On Friday, the Rochester Americans posted a 5-3 Victory over the Laval Rocket. The win ties the best-of-five Calder Cup second-round playoff series at one win each. Rochester had dropped the first game of the series on Wednesday with a back-and-forth 5-4 loss. The Sabres AHL affiliate opened the series with two games at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena. Friday was essentially a must-win situation for the Amerks. Falling behind by two games would have left a daunting task ahead.
“When we skate and we play with pace, we can overwhelm teams with our speed, and that’s what you saw tonight,” said Rochester Head Coach Michael Leone.
Top Sabres’ prospects Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen, and Lukas Rousek all tallied for the Amerks. Kulich netted the game winner in the third period to complete the comeback.
“It felt better today,” said Rosen. “It felt like we were playing good. “It’s going to be a long series. You just have to do the right play every shift, and it’s gonna pay off. We tried to have that mentality even though we were down. You have to do whatever it takes to win these games. I think we did that today.”
The Amerks erased a 3-2 deficit in the third period to secure the crucial victory.
“I thought we played with pace, we pressed the puck,” said Leone. “Credit to this group, they bought in. Unbelievable effort from everyone on both sides of the puck.This time of year you really need dogs. You need gamers. We’ve got a bunch of those guys in the room. We’ve played alot of good hockey against this team and it’s good to be on the right side of it this time. We believe and now it’s a best of three.”
The series shifts to Laval for games three, four, and a potential game five beginning Wednesday.
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