BEARS RALLY IN THIRD TO STUN AMERKS IN GAME 4
Weissbach scores twice in heartbreaker to Hershey, Amerks trail series 3-1 after second straight 4-2 loss
May 29, 2023The Rochester Americans (7-5) built a 2-0 lead on the strength of a pair of goals from Linus Weissbach but were unable to hold the lead as the Hershey Bears (9-2) roared back with four straight unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation to escape with their second straight 4-2 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals Monday at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Rochester now trails the best-of-seven series 3-1 and faces elimination as the series shifts back to Hershey for Game 5 on Wednesday, May 31.
With his first two-goal outing of his postseason career, Weissbach provided the scoring for Rochester while fellow countryman Filip Cederqvist notched his first two-assist performance of the 2022-23 season. Zach Metsa, who scored his professional goal in Game 3, and Matt Bartkowski each recorded an assist.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (7-5) made 22 saves through the first two periods before finishing with 32 in what was his 12th straight appearance of the playoffs.
Hershey’s Mason Morelli (2+1) logged his second multi-point effort of the series while Logan Day (1+1) and Aliaksei Protas (0+2) both collected their second straight two-point outing. Defenseman Lucas Johansen (1+0) kick started the Bears offense, igniting the four-goal third-period comeback.
Goaltender Hunter Shepard improved to 9-2 as he stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced in the contest. The Minnesota native has allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of his 11 starts this spring.
Midway through the final frame and facing a 2-0 deficit, Hershey cut into the score as Johansen slipped a shot through Subban’s pads after being set up by Protas and Sam Anas.
Just over two minutes later, Day tied the score as Connor McMichael provided a backdoor feed for Day to fire past Subban.
The Bears continued to press to take their first lead of the matchup as they eventually outshot the home team 14-7 in the period. As a loose puck was in-front of the Rochester crease and in the skates of bodies, Morelli gathered it and flipped it through traffic to make it a 3-2 score with under five minutes left to play.
Hershey erased any doubt of a potential overtime period as Morelli scored in the final 60 seconds as Subban was pulled for an extra skater.
Early in the opening period, Metsa scooped up a loose puck inside the Amerks end before sprinting up the ice. As the rookie reached the Hershey blueline, he slid a pass for Cederqvist to fire towards the net. The rebound landed to Shepard’s left, where Weissbach shoveled overtop the left pad just 3:01 into the contest.
Despite not capitalizing on its first two power-plays of the night, Rochester carried the one-goal lead into the break.
In the first half of the second, the Amerks were held without a shot, but Subban made timely saves to preserve the 1-0 lead until the club doubled its advantage.
Later in the frame, Rochester turned the tables, and on excellent shift by Cederqvist, Kohen Olischefski, and Weissbach, the trio were rewarded for their work in the offensive zone.
Olischefski was initially denied on a wraparound attempt from behind the net, but Cederqvist calmly gathered the rebound and skated up the wall. As the rookie reached the face-off dot, he centered a one-time feed for Bartkowski to rifle towards the cage. Just prior to the shot reaching Shepard, Weissbach steered it into the back of the net for his second of the contest with under four minutes to play.
Hershey countered Rochester’s 2-0 lead with four consecutive third-period goals in less than nine minutes to take a 3-1 series lead.
The Amerks look to stave off elimination as the Eastern Conference Finals shifts back to Hershey on Wednesday, May 31 for Game 5 at GIANT Center. Opening puck-drop is set for 7:05 p.m. and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHL TV. Additionally, the game will be televised live on MSG Network.
Storyline Stripes
Linus Weissbach produced his first two-goal outing of his postseason career while Filip Cederqvist was credited with his first multi-assist outing as an Amerk ... Matt Bartkowski recorded his first helper in an AHL Playoff Game since April 21, 2019 … Trailing in the series 3-1, Rochester will head to Hershey with a 31-41 mark when the facing elimination, which includes a 3-0 record this spring.
Goal Scorers
HER: L. Johansen (2), L. Day (3), M. Morelli (4, 5)
ROC: L. Weissbach (2, 3)
Goaltenders
HER: H. Shepard – 20/22 (W)
ROC: M. Subban – 32/36 (L)
Shots
HER: 36
ROC: 22
Special Teams
HER: PP (0/3) | PK (3/3)
ROC: PP (0/2) | PK (2/2)
Three Stars
1. HER - M. Morelli
2. ROC - L. Weissbach
3. HER - L. Day