Rochester tops Cleveland, 4-1, to secure 3rd place.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Americans will face the Syracuse Crunch in the North Division Semifinals of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Amerks clinched third place in the American Hockey League’s North Division standings by way of a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Monsters earlier today in the regular season finale at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, thus earning a first-round bye.
Four different skaters provided the offense and goaltender Malcolm Subban turned in a near-perfect 24-save performance to help Rochester Americans (36-27-6-3) close out the 2022-23 regular season with a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Monsters (33-32-5-2) Sunday afternoon.
Rookies Filip Cederqvist, who scored his first-career hat trick on Saturday against the Monsters, and Josh Passolt, who made his AHL debut, both found the back of the net. Matt Bartkowski netted a shorthanded goal in the second period before Lukas Rousek finished rounded out the scoring in the final frame. Matej Pekar, Linus Weissbach, Isak Rosen, Mason Jobst, Michael Mersch, and Mitch Eliot all produced an assist in the win.
The second round series will mark the third meeting in the postseason between the two teams and the first since 2018 when Rochester suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the Crunch in the best-of-five opening round.
The Amerks secured their fourth straight playoff berth with a 3-2 overtime win over Syracuse on April 7 coupled with Cleveland’s come-from-behind win over Laval.
The best-of-five series is set to get underway in Syracuse on Friday, April 21 with Game 1 at Upstate Medical University Arena. Rochester will host Game 3 on Friday, April 28, and if necessary, Game 4 on Sunday, April 30 at the Blue Cross Arena.
Below is the full second-round schedule for the best-of-five North Division Semifinals between the third-place Amerks and second-place Crunch.
Game 1 | Friday, April 21 – Rochester at Syracuse | 7:00 p.m. at Upstate Medical University Arena
Game 2 | Saturday, April 22 – Rochester at Syracuse | 7:00 p.m. at Upstate Medical University Arena
Game 3 | Friday, April 28 – Syracuse at Rochester | 7:05 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena
*Game 4 | Sunday, April 30 – Syracuse at Rochester | 3:05 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena
*Game 5 | Saturday, May 6 – Rochester at Syracuse | 7:00 p.m. at Upstate Medical University Arena
*if necessary
Festivities for Game 3 of the series on Friday, April 28 begins with a Genesee Pregame Happy Hour for fans 21 and older from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Genesee Brew House Upper Atrium Bar, featuring live music and $2 drafts of Genesee and Genesee Light. The first 5,000 fans in attendance for Game 3 will receive an Amerks rally towel, courtesy of Genesee Brewing Company.
Tickets for Game 3 are scheduled to go on sale to the general public beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 18, but a special presale online-only offer will be available to select fans at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 17. Fans are encouraged to sign up for presale access at www.amerks.com/playoffs.