CLEVELAND POWER-PLAY TOO MUCH FOR AMERKS TO HANDLE
Biro, Rousek each record two points; Warren scores in his return to the lineup in 5-3 loss to first-place Monsters
Dec 20, 2023Forwards Brandon Biro and Lukas Rousek (1+1) each recorded a multi-point effort, but the Rochester Americans (12-9-2-1) fell 5-3 to the first-place Cleveland Monsters (17-7-1-0) Wednesday night at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the defeat, Rochester boasts a 40-21-6-4 record against Cleveland over the last 10 years dating back to the start of the 2011-12 campaign and has earned at least one point in 29 of the last 45 games overall.
While Biro and Rousek both notched a goal and an assist, Brendan Warren, who missed the previous 16 games due to an injury, scored his second goal of the campaign in second period in his return to the lineup. Former Monster Justin Richards, Viktor Neuchev and Brett Murray all each recorded a helper for Rochester, which shows a 1-2-0-0 record against Cleveland this season.
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski (4-5-1) made 26 saves in his 10th appearance of the year.
Jake Christiansen recorded a season-high in both assists (3) and points (4) while Luca Del Bel Belluz and Carson Meyer each tallied two points (1+1) for Cleveland. Trey Fix-Wolansky opened the scoring for the Monsters while Cole Clayton sealed the win.
Netminder Jet Greaves stopped 35 of the 38 shots he faced to improve to 12-3-0 on the season. His 12 victories are tied for the most in the league while his 15 appearances are tied for seventh-most.
After Rousek reclaimed Rochester’s lead just 55 seconds into the first minute of the final frame, the Monsters evened the score at 3-3 nearly five minutes later.
With the score tied, the Monsters drew their third power-play of the contest at the 8:20 mark.
As the penalty clock was nearing its final seconds, Christiansen retrieved James Malatesta’s pass along the right boards by the face-off circles. The blueliner dished a feed through the zone for Del Bel Belluz to scoop and wrist over the shoulder of Tokarski.
Facing a one-goal deficit for the second time of the night, Rochester hoped to force the matchup beyond regulation as they pulled Tokarski for an extra-skater in the final 100 seconds of play.
The Amerks attempt to dump the puck inside the Cleveland zone, however, Clayton intercepted the pass and lobbed it nearly the length of the ice to seal the 5-3 win with his first of the campaign.
Less than seven minutes into a scoreless game, Biro and Rousek crossed paths and exchanged passes upon entering the offensive zone. Biro pulled up inside the blueline before attempting a centering pass to Neuchev in-between the face-off circles, however, the puck glanced off the skates of the rookie forward. As the puck reached Rousek, he returned a pass back to Biro to wire inside the post for his eighth of the season at the 6:20 mark.
To close out the first period, the Monsters drew back-to-back penalties and were able to capitalize on both occasions.
Fix-Wolansky evened the score at 1-1 with his seventh goal of the slate near the 8:00 mark before Christiansen blasted home his fifth nearly nine minutes later to give the Monsters a 2-1 lead.
During the second period in which the Amerks outshot the Monsters 18-5, Rochester pressed to regain its lead.
Early in the stanza, the Amerks found the back of Greaves’ net after a tenacious forecheck by Warren caused a turnover deep in the offensive zone. With Warren tangled up with a player to the right of the Cleveland crease, Richards rimmed the puck around the wall to the left point for Davies, who fired a shot that pinballed its way before glancing off Warren and into the net to even the score at 2-2.
While Rochester reclaimed the lead in the first minute of the third period, the Monsters used a three-goal run to cap the 5-3 score.
The Amerks remain at home for their final home game prior to the Christmas break on Friday, Dec. 22 when they welcome the Providence Bruins to The Blue Cross Arena for a 7:05 p.m. face-off. All the action will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV. The matchup will also be televised live on CW Rochester.
Stars and Stripes:
Brendan Warren returned to the Amerks lineup after missing the previous 16 games and scored his second goal of the season … The forward added his first goal since Oct. 20, 2023 … Defenseman Jacob Bryson made his season debut with the Amerks after starting the season with the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) … Tonight was Bryson’s first game in the AHL since Feb. 20, 2021 … With a third-period power-play goal, it marked the third straight contest in which the Amerks have converted while on the man-advantage.
Goal Scorers
CLE: T. Fix-Wolansky (7), J. Christiansen (5), C. Meyer (12), L. Del Bel Belluz (4), C. Clayton (1)
ROC: B. Biro (8), B. Warren (2), L. Rousek (4)
Goaltenders
CLE: J. Greaves – 35/38 (W)
ROC: D. Tokarski – 26/30 (L)
Shots
CLE: 38
ROC: 31
Special Teams
CLE: PP (3/3) | PK (2/3)
ROC: PP (1/3) | PK (0/3)
Three Stars:
1. CLE - J. Christiansen
2. CLE - C. Meyer
3. ROC - B. Biro