Amerks Survive Cleveland Comeback to Secure 4-3 Shootout Victory

The Rochester Americans experienced a rollercoaster of emotions on Monday night at Rocket Arena. After building a two-goal advantage, the Amerks watched their lead vanish late in the third period before ultimately rallying to defeat the Cleveland Monsters 4-3 in a tense shootout.

With the victory, Rochester is now just six points away from locking in their fifth consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs. The team has also developed a habit of thriving in extra time, winning their last four games that required more than sixty minutes.

A Defensive Opening Frame

The game began as a feeling-out process for both squads, resulting in a scoreless first period with only sixteen combined shots on net. Goaltender Devon Levi was sharp early, making two identical and crucial saves against Justin Pearsons and Hunter McKown from the left faceoff dot. On the other end of the ice, Cleveland netminder Ivan Fedotov handled all three shots he faced while his team killed off a penalty.

Rochester’s Second Period Surge

The Amerks found their offensive spark early in the middle frame, striking twice in a span of just sixty-six seconds. Trevor Kuntar opened the scoring when a shot from Red Savage was redirected by Jagger Joshua, bounced off the end boards, and landed perfectly for Kuntar to tuck inside the post.

Immediately on the next shift, Rochester extended the lead. Isaac Belliveau moved the puck up to Konsta Helenius, who orchestrated a give-and-go with Anton Wahlberg. Helenius eventually set up rookie Matteo Costantini, who quickly snapped the puck home for his sixth tally of the season.

Cleveland managed to cut the deficit to one midway through the period. Following a tough corner battle won by Corson Ceulemans and Riley Bezeau, James Malatesta managed to steer the puck over Levi’s pad to make it a 2-1 game heading into the second intermission.

Third Period Chaos and Overtime

Early in the third, Rochester capitalized on a Cleveland bench interference penalty. Helenius and Zac Jones moved the puck beautifully around the zone before setting up Kuntar, who blasted a long-range shot through traffic for his second goal of the night.

Facing a 3-1 deficit, the Monsters aggressively pulled Fedotov for an extra attacker on two separate occasions late in the period. The gamble paid off flawlessly for the home team, as Mikael Pyyhtiä and Owen Sillinger both found the back of the net to completely erase Rochester’s lead and force overtime. After a scoreless sudden-death period where both goalies stood tall, the game proceeded to a shootout.

Shootout Heroics

Cleveland took an early edge in the skills competition when Pyyhtiä scored, but Levi kept Rochester’s hopes alive with a massive pad save on McKown. In the third round, defenseman Vsevolod Komarov kept the Amerks in the fight by faking out Fedotov and lifting a backhand shot into the top of the net.

After Cleveland’s Jack Williams rang his attempt off the crossbar, former Monster Carson Meyer played the role of hero. Mimicking Komarov’s exact move, Meyer drove down the left wing, faked to the middle, and roofed a backhand shot to secure the extra point for Rochester.

Roster Milestones

• Devon Levi anchored the victory by stopping 35 of 38 shots. He has been incredibly reliable lately, picking up five wins and making 165 saves over his last seven starts.
• Konsta Helenius extended his point streak to eight games by picking up two assists.
• With their helpers tonight, Helenius and Zac Jones became the first pair of Rochester teammates to both record at least forty assists in the same season since Jamie Johnson and Clay Wilson accomplished the feat during the 2009-10 campaign.
• Trevor Kuntar’s multi-goal night puts him just one tally away from hitting the twenty-goal milestone for the first time in his professional career.
• Jagger Joshua set a brand new career-high by reaching twenty-six points on the season.

Up Next

The Amerks will look to keep their momentum rolling when they travel to Upstate Medical University Arena on Wednesday, April 8, to close out their twelve-game season series against the Syracuse Crunch.