Casey Nelson scores his first 2 goals of the season.
By CRAIG POTTER / C&C Worldwide Sports Director
Casey Nelson scored his first 2 goals of the season Friday night in leading the Rochester Americans to a 4-2 victory over the Binghamton Devils before 4,034 fans at the Blue Cross Arena.
Nelson also picked up an assist to notch his first multi-point game of the season
“Sometimes it’s harder to play at this level, especially for defensemen,” said interim head coach Gord Dineen. “Here in the AHL it may not be as structured as it is more phonetic with more action, whereas in the NHL it can be more structured.”
“It can definitely be an adjustment.”
Goalie Andrew Hammond recorded 27 saves as he blanked the B-Devils for 43 minutes before the visitors from the Southern Tier tallied twice in the final 7 minutes of the contest.
Nelson opened the scoring late in the first period with a slot from the slot that beat Binghamton goalie Gilles Senn. Will Borgen and Andrew Oglevie picked up assists on the play.
“Tonight we played to our identity,” said Dineen. “We realized they are a quick-starting team. We want to carry that tag ourselves as we are a fast-starting team. We want teams to know that we will come out and start the game strong.”
Nelson blasted a shot from the left point late in the second stanza for a 2-0 advantage. It marked his first multi-goal game of his pro career. Eric Cornel and Brett Murray received assists on the play.
“Playing on the left side makes it a little easier to score,” said Nelson. “When I did get the puck, guys were getting in the way and taking away their goaltender’s vision.”
In the third period, Jean-Sebastien Dea made it a 3-0 margin with a rebound off Borgen’s shot from the right point. Remi Elie also picked up an assist on the marker.
The B-Devils broke the shutout bid with 6:07 to play on a shot from the left Sharangovich.
Elie secured the victory with an empty net tally off a feed from Nelson.
However, the B-Devils weren’t quite done yet as they scored with 20 seconds to play.
The Amerks travel to Utica for a game Saturday night against the Comets.
Amerks assign goalie to Cincy
Rochester Americans General Manager Randy Sexton announced on Friday that the team has assigned goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
Luukkonen earned his first professional win after stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced in his pro debut at Belleville on Apr. 14. Last season, Luukkonen was named the OHL’s MVP and top goaltender after posting a 38-11-2-2 record in 53 games with the Sudbury Wolves. Additionally, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound netminder led the league in both wins (38) and shutouts (6).