PLAYOFF PREVIEW: AMERKS EYEING 2-0 SERIES LEAD AGAINST CRUNCH
Rochester can put Crunch on the brink before series shifts to Syracuse
Apr 27, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
After a come-from-behind win Friday, the Rochester Americans continue their North Division Semifinal series against the Syracuse Crunch with Game 2 Sunday afternoon at Blue Cross Arena.
The Amerks haven’t gained a 2-0 series lead on Syracuse in a playoff series since the opening round of the 1997 Calder Cup Playoffs. There, Rochester would sweep the Crunch in a best-of-five series, winning Games 1 and 2 at home by 7-4 and 6-2 finals, respectively.
During the 2024-25 regular season, Rochester showed a 7-3-1-1 record against Syracuse, including a 3-2-1-0 mark at Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks have home-ice advantage, hosting games one and two, and a fifth game if necessary. Both the 2023 and 2024 playoff series between the Amerks and Crunch reached a do-or-die fifth game.
GAME ONE RECAP
Kale Clague broke a 2-2 tie 3:55 into the third period while Devon Levi made 25 saves in goal to help the Amerks take game on against the Crunch by a 3-2 final.
Rochester trailed 2-0 four minutes into the second period after a pair of early goals in the frame from Syracuse’s Conor Sheary and Dylan Duke. The Amerks rallied for three unanswered, beginning with a goal from Brendan Warren, then Riley Fidder-Schultz on the power play to make it 2-2 going into the third, setting the stage for Clague’s game winner. Fiddler-Schultz posted a goal and an assist, registering the only multi-point game for a player on the Amerks side of the ice. Fiddler-Schultz did so in his Calder Cup Playoff debut.
Brandon Halverson took the loss in goal for the Crunch after coughing up three goals on 30 shots. Dating back to the 2023 Playoffs, game one was the sixth time in the last seven postseason meetings that a game between the Amerks and Crunch was decided by one goal.
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
After more than 338 all-time meetings during regular-season play, the second-round series against the Crunch will mark only the seventh meeting in the postseason between the two teams and the third straight year.
Today is the second game in the playoffs between the two clubs since they went five games last spring, which featured a pair of overtime games in addition to a double overtime contest. Prior to that, the Amerks claimed three of the previous four playoff series dating back to 1996, which included a reverse sweep by Rochester in 2023.
Rochester is 169-149-20 all-time against Syracuse in the regular season, which included a 7-3-1-1 mark this season versus the Crunch. Seven of the 12 matchups between the two teams were won by the visiting team and four of 12 were decided beyond regulation.
LEANING ON LUKAS
Clague’s go-ahead goal Friday night was assisted primarily by forward Lukas Rousek, who one year ago led Rochester in scoring against the Crunch with six assists in their five-game playoff series.
Rousek has not scored a goal in the playoffs against the Crunch, but across three years and 11 postseason games, the fourth-year Amerk is operating at a point-per-game pace with 11 assists facing Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate. The Czechia-born winger has registered at least one assist in eight of the last nine playoff games against the Crunch.
His last goal in the playoffs came in game five of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against Hershey, where Rousek scored two goals to help the Amerks force a game six.
SENSATIONAL SHEARY
Rochester’s biggest threat when facing Syracuse comes from its leading scorer, Conor Sheary. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion scored the first goal of this year’s series less than 30 seconds into the middle period of game one Friday. Sheary finished the season with 37 points (11+26) over his final 28 games.
Sheary, who just finished his 11th regular season as a pro, has spent the bulk of his career in the NHL, skating in 593 games while amassing 124 goals and 267 points.
Against the Amerks this past season, the veteran winger wrangled five goals and eight points against the red, white, and blue.