By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
Michael Leone, the Rochester Americans first-year coach, admits he’s a little confused about some aspects of the American Hockey League.
Namely, the video review system.
“How can you review a shootout goal, but a breakaway in overtime can’t be reviewed?” Leone said.
There were 7,322 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial on Friday night wondering the same thing, after the Amerks lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Isak Rosen thought he provided victory for the Amerks 23 seconds into overtime with a breakaway goal. He was able to swat his rebound past the left leg of goalie Parker Gahagen.
But as the Amerks celebrated, the officials huddled, chatted and then waved off the goal, apparently ruling Rosen had pushed Gahagen’s left pad into the net before the puck crossed the line. And just like that the Amerks went from victory formation to faceoff formation.
“I thought it was a really bad call,” Leone said. “The puck is loose, it’s going in the net, and Rosie’s simultaneously pushing it in at the same time. The puck was already going in.
“And it’s mind-blowing that you can’t review the play.”
Then in the first extra round of the shootout, Phantoms center Rodrigo Abols clanked a shot off the inside bar in the back of the net and celebrated. Except neither referee, Chris Rumble nor Hayden Verbek, positioned on either side of the net along the end line, signaled goal.
So, they huddled again, chatted again and then went to the video, which showed the puck did enter the net. They ruled goal and the Phantoms were 3-2 victors.
“I just don’t understand how you can’t review the one Rosie scored in overtime but then you can review the shootout that you originally called no goal,” Leone said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
The Amerks did earn a point and take a 22-10-3-1 (48 points) record to Allentown, Pa., for Saturday night’s rematch with the Phantoms (19-14-5-1, 44 points).
They never led on Friday, erasing a 1-0 deficit on Josh Dunne’s goal 8:58 into the third period, then wiped away a 2-1 deficit when Brett Murray converted Lukas Rousek’s goal-mouth pass for an extra-attacker goal with 55.9 seconds remaining.
That keep-battling desire they showed will serve them well come playoff time, Dunne said.
“Being down in the third and being down again, that’s what make us better later in the year,” he said.
That they were forced to rally twice was a bit of a killer, though. The Amerks were in position to use a late-game power play to break a 1-1 tie. Instead, they allowed a short-handed goal to Brendan Furry on the fifth and final fruitless power play of the game.
In a bit of an ode to Bob Uecker, Kale Clague’s shot from above the left circle missed by … a lot. Jussssst a bit wide. The puck then caromed out of the corner and ended up being a perfect outlet pass for Furry. He was stopped by goalie Devon Levi but powered away from Clague, gathered in the rebound to the right of the net and, with Levi well out of position, scored on a wrap-around.
“Just a bad play,” Leone said. “We’re three feet wide, then the guy beats us down the ice, we don’t stop on a puck and we get outmanned on the 50/50 battle.”
The Amerks did force overtime with a relentless extra-attacker push, tying the score when Murray dipped to his left knee to ensure he was perfectly balanced to steer home Rousek’s centering pass. Michael Mersch may have retired but his patented on-a-knee scoring style lives on.
“He scored a lot of goals that way so why not do it,” Murray said with a smile.
A homecoming
Fairport’s Hunter McDonald played his first game as a pro in Rochester and was a big part of the Phantoms defense.
The rookie joined the Phantoms last spring following his sophomore season at Northeastern University. This year, in 38 games, he has produced 2 goals, 10 assists and 12 points.
McDonald played one season of high school hockey for Fairport, as a sophomore in 2018-19, played for the junior Monarchs the following year and then played two seasons of U.S. junior hockey before heading off to college.
He was a sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2022.
A quarter century ago …
Friday was the 25th anniversary of Rochester playing host to the AHL All-Star Classic, with Eastman Kodak Co. the title sponsor.
The Amerks were represented by a quartet of players, forwards Randy Cunneyworth and Denis Hamel and defensemen Mike Hurlbut and Dmitri Kalinin. Team Canada defeated PlanetUSA 8-3.
The only other time the Amerks hosted the event was in October of 1957, when the AHL All-Stars defeated the Cleveland Barons 5-2. In the early days of the All-Star Game, the defending Calder Cup champion played the best players from the league’s other teams.
This year’s AHL All-Star Classic will be played Feb. 2-3 in Palm Desert, Calif., and hosted by Coachella Valley Firebirds. Rosen and Levi will represent the Amerks.
It was an awful game, if you were there as a fan. Awful game. Don’t know why the Amerks ‘goal’ in the 1st period was waived off as well. From our seats in 222, the puck was in the air, in the net. We didn’t get to see too many replays. We didn’t realize Rosen’s OT goal was NOT reviewed. According to the PA announcer, ‘the play is under review’. It was a goal. No question. Amerks were definitely robbed and the AHL must change their rules on video review. What is this, the 1950’s?
Still, for 40 minutes and numerous power play failures, Amerks put the crowd to sleep. 3rd period was interesting. And was not a fan of the way Levi played the short hander. He does seem to do a lot of sliding out of position. Despite the way the play developed, the goalie had to stop that one. Guess one can disagree.
Amerks also had the game ‘won’ in the shootout. All Levi had to do is make one more stop; and he couldn’t do it. Then he had to make another, and he didn’t. Victory turned into a sad defeat.
The power play. This team is so pathetic on the PP. And we are past the halfway point of the season. Doesn’t anyone in the organization know how to do man advantages yet? Its not like these players are strangers. They don’t know how to get out of their own end; they don’t even take shots when they do. Playoff games are not won like this.
All in all, the frustration leaving the BCA last night was real. Hope it wasn’t a harbinger of things to come Sunday night in Buffalo. Fans in Western NY are all too used to losses like this one.
Didn’t feel like we got a loser point…only a loss. A bad one.
Leone said the goal Rosen scored in OT not being allowed was not why they lost! What?! That’s like denting your car after hitting a deer but saying “I hit a deer but that’s not why my car is dented”. The team needs to send a video of this to the league and there needs to be some disciplinary actions to these officials on disallowing what was not even a remotely disputable goal . As for the teams power play on a team with this much offense it is puzzling to see it so inept! Also, the five-hole goal on the third Phantoms shot is one normally Levi would have normally had, I’ve seen Houser make those kind of saves consistently earlier in the year in 2 of our shootout wins. The short handed goal Levi over committed and it cost him, but then again it should never have been a play that materialized!
phil–agree 100%. The refs at the very least owe us an apology for blowing the play. Won’t change anything except an acknowledgment that they really got the OT call wrong. (or at least the other ref who wasn’t close to the play should not have overruled the ref who called it correctly)
During the course of any season, there will be aggravating games like last night. I hate them…especially when we have the ability to correct these mistakes.
Levi has had 2 bad games in a row. Time for him to step up too. (if this is truly a Cup contender)