Kisakov delivers in the clutch as Amerks rally past Hershey

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

This hasn’t been a season of great accomplishment and great milestones for Aleksandr Kisakov.

Mostly, it has been a season of learning, of adjustment, of frustration for the 20-year-old rookie winger from Solikamsk, Russia. And disappointment, too.

In the 43 games he has played for the Rochester Americans, Kisakov has produced just five goals and two assists. He has transitioned slowly into the pace and physicality of the American Hockey League.

But on Friday night, Kisakov wore the hero’s cape.

His goal on an ultra-slick move as the third shooter in the tiebreaker shootout gave the Rochester Americans a 4-3 victory over the Hershey Bears.

For the first time, the spotlight was his.

“It’s been hard on him, coming over from Russia, at his age,” said center Mason Jobst, who assisted on both of Brett Murray’s second-period goals and kicked off the shootout by scoring against Hershey goalie Zach Fucale. “But to score a big goal like that, we’re all happy for him.”

Indeed, they mobbed him in the victory celebration, making sure he savored his first big North American pro hockey moment in front of 6,411 cheering fans.

The two points in the AHL standings were critical, too, especially since the Amerks had trailed 3-0 before the second period was two minutes old but four a way to rally against a team that has 37 wins and 82 points.

With 11 games remaining, the Amerks (29-25-4-3) are fourth in the North Division with 65 points, five fewer than second-place Utica and four more than sixth-place Cleveland, the first team on the outside looking in at a playoff berth.

“To have a guy like that step up, to have the skill and poise to put that one away at such a young age, in a playoff-race game, in a 3-3 comeback, it’s huge not only for him but for us and our confidence,” Murray said.

The opportunity to be the third shooter in the shootout was actually a bit of a test by coach Seth Appert.

“I wanted to put him in the pressure spot, I wanted him, at a young age, to have that pressure to deliver for his teammates,” Appert said. “I do believe that, fail or succeed, you get better from those moments, from handling that pressure or succumbing to that pressure.”

Kisakov handled it well, and clearly had a plan for his shot. He slowly and methodically moved straight down the slot and then, as he approached Fucale, made an instantaneous move to this backhand and flipped the puck into the net.

“He has a move that works all the time in practice,” Jobst said. “When his number was called, we were all pretty confident on the bench.”

Moments of success often lead to more success. Appert hopes that will be the case with Kisakov.

“It’s hard to be in this league at the size he’s at (5-foot-10, 150 pounds) and the age that he’s age at,” Appert said, “and it was really great to see him have a moment like that in the shootout and to deliver for his teammates in that moment.”

Kisakov, a second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2021, had been a shootout participant two other times this season: On Nov. 11, when he scored as the second shooter against Belleville, and on Dec. 10 at Toronto when has stopped as the second shooter.

Lukas Rousek and Jiri Kulich had been go-to shootout participants for Appert. But Kulich was 0-for-3 on the season and Rousek, after scoring on his first two tries, failed on his most recent two.

“I talked to Michael Houser in practice this week about what other guys he thinks should be in consideration, just so I had a longer list,” Appert said. Kisakov seemed an obvious choice.

Jobst shot first and scored, Rousek was stopped and then Kisakov delivered after Amerks goalie Malcolm Subban had stopped Hershey’s Connor McMichael and Joe Snively.

While he gave up three goals in the first 22 minutes, including one 29 seconds into the game, Subban shut the door the rest of the way.

“Obviously when you give up a goal on the first shift against a team of that caliber, it puts you in a tough spot,” Appert said. “What is huge for a goalie, when you give up a couple early ones is to stop the bleeding and give your team a chance.”

Jobst was the Amerks best player all night, and his biggest play came in overtime and it didn’t have anything to do with a goal. Just 14 seconds after Rochester defenseman Jeremy Davies was penalized for tripping, Jobst drew a tripping penalty by Hershey’s Ethen Frank, negating the Bears four-on-three man advantage.

The teams remained tied for the final 75 seconds of overtime, necessitating the shootout.

“I think the play he made to negate the four-on-three in overtime was indicative of why we value him so much,” Appert said. “The competitiveness to win the faceoff, to win a puck battle, to will that puck into the slot, to take a penalty, that really is one of the biggest reasons we got the extra point.”