Article Written By Aidan Charde
Recap vs. Maine Nordiques on March 29 and 30
A successful weekend saw the Rochester Jr. Americans clinch home ice in the first round after taking three points from the Maine Nordiques with a win and an overtime loss.
Although both teams are known far more for their scoring prowess than defensive strength, strong goalkeeping was a theme for most of the weekend as all four goalies that played made some phenomenal saves and kept their team in the contest until the very end. Both Rochester goalies, Danick Leroux in game one and Cole O’Donnell in game two, faced over 30 shots while Maine’s goalies each faced over 40.
In game one, despite the Jr. Amerks logging 15 shots on net in the first period, they could not make it past the Nordiques’ goalie Thomas Heaney. Maine took the first lead a few minutes into the second period, but forward Luca Leighton was able to capitalize on a rebound and tied it up soon after.
The Nordiques would score again in the frame to take another lead, but not even one minute later forward Adam Gionta found a wide-open net on a pass from defenseman Alex Zakrzewski to even the contest once again. The teams stayed quiet the rest of the period, heading into the final frame knotted at two apiece.
Fans had not even settled back into their seats when forward Thomas Rockey nailed a wraparound shot to give Rochester their first lead of the night 51 seconds into the final period. With seven minutes left to play, forward Gabe Cull would give the Jr. Amerks a nice insurance goal with a backhand shot that just squeaked past Heaney. It would prove to be crucial, as Maine made it down the ice to tighten the score once again under one minute later. Fortunately for Rochester, the score held and they took home the 4–3 win.
In game two, Maine was able to earn a shorthanded goal in the first period but the teams remained relatively quiet once again until halfway through the second frame when Rochester’s forward Keanan Dewberry skated past the entire Maine defense to sneak the tying goal in.
In the third period, Leighton served up a beautiful pass for forward Matteo Disipio to take a 2–1 lead. The score held for about 10 minutes until Maine caught on fire and was able to score twice in one minute to take a late 3–2 lead.
It was looking like a lost game as Rochester pulled their goalie for nearly two minutes, but with 13 seconds left, Disipio miraculously found the net once again and took the game to overtime. Ultimately, despite having a few chances including a penalty shot from forward Massimo Gentile, Maine was the team who found the back of the net in the extra frame and went home victorious 4–3.
Preview: April 5 and 6 vs. Northeast Generals
WHEN: April 5 at 7 p.m. | April 6 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: New England Sports Village | Attleboro, MA
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
The Rochester Jr. Americans have certainly gotten the best of the Northeast Generals this season, winning five of six matchups so far. The first contest between the two teams back in October was notable for the line brawl that erupted and resulted in several ejections between the two sides, but tensions have cooled since then.
East Division playoff update
With one final weekend of action, most of the East Division is wrapped up. The Maryland Black Bears (85 pts) have all but clinched the top seed, needing a win or a Maine Nordiques (80 pts) loss, but both Maryland and Maine will be getting a bye through the first round of playoff action. The Jr. Amerks (74 pts) earned a narrow advantage last weekend over the Johnstown Tomahawks (73 pts). The two teams are still in a close fight for the rights to the third seed, but both will definitely be hosting round one next weekend. The New Jersey Titans (69 pts) are the only team fully locked in place, unable to move up or down. The final spot in the playoffs is yet to be decided, though — the Northeast Generals (54 pts) hold the narrow advantage over the Philadelphia Rebels (52 pts), but Philadelphia has one extra game left.
First line inches toward historic mark
Rochester’s top offensive line of Matteo Disipio, Massimo Gentile and Luca Leighton have taken the league by storm this year and could leave quite the mark on the NAHL. Disipio and Gentile both sit at 29 goals on the season while Leighton is right behind with 28. 30 goals is an impressive mark to reach, but dating back to at least the 2004–05 season, no trio of teammates has ever managed to hit the mark in the same season. It might be a tall task for all three of them to pass the mark, but with two games to play, it is entirely possible.
Plays being made from everyone
In last weekend’s series against the Nordiques, twelve different Jr. Amerks players played a part in the team’s seven total goals. It has been great to get tremendous weekends from the first line, but the depth the team can sport has been a big part of its success this year too. Keanan Dewberry broke away from the entire Maine defense to score a goal in the second period of game two while Thomas Rockey and Gabe Cull were there when it mattered in the first game with a goal each.
Penalty kill holds strong
Rochester’s penalty kill proved once again that it is one of the best units in the league with a perfect 7-for-7 performance against Maine. In the past three games, the Jr. Amerks have not allowed a single power play goal despite teams having 11 chances. Though their PK% sits right in the middle of the league at .816, it has been steadily increasing since January.
Struggling Generals still have something to play for
Entering 2024, the Northeast Generals were in third place in the division atop the group of six teams fighting for the postseason. Northeast came into a series against the Philadelphia Rebels on Jan. 6 with 37 points and now enter the final weekend of the season with just 54 — holding a record of 8–17–1 since then. Despite squandering a playoff spot, the Generals are not completely out of it yet, so the Jr. Amerks should watch out: Philadelphia is two points behind Northeast with one game in hand for the final playoff spot, so do not expect the Generals to just give up.