AMERKS LEARNING HOW TO WIN ON THE ROAD
Nov 10, 2022Through 11 games this season, the Amerks are undefeated at home. But Wednesday night in Syracuse was just the second win on the road for the young Rochester group.
It was a hard-fought win, too, as the Crunch threw 20 shots on net in the third period, nearly doubling their offensive power from the first two. This onslaught came after tempers flared following the final whistle in the second.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was given two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct — and things really got heated. All 10 skaters were involved in a scuffle that also ended in Jack Finley being assessed a roughing penalty as well.
Head coach Seth Appert wasn’t mad about the flare-up.
“I never get too frustrated with our players showing emotion,” Appert said after the game. “You want them to control it, but you also want them to have it.”
The Crunch started the third with the man-advantage, but Luukkonen denied every attempt at evening the score.
“Upi was outstanding the whole game, but especially in the third,” Appert said. “I thought we were probably the better team in the first two periods and they were better in the third. But Upi put the wall up for the guys.”
Luukkonen helped the Amerks kill off two penalties in the final frame and even tallied the secondary assist on Lukas Rousek’s empty-net goal to seal the victory.
Before the game, Appert had assistant coaches Michael Peca and Mike Weber address the need to learn to win on the road. The team has gotten better, Appert acknowledged, but these tough, physical battles are the definition of road hockey. Especially in Syracuse and Utica.
“Small rinks, there’s not a lot of space out there,” Appert said.
“This is how you have to learn, in pro hockey, how to win on the road. And it’s not always pretty.”
The Amerks put up 28 shots on Hugo Alnefelt. Zach Berzolla’s first goal of the season — and only the second of his AHL career — at 2:58 in the third would become the eventual game-winner. This was Berzolla’s fourth game for the Amerks after starting the season with the Cincinnati Cyclones.
“We found a way to get a greasy one from Berzolla,” Appert said. "That's road hockey: you need contributions from everyone."
Defenseman Ethan Prow notched his second of the season to give the Amerks the lead in the first period and Brandon Biro — who leads the team with 12 points — added an assist.
But the growth really came from the D core battling hard all night. “It was 8 goals against in the last four games, and now it’s only 9 in five.” Appert noted. “That’s a lot better than some of the numbers that were being put up on us early in the season.”
With their second road victory under their belt, the Amerks return home on Friday night to host the Cleveland Monsters for the first time this season.
But the real test will come on Saturday, when the Amerks head to Belleville: after a five hour post-game drive, that match-up could prove that this young squad is becoming road warriors.