Lapse in coverage costs Rochester in the overtime.
By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA / Pickinsplinters.com
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For the better part of a month, the Rochester Americans have concentrated on playing a style conducive to springtime hockey.
Their defensive zone play has improved dramatically and they’re able to defend without extended periods of chaos. Over the past eight games, they’ve allowed just 16 goals, a big reason they earned points in six of those games.
But on Wednesday night their team defense failed them in overtime. Cleveland’s Cole Clayton managed to find open ice during four-on-four play and boomed a slap shot past goalie Malcolm Subban to give the Monsters a 3-2 victory at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
The four-on-four was the result of a penalty to Jeremy Davies that carried into overtime. That meant the Monsters started overtime with a four-on-three man advantage for the first nine seconds, and when Davies’ penalty expired, the manpower was even at four-on-four.
Except the Amerks contingent of center Mason Jobst and defensemen Davies, Ethan Prow and Lawrence Pilut somehow lost coverage on Clayton.
Cleveland’s David Jiricek found Clayton alone above the right circle, and a stride or two later, the Monsters defenseman unloaded the shot to end the game 59 seconds into OT.
“It was bad coverage,” Amerks coach Seth Appert said. “You have four good defensive players out there, that’s really an inexcusable mistake by all four of them. Poor defensive execution, poor communication. Probably communication more than anything.”
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak, but the point allowed the Amerks to tie Syracuse in third place at 70 points and creep within a point of second-place Utica in the American Hockey League’s North Division. Cleveland, meanwhile, moved back ahead of Laval by a point for the fifth and final playoff spot in the North.
“You’d like two points, but at this time of year you just have to acquire points,” Appert said.
The Amerks certainly played well enough to win. They outshot the Monsters 33-26, including 16-6 in the first period. But as the third period was just winding up, they found themselves trailing.
A misplay by Subban in the trapezoid behind the net led to a turnover and then a goal by Mikael Pyyhtia 1:31 into the third.
But with 7:45 remaining, rookie Jiri Kulich tied the score on a power play. Lukas Rousek and Prow worked to set up Kulich for a one-time from the right-wing circle, and he rocketed a shot past goalie Jet Greaves. It was his team-leading 22nd goal, 15 of which have come in his past 24 games.
“I’ve tried to work on my one-timer,” said Kulich, who along with Rousek assisted on Brett Murray’s 21st goal that tied the score 1-1 in the first period.