By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
If players received letter grades for their performance each night, Isak Rosen definitely wouldn’t have been on any Dean’s list on Wednesday.
“It was probably one of my worst games this year,” Rosen said.
Not to mention a painful one. He was crunched heavily into the boards in the first period by Springfield Thunderbirds defenseman Leo Loof. In the second period he was struck across the bridge of the nose by a high stick.
Yet when the game ended, there was Rosen, skating out to take the first-star curtain call to the applause of the 3,396 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
The third-year right winger broke a 2-2 tie with his 28th goal as the Rochester Americans defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds 4-2, making official what had been a foregone conclusion for three months: clinching a playoff berth.
Still, while there will be no final-weekend, playoff-berth drama like the Amerks experienced in April of 2022 and 2023, locking up a post-season spot was nonetheless the first reward in a campaign that began in October.
“You work hard all season to get into the dance,” said Amerks coach Michael Leone, whose club is 40-18-4-3 with 87 points. “I’m really proud of the guys, especially to do it with eight games left.”
They did so by overcoming a 2-1 first-period deficit. Anton Wahlberg tied the score in the second period, then Rosen provided a 3-2 lead 8:41 into the third period on a rather nothing play.
He attacked on left wing but was forced wide by defenseman Corey Schueneman. As he neared the end line, maybe three feet from it, he wristed a shot that apparently surprised goalie Colten Ellis.
The puck hit Ellis on the right arm or blocker and then the inside of the left thigh before dropping to the ice and dribbling across the goal line.
A goal-scorer’s goal if there ever was one.
“It’s a good shot when the goalie’s standing up like that,” Rosen said. “It’s a hard shot for them to save if they’re not ready for it.”
Rosen, who leads the Amerks in goals and points (55 in 56 games), had been with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in Ottawa, though he did not play. He was returned from the recall after the game.
“Not a lot of sleep last night,” he said. “But you gotta be ready. Nobody cares if you didn’t sleep.”
The Amerks withstood solid extra-attacker pressure by Springfield in the final two minute before Wahlberg set up Noah Ostlund for the clinching empty-net goal with 27.9 seconds remaining.
For Ostlund, who was named AHL Player of the Week on Monday and Rookie of the Month on Tuesday, it ran his goal streak to six games on a very How Swede It Is night.
Not that it was the prettiest of games for the Amerks. They gave up far more Grade-A scoring chances than usual. In the second period alone, goalie Devon Levi faced three breakaways – and stopped them all.
“It was probably – I don’t want to say the worst – but in a long time the way we played,” Leone said. “We gave up too much. Our habits weren’t good. We were swinging away from pucks. We played poke-and-hope hockey.
“But those things happen sometimes in a season. The most important thing is you have to find ways to win when you’re not at your best. We got that third goal and I thought the last seven minutes we bent but we didn’t break.”
The game started OK for the Amerks as Jack Rathbone’s sixth goal provided a 1-0 lead 5:14 into the first period. His high wrister from near the center point zipped past goalie Colten Ellis with traffic in the slot.
The Thunderbirds used a little good fortune on a late first-period power play to tie the score. Ostlund partially blocked a Corey Schueneman shot from the right point but the puck continued toward the net, landing in a dead area in the left of the slot.
Otto Stenberg pounced on the loose puck and fired it past Levi for his first goal since Feb. 23.
A misplay by Rathbone led to a last-minute chance for Springfield and the Thunderbirds converted. Leo Loof’s shot from the left circle missed the net wide on the short side but it caromed off the end boards and into the right of the slot, where Matthew Peca was free to bury it.
Wahlberg scored the only goal in the second period, roofing a backhander off the rebound of a Graham Slaggert shot at 8:59.
Ellis stopped Slaggert’s shot from the left wing but the rebound bounced out into the slot near the right hash mark and Wahlberg didn’t miss. The goal was his 11th, but just third in the past 20 games.
“It feels like every game I have one or two good chances I should have scored on,” Wahlberg said.
Levi was a big reason there was just one goal in the period. Peca, Tarum Fizer and Hugh McGing all had breakaways and Levi stopped them all.
Notes: Wahlberg continues to play center between Slaggert and Brendan Warren. While he has been on the wing since his arrival at the end of last season, the rookie had played center in his native Sweden until three years ago. … The Amerks hadn’t won 40 games since 2018-19, when they were 46-23-0-5.
I have watched this team all year. They have talent, skill, and steady goaltending, but they do not play with enough grit and physicality to beat Laval or Syracuse in a short series. Unless more of a commitment is given to this part of their game, I do not see them surviving for very long in the playoffs.
I agree with the above comment. I’m not sure we can beat Laval and Syracuse scares me because of how we don’t match up well with them. They always seem to have more juice in the 3rd period of close games and their size and speed often frustrate our smaller skill players. I want no part of them in the playoffs.
Last nights game was not particularly interesting to watch. 3rd period was a toss-up and before Rosen scored his fluke goal, Thunderbirds were outplaying us. Levi was strong in nets and Amerks got the 2 points. You don’t get extra ones for form or style.
I’d like to see us win 6 of our last 7 and go into the players strong and healthy. I hope Sabres leave us alone so any guy that might get a recall doesn’t get hurt.
Looks like the only one we will be getting back is Kozak. I can’t imagine Kulich wanting to play with us anymore and if thats the case we don’t want anyone who isn’t all in wearing our Crest.