Last weekend after dropping the first two games of the AHL North playoff series in Syracuse, Rochester Amerks coach Seth Appert made it clear that nothing was decided.
This is a series, after all, the Crunch still needed one more win to clinch it, and Appert knew one thing: His team wasn’t going to make it easy on them with the next two at Blue Cross Arena.
Alas, after a brilliant, season-saving 8-5 win on Friday night, the Amerks put together a dominating performance on Sunday and evened the series at two games apiece with a 4-0 victory.
“You’re down 2-0, we didn’t create much offense, especially in Game 2, it’s easy to feel weak after something like that,” Appert said. “And I just liked the attitude and the approach the guys took all week to correct the things we needed to correct in our game to try to create a little bit more. And then that led to success on Friday, and Friday now plants a seed in (Syracuse’s) mind and they have to get back here today.”
Goaltender Malcolm Subban, who undoubtedly had a tough Game 3 despite the win, rebounded in spectacular fashion, stopping all 31 shots the Crunch put at him, including 12 in the third period when Syracuse trailed 2-0 with 16:54 remaining and went on the offensive most of the rest of the way.
“Subi was outstanding,” Appert said. “When he’s been careless this year, he’s reacted and he’s usually reacted sharply because that’s his character and his competitiveness. He played great at Syracuse and lost both games, he was a little sloppy on Friday, but we won, and at this time of year, all that matters is finding ways to win. I was fully confident that he would give us a really big effort.”
The series is now best-of-one, Saturday night at 7:05 PM in Syracuse.
Here’s what happened in Game 4:
First period: Lots of chances, just one goal
After a third period Friday night where everything these teams shot on net went in, the opposite was true in the first 20 minutes Sunday. Each side had several great scoring chances, but the lone goal came on a shot from the right circle by Jiri Kulic on the power play 3:38 into the game.
Syracuse’s Trevor Carrick took an inadvertent penalty for throwing the puck into the crowd despite not being under any pressure, and the Amerks made the Crunch pay. Max Lagasse stopped Lukas Rousek’s shot from the left, but the puck went right to Kulic and he ripped it short.
Twice after that the Crunch were so close to scoring that two possible goals were reviewed and as it turned out, neither crossed the line.
Second period: The goalkeepers continue to shine
The deeper a series goes, the tougher the battles on the boards get and the middle period saw some very brutal hockey from both sides, but nothing changed on the scoreboard as Subban stopped all nine shots he faced and Lagace divert 11.
Laurence Pilot created a great chance for Linus Weissbach on a shot, but Lagasse came up big, and then Subban made a big save in a high-danger area on a shot by Felix Robert shortly after the Amerks’ power play came to nothing.
Midway through the period, the Amerks were denied a great chance when the referee lost sight of the puck in front of the crease and stopped play even though the puck was clearly not covered.
And then late in the period, after Lagace made a great stop on Isak Rosen’s powerplay chance, Daniel Walcott came out of the box and appeared to break through and hit a shot off the right post.
Third period: The Americans run away with three goals
Pilut scored the biggest goal of the night 3:06 into the third to make it 2-0, just the cushion the Amerks needed to hold off Syracuse’s relentless pressure for the rest of the game.
The defenseman caught the puck near the line, worked his way to the middle to get a better angle and a possible screen, then unleashed a slap shot that flew over Lagasse’s blocker.
I think we had really good momentum in the third period. We had a lot of chances in the second and I mean going through it, just trying to put the puck in the net. I saw a group of our boys there. It got us going with a bit more momentum and I think it was good for us to get another goal there.
From there, Subban remained in control until Mason Jobst scored directly on Michael Mersch’s faceoff at 14:50 and Tyson Kozak pulled it out of reach with an empty net goal at 16:11.
“At the end of the day in hockey, things happen, but you pull together,” Subban said. “I try to be at my best, especially when the team needs me the most and vice versa, the team is there for me when I don’t feel it so much. It’s a sign that guys are clicking in the room and it takes character to come back and tie the streak.”
By the numbers
Mursch’s Game 3 hat trick was the first for an Amerk in a playoff game at Blue Cross Arena since Jason Pominville on May 8, 2004.
Alex Bare-Boulet (1-6-7) had four assists and five points in Game 3 for Syracuse, setting Crunch franchise single-game playoff records.
After going 0-for-7 on the power play in the first two games, the Amerks were 3-for-4 Friday night and opened Sunday’s game with a go-ahead goal by Kulich, though they went 0-for-6 on the night.
Sal Maiorana can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal’s newsletter, the Bills Blast, which will be published every Friday during the off-season, please follow this link:https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast