Rochester Americans’ season ends with 5-2 loss to Syracuse

Although the scene inside the arena resembled that of years past — large groups of 10,758 fans gathered to greet the team after the handshake ended — the Amerks showed off on the ice throughout the season that this was a different team from the previous two.

The Amerks have been bad defensively early in the season. Their goaltending was inconsistent at times. Recruits had growing pains. They had only five regulation victories before January 1st. Missing the playoffs was a possibility until they rallied in the second half. They went 13-2-1 in their final 16 games of the regular season to find themselves tied for first place in the North Division.

The arrival of Devon Levi from Buffalo gave the Amerks a number one goaltender they could rely on. The 22-year-old posted a .927 save percentage in 26 regular season games. He was even better in the playoffs, particularly in Games 3 and 4 where he made a total of 101 saves.

Levi and the rest of the Sabers prospects experienced the organization’s first winner-take-all playoff home game in decades. The last one occurred on May 10, 2001, when Darius Kasparaitis’ snap beat Dominik Hasek in overtime to eliminate Buffalo and propel the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Sabers are expected to have Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as their goaltending tandem next season.

“I learned so much about myself, my teammates, the game and being a pro,” Levi said. “It was a pleasure to be here, with all my heart. It was an incredible part of my life playing here. This year has been very chaotic and my time in Rochester has been nothing short of amazing. A sort of calm in the storm.”

The scenario was one that Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams envisioned for the prospects developing under Amerks coach Seth Appert.

Friday night was the final emotional rollercoaster of a series that included three straight overtime games. They lost 10 minutes into the second overtime of Game 3 after Isak Rosen’s goal tied it 1-1 with 55 seconds left in regulation. This defeat brought them to the brink of elimination.

The Amerks trailed 3-0 at the second intermission of Game 4, then rallied with four straight goals to win in overtime and have a chance to advance to the North Division final for a third straight year.

However, Rochester was unable to rally this time. It came within a goal after falling behind 2-0 in the first period, but Syracuse won 4-2 on Cole Koepke’s goal at 14:50 of the third period. Félix Robert added an empty net.

“It was a great series,” Appert said. “I’m really proud of our guys for the season we had, tied for first in this division.”

There were more challenges in Game 5. The Crunch took a 1-0 lead 2:28 into the game with Declan Carlile’s slap shot ricocheting past Levi.

The problems continued for Rochester when Levi lost his stick stopping Crunch defender Emil Lilleberg’s shot. The Crunch got the puck behind the Amerks net as Syracuse forward Gabriel Fortier began to battle with Rochester defenseman Joe Cecconi in front of Levi.

Fortier fell to Levi as Koepke fired a snap shot from the right circle, beating the Amerks goaltender to give Syracuse a 2-0 lead with 10:17 left in the first period. Officials did not review the play for goaltender interference.

“I definitely felt like I was hampered, but I know there was a little scrum in front of the net, so it is what it is,” said Levi, who stopped 15 of 19 shots.

The Amerks had yet to record a shot on goal. Their first game didn’t come until Linus Weissbach finally got one with 9:21 left in the period. They were denied a goal when the official ruled that Justin Richards had used his left skate to shoot the puck.

The Amerks broke through thanks to Cecconi sending Jeremy Davies with a pass from the right wall to the top of the pen to make it 2-1 with 2:28 left in the period.

The Amerks were able to play their fast game in the second half. They were putting in long shifts in the offensive zone and testing Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson. The problems in previous matchups with Syracuse, however, began once Davies was injured in a scary blindside collision.

Syracuse winger Jordy Bellerive was crossing the neutral zone with his eyes glued to a teammate carrying the puck on the right side when he collided with Davies at the blue line. No penalty was called and Davies missed the rest of the game.

Then, an error by a Sabers prospect led to another Syracuse goal. Rosen’s turnover gave the Crunch a 2-on-1 that ended with Gage Goncalves making it 3-1 8:35 into the second period. Tyson Kozak rushed back to try to break up the cross pass, but couldn’t get there in time.

Then Jiri Kulich, the 2022 first-round pick who overcame a lengthy scoring drought to finish with a team-high 27 goals in the regular season, finally had his heroic moment in the series.

He hadn’t yet scored in the series when he shared a plan with Mersch before the game. If Kulich put the puck on the right flank on a power play, he planned to fake a shot and then go through the back door. Kulich stayed true to his word when he set up Mersch for a goal that cut Syracuse’s lead to 3-2 with 9:27 left in the second period.

But playing without Davies took its toll. The prospects were forced into more minutes and difficult situations.

Ryan Johnson, Nikita Novikov and Zach Metsa are rookies. Cecconi has been the defender the Amerks have needed, but he can’t play every shift. And failing to get the puck out of the zone cleanly allowed Syracuse to go into its 1-1-3 defense.

The Amerks didn’t look the same after losing the second game despite taking a 2-0 lead late in the second period. Veterans like Cecconi, Davies, Brandon Biro and Brett Murray fueled the comeback in Game 4. The Sabres’ prospects, however, couldn’t find any room against the Crunch defense.

Rosen, a 2021 first-round pick, showed his shorthanded prowess and scored two goals, but only managed six shots on goal. Kulich had a shot on goal in game five and didn’t score in five games. Both will need to improve significantly this summer to earn a spot with the Sabers under Lindy Ruff. They were a total of minus-14 in the series.

“Some of them had great playoff runs,” Appert said. “Some of them didn’t play as well as they would have liked. And they have to use that to learn, motivate them and push them to attack in the offseason to become better hockey players.

Most of the prospects will be back in Rochester next season. Some important veterans are free agents. It’s also possible that Ruff and the Sabers offer Appert a spot on the NHL bench next season. Although the summer will bring uncertainty and another Amerks playoff run will end in defeat, the season has brought more signs that the Sabers have built something in Rochester.