Rochester overcomes a 2-goal deficit in the third to force overtime against the Devils.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Jacob MacDonald scored 0:34 into overtime as the Binghamton Devils defeated the visiting Rochester Americans, 4-3, in front of 4,426 fans at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday night.
After the Devils poured the pressure on in the first period, the Americans took a 1-0 lead on the power play. Kevin Porter sent a backhand through chaos in front of the net for the one-goal advantage with just 1:22 left in the first. Porter’s power-play goal was his 13th overall goal of the year assisted by Zach Redmond and C.J. Smith. The Americans led 1-0 after 20 minutes of play depite being outshot by the Devils, 12-9.
Binghamton scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead into the third. Blake Pietila let a snap shot fly over the left shoulder of goaltender Adam Wilcox just 1:23 into the period. The goal was Pietila’s seventh of the year from Jimmy Hayes and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
Viktor Loov cashed in on a power-play goal to put the Devils in front 9:09 into the middle period. After the puck went off the post, Loov tapped it in for his fifth of the season with assists from Nathan Bastian and Pietila. Binghamton took a 2-1 lead into the third period and held a 21-15 shot advantage.
The Devils added to their lead in the third period as Blake Speers slid home his fifth of the year for a 3-1 advantage.
Rochester then scored twice to tie the game and eventually force overtime. Matt Tennyson tallied a power-play goal at 8:54 for his first of the year from Taylor Fedun and Alex Nylander. Sahir Gill then put in his 13th of the season from Hudson Fasching on a backhand shot to tie the game at three with 5:07 to go.
Just 0:34 into overtime, Jacob MacDonald put in a rebound off former Amerk Tim Kennedy’s shot. Blackwood stopped 27 in the win and Wilcox denied 31 in the loss.
The Amerks return to the Blue Cross Arena Wednesday at 7:05 pm as they look to snap their 2-game losing streak against the Belleville Senators.
*NOTES — Rochester Americans General Manager Randy Sexton announced on Saturday that the team has recalled goaltender Jonas Johansson from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. In his first pro season with the Cyclones, the 22-year-old rookie netminder is 8-7-1 with a 3.33 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage in 17 appearances. He opened the campaign with three straight wins for Cincinnati, including a 32-save effort in his season debut against Wheeling on Nov. 24. A native of Gavle, Sweden, Johansson made his American Hockey League debut at the end of last season with the Amerks, going 3-3-1 with a 2.85 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage in seven games. Johansson also spent three seasons with Almtuna of Sweden’s second professional league prior to joining the Amerks last season. In those three seasons, Johansson registered a 47-38 record with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. Dating back to 2013-14, he has also appeared in eight games in Sweden’s top professional league for Brynäs (SHL). The 6-foot-4, 210-pound goaltender was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round (61st overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.