TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS SPLIT OPENING WEEKEND
Leone earns first AHL head coaching win
Oct 14, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (1-1-0-0) began their 69th season over the weekend, hosting Belleville Friday before venturing to Utica for a Saturday showdown. While the Amerks ended up on the wrong side of a 3-2 final in their home opener, the team bounced back 24 hours later to secure a 4-1 win on the road.
“I think if you look at the way we played, I’d say five out of the six periods on the weekend were good,” said Amerks head coach Michael Leone. “We had a big-time response on Saturday night and played a lot like the way we did in preseason. We defended really well. I think we gave up less than six scoring chances on Saturday. It was fantastic. I really credit the group for how they responded.
HOUSE CALL IN UTICA
Amerks veteran goaltender Michael Houser knows there’s something in the air when he gets a start at Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York.
“It’s a rink that I’ve played in a lot,” said Houser. “I feel comfortable there. You play them so frequently, so the more comfortable you feel in that arena, the better it is. For whatever reason, I’ve had some success in Utica, but it always feels like as a team we play really well there.”
“He seems to always be good in Utica,” said forward Isak Rosen. “I told ‘Kozy’ (Tyson Kozak) before that game that with Houser in goal it should be an easy win. I just feel like when he’s in goal in Utica we normally get the win.”
The 32-year-old goaltender made 19 saves in a near-perfect performance in Saturday’s 4-1 win against the Comets. Houser has dominated Rochester’s North Division foe over the years, rocking a 7-1-0 record over his last nine appearances in Utica, recording one shutout with a .924 save percentage and 1.86 goals-against average.
“The more you play against them, the more you know their styles and patterns,” said Houser. “They’ve had the same coach for a few years now, too, so you know the kind of style he likes his teams to cater to. They’re big and they’re hard to play against. We know it’s always going to be a grittier type of game that gets won along the boards because there isn’t a lot of ice available. We just have to take advantage when mistakes are made, and we did that the other night.”
THREE POINTERS
Forwards Viktor Neuchev and Isak Rosen each recorded a goal and two assists on the weekend to lead Rochester in scoring through the first two games of the season. Neuchev enters his second pro season after leading Rochester rookies in scoring with 28 points (11+17) in 2023-24, while Rosen topped the Amerks in scoring, along with Mason Jobst, with a 50-point campaign (20+30).
“It’s great to get three points, but I should have had more,” said Rosen. “Especially on the power-play chances we got in the first game (Friday). I think in Utica we were managing the puck a lot better and getting it behind their defense. Every chance Belleville had on Friday came from giveaways from us. We think, as a team, we can create a lot of good looks. We scored six goals on the weekend, but we have to find more ways to get the puck in the back of the net.”
VETERAN PRESENCE IN GOAL
In addition to Houser, 10-year pro Felix Sandström made his season debut with a 28-save performance Friday against Belleville. The former Philadelphia Flyer made several key stops, including multiple breakaway saves. The two well-seasoned goaltenders sharing a crease over opening weekend isn’t an entirely foreign situation, but where most AHL teams are fielding a duo of veteran/rookie or experienced/young in net, the Amerks are beginning with a pair of proven netminders.
“I thought he did a great job,” said Leone on Sandström’s opening night performance. “He gave us a chance to win.”
“I’ve been with some veteran goalies here before,” said Houser. “It’s been me and (Dustin) Tokarski here before, I’ve played with Aaron Dell and Malcolm Subban. But it is very frequently a young guy and an older goalie. We go out there and try to take care of our job regardless. It’s fun to see young goalies come up and how skilled and fast they are. You can see how the game changes and has changed from when I started to now being at my age.”
“It was great to see ‘Sandy’ (Sandström) play great in the home opener and then Houser do his thing in Utica,” said Rosen. “It’s awesome to have two goalies you can trust. They’re both great.”
Houser, 32, and Sandström, 27, have combined for 597 professional games across four leagues.
UP NEXT
The Amerks play a home-and-home against the Toronto Marlies with two games in less than 24 hours, starting Friday night at Blue Cross Arena. Following that, the teams will switch venues for a Saturday matinee north of the border at Coca-Cola Coliseum.