Tempers flare late as streaking Amerks rout Cleveland

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

After using a dominating first period to vault to a 4-1 lead in what became a never-in-doubt 6-1 blowout victory over the Cleveland Monsters on Wednesday night, the Rochester Americans find themselves tied for second place in the American Hockey League’s North Division with those same Monsters.

All smiles, right?

Not exactly, even after an eighth win in the past 10 games (8-1-0-1).

Rarely has Amerks coach Seth Appert looked so perturbed on the bench as the final seconds ticked off the clock in a victory.

But a series of questionable and/or dirty hits throughout the game had him first wondering why referees Ales Lepkowski and Mike Dietrich weren’t calling penalties, and then explaining why Joseph Cecconi and Brent Murray ended up fighting in defense of teammates in the final 10 minutes.

There was a first-period check into the boards on Graham Slaggert. There was an obvious check to the head of Tyson Kozak by a leaping Cole Clayton that knocked the Amerks forward out of the game barely six minutes after it started.

Then in the third period there was what appeared to be an elbow or forearm to the face of Jiri Kulich by Billy Sweezey – while Kulich was already engaged with Trey Fix-Wolansky – that led to Cecconi instigating a fight with Sweezey with 9:06 to play.

And with 50 seconds remaining Jake Gaudet delivered a thundering open-ice check on Amerks defenseman Zach Metsa, prompting Murray try go after Gaudet.

“It was a big hit but late in the game, 6-1, kind of garbage,” Metsa said. “Kudos to Murz for stepping up.”

Appert also praised Cecconi and Murray.

“The game got escalated for no reason, really,” Appert said. “I thought that there should have been calls along the way. Slags got run head-first from behind. The hit on Kozak in the first was high and the guy jumped.

“So, what happens is you don’t call some of that stuff and tensions are going to boil and escalate. Then if that stuff’s not going to be called, then you have to go in and fight and stick up for each other.”

The Monsters, of course, were clearly frustrated with their performance, and now find themselves tied at 77 points, though they do have one more victory than the Amerks (the first head-to-head tiebreaker) with seven games remaining.

“We’ve been playing playoff hockey for 22 games, we’ve played really good by focusing on what we can control and not being worried about the standings,” Appert said. “Now is not the time to worry about the standings.

“If our process is good in practice, our daily reps, in our habits, and we play the right way and give ourselves a chance to win, I believe good things will follow.”

Their process and habits were terrific on Wednesday, sprinting to a 2-0 lead on goals by Nikita Novikov, at 2:19 off a Ethan Prow rebound, and Slaggert, with a redirection of a Zach Metsa shot, at 6:12.

The lead became 3-0 at 14:41 when Viktor Neuchev scored on a wrister from the high slot. He sliced in front of defenseman Justin Pearson and winger Tyler Angle above the left circle to grab a loose puck, then darted to the slot before taking advantage of traffic in front of goalie Malcolm Subban.

Amerks goalie Devon Levi misplayed a Luca Del Bel Belluz shot from the left wing with at 17:00 but the Amerks retaliated on the next shift, with Mason Jobst one-timing home a Metsa pass at 17:26 for his 19^th goal. That’s second-most on the team, trailing only Kulich (21).

“We were playing quick and north and that’s kind of our identity,” said Metsa, who had a goal and two assists. “That gets teams out of their structure and creates chaos.”

Another major factor: the Amerks big forwards like Murray, Michael Mersch and newcomer Anton Wahlberg, the 6-3, 194-pound Swede, were forest-like in front of Subban.

“Three of our first four goals, Subban had no chance to see,” Appert said.

Said Levi, who had a great straight-on view of the opposing net from his crease: “The guys fought hard in the paint at both ends.”

Subban has probably seen enough of his teammates from last season. He has allowed 14 goals on 71 shots in eight periods against the Amerks this season.

Weissbach scored the only goal in the second period, his 15^th, by zipping home a wrister from high in the right circle at 7:22.

“He’s at his best when he’s using his speed to hunt and to pest,” Appert said. “He did that Wednesday in Syracuse, he did that (Saturday) at Cleveland and he did that tonight. He’s a heckuva hockey player when he plays like that.”

Metsa scored the final goal, zipping home a wrister off a two-on-two rush 5:17 into the third period.

Levi, assigned Wednesday morning after an 18-day recall to the parent Buffalo Sabres, stopped 26 shots and looked in charge as always. He continues to be able to slide seamlessly into the Amerks lineup whenever he returns from Buffalo.

“I think there’s something special here and everyone knows that,” Levi said. “Today was a big group effort. Everyone that hit the ice was able to contribute.”