In a ‘men against boys’ debacle, Amerks thumped by Charlotte

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

As a 3-1 deficit for the Rochester Americans turned to 4-1 late in the third period, and then 5-1 not long after, jeers rang out from what remained in the crowd of 6,553 at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial on Friday night.

There were more catcalls when Gerry Mayhew delivered the final dagger for the Charlotte Checkers with 3:29 remaining, inflating the margin of victory to 6-1. Which, based on the performance of both teams, is about what the final score deserved to be.

“It was men against boys tonight,” Amerks coach Seth Appert said after his club lost for the third time in four games and fell to 11-7-2. “I thought they were heavier, harder, faster and more competitive than we were tonight.”

The fans agreed, and let it be known. And the Amerks knew it was warranted.

“Sometimes you deserve it,” said captain Michael Mersch, who scored the Amerks goal. “Obviously our crowd is very supportive of us so it’s disappointing from our standpoint that we didn’t put on a show for them.”

The Checkers entered the game with a 10-9 record, having lost three straight and five of six. But on this night they looked like one of the best teams in the American Hockey League.

“I think they’re one the best teams we’ve played all year, and I thought that the last time we played them, too (a 4-3 home loss on Oct. 25),” Appert said.

“Analytics say they’re way better than their record. They play hyper-aggressive so they do give up some massive chances the other way; breakaways, two-on-ones. When we had those tonight, we didn’t executive.”

And when the Checkers had their chances, they converted. Just 2:54 into the game, Brendan Perlini scored his first of three goals, firing home a wrister from the right circle during a power play that eluded goalie Dustin Tokarski on the short side.

Mersch’s goal, his third of the season, tied the score at 6:38 but the Checkers retaliated just 1:52 later, when Riley Bezeau scored on a breakaway.

The score didn’t change until Perlini scored his second goal 4:55 into the third period, but the Amerks rarely threatened. Through the first 32 minutes of the game, they had been outshot 20-9.

“We tried to elevate and raise to their level but we couldn’t match it,” Appert said. “We had individuals in our group that just couldn’t match the consistency of their competitiveness.”

The Amerks did gain momentum on a power play when Evan Nause went to the penalty box for interference at 5:33 of the third. They even thought they scored when, with eight players jammed into deep slot trying to either poke the puck in or poke it to safety, the puck ended up in the net.

Referee Chris Rumble was positioned at the right side of the net and immediately waved it off, ruling Amerks winger Brett Murray had pushed the pad of goalie Spencer Knight into the net, which is how the puck went in.

“It’s probably the right call,” Appert said. “It was a good, competitive battle; Murray went hard to the net. I thought Murray was one of the few who had a really strong game. I loved how hard he went to the net and I’d rather have goals disallowed than not score them.”

Perhaps deflated by the call, the Amerks put up little fight the rest of the way, and the Checkers rattled off three goals between 12:21 and 16:31 (their fifth goal, by Perlini, was scored into an empty net).

 “Our compete effort wasn’t where it needed to be, especially in the third period,” Mersch said. “There’s peaks and valleys in the season and this obviously isn’t a peak.”