By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
When you fire 49 shots on goal, hold the best team in the division to only 23 shots and still lose, about all you can do is tip your hat to the opposing goalie and accept defeat.
Which is just what the Rochester Americans did on Friday night.
Despite a multitude of scoring chances and long stretches of offensive zone time, the Amerks lost 3-2 to the Laval Rocket in front of 7,310 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
“Breakaways, posts … I thought it was the best game we’ve played all year,” Amerks coach Michael Leone said.
The best game … especially if you don’t consider a 1-minute and 54-second stretch to start the second period, that is. In those 114 seconds, the Rocket scored three times to take a 3-0 lead and then relied on goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to nail down their 22nd victory of the season (22-11-0-1).
The Amerks, meanwhile, had more than enough Grade-A opportunities but were often left bewildered by Kahkonen in falling to 17-12-3-1. Isak Rosen alone had nine shots on goal but scored just once.
“I had so many chances,” said Rosen, whose goal was his team-leading 15th. “It’s frustrating but we have to take the good things from it.”
And so, an already strong rivalry grows even more intense. Laval ended the Amerks season in a deciding fifth game in the North Division finals last spring. The Rocket also eliminated the Amerks in the North finals in 2022.
The ferocity and passion seems to heighten whenever they meet.
“It almost feels like a playoff game every time we play them,” Leone said.
Said Rosen: “It’s always really hard games. They are really one of the best teams in the league and it’s always fun to play a good team.”
That two-minute stretch of the second period wasn’t all that fun, however. An offensive-zone giveaway by the line of Rosen, Konsta Helenius and Anton Wahlberg led to Laval’s first goal, by William Trudeau, off a fast-break rush at 1:27.
“We had a bad turnover,” Rosen said, “and then we didn’t execute the backcheck.”
Indeed, Trudeau was the player who stole the puck near the right circle in the Laval zone, yet he ended up by himself as the trailer off the four-on-two fastbreak.
Filip Mesar pushed the Laval lead to 2-0 at 2:32 when, after the Amerks failed to clear the zone, he chipped a shot from the left circle past the left shoulder of goalie Devon Levi. When Sean Farrell redirected a Jared Davidson shot/pass past Levi on a power play at 3:21, the Amerks suddenly trailed by a field goal.
“Minus three minutes, we dominated them,” said defenseman Zac Jones, who scored in the second period and picked up his AHL-leading 29th assist when he helped set up Rosen’s power-play goal with 4:39 remaining.
But those quick goals by Laval ended up haunting the Amerks.
“It can’t happen, it just can’t happen,” Rosen said.
The Amerks did respond quickly as Jones scored a minute after the Laval power-play goal. His shot from the right point zipped past Kahkonen and in off the near post.
But Kahkonen would get the last laugh on Jones. After Rosen had sliced the deficit to 3-2 at 15:21, Jones had an uncontested shot from the middle of the slot with 2:12 to play. But instead of tying the score, his wrister skipped off the knob of Kahkonen’s stick and bounced harmlessly off the end glass.
“He’s a helluva goalie,” Jones said. “Sometimes stuff happens.”
Said Leone: “The save he made on Jones … only two or three goalies in the league make that save.”
funny thing…the headline Wednesday should have been ‘Crunch ‘dominate’ Amerks…still Lose. Same game. Crunch fell asleep early in the 1st period…gave up 3 quick ones and never caught up despite outplaying us over the final 40 minutes…often looking like a Crunch shooting gallery. Levi stood tall and Amerks hung on.
Last night Amerks fell asleep, led by their goalie for 2 lousy minutes in the 2nd. 3 goals on 3 shots, and it was 3-0. And Amerks never caught up despite outplaying Laval for most all the game…which is no easy feat.
A case each night in the losing team didn’t deserve to lose. Laval’s goalie was good but Amerks did help him by totally messing up 2 clear breakaways and several other open nets . Meanwhile Levi continues to be just plain inconsistent. He probably wants 2 of those 3 goals back. He, like his team can’t seem to put together two strong winning games in a row. Some nights he is brilliant; other nights he just have to look away.
We sure need Jones. And Sabres recalled him again. We are prepared to expect lots of recalls 2nd half. And we are also prepared to hear the continue lecturing of us Amerk fans that we don’t matter as a team at all. WE only exist to funnel players to buffalo and I’ll never agree with that to my final breath.