Rochester drops its fourth straight game as its playoff hopes are beginning to fade.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Rochester Americans rallied to tie the Binghamton Senators in the third period, but the hosts scored with less than 3 minutes to play to pull out a 4-3 victory on Saturday night.
Daniel Muzito-Bagenda scored a short-handed goal in the second period with the Amerks trailing 2-0.
Down 3-1 in the third stanza, roookie Eric Cornel tallied a power play goal, and former Bingo player Patrick Mullen evened the game at 3-3 midway through the period.
However, former Amerk Jason Akeson assisted on the game-winner by Mike Blunden with 2:16 left in regulation against Rochester goalie John Muse. He finished with 33 saves.
The two teams return to Rochester for a 5:05 game on Sunday at the Blue Cross Arena.
The Amerks (20-29-0-2) are in last place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, 14 points behind 8th place Toronto Marlies.
*NOTES — The Buffalo Sabres recalled forward Nick Baptiste from the Rochester Americans to replace Sam Reinhart, who was sick and sat out the game on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. Baptiste (21, 6-foot-1, 206 lbs.) currently is tied for eighth in the AHL with 19 goals and has added 11 assists for 30 points in 42 games for Rochester this season. The Ottawa, Ontario native is in his second pro season and has totaled 58 points (32+26) in 104 career AHL games. Drafted by the Sabres in the third round (69th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, Baptiste made his NHL debut with Buffalo this season and has two goals in 12 games during 2016-17. He scored the Sabres first goal, off a nifty pass from Jack Eichel, that tied the game 1-1 in the first period against the Blues. He also picked up the second assist on the go-ahead goal by Evander Kane in the second period. The win was Buffalo’s third straight and snapped the Blues’ winning streak at 6.