AMERKS SUFFER FIRST REGULATION LOSS AT HOME TO CRUNCH
Mersch, Savoie extend point streaks, Nadeau makes pro debut in 7-2 loss to Syracuse
Nov 1, 2023The Rochester Americans (5-2-1-0) fell behind 4-1 in the second period before dropping a 7-2 decision to the intrastate rival Syracuse Crunch (5-2-0-0) Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the defeat, Rochester’s first regulation at home this season, the Amerks remain in first place in the AHL’s North Division standings with 11 points. Tonight’s matchup was the first in eight games where Rochester has been held to two or fewer goals to begin the season.
Forward Brett Murray scored his second goal of the season in the first period while Jiri Kulich recorded his team-leading seventh tally during the final minute of the second frame. Michael Mersch, Ryan Johnson, Matt Savoie and Isak Rosen all earned an assist in the defeat.
Goaltender Devin Cooley (3-1-1) suffered his first regulation loss of the season as he made 21 saves before Michael Houser (2-1-0) finished the contest in the final 12 minutes in relief.
Joe Carroll, Felix Robert, and Gage Goncalves logged a pair of points with a goal and an assist each while Jack Thompson and Maxim Groshev both added two helpers for Syracuse. Devante Stephens, Lucas Edmonds, Gabriel Dumont, and Daniel Walcott capped off the scoring with one goal each.
Pyotr Kochetkov (3-0-0) stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced while picking up his third consecutive victory in-between the pipes for the Crunch.
Following the first 20 minutes of play where the teams exchanged goals, Syracuse grabbed a quick 3-1 lead as they scored twice in a span of 3:23 with goals from Robert and Carroll in the first five minutes of the second frame.
The Crunch cushioned their lead at the 15:28 mark before Rochester ended the three-goal run in the final 60 seconds of the period.
Rosen grabbed the puck just inside the left point before the Swedish forward passed it down the wall for Savoie. The Amerks rookie retrieved the puck, and as he cut towards the face-off dot, snapped a quick feed at the hashmarks to Kulich. With bodies providing a screen in-front of Kochetkov, Kulich ripped his seventh goal of the season to make it a two-goal deficit.
After the break, Syracuse made sure Kulich’s goal did not spark any comeback as they scored three more goals to finish the 7-2 score.
The Amerks look to rebound as they welcome the Utica Comets to The Blue Cross Arena on Friday, Nov. 1 for a 7:05 p.m. contest. The North Division showdown will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Stars and Stripes:
Olivier Nadeau made his professional debut tonight, recording one shot … Nadeau is the sixth different skater for Rochester this season to appear in his first regular season AHL game … With his team-leading seventh goal of the campaign, Jiri Kulich is tied for second in the AHL in goals while his 10 points are tied for eighth … Through the first eight games of the 2023-24 season, Kulich has more than three times the number of goals through the same number of games last season ... Matt Savoie has a point in each of his first four contests of his conditioning assignment while Michael Mersch pushed his point streak to five games as he notched an assist on Brett Murray’s goal.
Goal Scorers
SYR: L. Edmonds (3), F. Robert (6), J. Carroll (1), D. Walcott (4), G. Dumont (2), D. Stephens (2), G. Goncalves (1)
ROC: B. Murray (2), J. Kulich (7)
Goaltenders
SYR: D. Cooley – 21/27 (L) | M. Houser – 4/5 (ND)
ROC: P. Kochetkov – 19/21 (W)
Shots
SYR: 32
ROC: 21
Special Teams
SYR: PP (2/3) | PK (3/3)
ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (1/3)
Three Stars:
1. SYR - J. Carroll
2. SYR - F. Robert
3. SYR - G. Goncalves