By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
He had played the previous two seasons with the Boston Bruins’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins, yet despite being a third-round draft pick in 2020, Trevor Kuntar found himself on the outside looking in over the summer.
That’s when Rochester Americans coach Michael Leone called the Buffalo native and offered him a chance.
Not a guarantee of playing time, not a guarantee of the roles he would fill. Just a chance.
Which is all Kuntar wanted.
“He said I would get an opportunity to prove myself and I told him that’s all I can ask for because I haven’t gotten that yet,” Kuntar said. “I’m just so grateful for that, for someone to take a chance on me.”
Kuntar is rewarding Leone for his faith. Just 12 games into the season, the feisty, relentless winger has become an important piece in the Amerks lineup.
Like on Friday night, when he scored two first-period goals and helped the talent-short Amerks to a 6-4 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in front of 8,627 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
Those two goals powered Rochester to a 4-1 lead, and while the Penguins (8-3-1) rallied to tie it 7:07 into the third period, Zach Metsa’s power-play goal with 8:03 remaining put the Amerks back on top and then Viktor Neuchev cemented victory with an empty-net goal at 17:56.
“I’m really happy they got rewarded,” Leone said of his team, which improved to 8-4. “It’s your will to win. It’s always will before skill and I thought we played a lot of winning hockey the last seven minutes.”
That’s pretty much a description of Kuntar’s game. Oh, he has talented, but it’s his work ethic and drive that lead to success.
“He’s probably been our most consistent player,” Leone said. “He’s an absolute gamer and absolutely fearless.”
Leone probably didn’t expect Kuntar to have four goals through 12 games. The 6-foot, 205-pound winger produced 10-10-20 in 70 games as a rookie but dipped to 3-9-12 in 54 games last season.
“Last year he never played over the fourth line,” Leone said. “There’s a lot more there. If you scored in junior (Kuntar played in the United States Hockey League), if you scored in college (he was at Boston College), I think you can score at this level.”
Kuntar is proving that’s true and was a big reason the Amerks had that early 4-1 lead. He started the first-period scoring 12:29, redirecting a Metsa shot from the right-wing half wall past goalie Filip Larsson.
“It’s not always about results but results prove what you believe,” Metsa said of Kuntar. “He’s maybe our best guy in terms of compete. Even if he’s not on the scoresheet, he’s affecting the game, our bench, our locker room.”
Mathieu De St. Phalle tied it on the next shift, converting a giveaway by Amerks defenseman Vsevolod Komarov, but Jake Leschyshyn’s power-play goal at 16:13 restored the lead.
Taking a pass from Anton Wahlberg at the right edge of the crease, his pass option across the slot no longer existed because Viktor Neuchev fell down, so he made a quick move and somehow slipped the puck past Larsson.
Newcomer Matteo Costantini, playing in his first AHL game, pushed the lead to 3-1 just 1:03 later. He angled across the top of the right circle before flicking a high wrister that sailed in just under the cross bar with Brendan Warren creating a screen.
“I didn’t really see it go in, I just saw everybody celebrating and they were looking at me and I was like, ‘Holy smokes,’ ” said Costantini, who was recalled on Thursday from ECHL Florida (2-5-7 in eight games).
Salva
Kuntar scored again with 27.6 seconds remaining in the period. Graham Slaggert’s slick chip at center off the boards sent Kuntar in two-on-one and he drove to the net and tucked the puck past Larsson.
“I’m just so thankful that Leo trusts me, and gave me opportunity,” said Kuntar, the 24-year-old son of former goalie Les Kuntar, who played six pro seasons, including 21 with the Amerks in 1996-97. “I always knew I had it in me, I just never really got that chance to show that I can help the team.”
Needless to say, after Larsson stopped just seven shots in the first period, backup Maxim Pavlenko was in goal for the Penguins when the second period began.
The Penguins sliced the Amerks lead to 4-3 in the second period on goals by Alex Alexeyev at 2:40 and Tristin Broz on a power play at 15:32.
“They made a strong push in the second and we maybe gave them a little,” Metsa said.
When Sam Poulin whipped a backhander high into the net past goalie Devon Levi 7:07 into the third period, the score was tied.
But the Amerks didn’t panic, using a power play to regain the lead 4:50 later. With Leschyshyn standing at the top of the crease in front of Pavlenko, Metsa sizzled a shot from the center point that hit nothing but net.
“That’s a huge two points, especially against a team like that,” Metsa said.
Notes: Forwards Josh Dunne, Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund have been on recall to the parent Buffalo Sabres and defenseman Zac Jones joined them Friday for their road trip out west. Jones was promoted because defenseman Rasmus Dahlin returned to Sweden to tend to a personal matter. … Of wearing the same sweater his father once wore, Kuntar said “it’s cool to following his footsteps a little bit.” … Friday’s crowd was buoyed by the annual visit of the faith-based Word of Life, which accounted for around 2,000 tickets.
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