By CRAIG POTTER
The Devils convert on a late power play to edge Rochester, 3-2.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Americans continue to struggle to score goals as evident a 3-2 loss to the Albany Devils on Friday night before 5,183 fans at the Blue Cross Arena.
The Amerks stay with the Devils for most of the game, but with the score tied 2-2, with 2:06 remaining in the third period on Paul Geiger’s second goal of the season, Amerk Evan Rodrigues was whistled for a hi-sticking penalty with 1:51 to play.
Albany’s Nick Lippin blasted a shot from the right point past Rochester netminder Linus Ullmark for the game-winner.
“I thought the guys’ compete level was pretty high tonight as we played against one of the top teams in the North Division,” said Amerks head coach Dan Lambert. “They are a team that knows how to win. When we tied the game, we have to find a win and get two points.”
The contest was scoreless through two periods with the Amerks leading in shots, 24-23. Cole Schneider picked up the puck off the left-side boards off a pass from Nick Baptiste, and broke in on Albany goalie Ken Appleby. He ripped a shot from the left circle to the top right corner to give Rochester a 1-0 lead.
The Devils tied the game and then forged ahead with a pair of goal 53 seconds apart midway through the stanza.
Geiger’s shot from the left circle hit a Devil’s skate and past Appleby to even the count 2-2.
“I saw an opportunity to join the rush when I saw Cal (O’Reilly) with the puck,” Geiger said. “He sent a nice pass to me and I saw Baptiste crashing towards the net, so I shot the puck and hoped for the best. It worked out well as I think the puck hit off their defensemen’s skate but it worked.”
Rochester goalie Linus Ullmark recorded 32 saves.
“It was a pretty good game,” said Ullmark. “Both teams had a lot of shots, hits and scoring chances. It was great that we tied the game, but sadly we just came up short.”
The Amerks hit the road Saturday night as they travel to Syracuse to take on the Crunch. They are home next Friday at 7:05 pm to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
*NOTES – The Amerks (20-26-0-2) began a stretch of 8 of the next 10 games against North Division opponents with the loss against Albany. If they are going to make the Calder Cup playoffs, they need to string together some wins to get back into the hunt…The Buffalo Sabres re-assigned Evan Rodrigues to the Amerks Friday morning after his second recall. He was a scratch on Thursday as Evander Kane was able to play following his scoring the overtime game-winner against Anaheim, then sliding hard into the boards…Cole Schneider became the first Amerk this season to reach the 40-point plateau with his 17th goal in Saturday’s 4-2 win in Hartford…Cal O’Reilly played in his 500th AHL game on Saturday against Hartford. Following his 10-game stint with the Sabres, O’Reilly still leads the Amerks in assists with his 29th tonight…Rochester is 1-4 versus Albany in their 8-game series this season.
Links
Rochester Americans – amerks.com
Videos
Cole Schneider, Tim Kennedy shots – https://youtu.be/zUZVKo13Yck
Justin Vaive check – https://youtu.be/ws8lnw2LpvM
Linus Ullmark save – https://youtu.be/tJO53emj4w8
Paul Geiger interview – https://youtu.be/etfPAVL6kyA