Written by Aidan Charde
Recap: March 6 and 7 vs. Northeast Generals
The Rochester Jr. Americans split a series with the Northeast Generals last weekend, but it was enough to clinch a playoff berth and move closer to locking up the second seed in the division.
Despite the substandard results at the Canton Ice House, Rochester was also helped by nearly perfect out-of-town scores to strengthen its hold on the second seed and move closer to a home playoff series and bye week.
Game one was in Northeast’s control from the minute the puck dropped. An early penalty on the Jr. Amerks gave the Generals a chance against a struggling Rochester penalty kill, which they converted on to take a 1–0 lead.
In the second period, the Generals notched 22 shots on goal to Rochester’s nine — the second-most shots on goal allowed in a period by Rochester in history. Despite the vast disparity, though, goalie Florian Wade’s top-notch effort stopped all but one shot from getting through, making it 2–0 Generals after 40 minutes.
In the third period, Northeast remained in control, outshooting Rochester 17–8 and getting two more goals at the end of the period en route to a 4–0 shutout. Wade’s legendary performance in the net, even with the loss, will go down in history as the most saves in a game for a Jr. Amerk with 47.
Elsewhere in the NAHL, a pair of third period goals impacted Rochester, one positively and one negatively. The Johnstown Tomahawks were tied with the Danbury Hat Tricks late, but scored twice in the final six minutes to keep the Jr. Amerks from officially clinching for one more night. However, the Maine Nordiques, who had blown a 2–0 lead earlier in a game against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings and sat tied at 3–3, conceded a goal with under two minutes left to lose in regulation, keeping the gap to Rochester even.
In game two, the team knew it had to respond, and it did in a big way. Forward Keanan Dewberry got the scoring started, hitting on the powerplay for the team’s first goal of the night.
The Generals responded in the second, but the tie lasted all of 40 seconds before Dewberry’s second of the night gave Rochester the lead once again. From there, it was all Rochester: Forwards Adam Gionta and Lukas Bellinger each scored in the third period, giving the team insurance despite a final-minute goal from the Generals to make the game 4–2.
The win officially clinched the playoffs for the Jr. Amerks for the third straight year, so the result of the Tomahawks’ game did not matter anymore. In New Hampshire, the Nordiques held another two-goal lead over the last-place Mountain Kings, this time into the third period. New Hampshire scored four times in 10 minutes to run away with a 5–3 lead, giving Rochester a boost in its quest for the second seed in the division.
The Jr. Amerks brace for a final homestand, where they will play five games in eight days with hopes of locking up the second seed, starting with the Danbury Hat Tricks this weekend.
Preview: March 13 and 14 vs. Danbury Hat Tricks
WHERE: Rochester Ice Center | Rochester, NY
WHEN: March 13 at 7:30 p.m. | March 14 at 7 p.m.
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
In 14 games against the Hat Tricks, Rochester has just three losses and has a +42 goal differential. In fact, the Jr. Amerks have offensive explosions more often than not against the Hat Tricks — they have scored five or more goals in eight matchups!
By the numbers
Rochester
34–15–1 | 69 pts | 2nd place | 185 GF | 131 GA | W1 streak
Danbury
24–21–7 | 55 pts | 6th place | 164 GF | 165 GA | L2 streak
Stat of the series
Since 2023, the first series of the season between the two teams has been competitive: Rochester holds a narrow 3–2–1 edge in those games. In all other matchups, the Jr. Amerksa are 11–0–0.
East Division playoff update
The Maryland Black Bears (86 pts) are one game away from clinching the division, but the Jr. Amerks (69 pts) have widened the gap to the Maine Nordiques (61 pts) in third place. The Northeast Generals (58 pts) could jump into the third seed, but they will need to watch their back as the New Jersey Titans (57 pts) creep up behind. The Danbury Hat Tricks (55 pts) cling to the final playoff spot ahead of the Johnstown Tomahawks (52 pts), while the New Hampshire Mountain Kings (46 pts), Philadelphia Rebels (44 pts) and Elmira Aviators (42 pts) fight for last place.
King’s reign
Owen King was on a heater at the end of January when an injury kept him out of the lineup for two weeks. Leading up to then, King had scored in 10 straight and had 27 points in 14 games. He returned and scored three points to extend his streak to 11 games, but went scoreless the next night and then missed the next three games. He added an assist in Saturday’s win to get back in the swing of things, which also puts King on the cusp of hitting 50 points for the second straight year. He is one point shy of the milestone, and if he does it, he will be the first player in team history to notch multiple 50-point seasons.
Dewberry’s dominance
Keanan Dewberry may be having the most under-the-radar season for the Jr. Amerks this year, but he shined last weekend. Dewberry is one of three skaters, alongside Adam Gionta and Dexter Kichline, to play for Rochester in all three seasons of its existence, and he has seen massive improvement in all three years. In his first two years combined, Dewberry had 35 points — he has 33 this season and set a career-high in goals with 13 last weekend.
Special teams reset
It has been an admittedly tough run for Rochester’s powerplay and penalty kill, but Saturday night’s game may have been the reboot the team needed to get back on track. After Feb. 13, the team held a 21.9% powerplay and 85.2% penalty kill, but struggled in the following seven games: 17.4% on the powerplay and 67.6% on the penalty kill. On Saturday, they got back on track, notching their first perfect penalty kill in nearly a month and going 1-for-1 on the powerplay. Playing Danbury this weekend should help as well; the Hat Tricks hold season-long marks of 17.9% on the powerplay and 80.9% on the penalty kill.
Magic numbers
It is too early to have exact scenarios for clinching the second seed, but the path to it is controlled by Rochester. The Jr. Amerks sit eight points up over the Maine Nordiques, who have eight games remaining. If Maine wins out, their maximum points total would be 77 points, while Rochester currently sits at 69 points. Essentially, the magic number — combined Rochester wins and Maine losses in regulation — is four. For those willing to do the math at home, start keeping track this week: +1 for a Rochester win or Maine regulation loss, +0.5 for either team losing in overtime, and no change for a Maine win or Rochester overtime loss. For Rochester to lock up a guaranteed home game, the team to watch is the New Jersey Titans, who can max out at 73 points, putting the magic number at two. Two Rochester wins, two regulation New Jersey losses, or one of each this weekend locks Rochester into a top-four seed.
Desperate Danbury
The Hat Tricks entered last weekend with the chance to all but lock themselves into the playoffs, as they faced the very team they were fighting with for the sixth seed. Instead, the team lost both games, taking one point and clinging to a three-point lead for the playoffs. The Hat Tricks limp into the series, but desperate teams are dangerous. Danbury knows the implications of this series, so be ready for both sides to fight hard for every point.
