TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS SETTLE FOR THREE OF SIX POINTS
Murray, Kozak stand out in challenging week
Nov 25, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (8-6-3-0) earned half of the possible six points presented to them last week, topping the North Division leading-Laval Rocket, before dropping an overtime decision to the Hershey Bears, then falling Saturday to the Utica Comets.
Lukas Rousek netted the game-winning-goal in overtime Wednesday in Laval as the Amerks ended a four-game winless drought with a 2-1 overtime win.
Attempting to carry that momentum back to Rochester for a four-game homestand, the Amerks welcomed the back-to-back defending Calder Cup champions to the Flower City Friday with Hershey in town. Despite a 3-2 lead and a pair of goals from defenseman Kale Clague, the Bears pulled their goaltender and were awarded a power-play in the dying seconds of the game, scoring to even the contest with 8.2 seconds remaining, before going on to win in overtime.
Utica then ventured down I-90 for a Saturday showdown in Blue Cross Arena that went one-sided in favor of the visiting Comets, who stumped the Amerks with a 5-1 outcome.
NOT SO KOZY
After missing four games due to injury, forward Tyson Kozak has been back in the lineup for Rochester’s last five games and has dropped the gloves twice.
“The guy plays with jam,” said Amerks head coach Michael Leone. “He fights and tries to get our team going. He’s 5-foot-10 and he’s a gamer. He plays the right way. I give credit to him. He’s a winner. He’s a guy you want in the fox hole.”
On Wednesday, Kozak challenged Laval forward Jared Davidson late in the third period, then on home ice Saturday, the third-year pro got the better end of Utica defenseman Daniil Misyul in a second-period scrap, despite giving up a size advantage to the Comets blueliner, who stands in at 6-foot-3.
Kozak has four career fights, with two each against Laval and Utica. The Souris, Manitoba, native posted a career high-40 penalty minutes during his rookie campaign in 2022-23. He currently leads Rochester this season with 24.
PENALTY PERIL
A dagger going through the Amerks over the weekend was their inability to remain distant from the penalty box. The team accrued 29 penalty minutes over Friday and Saturday, surrendering four power-play goals in the process, including Hershey’s game-tying conversion with seconds to play in regulation Friday night. Rochester’s penalty kill dropped to 79.1% and is 24th in the AHL.
“I thought we took a really undiscipline penalty coming to the bench (Friday). We took a penalty and there’s a reason why they (Hershey) have won two championships.”
“We took two egregious hooking penalties (on Saturday) because we’re not skating. When you play three games in four days, it comes down to compete and will and I didn’t think we had any of that. It was not a great night.”
On the flip side, Rochester’s power-play has also remained mostly dormant on home ice, going 3-for-28 to begin the season on the man-advantage at Blue Cross Arena.
MURRAY SPECIAL
On the bright side of special teams, veteran forward Brett Murray netted the Amerks’ lone power-play goal on home ice this weekend, cutting through Bears’ goaltender Clay Stevenson in the third period with his fifth goal of the season.
Each of Murray’s five goals have come on the power-play to begin the 2024-25 campaign. Through 54 games last year, the Bolton, Ontario, native netted six goals on the man-advantage. His career high was eight set in 2022-23. For his career, 32 of Murray’s 78 goals as an Amerk have been power-play goals. The 26-year-old trails only Charlotte’s Kyle Criscuolo for power-play goals this season. Murray is also second on the Amerks in points with 11 (5+6).
COMING UP NEXT
The holiday season doesn’t mean anything slows down for the Amerks, who play another stretch of three games in four days starting Wednesday, as the team continues its four-game homestand with Cleveland in town. To this point, the Amerks have won each of their three prior meetings with the Monsters, including a dominant 6-1 win in their lone meeting to take place at Blue Cross Arena this season.
Following Thanksgiving, the Amerks are back at home to conclude their homestand with a Black Friday encounter against the intrastate rival Syracuse Crunch. Friday marks the first of 12 meetings with Syracuse this season, and the first since Rochester bowed out in the playoffs after Game 5 of the North Division Quarterfinals last May.
Friday’s game is the first of a home-and-home, with the scene shifting to Syracuse Saturday night as the Amerks visit the Crunch to wrap up November.