LATE GOAL PUSH ROCKET PAST AMERKS IN SERIES OPENER
Amerks fall 5-4 in Game 1, resume series Friday at Blue Cross Arena
May 14, 2025
Oliver Kapanen broke a 4-4 tie in the closing minutes of regulation to lift the Laval Rocket to a 5-4 win over the Rochester Americans in a back-and-forth series opener of the North Division Finals Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
The loss is Rochester’s first of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs after pulling off a 3-0 sweep of the Syracuse Crunch in the North Division Semifinals. Laval is 3-0 on the road this postseason, and including the regular season, have won all five meetings thus far in Rochester.
“Once we got to the second period, we got to our game,” said Amerks head coach Michael Leone. “The margin for error is really small against a team like that. You don't want to beat yourself and you’ve got to manage games.”
Kale Clague, Konsta Helenius, and Josh Dunne joined in on the scoring with Isak Rosén, whose second goal of the postseason tied the game at 404 midway through the third period. Clague posted a goal and an assist, while Jiri Kulich and Lukas Rousek joined him with multi-point efforts as each forward posted two assists.
Devon Levi made 29 saves in the loss while Cayden Primeau’s 23 saves were enough to secure the win for Laval.
FIRST PERIOD
For the fourth time in as many playoff games, Clague found the back of the net on a one-timer from the left point, this time doing so early as opposed to his traditional third-period theatrics displayed in the Syracuse series.
With Rochester on its second power-play of the game less than five minutes into the contest, Rousek carried the puck down the left-wing wall before pulling it back to a pivoting Clague, who shifted from the deep slot into his office on the point. The one-timer beat the glove of Primeau, going into the top corner of the goal to nab Rochester a 1-0 advantage 4:33 into the series.
“I'm just trying to throw it there,” said Clague. “Rousek makes a great play for me to be in that spot and he’s done that all year, so it’s my job to get it through. They've been going in.”
The Rocket capitalized on a power-play of their own midway through the period.
Following his goal on the man-advantage, Clague was sent to the box later in the frame. During the penalty kill, Logan Mailloux corralled a puck in the slot for a one-time release that found its way by Levi, evening the game, 1-1. With the goal coming 10:04 into the period, Levi’s remarkable shutout streak, which began in Game 1 of the North Division Semifinal series against the Crunch, ended at 166:43.
Laval grabbed a 2-1 lead late in the period off a secondary scoring chance from David Reinbacher with 1:41 to play.
On the rush, Owen Beck took a shot from the left circle that Levi turned away, but the rebound was directed toward Florian Xhekaj, who also got stopped by the AHL All-Star. However, another rebound popped off of Levi, and with the Amerks unable to retrieve the puck, Reinbacher made it count with Laval’s third shot of the sequence going through, allowing the visitors to carry a lead into the first intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
Clague continued to be a main character in the story of the series opener, with the veteran scooting down the right-wing boards with the pucks as Rochester continued applying pressure in the early minutes of period two.
With the puck, Clague shuffled it toward Helenius, who was standing just off the right-wing circle in the attacking zone. The Sabres’ prospect didn’t miss, receiving the puck and ripping it past the blocker of Primeau 2:23 into the frame to even the contest at 2-2.
The Amerks struck again to regain the lead 6:48 into the frame thanks to a hustling Dunne, who muscled his way toward the net. Primeau took an angle at the side of the goal to cover Dunne’s initial shot, but got himself stuck on the post. Dunne regained the puck, spun behind the goal, then back in front on a wraparound to stuff it through on the opposite side for the 3-2 advantage.
Laval’s Brandon Gignac took advantage with a second power-play goal for the Rocket to tie it up with 5:34 left in the period.
With Beck and Oliver Kapanen beneath the goal-line, the puck was strung toward Gignac, who crept down toward the front of the goal and banged a quick shot over Levi’s glove.
Alex Barre-Boulet took advantage of a fatigued group of Amerks who were unable to get to the bench at the end of a long shift in the final minute of the period.
With the Amerks stuck in the defensive end, Rochester managed to clear the puck out to center, but William Trudeau was there for the Rocket, quickly advancing the puck to Sean Farrell coming off the bench of the left side. As Farrell raced to the front of the net, the Rocket forward left the puck for Barre-Boulet to swat under Levi, gaining Montreal’s AHL affiliate a 4-3 lead with 42 seconds to play in the period.
THIRD PERIOD
Rosén continued the back-and-forth exchange, tying the game once more for Rochester midway through the period.
Fellow Swede Noah Östlund fed the puck out of the corner to Rosén in the left dot. The Amerks’ leading scorer from the regular season shot five-hole on Primeau, beating him through the legs to make it 4-4.
Laval continued to find answers when they needed to, taking its fourth and final lead of the contest with 4:38 to play.
Mailloux took a centering feed at the top of the blueline and shot the puck through traffic, finding the stick of Kapanen. The 21-year-old scored his first AHL goal, tipping the shot past Levi to get Laval a 5-4 lead that they would hold onto for the Game 1 victory.
“I think it was too many highs and lows in our game today and that's why we lost,” said Rosén. “I think when you play against such a skilled group, you've got to be on your toes all the time. I think that's where we lost the game today a little bit.”
UP NEXT
Rochester aims to even the best-of-five series prior to it shifting scenes to Place Bell. Game 2 comes Friday night at Blue Cross Arena, beginning with puck drop at 7:05 p.m. live on FloHockey and 95.7 The Fan Rochester.
Goal Scorers
LAV: L. Mailloux (2-PPG), D. Reinbacher (1), B. Gignac (1-PPG), A. Barre-Boulet (2), O. Kapanen (1-GWG)
ROC: K. Clague (4-PPG), K. Helenius (2), J. Dunne (1), I. Rosén (2)
Goaltenders
LAV: C. Primeau – 23/27 (W)
ROC: D. Levi – 29/34 (L)
Shots
LAV: 34
ROC: 27
Special Teams
LAV: PP (2/3) | PK (3/4)
ROC: PP (1/4) | PK (1/3)
Three Stars:
1. LAV – O. Kapanen
2. ROC – K. Clague
3. LAV – S. Farrell
