By Joseph Keyser
In a very physical game that led to one player being ejected and another two getting injured, the Rochester Americans beat the Hartford Wolf Pack 6-3 in front of their largest home crowd of the season, moving their record to 7-3.
“It’s amazing [to get the franchise’s 2500th win],” Rochester Americans head coach Mike Leone said. “You look up at the crowd, there’s 9000 people here. [You see] the support from the community, the organization, and glad we got the win tonight.”
The game started off strong for Rochester. They controlled the pace of play and spent the majority of the first period in Hartford territory. The Wolf Pack tried to combat the Americans’ offensive pressure by making the game very physical, checking and slamming players into the walls often.
“It was tough play,” Leone said. “They’ve got big, heavy guys who were running around. I thought we did a really good job defending ourselves and sticking up for each other.”
Hartford’s physical play was not enough to prevent Rochester from scoring though.
Brett Murray was able to score 25 seconds into the game’s first power play. Isak Rosén sent a pass from the right-side circle back to Murray, who was near the Nissan logo to let Rochester go up 1-0.
Rochester also scored on the second power play of the game. Jiri Kulich got a pass from Rosén and put it in the net, this time from up close, putting the Americans up 2-0.
“It was very good for us to get the momentum going tight away,” Rosén said. “I think they lost their heads a little bit after that too. They were trying to play a little dirty and we just got more power plays.”
“You want them to have that kind of doubt and play a little more cautious,” Rochester defenseman Zach Metsa said. “Make them think twice before they try to take the puck from you or try to finish a check, whatever it is. And when you have playmakers like Rosén and Kulich on a power play, you definitely don’t want to put them back on the ice.”
Hartford’s Dylan Roobroeck scored the next goal from the slot after getting a pass from Bryce McConnell-Barker.
After the Wolf Pack’s goal, they stepped on the gas and put constant pressure on the Americans for the rest of the period.
The beginning of the second period saw a back-and-forth struggle to maintain control of the puck with each team shooting multiple times. Eventually, the Americans took control of the game again, pressuring Hartford with seven shots in seven minutes. The last of those shots ended in a goal from Viktor Neuchev, putting Rochester up 3-1.
The Wolf Pack tried to ramp up the pressure again, shooting three times in the span of 40 seconds, but goalie Felix Sandstrom was able to make saves on all of them.
Rochester’s Konsta Helenius was able to run the score up further with his next shot slipping by Louis Domingue. Just seconds after Helenius’s goal, Josh Dunne was able to sink another goal for the Americans, bringing their lead to four goals.
Seemingly frustrated, Ben Harpur lowered his shoulder and skated into Felix Sandstrom, who suffered an upper body injury and was carried off the ice by the trainers. Harpur got a five-minute major penalty and was ejected with a game misconduct.
“On that Sandstrom play we didn’t really see what happened at first,” Rosén said. “We maybe should stick up a little more after that. But I don’t think we saw it really. So, I think that’s a good thing.”
With Sandstrom being injured on the play, Michael Houser came in for the rest of the game.
Hartford came out in the third period fighting hard even though they were behind by four and shorthanded. While they were down one man, the Wolf Pack’s Brett Berard was able to put the puck in the net, bringing the score to 5-2.
A few minutes and shot attempts later, there was a scrum in Americans’ territory, leading to Vsevold Komarov getting injured.
While Komarov was still down on the ice, Rosén was able to take the puck on a breakaway and score a goal.
Hartford’s Bryce McConnell-Barker was able to score on Houser, bringing the game to 6-3.
The next time the Americans play at home is Wed, Nov. 13 at 7:05 against Laval Rocket.
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