SENATORS FLIP THE SCRIPT ON AMERKS
Metsa scores lone goal, Levi stops 34 in Saturday’s rematch with Belleville
Mar 2, 2024Rookie defenseman Zach Metsa scored the lone goal for the Rochester Americans (25-20-6-2) in a 4-1 defeat to the Belleville Senators (28-21-2-3) Saturday at CAA Arena.
With the loss, the Amerks have recorded at least one point in 13 of their last 19 games dating back to Jan. 17. Rochester sits three points behind Belleville in the North Division standings and has a game in-hand after the two clubs split the weekend set.
After producing a pair of assists in Friday’s 4-1 win over Belleville, Metsa provided the only point for Rochester as the Senators flipped the script in Saturday’s rematch. Tyson Jost, Michael Mersch and Brandon Biro all paced the Amerks with three shots each.
Goaltender Devon Levi (7-5-3) made his second straight start and 13th in the last 16 games since being reassigned to Rochester on Jan. 20. The rookie netminder made 34 saves in the defeat and has faced 20 or more shots in each of his last 11 appearances.
Rourke Chartier (2+0), Garrett Pilon (1+1), Matthew Highmore (0+2), and Donovan Sebrango (0+2) all had multi-point performances for the Senators, who have won five of their last six games dating back to last Wednesday night in Rochester. Cole Reinhardt closed out the scoring as he added his fifth goal of the season in the final period.
Goaltender Kevin Mandolese (7-8-2) made his 19th appearance of the campaign and second straight against the Amerks. The netminder stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced to earn his third victory against Rochester this season.
Less than three minutes into the opening period, Belleville drew an interference penalty before taking a 1-0 lead.
On the man-advantage, the Senators kept the puck inside the Rochester for the first half of the special team’s opportunity. After gathering Angus Crookshank’s feed on the outside of the right face-off dot, Josh Currie centered a one-time pass for Pilon to tuck over Levi’s right shoulder at the 3:06 mark.
Along with taking a 1-0 lead into the dressing rooms after the opening stanza, Belleville also carried a 16-6 shot-advantage.
The Senators upped their lead midway through the middle frame with their second power-play goal of the night when Chartier finished off a back-door feed from Highmore and Sebrango.
Neither club generated much over the second half of the period despite 16 minutes of penalties being issued and the score remained 2-0 at the conclusion of the frame.
While the two clubs traded goals in the third period on Reinhardt and Metsa’s tallies, Rochester pulled Levi for the final three minutes in the hopes of closing the gap.
The Amerks had a few chances, but Mandolese and company denied each attempt before Chartier sealed the 4-1 score as he flipped the puck into the empty net.
The Amerks return home on Friday, March 8 when they kick-off their first and only three-in-three of the season against the intrastate rival Syracuse Crunch at 7:05 p.m. All the action from The Blue Cross Arena will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Stars and Stripes:
17 of the 18 Amerks skaters registered at least one shot on goal tonight led by Tyson Jost, Michael Mersch and Brandon Biro, all of whom had three … Tonight was the first time since Dec. 20, 2023, Rochester surrendered multiple power-play goals to its opponent, a span of 29 games … The Amerks have scored two goals or less in six of their last seven games dating back to Feb. 19 ... Tonight was Jiri Kulich’s 100th game as an Amerk.
Goal Scorers
ROC: Z. Metsa (4)
BEL: G. Pilon (13), R. Chartier (6, 7), C. Reinhardt (5)
Goaltenders
ROC: D. Levi – 34/37 (L)
BEL: K. Mandolese – 22/23 (W)
Shots
ROC: 23
BEL: 38
Special Teams
ROC: PP (0/4) | PK (2/4)
BEL: PP (2/4) | PK (4/4)
Three Stars:
1. BEL - G. Pilon
2. BEL - D. Sebrango
3. ROC - D. Levi