SENATORS RALLY IN THIRD FOR SHOOTOUT WIN OVER AMERKS
Jobst scores for third straight game, Tokarski makes 32 saves in 2-1 loss to Belleville
Feb 24, 2024Forward Mason Jobst scored for the third straight game but the Rochester Americans (24-18-5-2) fell short in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Belleville Senators (25-20-2-3) Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the defeat, the Amerks have recorded at least one point in 11 of their last 15 games dating back to Jan. 17. Rochester shows a 1-2-0-1 record through the first four games of the season-series against the Senators.
While Jobst found the back of the net for the third time this week and added his 10th point (6+4) of February, Linus Weissbach and Jeremy Davies both tallied an assist. Weissbach has notched 12 (7+5) of his last 13 points on home ice while Davies has four points (2+2) over his previous five outings.
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski (7-7-3) made his 18th appearance of the campaign and first start at home since Dec. 27. The veteran netminder, who is tied for 16th in AHL history in games played (417), stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced prior to the shootout.
Zack MacEwen sent the game beyond regulation as he scored his fifth goal of the season in the final minutes of the third period while Rourke Chartier and Matthew Highmore both tallied markers in the skills competition.
Netminder Mads Sogaard (13-7-2) turned aside 13 of 14 after drawing the start before Kevin Mandolese (7-8-2) finished the matchup by making 11 saves in relief. Mandolese stopped three of the four shots he saw in the shootout.
Trailing 1-0 to start the final frame, Belleville pressed to force the game into overtime as they outshot Rochester 14-2.
With the puck in the offensive zone and just inside the blueline, defenseman Jacob Larsson drifted towards the high slot before firing a shot towards the net. Prior to the puck reaching the top of the goalmouth, MacEwen redirected it to spoil Tokarski’s bid for a shutout with 3:11 left in the frame.
While neither team able to score in the overtime period, despite the Amerks holding a power-play for the final 58 seconds, the game went into the shootout tied 1-1.
Aleksandr Kisakov opened the skills competition for Rochester and was successful on his try before Isak Rosen, Lukas Rousek, and Brandon Biro were unable to duplicate the effort.
Chartier beat Tokarski to even the shootout before Highmore sealed the come-from-behind win.
Midway through the second period of a scoreless contest where the Amerks outshot the Senators 8-1 at one point, Michael Mersch bullied his way through a pair of Belleville skaters to break the puck loose.
Davies grabbed it free from the wall and quickly dished a pass across the ice for Weissbach near the blueline. The Swedish forward took a step back into the defensive zone before floating an outlet pass to Jobst, who was flying through the center of the ice. As the Ohio State product gained the blueline, he continued on his path, eventually tucking around the back of the net. With the puck on his forehand, Jobst stepped out from below the net and snuck a shot in-between the left leg of Sogaard and the post to give the Amerks a 1-0 lead.
The Jobst goal, his third second-period tally in the last three games, served as the only change on the scoreboard going into the final stanza.
Belleville tied the game at one in the third period before claiming the extra point in the shootout.
The Amerks close out their grueling stretch of seven games in 11 days on Saturday, Feb. 24 when they take on the league-leading Hershey Bears in a battle of the AHL’s two oldest teams at 7:00 p.m. All the action from Giant Center will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Stars and Stripes:
Mason Jobst’s career-high 16th goal of the season gives him goals in three straight games, his first stretch since Feb. 26 to Mar. 3, 2023 … Of Jobst’s last 30 goals since the start of last season, the Speedway, Indiana, native has scored 27 goals dating back to Jan. 1, 2023 … Aleksandr Kisakov has capitalized on two of his three attempts in the shootouts for the second straight season.
Goal Scorers
BEL: Z. MacEwen (5)
ROC: M. Jobst (16)
Goaltenders
BEL: M. Sogaard – 13/14 (ND) | K. Mandolese – 11/11 (W)
ROC: D. Tokarski – 32/36 (OTL)
Shots
BEL: 34
ROC: 25
Special Teams
BEL: PP (0/4) | PK (3/3)
ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (4/4)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - D. Tokarski
2. BEL - Z. MacEwen
3. ROC - M. Jobst