By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
Devon Levi knew this trip to Rochester would be brief.
The rookie goaltender would play in Saturday’s home game for the Rochester Americans against the Springfield Thunderbirds, then head back to Buffalo and accompany the Sabres on their three-game visit to California next week.
But Levi didn’t want to be just some outsider joining the Amerks just so he could sharpen his game after 11 days of inactivity. He didn’t want special treatment. In fact, he just wanted to be one of the guys.
If he was joining the Amerks, well, then, he was going to be every part of an Amerk for a day.
“I’m not in it for selfish reasons to come down here, I just wanted to be part of the team,” he said after the Amerks thumped Springfield 7-3 in front of 6,709 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. “It’s a great group of guys. Coming just for the game, just to get a game, so that’s what I did and the boys did great. It was a pleasure playing for them tonight.”
Except, of course, for the light workload. The Amerks outshot the far-from-sharp Thunderbirds 41-17 and 13 different players recorded points. In a perfect world, Levi would have faced many more shots. After all, he was here to refine and hone.
Instead, the Amerks played one of their most complete games of the season and won for the third time this week (3-0) and sixth time in the past eight games (6-1-1-0).
“I’m always open for a 40-shot game,” Levi said, “but I think that was really good for the team. A lot of the things that he (coach Seth Appert) was saying in the room, the guys were doing. It’s great to see that, that everyone’s buying in. It’s pretty special the atmosphere they’ve got here.”
Levi had been with the Amerks once before, spending a week in the American Hockey League in late November and early December. He came down again on Saturday because he needed to play. His last action with the Sabres was a 5-2 loss to Seattle on Jan. 9, when he stopped 26 of 31 shots.
For the season, he is 8-7-2 with a .889 save percentage and 3.32 goals-against average. Whether he’s ready for the NHL still isn’t known. The Sabres opted to keep the rookie out of training camp, even though very few – any? – goalies have transitioned directly from NCAA hockey to the NHL.
Plenty of arguments can be made to send him to the Amerks for the rest of the season, especially now that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is asserting himself as Buffalo’s clear No. 1 goalie.
“It’s a long process,” Appert said. “He’s a 21-year-old rookie goaltender. Look how good Uppie’s playing right now; it’s been a long process to get that to that spot. There’s no perfect science on how to develop goaltenders. Organizationally we’re just trying to make the right decisions at the right times to keep pushing him and his development.”
Piling up the goals
Linus Weissbach scored a pair of goals and Graham Slaggert, Isak Rosen, Kale Clague, Viktor Neuchev and Brett Murray each scored once. For the week, the Amerks scored 15 goals in the three games: 6-0 over Lehigh Valley on Wednesday, 2-1 at Utica on Friday and 7-3 over Springfield on Saturday.
The Amerks opened a 2-0 lead, saw Springfield tied it, then zoomed away with three goals in the second period against relief goalie Malcolm Subban, their teammate a year ago.
The offense often starts in the defensive zone and Appert said the team’s commitment to playing the right way has been impressive for 16 of the past 17 games. He admitted this week was “the best week (of the season) when you take a one-week snapshot.”
Weissbach heating up
Weissbach has four goals over his past four games, and eight in 26 games for the season.
“I’m in a little bit more of a shooting mindset, taking what’s given,” he said.
He scored the first and seventh goals for the Amerks on Saturday. The first came after Mason Jobst created a turnover and Weissbach, alone in the high slot, fired a shot past goalie Vadim Zherenko at 3:24 of the first period.
His second of the game came with 6:02 remaining and from a near-impossible angle in the left wing corner.
But it was his goal against Lehigh Valley on Wednesday – and 45-foot snipe from high on the right wing – that still stood out to Appert.
“The one he shot the other night was elite,” Appert said, “because the release point, how he shot it, where he shot it from and where his feet were pointed. There’s no way as a goalie you’re thinking that’s going to be a shot; that looks like a pass all day long. He’s put in hours and hours in the shooting room, trying to perfect that shot.”
Subban returns
Subban started the evening as the backup but was pressed into duty when Zherenko suffered an undisclosed injury during the first period and was unable to play in the second.
Subban signed with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent over the summer. He backstopped the Amerks to the Eastern Conference finals last spring but didn’t enjoy his return to Rochester once he entered the game. The Amerks scored on five of 25 shots, but he did stop a penalty shot by Jobst at 8:49 of the third period.
“It was fun to see him out there,” Weissbach said, “but at the end of the day you want to score on any goalie.”
Zhereno’s injury forced Springfield to scramble to find an emergency backup. Owen Ross, the dressing room attendant for the Amerks, ended up filling the role.
Amerks appear to be awakening from their slumber. After a brutal December, they have started to play the way we had all hoped. In sweeping the 3 game week, they totally dominated in two of the games and scrapped for a one-goal low scoring game in the other. Amerks have not dominated too many games this season so this is certainly a good sign.
Levi was pretty much a non-factor in this one. He faced only 17 shots and gave up 3 goals. He needs to play. It should be here. Not entirely sure why Sabres didn’t keep Comrie to make the west coast trip. Never sure about very much the Sabres do.
Weissbach seems to be heating up. Neuchev, who most Amerk fans probably never recognized up to recently, is making his presence known. Murray has scored a couple of goals. Rousek has a nifty point streak going. Rosen finally scored a goal. But where has Kulich gone? Since returning, he has no goals and very little anything. You don’t have to be a hockey guru to understand the difference between the juniors and the pros. I’m sure he will eventually get untracked, but many felt he should have stayed put instead of playing in the tournament. It can really throw off your rhythm.
First Saturday home game. Amerks usually draw well on Saturdays and recently on Sunday afternoons, after the NFL season is over. A nice crowd of just over 6,700 welcomed back last years goalie Malcolm Subban, in the enemy uni. He was pressed into service to start the 2nd period and he didn’t have it.
Amerks still trail the Crunch by 6 points and Cleveland is not really out of reach. A solid win streak could help the good guys advance up the standings. Right now, the Amerks don’t look like a team that goes out there hoping not to lose.
1995-96 anyone?