Written by Aidan Charde
Recap: East Division Semifinals vs. Johnstown Tomahawks
It was an instant classic in Game 5 that punctuated an exhilarating series between two fierce rivals in the Rochester Jr. Americans and Johnstown Tomahawks that saw Rochester advance to their first division finals in team history.
The biggest story of Game 1 was when starting goalie Danick Leroux went down with an injury 13 minutes into the contest. But rallying behind emergency backup Jensen Carlstrom, the team raced away with a 5–2 win.
With Leroux sidelined for the rest of the series, Carlstrom played admirably in his place, helping the team to a 2–1 win in the second game to take a 2–0 series lead before traveling to Johnstown.
Things began to unwind in game three, but the team fought through it, scoring with seven minutes left to tie the game at three and send it to overtime despite not holding a lead all game. An extra 20 minutes came and went without a score, marking the first time the Jr. Amerks have played in a double overtime game. Unfortunately, the Tomahawks did score fast in the second bonus frame, tightening the series.
The momentum Johnstown snatched with the overtime win was carried over into game four where the home team scored twice in the first period, including one 40 seconds in, to take a 2–0 lead that held until the third period. Forward Calle Karlsson did net two in the final period to give Rochester another chance to seal the series in overtime, but once again, Johnstown scored first in overtime, evening the series at two.
That brought the series to a win-or-go-home game five for the second time in team history. At the end of an evenly matched first period, Karlsson scored his fourth postseason goal to take a lead that lasted all of nine seconds before Johnstown tied it again.
Things unravelled for Rochester in the second period. One quick goal gave the Tomahawks a 2–1 lead, but they would not stop there, scoring two more times before the period ended to send Rochester to the brink of elimination in their own house.
Prior to game five, Rochester had only come back from more than two goals once and never in the playoffs. But coming out of the locker room firing was forward Ryan Shaw, who scored under three minutes into the frame followed by defenseman Demitri Diflorio 40 seconds later. It was the second-fastest pair of goals in team playoff history.
Down one now with 17 minutes to play, the team let off the gas a little bit and Johnstown took advantage, extending the lead back to two not long after. A collision with Johnstown’s goalie and the subsequent fight gave the Tomahawks a power play, which they capitalized on for the fifth time in the series to extend the lead back to 5–3.
And yet, backs against the wall, the team found a way to continue fighting. Shaw scored again to trim the deficit back to one goal before forward Jaden Dyke tipped in a shot from Diflorio to improbably tie the game at five with three minutes left.
It was a nerve-wracking final few minutes as neither team could get the opportunities needed to win in regulation so, for the third game in a row, the teams headed to the locker rooms to get ready for overtime.
The scene was set; the team that was so dominant at home all season entered with the memory of two painful overtime losses still fresh. On Friday night, it seemed inevitable that the team would be playing for the division title but a reversal of fate over the next two games made it seem like less of a certainty. Even 20 minutes earlier it seemed like a lost cause when the team surrendered a fourth goal to fall behind by three.
In the end, it came down to who wanted it more. The teams traded possessions, rattling off a few off-target shots, though nothing found paydirt until Dyke, for the second time in the game, snuck one past the Tomahawks goalie to clinch the game and series for the squad.
The stands erupted as the players flooded the ice, celebrating not only the achievement of advancing to the division finals for the first time in team history, but also the relief of completing the comeback. It was an unforgettable contest and series that will live in the history books forever.
But no matter how exciting it was, it is not the end of the road for Rochester. They now play a second best-of-five series for the rights to represent the East Division in the Robertson Cup Playoffs starting tonight against the Maine Nordiques. Just like against Johnstown, Games 1 & 2 will be hosted at home in Rochester while game three and a possible game four will be in Lewiston. If needed, Rochester will also host game five.
Preview: East Division Finals vs. Maine Nordiques on May 2 and 3
WHEN: May 2 at 7 p.m. | May 3 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Rochester Ice Center | Fairport, NY
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
Rochester holds a 7–4–3 all-time record against Maine in the regular season, but Maine won the first playoff matchup between the squads last year 3–2. Meeting in the semifinals in 2024, the series went much the same as this year’s matchup between Rochester and Johnstown: The Jr. Amerks lost the first two games in Maine, won games three and four at home, and dropped game five in overtime on the road.
Uncharted territory
For the first time in franchise history, the Jr. Amerks will play in the East Division Finals. They came close last year after falling to Maine in the semis, but one of the newest teams in the NAHL continues to be one of the strongest. While the team is battle tested, they still have little postseason experience as no one on the team has played more than 12 games in the playoffs.
Karlsson, Chapman near milestones
In just five games, a few Jr. Amerks players are nearing records set during last year’s seven-game playoff run. Goalie Jensen Carlstrom has already set the record for shots faced, saves, minutes and wins as last year’s load was split among three goalies. Offensively, Karlsson has four goals and seven points, closing in on Luca Leighton’s record of five and nine, respectively. Liam Chapman, meanwhile, earned his fourth assist on Monday, tying him with Tyler Procious for defensive assists in a postseason and bringing him within one of Massimo Gentile’s skater record of five.
Rocking the rink
It is undeniable that the energy in the arena played a pivotal role in Rochester’s home success all season and the epic comeback staged Monday night. Though the noise was definitely low after surrendering three goals in the second period, the fans never gave up and stayed until the bitter end, getting louder with each subsequent goal as the Jr. Amerks recovered. The team had the second-best home record in the NAHL, now sitting at 25–4–2 including the playoffs, and no team is it more evident against than the Maine Nordiques. In four away matchups this year, the Jr. Amerks were 1–2–1 against Maine with a -6 goal differential. In two home matchups, though, they went 2–0–0 with a 4–3 shootout win and a 7–0 dismantling.
Richardson defined by streaks
Nordiques goalie Carter Richardson has had stretches this season of being one of the best goalies in the NAHL, but he has also struggled for long periods of time, opening the door for opponents. He started the season solid, winning six of his first seven games and allowing only 13 goals. But that start fell apart quickly, allowing 26 goals over his next seven games, holding a record of 3–4–0. Once again, he rebounded into dominant form, going on a 12-game stretch where he was 9–3–0 with no more than two goals allowed in any game, including an eight-game win streak. That was followed with a 5–5–2 end to the season with 33 goals allowed, meaning 59 of his 88 goals were allowed in just 20 matchups. Starting every game of the postseason so far, Richardson has recaptured his midseason form, playing to a 5–2–0 record and allowing two or fewer goals in both losses. But with an inability to stay effective for long, it is only a matter of time before that production slows.
