By: Brayden Peters
ROCHESTER, NY - A battle between two head coaches that are very familiar with one another resulted in a 6-1 win for the Rochester Americans over the Cleveland Monsters. The Americans dominated in the shots on goal department, as they outshot the Monsters 49-26.
"Our five-on-five play, the way we're competing as a group, where our tracks, our reloads, we're making it really hard on people, and it was really good to see the guys rewarded for playing the right way," Rochester head coach Micheal Leone said. "It says a lot about the group, that we stuck with it. It obviously was a tough weekend for us, but I think the guys knew we were playing really good hockey."
Defenseman Nikita Novikov had the most points out of any Amerk with two as he tallied two assists. Forwards Graham Slaggert, Isak Rosen, Mason Jobst, Tyson Kozak, Noah Östlund, and defenseman Zach Metsa tallied a goal apiece for Rochester.
Leone and Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber aren't only just two of the youngest head coaches in the AHL, with Vogelhuber being the youngest, but they were also former teammates during their playing days. They were with the St. Louis Bandits in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and won a championship with the Bandits for the 2006-2007 season.
The game was also meaningful to one Amerk and that was forward Josh Dunne. He was with the Monsters last season before being signed by Rochester in the offseason.
"I'm sure there was some emotion," Leone said. "He's really close with the staff. You know, anytime you get to play deep in the playoffs, especially in a game seven, where they almost won it to have a chance to win a championship..."
The Americans' penalty kill did its job. Going into the game, Rochester had the ninth ranked penalty kill in the AHL with an 88.9 percent success rate. They went 5-for-5 on killing off power plays in the win tonight.
"I thought we did a great job holding them to the blues (blue lines) and then getting after pucks," Leone said. "A lot of really good exits, a little bump plays to get it out of the zone, our willingness to block shots and I think we kept a lot to the outside. Patience really got those guys going."
Rochester's power play unit was still unable to find its first power play goal for the season. They were 0-for-3 tonight and are 0-for-24 this season.
"I think tonight was a really good example of the process being really good," Leone said. "We had a bunch of looks, you know, great opportunities in front of the net. If we keep doing the right things, things are going to happen."
Penalties were an issue for the Americans. They had a man go to the sin bin eight times in the win.
"I think we can limit the stick penalties as much as we can," Slaggert said. "As the season goes on, it's hard to win games when you spend a lot of time in the penalty box. So, if it was eight penalties, that's 16 minutes in the box, that's a lot of hockey to be play shorthanded. It kind of gets guys out of a rhythm, whether they're not on a PK or whatever it may be..."
Rochester came out of the gate firing in the first period as they peppered Monster goaltender Jet Greaves with seven shots, two of them coming on the breakaway. One of those shots was buried by Slaggert to give him his first goal of the season and the Americans an early 1-0 lead. Slaggert intercepted a pass in the shorthanded Americans' end and drove down the ice on a breakaway to bury a wrist shot in the top right corner of the net. It marks as the third shorthanded goal for the Americans, tied for the most in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers.
The offensive pressure didn't stop for Rochester. Solid play on the forecheck created a multitude of scoring chances that forced Greaves to make multiple acrobatic saves including a battle for the puck in front of his crease with around 14 minutes left in the period.
Rochester increased its lead with 4:13 left to go in the first. After Greaves was out of position due to making a save on a Viktor Neuchev breakaway chance, Jobst picked up the loose puck behind the cage and jammed the puck past Greaves' right leg pad. It was Jobst's first goal of the season and Neuchev was credited with the assist, increasing his team points lead to five and team assists lead to four.
Defensively, Rochester was able to hold its own as the Monsters only recorded six shots on goal compared to the Americans' 18 in the first period.
The Amerks and Monsters continued to stay relentless on offense to start the second period. Both sides had high quality scoring chances, with one of Cleveland's shots deflecting off of the cross bar.
Soon after, the Americans proceeded to score two goals that were seven seconds apart from one another to give Rochester a 4-0 lead. The first one was credited to Kozak, who buried a backhand shot towards Greaves' blocker side off a rebound that was forced by forward Anton Wahlberg. Wahlberg and defenseman Kale Clague recorded the assists on the goal. Kozak, who is more known for his ability to win face-offs and be effective defensively, has been very productive on offense as he has recorded three points, all on goals, in five games.
"For me I think it's just confidence," Kozak said. "I've been here for two years already, and this third year, I just feel a lot more confident in myself, and I think that's why I'm having a more productive start."
Rosén took the puck to the crease on a breakaway and scored top shelf for the other goal. Forward Konsta Helenius and Metsa were credited with the assists.
After Rosén's goal, Greaves was pulled for Zach Sawchenko.
Offensively, Rochester was already on a roll and refused to stop. Metsa buried a wrist shot in the top right corner of the net thanks to a screen that was in front of Sawchenko, extending the Americans' lead to 5-0. It was Metsa's first goal of the new season and Novikov, along with forward Olivier Nadeau, were given the assists.
By the end of the second period, the Americans outshot the Monsters 40-16.
Cleveland was able to leave its mark on the scoreboard. A little over a minute into the third period, forward Chris Wilkie drove up the right wing and beat goalie Michael Houser on a wrist shot blocker side to cut the deficit to four goals.
The Americans kept its offensive momentum. Forward Noah Östlund received a pass on the right wing from forward Lukas Rousek and put the puck past Sawchenko in the top left corner of the net. Novikov also was given an assist. The goal is Östlund's first of the season, his first point of the season and the first regular season goal in his AHL career.
Although the Monsters were able to generate a few more strong scoring opportunities, they couldn't capitalize on any of them before the clock hit 0:00, giving Rochester the 6-1 win.
Rochester breaks their two game losing streak with the win and inch closer to .500 as they are now 2-3. As for Cleveland, the loss drops them below .500 to a 2-3 record. The win puts the Americans over the Monsters in North Division as Rochester sits in fifth place.
The Americans will see Cleveland again for its next game on the road Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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