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ROCHESTER READY FOR ROUND TWO

ROCHESTER READY FOR ROUND TWO

Apr 20, 2023

By Emily Wade

 

The Amerks and the Crunch met 12 times in the regular season, and split the series 6-6. The teams finished tied for second place in the North Division with 81 points each. Goals for and goals against are nearly identical. Four of the last five match-ups have gone to overtime.

 

This has all the makings of being an incredible playoff series.

 

The puck drops in Syracuse on Friday night, and Rochester is ready. “This is a sport you play on instinct, and you play on habits,” Amerks head coach Seth Appert told the media on Wednesday. “It's why we’ve been on guys about having the right habits since day one."

 

"It’s so that this time of year, you can just play.”

 

The playoff push culminated in a clinch with four games remaining, something that Appert and the coaching staff were really proud of from the young team. “We’ve become difficult to play against in our own way,” he explained. “That’s been a real credit to the guys buying in, and playing the right way.”

 

The Amerks enter the postseason on a strong run of 25 games, which included a streak of points in 10-straight games. The Amerks had their backs against the wall in Cleveland on Sunday, needing two points to clinch the first-round bye, and they pulled out a gutsy win.

 

“Sunday’s effort,” Appert said, “was indicative of what this team has stood for all year. It was all hands on deck, and the guys found a way to win.” It was a game that felt like playoff hockey but that’s been the norm for the last month for the Amerks.

 

The buy-in has been noticeable up and down the lineup, as the Amerks have seen scoring depth through all four lines in the second half of the season. “I think a lot of that stems from our defense,” veteran forward Sean Malone explained. “Over the course of the past couple months, we’ve been playing better defensively. When you’re able to do that, our offense takes over.”

 

That offense has seen ten players hit double-digit goals. Two of those goal-scorers are rookies Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen, who have been playing phenomenal hockey as of late. But the other three rookies have been contributing in their own ways, too.

 

 

“Tyson Kozak has been a real force for us in the last 25-30 games. Filip Cederqvist, you saw how important he was this past weekend. Aleksandr Kisakov has had some big moments down the stretch,” Appert said. Bringing a young team into an intense playoff series can be daunting, but the preparation this week has stayed mostly the same.

 

The Amerks had an off day on Monday and a lift day on Tuesday to allow bodies to rest and heal. On Wednesday, they practiced in Rochester and on Thursday, they headed to Syracuse for an afternoon practice before team dinner.

 

In the meetings this week the veterans have been speaking up more than the coaches. Appert said that the veterans talked about what playoff hockey means, and how important it is.

 

“You can prepare all you want, but then game one hits you in the face. And then you react. And you do the best you can to prepare, but there’s going to be some growing pains. And that’s okay.”

 

Appert and the coaching staff might have approached this week’s preparation similarly to the regular season, but they’ve noticed more confidence from the veteran group this postseason. He points to captains Michael Mersch, Malone, and Ethan Prow, but he also points to Peter Tischke, Mitch Eliot, Brendan Warren, and Mason Jobst.

 

Jobst, who is having a career-year across the board offensively, was named the Most Improved Player by his teammates. Warren, who is currently sidelined with a lower-body injury, but still on the trip, has been a real driver of the physicality and pace in each game.

 

“It’s the culmination of the two years and the adversity,” Appert explained of this new-found confidence. “It’s getting into the playoffs last year, and being successful in the playoffs, and then being successful in the regular season this year… I think all of those, accumulated, earns them belief in what they’re doing and what we’re trying to stand for.”

 

And sticking to what you stand for is key in the playoffs. As a team, they want to be fast, attacking, and aggressive. They want to move the puck, but they also want to be smothering without the puck. It’s all these things that they’ve committed to all season long.

 

“It’s not going to be easy,” Appert said. “It’s a five-game series. And based on last year’s playoffs, half or more might go to overtime,” he continued. It should be noted, as well, that 20 games went past regulation for Rochester during the regular season, fourth most in the league.

 

“How long can you stay true — have a total team commitment to your style of play and your identity — without wavering?” Appert questioned, as to who can win a series. But what it all also comes down to?

 

“Your best players being your best players. Goaltending, always. And then how long and how committed we can be to our identity. And to break them of theirs. That’s what makes it playoff hockey.”

 

Playoff hockey begins for the Rochester Americans on Friday night in Syracuse for Round 2 | Game 1. The puck drops at 7:00PM, and the game can be streamed on AHLTV or The Fan Rochester. The Amerks return to Blue Cross Arena for a big Game 3 on Friday, April 28, and tickets are on sale now.

 

It’s going to be a series you don’t want to miss.

 

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