By CRAIG POTTER
Rochester is outshot 15-2 in the first period and loses to the Devils, 3-1.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Americans came out flat in the first period, but yielded only one goal as they ended up falling to the Albany Devils, 3-1, on Wednesday night before 2,014 fans at the Blue Cross Arena.
On Albany’s 15th shot of the first period, Buffalo native Miles Wood beat Amerks goalie Linus Ullmark from in front, after taking a pass from behind the net, for a 1-0 lead.
“We were fortunate to be trailing by a goal after looking at the shot count in first period,” said head coach Dan Lambert.
He was very displeased with the team’s performance in the first period, and took longer than usual before coming out for his interview with the press.
“When you don’t show up for 20 minutes against a team like Albany, you’re putting yourself behind the 8-ball,” Lambert said. “I think I was sweating more than a lot of our guys. If you don’t want to play, if you don’t want to compete, and you don’t want the puck, you get outshot 15-2 is what happens.”
“It’s disappointing because you feel like you’re taking some strides in some areas, then the next thing you know you have a first period like we did tonight. At the end of the day it’s back to the drawing board and we’ve got to get back to work.”
Lambert continued, “It’s a long season. When you have a young group, consistency is part of becoming a pro. Why is Sydney Crosby the best player in the world? He shows up every day…You’ve got to learn that.”
The Devils moved ahead 2-0 midway through the second stanza.
However, in the final minute of the period, defenseman Tyson Strachan scored his first goal as an Amerk on the power play to cut the deficit in half.
“As a team, we responded during the second period, but it was the way we should have started the game,” said Strachan. “When we play the way we should, we get the chances and can make it tough on teams, but we failed to do that tonight. We are good team, but when we look at the tape from the season in the losses we have, it’s us beating ourselves with turnovers and penalties. We need to be more consistent and come to the rink everyday ready to play the full 60 minutes.”
The Amerks outshot the Devils 10-7 in the third period, but were unable to get the puck by Albany netminder Scott Wedgewood. The Devils scored an empty net goal to seal the victory.
Amerks rookie Alex Nylander blocked a pass at the Albany blue line, gained control and broke in alone on Wedgewood midway through the first period, but was unable to get a shot off.
“We had a breakaway that we didn’t get a shot on,” said Lambert. “Probably the guy who caused the breakaway is the guy you would pick to get a breakaway.”
Rochester had several other good scoring chances in the game, but finishing has been a problem on some nights.
Ullmark stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced.
“I can’t think of Linus not being good at all this season,” Lambert said. “He’s given us a chance to win every time out there, and you can’t ask for more than that.”
The Amerks (7-7) return to action on Friday night against the St. John’s IceCaps at 7:05 pm at the BCA.
*NOTES — The Buffalo Sabres assigned defenseman Casey Nelson to the Rochester Americans on Wednesday…Rochester defenseman Mac Bennett played his second game as a forward on Wednesday, after he filled in up front on Sunday against the Springfield Thunderbirds, and scored his first goal as an Amerk in the 3-2 victory…Cole Schneider and Cal O’Reilly assisted on Tyson Strachan’s goal for their co-team leadership in points with 17, which also is No. 1 in the AHL. O’Reilly leads the Amerks in assists with 14 as Schneider now has 10 assists…With the assist, O’Reilly extended his point-streak to 6 straight games.
Links
Rochester Americans – amerks.com
Videos
Tyson Strachan interview – https://youtu.be/Qs44Yluy5AU
Cole Schneider interview – https://youtu.be/E1oAKN0zipE
Dan Lambert interview – https://youtu.be/C0DD8fiqAn8