ROSEN’S HAT TRICK POWERS AMERKS TO 6-3 WIN IN CHAOTIC CLASH WITH WOLF PACK
Rochester finishes road trip .500 in game highlighted by 160 combined penalty minutes
Jan 25, 2025Isak Rosén (3+0) and Brett Murray (0+3) led the way offensively in a game that may better be remembered for the pandemonium that ensued at the end of the second period, as the Rochester Americans doubled up the Hartford Wolf Pack in wild affair Saturday at XL Center.
The win sees the Amerks improve to 24-12-3-1 as they finish their four-game trek through the Atlantic Division with a .500 record (2-2-0-0). At 52 points, Rochester currently sits in a tie for second place in the North Division with Cleveland, though the Amerks hold a game in hand.
Eight different players registered points for the Amerks. In addition to Murray and Rosen, Mason Jobst, Kale Clague, and Noah Östlund scored, while Lukas Rousek, Zachary Metsa, and Vsevolod Komarov all chipped in with assists. In goal, Felix Sandström made 26 saves for a career-best fifth straight win, improving to 8-4-1 on the season.
FIRST PERIOD
Rochester dominated the opening frame, outshooting Hartford by a 12-4 difference. The pressure on the Wolf Pack reached a boiling point near the midway part of the period.
With former Amerk Chad Ruhwedel in the penalty box, Jobst capitalized on the man-advantage to get the Amerks on the board. The captain smashed home a rebound off Brett Murray’s initial shot. The opportunity was stopped by Hartford goaltender Dylan Garand, but Jobst was quickly there in the low slot to fire the puck past him for his ninth goal of the season.
In the final minute of the frame, Hartford leading scorer Alex Belzile twirled the puck towards the point, but misfired the pass, allowing Rosén to pick off the puck and speed ahead for a breakaway. With 2.5 seconds left, Rosén cut to his backhand, shuffling the puck between the legs of Garand to double Rochester’s lead heading into intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
Clague continues to lead Rochester’s blueline in goals with eight on the season after beating Garand on a slap shot off the left-wing boards. Clague’s shot gives him at least one shot on goal in 27 of his last 28 games.
While on their third power-play, the Amerks surrendered a shorthanded goal as Anton Blidh swatted a shot onto Sandström, then corralled his own rebound to go through the legs of the Amerks netminder in the final minute of the period. Before then, Murray dropped the gloves with Hartford’s Connor Mackey, though both accrued double minors for roughing rather than a fighting major. That would be reserved when the buzzer sounded at the end of the period.
With the second concluded, Belzile fired a shot on Sandström after the period expired. What followed was pandemonium, resulting in a total of 122 penalty minutes being assessed to both teams.
THIRD PERIOD
The Amerks received multiple two-man-advantages early in the third period as Hartford continued failing to show signs of discipline.
Rosén’s second goal of the night came 4:10 into the third on a five-on-three, with the Sabres’ prospect being fed a cross-ice pass from Östlund for a one-timer from the right-wing circle, hammering the shot past Garand to make it 4-1.
Rosen completed the hat trick 2:10 later on the power-play, building the Amerks a four-goal lead.
Hartford was quick to respond, scoring 47 seconds later as Jaroslav Chmelar fired a shot over the shoulder of Sandström from the deep slot, cutting the deficit to three.
A power-play awarded to the Wolf Pack shortly after provided Brennan Othmann the chance to score from the left side of the ice, suddenly making things close with the score at 5-3 with nearly 12 minutes left to play.
Hartford spent the bulk of the final five minutes of the game with its goaltender pulled. While on the six-on-five, Clague poked the puck away and out of the defensive zone. Murray corralled it and walked it down the ice, leaving it on the doorstep for Östlund to convert on the empty net with 28 seconds to play, putting the game on ice for the eventual 6-3 final.
STARS AND STRIPES
Murray’s three-point performance is his highest of the season and puts the sixth-year Amerk two assists shy of 100 as an Amerk … Murray’s next game will be his 300th as an Amerk ... Rosén posted three points in each of his two games against Hartford this season ... When Clague scores, Rochester is 8-1-1-0 dating back to last season … Sandström improved to 4-1-1 lifetime against Hartford … As a team, the Amerks have won their last five games against the Wolf Pack, dating back to the 2022-23 season ... Rochester has also scored six goals in each of its last three games against Hartford.
UP NEXT
After seven games against Atlantic Division opponents in January, Rochester returns to Blue Cross Arena and will play 11 straight against North Division adversaries, beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 28 on home ice against Utica at 7:05 p.m.
Goal Scorers
HFD: A. Blidh (11-SHG), J. Chmelar (5), B. Othmann (5-PPG)
ROC: M. Jobst (9-PPG), I. Rosen (17,18-PPG,19-PPG/GWG), K. Clague (8), B. Murray (18-PPG), N. Östlund (3-EN)
Goaltenders
HFD: D. Garand – 33/38 (L)
ROC: F. Sandström – 26/29 (W)
Shots
HFD: 29
ROC: 39
Special Teams
HFD: PP (1/3) | PK (5/8)
ROC: PP (3/8) | PK (2/3)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - I. Rosén
2. ROC - B. Murray
3. HFD - A. Blidh