C.J. Smith nets the game-winner 53 seconds into the extra session.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The opening game of the 2017 preseason set between the Rochester Americans and Toronto Marlies was scoreless for nearly two-thirds of the contest at the Gene Polisseni Center on the campus of RIT Friday night. However, the Amerks struck twice during the middle period, while the Marlies did so in the third, before C.J. Smith scored the game-deciding tally 57 seconds into overtime to give Rochester the 3-2 victory.
In his first game as an Amerk, Smith led all scorers with two points (1+1) while Hudson Fasching and Kyle Criscuolo each found the net in the opening exhibition game of the preseason slate. Goaltender Adam Wilcox made 13 saves in 40 minutes of action while Jonas Johansson had 9 saves and earned the win in 20:58.
Adam Brooks and J.J. Piccinich each led the Marlies offense with a goal apiece, while former Amerks netminder Matt Hackett took the loss as he stopped 14 of the 17 shots he faced in 30 minutes of work.
It appeared the Amerks were in position to pick up the victory with less than five minutes left in the third period as they were leading 2-0, but the Marlies scored a pair of goals to force overtime.
Less than a minute into the extra session, Smith raced into the offensive zone with the puck and fired a shot past Hackett for the victory.
“I felt pretty good coming from Buffalo Sabres training camp,” said Smith. “I think up there I may have been gripping the stick a bit too tightly, but I think tonight I was able to just relax and play my game.”
As the first period horn sounded, Rochester held a 17-8 shot advantage but was unable to beat Cal Heeter, who was replaced by Hackett at the 9:58 of the second stanza.
“I believe we started off the game great,” said Amerks head coach Chris Taylor. “The first two periods we got a lot of shots on net, I thought we controlled the pace of the game but I think Toronto did a good job of coming out in the third. They were able to take it to us in the third period a little bit but Johansson came up big with a couple timely saves while they got luck on the one goal, but I loved our compete level and I loved everything about the game.”
The Amerks came out in the middle period continuing to carry the play to the Marlies. Sahir Gill won a faceoff in the left circle and fed it back to Fasching, who wristed an innocent shot that eluded Hackett with 6:12 left in the period.
Less than five minutes later, Criscuolo cashed in on a rebound attempt from Smith to give the Amerks a 2-0 advantage heading into the second intermission.
The Marlies cut the lead in half with Piccinich’s tally at the 16:12 mark. Toronto decided to pulled Hackett for the extra skater with 68 seconds remaining in regulation. The move proved to be wise as Brooks knotted the game with 1:02 left to force overtime.
Smith, however, capped the scoring as he picked up his first marker of the preseason just 57 seconds into the extra period.
The Amerks finished the night outshooting the Marlies 40-24 with Rochester’s defensemen accounting for 17 shots, including a team-high 8 from Casey Nelson.
“I thought Nelson did a good job getting pucks to the net,” said Taylor of his young defenseman. “I thought Casey did a good job while on the power-play, but I thought he made a lot of sneaky plays while on the man-advantage that helped us out of our own zone. Overall, I thought he played a really good game and it was a good start for him.”
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Knighthawks announced today that they have signed the second member of their 2017 Draft Class, after agreeing to a one-year deal with defenseman Adam Perroni.
For the past two weeks, Perroni has been living out a childhood dream. It all started on Sept. 18 when he was selected with the 14th overall pick and it continued today when he signed his first professional contract.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “I am just excited to get the opportunity to try out.”
Perroni recalled the excitement of the NLL Draft and his surprise when he heard his name called so early that evening. After the NLL Mock Draft had him going at the end of the third round, he never imaged getting picked in the second round.
“I wasn’t expecting to go that high,” said the Whitby, Ontario native. “It was certainly a nice little surprise.”
It was at the NLL Combine where the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Perroni improved his draft value. The 21-year-old finished in the Top 10 among defensemen in the medicine ball toss (second), agility (fourth overall), the 40-yard sprint (eighth), and the 300-yard shuttle (eighth). He also showcased his toughness and athletic ability during the scrimmage games.
“He interviewed well and his conditioning at the Combine really impressed us,” said Knighthawks VP of Player Personnel Jody Gage. “The upside on Adam is huge; he has speed, size, and athleticism and looked like a good fit for us.”
Perroni’s testing results and his play during the 2017 season prompted the Knighthawks to take him with their fourth selection in the draft.
“We like Adam’s size and grit,” said Knighthawks head scout Stuart Brown on draft night. “We think he can develop into a solid defender in the NLL.”
“He is a big, strong defender,” added Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “He is a hard-working stay-at-home ‘D’ guy.”
In 2017, Perroni played in 19 games with the Junior “A” Whitby Warriors and notched five goals and five assists. During his career, he spent two seasons in Whitby and four (2013-16) with the Junior “B” Clarington Green Gaels. More importantly, Perroni was called up by the Brooklin Redmen this summer for three Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) games, where he collected one assist and 21 penalty minutes.
With the Redmen, he got a small taste of what it’s like at the pro level, playing with and against NLL players. It’s definitely something to build on for the youngster who said he cannot wait to hit the turf in November at Knighthawks training camp.
“It’s going to be pretty exciting,” said Perroni. “I am just looking forward to the opportunity. I’m going to get to play with some pretty amazing players.”