TACO BELL WRAP-UP: SOLID WEEK BUMPS AMERKS TO THIRD IN NORTH DIVISION
Levi posts shutout in second consecutive week
Dec 9, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (12-8-3-0) enter a new week with wins in four of their last five contests. After picking up two points on home ice Wednesday in a 3-2 win over Utica, Rochester and Charlotte traded shutout wins over the weekend, ending with Devon Levi stopping all 30 shots in a 3-0 win Saturday night at Bojangles Coliseum.
Rochester went 2-1-0-0 on the week and are now tied for third place in the always-competitive AHL North Division, sitting even with Toronto at 27 points.
LEVI DOES IT AGAIN
The 22-year-old Levi is showing signs of a return to form from his dazzling rookie season. Levi led all AHL rookie goaltenders last season with a .927 save percentage and posted a save percentage north of .940 in 13 of his starts in 2023-24.
Levi was reassigned to Rochester late last month and started 1-1-1, before turning it up a notch his last two weeks. The second-year pro out of Quebec has strung together four straight wins and doubled his streak last week, making 21 saves against Utica before pitching a shutout on Saturday in Charlotte.
Levi made it almost 49 minutes without surrendering a goal to the Comets Wednesday. On Saturday, Charlotte, who leads the AHL in shots on goal and rank first on the power-play, were held to 30 shots while being unsuccessful on both of their man-advantages. Levi turned aside 13 shots in the final period to secure his second shutout of the season, earning this just eight days after his first career shutout on Nov. 29 against Syracuse.
In that same game against Charlotte, Levi earned his second assist of the season, becoming the first Amerks goaltender since Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen posted two helpers during the 2021-22 season. Through seven games, he is 5-1-1 on the season, ranking fifth in the AHL with a 1.96 goals-against-average.
THE SLAGGERT STANDARD
Amerks forward Graham Slaggert was all over the ice throughout Rochester’s three-game week. Slaggert posted a goal and two assists, with two of those points (1+1) coming Saturday against the Checkers. The South Bend, Indiana, native used his wheels to spring ahead for a breakaway goal that served as the game-winning conversion in Saturday’s 3-0 shutout win.
Slaggert now has four career game-winning-goals and tied a career-high in points with 12 (5+7), equaling his 12 points from last season while doing so in 23 fewer games. The third-year pro is fourth in team scoring for Rochester and has six points (2+4) over his last seven games. The Notre Dame product is also one of 15 AHL players with at least two shorthanded goals this season.
MORE FROM MURRAY
Like Slaggert, veteran forward Brett Murray also had a one-goal, two-assist week. The Bolton, Ontario, native netted his first even-strength goal of the season Wednesday against Utica, a team Murray has tormented in previous season.
The sixth-year Amerk registered an assist against Charlotte, another team he’s found success against, tallying nine points (2+7) to lead all Amerks in games against the Checkers since the start of the 2022-23 season.
The 26-year-old power forward has six points (3+3) over his last nine games and is second in team scoring overall with seven goals and 15 points. Murray is tied with former Amerk and current Checkers forward Kyle Criscuolo for the league lead in power-play goals with six.
Murray, whom the Sabres selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, is eight assists from 100 as an Amerk and 18 games shy of 300 for his career in the red, white, and blue.
COMING UP NEXT
The Amerks began their season long five-game road trip in Charlotte and will continue spending time outside the Flower City as Rochester heads to Laval, where they’ll visit the first place-Rocket Wednesday night. The Amerks’ last visit to Place Bell was a good one, as Lukas Rousek scored in overtime to lift Rochester to a 2-1win back on Nov. 20.
Following Laval, the road trip concludes in Belleville, where former Amerk Jeremy Davies and the Senators will play host to Rochester for the first time this season with games Friday and Saturday.
The only prior meeting between the two sides came Oct. 11 on opening night for the Amerks at Blue Cross Arena, where Belleville managed to rally for a 3-2 win.