By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
The big guns all were back – Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund – which meant the Rochester Americans roster was fortified with powerhouse offense for the start of the Calder Cup playoffs.
But it was unheralded support players, two guys that aren’t even on NHL contracts, that sparked the Amerks to a series-opening, comeback victory on Friday night.
Winger Brendan Warren scored the Amerks first goal and then winger Riley Fiddler-Schultz tied the score before helping set up Kale Clague’s game-winner as the Amerks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Syracuse Crunch 3-2.
“I’ve been saying it all year with those guys, they’re winning hockey players,” Amerks coach Michael Leone said. “You need those guys if you want to go deep.
“I know sometimes we look at the Kulichs and the Rosens, but at the end of the day it’s the guys at the bottom (of the depth chart) that you need the most.”
That was certainly true on Friday night, when 6,600 fans came to Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial to watch Game 1 of the best-of-five North Division semifinals.
“His belief in us gives us so much confidence,” Warren said of Leone. “He makes us believe we’re contributors.”
Combined, Kulich, Rosen and Ostlund – the elite scoring stars on the roster – produced seven of the Amerks 30 shots on goal against Crunch goalie Brandon Halverson. But it was the grinders who were able to put pucks past Halverson.
They did so, however, only after the Crunch had taken a 2-0 lead. Conor Sheary broke a scoreless tie on the first shot of the second period, a wrister from the high slot that seemed to fool goalie Devon Levi only 21 seconds into the period.
Just 3:08 later, Dylan Duke scored on a wrap-around and Syracuse had the two-goal lead. There was no panic within the Amerks, though.
“When we got down 2-0 and I loved our composure on the bench,” Warren said.
Two shifts later, Warren scored his second career playoff goal. He pounced on a loose puck in the slot, bobbled it momentarily, then regained control near the left hash mark and fired a low shot into the open right side of the net.
This is Warren’s fifth year in Rochester (counting the abbreviated COVID season of 2020-21); his career high in goals is nine, set this year.
“It shows how deep we are,” Warren said. “If we’re not getting scoring from the top six, hopefully the bottom six are contributing.”
The Amerks needed only another 2 minutes and 48 seconds to tie the score on a power play. Clague’s rush into the Crunch zone was broken up by defenseman Max Crozier. But before Crozier could clear the puck, Fiddler-Schultz knocked him to the ice (perhaps illegally).
An instant later, Konsta Helenius passed to Fiddler-Schultz, who moved into the left circle before zipping a perfect, top-shelf wrister past Halverson to the far side at 7:14.
After scoring 13 goals in 51 regular season games, the second-year forward started his playoff career off with a bang.
“It was a really cool moment,” he said of the goal. “I’m so grateful I’m in the position I’m in now.”
The score remained tied until 3:55 of the third period, when Clague boomed a slap shot from the left point past a screened Halverson.
Fiddler-Schultz moved the puck out of the left corner and up the wall to Lukas Rousek, who quickly passed to Clague at the point. His shot rocketed past the attempted block of Daniel Walcott and past Halverson on the short side.
“Goals this time of year are important, they’re big,” Clague said. “We always talk it’s a race to three against this team.”
They certainly know exactly what it takes to defeat the Crunch, and vice versa. This was the 47th game between the Thruway rivals since the start of the 2022-23 season. They Amerks have won 24, the Crunch 23. That includes first-round playoff meetings the previous two years. The Amerks won in five games in 2023, the Crunch in five last year.
“We know what they are,” Warren said. “We played them it feels like a hundred times this year.”
What they are is rugged, tenacious and physical, and the Amerks will face more of the same in Game 2 at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday.
“Syracuse is a big, heavy team,” Leone said, “but so are we. We have a team toughness; the guys have bought into winning hockey.”
Which is why the Amerks for much of the night were able to counter the physicality of the Crunch with their own hitting game.
“They’re a big, heavy team and we knew coming in we’d need to match it,” Fiddler-Schultz said. “That was a testament to how we can win games in any way.”
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