By: Patrick Louer
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The oldest rivalry in the AHL was renewed Friday evening between the Rochester Americans and the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. The 468th meeting between the teams saw the Bears come out on top 4-3 in overtime.
Amerks center Josh Dunne was sent to the sin bin with 26.5 seconds left in the third period for interference. Bears left winger Mike Vecchione capitalized on the six-on-four power play, as he scored on a wrist shot one-timer wrist with eight seconds left to tie the game at three. Vecchione then went on to seal the deal in overtime on a breakaway and beat Amerks goalie Devon Levi glove-side to give the Bears the victory.
"I thought we were good," Amerks head coach Mike Leone said. "It was one of those games, you're eight seconds away. You know, it's hockey, it happens, unfortunately. Especially in the third period, I thought we played really good. And, it's good to go through those games against really good teams."
Hershey outshot Rochester 28-to-26 in the contest after recording four shots in overtime compared to Rochester's zero shots.
Forward Konsta Helenius and defenseman Kale Clague tied for the team lead in points with two on the night. Clague was able to score twice in the loss while Helenius, the Buffalo Sabres' 2024 first-round draft pick, recorded two assists. It was the first time in Helenius' AHL career that he had a multi-assist game.
"It was nice," Helenius said. "I think we played [well] with our line...it's always nice."
Although he recorded two assists, it wasn't the cleanest of games from him.
"You look at the first goal we gave up, he turned the puck over in the neutral zone," Leone said. "I credit him a lot for coming back and playing a really strong game. I thought his second and third period was really good."
Despite letting in four goals, Levi made timely glove saves throughout the night to keep Rochester in the game. He recorded 24 saves to give him an .857 save percentage for the evening.
It was an up and down day for the Amerks when it came to special teams. Although the Amerks went one-for-four on the power play, they went one-for-three in the penalty kill against Hershey's seventh ranked power play unit.
Both teams opened up the contest aggressively, creating dangerous scoring chances on both ends. With 15:20 left in the first period, Bears left winger Alex Limoges buried a wrist shot that was rebounded off Levi's left pad to give Hershey a 1-0 lead. The goal came after six-to-three shots on goal advantage in favor of the Bears early in the first.
The Amerks continued to press the puck up the ice, led by Clague, and it paid off. He fired a wrist shot one timer into the bottom left corner of the next after goalie Clay Stevenson coughed up a rebound, tying the game 1-1 with 9:25 left to go in the first period. Helenius was given credit for the assist on the goal.
"I thought he (Kale) did good," Leone said. "He has the ability to transport pucks. He has really good instincts. He made a couple really good reads today on those plays, and it helps when you get scoring on the back end."
The Bears took advantage of a power play when defenseman Chase Priskie and pierced the puck into the top left corner of the net to take the lead thanks to Levi being screened.
Throughout the second period, both teams traded dangerous scoring opportunities. After ten minutes of play in the second frame, Hershey led the Amerks five-to-four in shots on goal.
The Bears tightened things up defensively, creating multiple turnovers and limiting the Amerks' offensive opportunities.
"In the second period we got in trouble," Clague said. "We didn't make their D turn."
Off their turnovers, Rochester hunkered down on the defensive end. The Amerks emphasized their transition defense, not allowing Hershey to penetrate the o-zone driven by strong defensive checking.
"We created a little bit more activation with our D, driving through the middle and rolling over the top," Leone said. "I thought the guys did as really good job with making their adjustment."
Rochester had a power play opportunity with 1:47 to go in the second period, but it saw no shots on goal. Hershey still held the lead at 2-1 heading into the final period and also led Rochester seven-to-four in shots on goal.
With 16:52 left in the third, the Amerks drew a five-on-three power play. Left winger Bretty Murray took advantage of it, sending in a shot off Stevenson's left pad into the bottom right corner of the net with 16:11 left in the game to tie things up at two apiece. Left winger Viktor Neuchev and Helenius were given assists on the goal.
With 10:45 remaining, Rochester tallied a penalty kill against Hershey's power play. The Amerks carried their momentum throughout the period, which saw them lead a shots-on-goal battle 11-6 with 3:52 remaining in the third. Eventually, the Amerks banked in one of their opportunities. Clague buried a one-timer wrist shot into the bottom left corner of the net to put Rochester up 3-2 with 3:40 left to go. Center Mason Jobst and defenseman Vseovold Kamarov were credited with assists.
The Amerks broke down defensively in the final minutes of the contest. They allowed Vecchione to score with just eight seconds left in regulation and in overtime to give Hershey a 4-3 win.
"I think if we keep sticking with it, working on finishing in practice, you know, we're going to have games where we blow people out," Clague said. "We have the skill to do that."
Rochester drops to 8-5-3 with the loss and remain in fourth in the North. As for the Bears, the win improves their record to 12-4-2 and they still sit in first in the Atlantic.
The Amerks will host the Utica Comets next on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 5:05 p.m.
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