By: Victor Menendez
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- In a matchup of the top two teams in the North Division, the Rochester Americans were defeated by the Laval Rocket by a score of 5-2 on Sunday. Amerks goalie Devon Levi was removed from the game in the second period after allowing four goals on just 11 shots.
"I just thought he struggled," Amerks head coach Michael Leone said on Levi. "Devon's been a rockstar for us all year. It happens. Everybody has bad nights."
Laval drew first blood before 90 seconds had passed in the first period. Rocket winger Alex Barré-Boulet beat Amerks goalie Devon Levi glove-side to pick up his 11th goal and team-leading 36th point of the season.
Rochester went on the power play a few minutes later as Barré-Boulet was called for hooking. Laval wasn't phased as they scored a short-handed goal just 15 seconds into the man-advantage. Laval center Florian Xhekaj collected his 12th goal of the year as Levi was once again beat glove-side.
Amerks defenseman Jack Rathbone brought Rochester back to within one goal with just over nine minutes remaining in the first frame. Fellow defenseman Ryan Johnson fed Rathbone a pinpoint pass from the left corner, and Rathbone buried the one-timer. After having zero goals since the end of November, Rathbone has now scored in back-to-back games.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X.
Despite being outshot 11-5 in the first 20 minutes, the Rocket went to the locker room with a one-goal lead.
Just over two minutes into the second frame, Amerks center Mason Jobst tied the game at two. He tipped a shot from defenseman Ethan Prow that just slid by Rocket goalie Connor Hughes to give him his 11th goal of the season.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X
Laval retook the lead around halfway through the period. Levi couldn't corral the puck after saving a shot from Joshua Roy, and center Owen Beck was right there to bury the rebound. Beck picked up his 12th goal of the season to give the Rocket a 3-2 advantage.
Rochester went on the power play with just over seven minutes remaining in the period. Despite some good chances, the Amerks couldn't find the back of the net.
Laval capitalized on that by adding to their lead with 4:31 left in the frame. Beck put a shot on goal that, again, Levi couldn't find. Beck's second goal of the day knocked Levi out of the game, being replaced by Michael Houser.
Konsta Helenius and Tyson Kozak then took consecutive penalties, putting the Rocket on the power play for the last four minutes of the period.
At the end of 40 minutes of play, Laval was still being outshot 18-13, but had a two-goal lead.
Four minutes into the final frame, tensions boiled over and Tyson Kozak and William Trudeau dropped the gloves. Kozak got Trudeau on the ground before both were sent to the penalty box for five minutes.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X
"Once you get into it, adrenaline kind of takes over and you forget how tired you are," Kozak said. "It's kind of a rush, I kind of blacked out, didn't even know what really happened during the fight. Just trying to give our team a spark being down two."
Laval winger Sean Farrell picked up his 10th goal of the year a few minutes later to extend the Rocket lead to three goals.
Despite the Amerks putting 18 shots on goal in the third period, Hughes held strong, keeping the puck out of the net, and giving Laval a 5-2 win.
With the win, the Rocket regain possession of first place in the North Division and are tied with the Hershey Bears for the most points in the AHL at 65. The Amerks fall to second in the North Division at 30-14-3-1 with the loss. Just one point behind the Rocket.
The Amerks next game will be on Wednesday as they take on the Cleveland Monsters. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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