By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
The shootout definitely has not been a friend to the Rochester Americans this season.
Heading into Sunday, they had lost all four games settled by the skills-competition tiebreaker. Even worse, as a team, Amerk shooters were just 2-for-22.
It’s hard to imagine being much worse in the breakaway showdowns.
But on Sunday evening, Konsta Helenius and Olivier Nadeau made scoring in the shootout look easy, and in doing so lifted the Amerks to a well-deserved 3-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch in front of 7,463 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
The victory gave the Amerks even more breathing room in their quest to secure the fifth and final playoff berth in the American Hockey League’s North Division while preventing the Crunch from moving into a tie with first-place Laval.
The Amerks (28-25-5-4) now have a six-point lead over Belleville, 65-59, and still have played three fewer games.
“Guys were incredible, just the sacrifice, the buy-in,” Amerks coach Michael Leone said. “We’ve gotten a lot better this month, regardless of what our record is.”
They were able to play shot for shot, hit for hit and save for save with the more talented Crunch largely because of desire. Center Riley Fiddler-Schultz (lower body injury) and defenseman Ryan Johnson (long-term upper body injury) were hurt in Saturday’s 5-3 loss at Syracuse, but the Amerks managed to persevere.
“Just an unbelievable effort,” Leone said. “It just speaks to, if we play the right way, if we play with passion, if you play with energy, if you play together and play for the guy next to you, we were the better team five-on-five.”
That’s why the Amerks were able to score the only goal in the first period, by Matteo Costantini at 12:52, and why they were able to take a 2-0 lead 43 seconds into the third period on Trevor Kuntar’s power-play goal.
The Crunch did tie the score 2-2 just under six minutes later on a goal by Ethan Gauthier but, after the scoreless overtime, the Amerks prevailed 2-0 in a shootout that was over after just two rounds. While Helenius and Nadeau scored, Amerks goalie Devon Levi stopped Maxim Groshev and Jakob Pelletier.
First, Helenius scored one for the season highlight recap. He moved in on right wing, accelerating as he angled to the net. He continued across the deep slot, holding the puck until he was well to the left of the net before lifting a tight-angle backhander over goalie Brandon Halverson.
“Amazing, his poise with the puck,” Leone said.
The finished product may not quite have been how Helenius drew it up in his head – he used the same move to score in a shootout in Laval earlier this month – but he still executed to perfection.
“The angle was really bad,” said Helenius, who now is 2-for-3 in shootouts. “I just had to get it over his pad.”
Nadeau then scored by methodically moving straight down the slot, waiting for a moment, and then whipping a wrister low past Halverson’s right leg.
He said he has a general idea of what he wants to do in the shootout.
“But I saw Konsta going before me so I changed my move,” Nadeau said.
Any thoughts of trying the same move Helenius used?
“Too much skill for me,” he joked.
Nadeau is a third-year pro but had played all but nine games of the previous two seasons with ECHL Jacksonville. That means he’s still a rookie by AHL standards and he has become much more a fixture in the lineup, playing on a line with Carson Meyer and Jake Leschyshyn.
“It feels good to have the confidence of the coach and to help the team win,” said Nadeau, who has produced 9 goals, 10 assists and 19 points in 46 games, including 3-3-6 in the past eight games.
For much of the first two months, he was more of a spare part than, sitting out 12 of the first 30 games as a healthy scratch while missing four others due to injury. Now he’s a key component on his line.
“We talked before the game about how far he’s come,” Leone said. “He took advantage of opportunity and he’s earned it.”
The Amerks are home three times in the coming week (Charlotte on Wednesday, Belleville Friday and Providence on Saturday on Don Stevens Night) before playing four straight on the road.
“We have to make sure we keep getting better,” Leone said. “We know we have a tough schedule. I really like how far we’ve come. We’re getting out of our zone, we’re defending well, guys are playing hard, we’re physical.”
Thought the refs blew too many whistles. giving Crunch 7 power plays was ridiculous. Amerks killed them all, but spending so much time shorthanded ruins the flow for the regular lines.
I wish we could play more Sunday afternoon games at home. The fans seem to respond to them. But fighting off the Bills and the NFL is a tough task. Even if we could eliminate 2 or 3 of those death-dealing Wednesday games, it would be nice.
Here is my challenge for Amerks fans. Saturday we play the leagues top team. Its also the night we pay tribute to our great play by play man Don Stevens. Donnie has been with us for 40 years. He has been honored in many of the rinks around the league this year. He deserves to see a full house Saturday. This has not been a stellar 70th Anniversary so far. A sellout would do wonders to change that.
So come on Amerk fans….lets do this up right and give Donnie the sendoff he deserves. Let’s fill the BCA to the rafters. Make it special. Something like this will never happen again.