By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
When he’s on top of his game, when he’s feelin’ it, when he’s revving up to warp speed and determined to be a standout, Justin Bailey can be a very dangerous weapon for the Rochester Americans.
That said, explaining how he only scored seven goals in his first 35 games of the season with the Amerks isn’t easy. The stating-the-obvious answer: it just wasn’t his year.
Shots were stopped, shots missed the net, frustration mounted. Repeat. And repeat again.
But on Friday night the third-year right winger was front-and-center, scoring twice to spark a comeback from a 3-0 deficit as the Amerks defeated the Belleville Senators 6-4 in front of 7,846 fans in the regular-season home finale.
“He’s a big part of our team,” said captain Kevin Porter, who played left wing on the line with Bailey and Danny O’Regan that produced four goals, including Porter’s game-winner with 8:11 to play. “With his speed and his shot, he can be a difference-maker.”
That’s just what Bailey was on Friday. After the Amerks dug the 3-0 hole in the first 10 minutes with what can best be described as indifferent play, Bailey woke them up.
He scored at 13:29 on a sniper of a wrister from the high slot. Then 3:34 into the second period, he scored again, this time intercepting a pass by former Amerks teammate Erik Burgdoerfer before snapping another perfect wrister past goalie Filip Gustavsson.
His last two-goal game: Feb. 24 (granted, there were a pair of recalls to Buffalo consuming seven games of the Amerks schedule in that span). Still, until last Saturday, Bailey had gone seven games with out a goal for the Amerks, despite 22 shots on goal.
“When you’re getting opportunities and you’re not scoring, it’s frustrating,” he said.
That was quite apparent. His mannerisms said so. So did activity on the bench two weeks ago, when coach Chris Taylor marched to the far end as a Bailey shift ended and implored his winger to stay focused and stop pouting.
So that’s perhaps one reason Porter is on his line. “He can settle him down,” Taylor said.
The coach knows very well that Bailey can be very important when the playoffs begin next weekend (likely Friday at Syracuse, but Saturday at Toronto if the Amerks fall to fourth).
“He’s a game-changer,” Taylor said. “He can change the game and that’s what we need.”
He showed it again on Friday against Belleville. Not only did he have the two goals and a game-high five shots, but his get-after-it attitude was contagious. And it made him a focal point and perhaps created a little less attention for O’Regan and Porter. They, in turn, scored the fourth and fifth goals.
O’Regan scored off the opening faceoff of the third period. He drew the puck back to Taylor Fedun, who retreated just into the Amerks zone along the right-wing boards, then fired a long stretch pass to Porter on the left wing. Porter found O’Regan behind the defense and he went top-shelf to tie the score nine seconds into the period.
Porter then broke the tie, this time off another D-zone stretch pass. Nathan Paetsch head-manned for O’Regan on left wing and he found Porter between the hash marks in the slot and the boisterous crowd created an even louder roar.
“This was the best crowd I’ve heard in the three years I’ve been here,” Bailey said. “Even when we were down 3-0, there were lots of ‘Let’s go Amerks’ chants.”
The regular season ends Saturday night in Syracuse, and the best-of-five first round Calder Cup playoff series commences next weekend.
“This can be a special year,” Taylor said, “and we don’t want to let it go.”
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