtime game-winner 34 seconds into the extra frame.
Filip Gustavsson earned his first win of the season in just his third appearance after he stopped 21 of the 26 shots he faced.
After Prow and Aspirot both scored for their respective clubs in the first period, Quinn netted his first of three on the night six minutes into the middle stanza to give Rochester a 2-1 lead.
With a face-off win to the right of Gustavsson, Ruotsalainen left the draw for Mersch. Rochester’s team captain attempted a shot, but it went wide and bounced off the end boards before coming out in front to Quinn for easy tap-in.
WATCH: SETH APPERT POST-GAME
Belleville evened the score at the 10:17 mark on Wedman’s fifth of the season before Quinn snapped in a wrist shot from atop the left face-off circle while Ryan Scarfo provided a screen on the Senators’ netminder less three minutes later.
As the second period was nearing an end, Reinhardt scooped up a turnover inside his own zone before splitting the Amerks defense on his way all alone towards Williams. By protecting the puck and shielding off two defenders, Reinhardt went to the short-side on the Rochester newcomer to knot the score late in the final minute.
Nearly three minutes after Thomson rifled in his fifth of the slate, Quinn completed the hat trick as he tapped in a perfect pass behind the goal-line from Samuelsson. Rochester cycled the puck inside the Senators’ zone after Josh Teves broke his stick atop the point and went for a change. Samulesson jumped into the play as he replaced Teves, and before wrapping around the net, the blueliner shoveled the puck to Quinn at the back door.
The visitors took a 5-4 lead with 2:39 left in regulation after Shaw redirected Del Zotto’s shot from the right-wing. However, Amerks head coach Seth Appert pulled Williams for the final two minutes and used the extra attacker to his advantage as Quinn, Mersch and Samulesson all teamed up to even the score with just four seconds left on the third-period clock.
WATCH: JACK QUINN POST-GAME
With his two-point outing, Mersch, who notched his 300th professional point with an assist on Quinn’s second-period goal, regained the AHL goal-scoring lead with 18 and he is now tied for second in the league in points (34). Dating back to Nov. 24, Mersch has totaled 21 points (12+9) and five multi-point efforts over his last 18 games.
Samulesson has collected 15 points on the season (5+10) in 20 appearances to establish a new career-high in points in three fewer games.
The Senators, after allowing the game to go into overtime, earned the extra point just 34 seconds into the frame as Sokolov sealed the 6-5 victory.
The Amerks wrap up their four-game homestand on Wednesday, Jan. 19 when they welcome back the Syracuse Crunch for an intrastate showdown at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slate for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
|
BELLEVILLE |
GAMECENTER |
ROCHESTER |
|
J. Aspirot (1), M. Wedman (5) C. Reinhardt (5), L. Thomson (5), L. Shaw (2), E. Sokolov (9) |
GOAL-SCORERS |
E. Prow (4), J. Quinn (14, 15, 16) M. Mersch (18), |
|
F. Gustavsson – 21/26 (W) |
GOALTENDERS |
C. Williams – 29/35 (OTL) |
|
1-2 |
POWER-PLAY |
2-3 |
|
1-3 |
PENALTY KILL |
1-2 |
|
35 |
SHOTS ON GOAL |
26 |