Written by Aidan Charde
Recap: East Division Finals Games 1 and 2 on May 1 and 2
The Rochester Jr. Americans return to the Ice Center after splitting the first two games of the East Division Finals with the Maryland Black Bears.
Game one was all Maryland, as the Black Bears outshot Rochester 30–16 in the first two periods and jumped out to a 2–0 lead after one goal in each frame. Maryland tacked on two more in the third period to lock up the game and shut out Rochester for the first time this postseason to take game one in masterful fashion.
Game two went more Rochester’s way, although neither team could land a shot in the first period. Early in the second frame, defenseman Murray Kanerva scored to give the Jr. Amerks their first lead of the series, but Maryland tied the game seven minutes later. The tie looked like it was going to hold for the rest of the period, but forward Lukas Bellinger struck with three minutes left to retake the lead heading into the locker rooms.
The third period was all Maryland, and yet, Rochester came out the other side with a more productive frame. The Black Bears shot 15 times and held the Jr. Amerks without a shot for the entire period — but Rochester still managed an empty-netter with under one minute left to ice the game and even the series 1–1.
It was the first time Rochester split games during the away leg of a playoff series, having either won or lost both in each of the four previous instances, and now return home to the rink where they have lost just a single playoff game in team history.
Preview: May 7 and 8 vs. Maryland Black Bears
WHERE: Rochester Ice Center | Fairport, NY
WHEN: May 7 at 7 p.m. | May 8 at 7 p.m.
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
Stat of the Series
The Jr. Amerks are 11–1–0 at home in the playoffs, including 3–0–0 this season. The only loss came at the hands of the Maine Nordiques last year, but the Jr. Amerks went on to win the series in four games.
Wade’s dominance continues
Florian Wade has been the driving force of this team all postseason, saving nearly 93% of shots and allowing just 2.448 goals per game en route to four wins since the end of the regular season. His performances in wins versus losses has been stark — 94.6% save rate and 1.825 goals allowed, compared with 90.2% and 3.368 in losses. Regardless, Wade’s presence in the net has provided much-needed consistency all season, especially in the postseason. If the team is to continue on its path in the playoffs, it starts with Wade.
Gritty showing
If there is one thing certain about this team in the playoffs, it is that they will not have two bad games in a row. Game one of the semifinals was a hard-fought 4–3 win that saw the Jr. Amerks scrape by, which was followed up by a 3–0 drudging. In game four, the team dropped 2–1, and though they lost the following game 4–3, the team fought back and stayed in the contest until the bitter end. This round, Rochester had a difficult 4–0 loss to open the series, but responded with one of the best games the team has played this postseason, winning 3–1 despite being outshot by a significant margin.
Special teams half on track
Much like the beginning of the regular season, Rochester’s penalty kill has been stoic, but the team is waiting for its powerplay to really take control. The first eight games of the season saw Rochester hold a 7.1% powerplay and 94.9% penalty kill, which both evened out as the season went along. Now through seven postseason games, the Jr. Amerks are 2-for-24 (8.3%) on the powerplay and 22-for-26 (84.6%) on the penalty kill. Additionally, all four of the team’s penalty kill goals came against the Generals in just two games, so aside from those outlier performances the penalty kill has been nearly perfect. Maryland is 0-for-4 so far this round, while Rochester is 0-for-5.
Home ice advantage
It is no secret that the Jr. Amerks hold one of the most dominant home ice advantages in the entire NAHL: In the last three seasons, they are 65–23–8 in the Ice Center, including playoffs. For playoffs alone, the team is 11–1–0, showcasing the utter dominance of the home crowd. It will take everything to defeat the Black Bears, who were the top team in the NAHL this season by a large margin.
Tough opponent
The Black Bears wrapped up the division before most teams in the league had even clinched the playoffs, and they did it in part by being able to break losing streaks before they even became streaks. All season, Maryland only lost back-to-back games twice, and neither were against the same team. If Rochester wants to clinch at home, they would need to hand Maryland their first three-game losing streak since March 2025.
