Rockets split, but Amerks brings power to Laval | theahl.com

Patrick Williamstheahl.com writer

Split up on the road and go home.

It’s a typical desire to run a playoff series on the way.

It may be more beneficial in five playoff series, where the rest of the game will be played on Home Ice.

AHL regular season champion Laval Rocket quit Rochester and boarded the highway last Friday night, the last Blue Cross arena they will see this season. They broke up and went back to tie Bell to a game.

But the first two games were a battle. After winning a 5-4 return in Game 1 last Wednesday, a ruthless Amerks team overcame the Rockets and beat 36-19 in Game 2. In the first two games, the team had a total of 17 goals, but the only time the team led more than one goal was the last 9 seconds of Game 2, when isak roseThe empty goal won Rochester’s 5-3 victory.

Rosén scored 3 goals in the first two games. Giyi KulichHe scored a winning score in Game 2 in the Buffalo Sabres’ Calder Cup playoffs, and also had three assists in the series. Rochester’s speed and ruthless hockey tracking have caused problems for many teams this season, and it will be something the Rockets have to include.

“This time of year, you need a dog,” Amerks head coach Michael Leon Said after the second game. “You really need dogs. You need gamers.”

Although the Rockets have been able to score eight goals in two games Devon LevithRochester’s outstanding goalkeeper, some of whom encountered a breakdown in the defensive area. If Rochester could clean up these mistakes (they did better in Game 2), as the series progresses, the Rockets might have more difficulties in trying to solve one of the top goalkeepers in the AHL. Amix is ​​not the driving force on the road either. They lead 23-9-2-2 and are second in the league.

Still, the Rockets have made a lot of progress on them as they prepare for their third game on Wednesday. They will return to Bell’s home 24-9-2-1 in the regular season. Often, it’s a noisy, arrogant, destructive environment, and chaos only exacerbates in the playoffs, something Laval learned in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals three years ago.

Pascal Vincentthe Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award winner is the AHL’s most outstanding coach this season and has to get major issues online. Go with the veteran Cayden PrimeauWho won the Rockets 21 wins in his 26 regular season appearances? Or turn to a newcomer Jacob Fowlerat Boston College’s 2023 third-round draft pick, the academy turned professional in April and quickly adapted to the AHL.

Or why not? Vincent joined Primeau in Game 1 and then chose Fowler in Game 2. Both goalkeepers gave the Rockets a chance to win the game. Primeau won the opener, and Fowler provided 31 saves for the dangerous Amerks offense. While Laval may be overwhelmed at times this season, Rochester will certainly be confident that he will enter this week.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” Leon said. “Now, these are the three best, no matter where we play…we’re all calm and calm. We’ve played a bunch of teams and we’ve played great hockey. I know people will watch records and stuff, but we believe we are important. ”

All signs indicate that the round-trip series between these two evenly matched teams continues to be a round-trip series. Laval Oliver KapanenA goal of 4:38. But in Game 2, the Rockets radiated a 3-2 second lead with three unanswered Rochester goals.

There is a full battle in both teams’ hands. Amerks have their “dogs”. The same is true for the Rockets. Wednesday is the opportunity for Laval to postpone.

“They’re a good hockey team,” Rockets Captain Lucas Condotta Said after the second game. “We know they’re going to bring it.”

During the fifty years in the American Hockey League, Theahl.com writer Patrick Williams currently covers NHL.com and Flosports leagues and is a regular contributor to Siriusxm NHL New Network Radio. He won the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding league coverage in 2016.