The Hershey Bears score 3 times then hold on for a 3-2 victory over Rochester.
By CRAIG POTTER
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Another sluggish first period proved costly to the Rochester Americans on Friday night as the Hershey Bears scored 3 goals in the opening stanza and held on for a 3-2 victory before 6,013 fans at the Blue Cross Arena.
“We didn’t have the type of start to the game as we had liked,” said Amerks head coach Chris Taylor. “We had better second and third periods, but we cannot give any team a three-goal lead. Teams in this league are too good to try to have that kind of comeback.”
“It starts in warmups,” said forward C.J. Smith. “It doesn’t start when the puck drops. It starts days before the game. It starts hours before the game.”
Captain Kevin Porter added, “I don’t care if we’ve won 10 games in a row, 20 games in a row, we have to prepare a little better. That’s on the leadership group.”
The Bears wasted little time when Amerks defenseman Zach Redmond shot the puck over the glass just 5 seconds into the contest for a delay of game penalty. Hershey converted on the ensuing power play for a 1-0 lead 52 seconds later.
The Bears tallied a pair of goals 2:20 apart late in the period for a 3-0 advantage.
“We talked about having a good start prior to the game and we were not able to do that,” said Smith. “It was a tough break on the first shift to have the penalty, but I still don’t think we responded until the second period and by that time it was already 3-0.”
Adam Wilcox replaced starter Scott Wedgewood in the Rochester net to start the second period. Wilcox blanked the Bears the rest of the way as he turned aside all 14 shots.
The Amerks were outshot 9-6 in the first period, but Taylor was not about to put the blame on the goalie or any one person.
“It was everybody,” Taylor said. “I’m not going to blame one guy, I’m not going to blame 10 guys.”
The Amerks took control of the game in the second and third period as they finished with a 36-24 shot advantage. However, they only scored twice on goals from C.J. Smith and rookie Victor Olofsson.
Smith’s tally, his fifth of the season, came from a shot at the bottom of the right circle.
“We didn’t start going until the second period,” said Smith. “We showed up too late.”
“He shoots in stride and is very deceptive,” Taylor said. “When you plant your feet, the goalie knows where it’s going. C.J. keeps his feet moving and it throws the goalie off.”
Olofsson scored his sixth goal of the campaign after the Amerks pulled Wilcox for the extra attacker with 2:42 left in regulation.
Hershey netminder Ilya Samsonov finished with 34 saves as he denied the Amerks the tying goal.
*NOTES — The Amerks game was a mirror image of the Buffalo Sabres contest Thursday night in Ottawa as a slow start cost the Sabres, too. Buffalo fell behind 3-0 as an empty netter secured a 4-2 Senators victory…The Bears and the Amerks are the two oldest frnachises in the AHL, but they only meet twice this season. The series this season concludes Saturday night in Hershey. The Bears have won 5 of the last 6 meetings dating back to the 2016-17 season, and lead the lifetime series 213-190-54.
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Rochester Americans rookie Victor Olofsson (12) scores against the Hershey Bears on Friday night at the Blue Cross Arena before 6,013 fans. The Amerks lost the game 3-2.
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