Article written by Aidan Charde
Recap: Philadelphia Rebels on Feb. 7 and 8, Elmira Aviators on Feb. 11
The Rochester Jr. Americans earned a series split against the Philadelphia Rebels last weekend, improving their overall record to 26–9–7 and staying in a tie for first place in the division.
Game one did not exactly start according to plan, as the Rebels scored the fastest goal against Rochester all season, taking a 1–0 lead less than one minute into the game. It was actually just the 11th time this season the Jr. Amerks did not get on the board first.
Rochester did not give up easily, though, tying the game on a goal from forward Jaden Dyke, who notched his 13th goal of the season late in the first. A second period that saw Rochester win the shooting battle 13–5 came and went scoreless, though, meant the game was tied heading into the final frame.
The Rebels took the lead five minutes in and would not surrender it the rest of the way, adding two more in the final five minutes to grab a 4–1 win.
The second game was a little more exciting for the Jr. Amerks as forward Calle Karlsson hit the 20-goal milestone in the first period with two goals. Forward Adam Gionta added one of his own to make it 3–0 after one period on just nine shots.
Gionta kept the party going in the second frame with another goal before forwards Keanan Dewberry and Jaden Dyke added one each to hold a 6–0 lead after two periods. With a sizeable lead, Rochester took their foot off the gas, conceding one to the Rebels late in the game to cruise to a 6–1 win.
Three of Rochester’s six goals came on the powerplay, a strong step up from an 0-for-4 performance the night before. Goalie Danick Leroux played lights-out as well, stopping 42 of 46 shots across both games.
The Jr. Amerks also had a midweek game against the Elmira Aviators to make up for a postponed game a few weeks ago. Rochester came out as hot as ever, outshooting the Aviators 15–3 in the first period, but managed just one goal from defenseman Demitri Diflorio. Unfortunately, despite tallying over 12 shots in each of the next two periods, that was the only goal of the game for Rochester.
Newly signed goalie Ethan Phillips shone in the net, earning second star of the game honors for his 24-save performance. The Aviators tied the contest shortly into the third period and after a scoreless overtime, they were able to come out on top in shootouts.
With three points in hand, the Jr. Amerks now get to return home for two weeks, starting with the Northeast Generals this weekend.
Preview: Northeast Generals on Feb. 14 and 15
WHEN: Feb. 14 at 7:30p.m. | Feb. 15 at 7:00p.m.
WHERE: Rochester Ice Center | Fairport, NY
PROMOTIONS: Feb. 14 – Valentine’s Celebration | Feb. 15 – T-Shirt Giveaway
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
The Generals and Jr. Amerks have met 12 times including the postseason and for the most part, it has not been close. The Jr. Amerks hold a 10–2–0 record with a +14 point differential. Prior to this season, the Jr. Amerks’ most penalty minutes in a game came against the Generals, a total of 85 on Oct. 27.
East Division playoff update
It may have been an exciting weekend, but little change happened in the race for the Robertson Cup as every nearly series was split. Thanks to the extra game on Tuesday, Rochester (60 pts) retook the top spot, sending the Maryland Black Bears (59 pts) to second after they split their series. The Nordiques (58 pts) won a single-game series last weekend and another last night to stay in the hunt. Further down, the New Jersey Titans (50 pts) held onto the gap over the Johnstown Tomahawks (45 pts) for the rights to host round one. The New Hampshire Mountain Kings (41 pts) leapfrogged the Generals (40 pts) for the final playoff spot, while the Danbury Hat Tricks (39 pts) came up just short to stay in eighth place. Rounding out the standings, the Aviators (36 pts) sit just above the Rebels (35 pts) to occupy the final two spots.
New goalie, no problem
Despite taking a 2–1 loss in shootouts, goalie Ethan Phillips shined in his NAHL debut, stopping 24 of 25 goals and carrying the Jr. Amerks to one point. Phillips, who most recently played for the BK Selects, was signed a week ago and added to the active roster, but sat behind Danick Leroux for a few contests before getting between the pipes. He is currently committed to Providence College to play Division I hockey and NHL Central Scouting ranked him as a top-250 draft-eligible player.
Milestones abound last weekend
With Calle Karlsson’s second goal in Saturday’s game, he became the fourth player in team history to reach 20 goals and the first this season. But it was not the only notable milestone hit in game two: Defenseman Jordin Palmer became the second defender with multiple three-point games and the third to reach 20 assists on the season. Karlsson also set a franchise record with five points in a game while Gionta was right behind with four.
Leroux continues climb up leaderboard
With four goals allowed in his last three games, goalie Danick Leroux is getting closer to having a sub-2 goals allowed average. Right now, he sits in eighth place in the league with 2.043, has the fifth-most shutouts this season with four and has not allowed more than three goals in a game since Dec. 7 (in three games where Jr. Amerks opponents scored four, one goal was either an empty net shot or a shootout goal). He is also doing it on the eighth-most minutes in the league: Of any player with over 1,700 minutes in the net, he has the third-best goals allowed average and fourth-best save percentage.
Bucking the trend
A key stat of note all season has been the Jr. Amerks’ ability to score first, a feat they’ve done 31 times in 42 games. In fact, they once did it 20 times in 21 games, winning all but five of those contests. But recently, that has not been the case, as Rochester has failed to score first in four of the last eight games. They are 4–2–2 in that stretch, but did have to play the elite Nordiques four times, where they went 2–1–1.
Scare tactics
The Northeast Generals are an intimidating team to go up against, but not because of an incredible record or dangerous scorers. Instead, the Generals are the team that carries the most penalty minutes in the division with 990, also the fourth-most in the league. They are led by forward Divyne Appollon, a midseason acquisition who leads the league in penalty minutes with 262. In a 43-game NAHL career, he has tallied 354 minutes in the box and still is yet to register a point. He is followed by defenseman Jack Demoura and forward Kyle Murray-Smith, both of whom total over 175 penalty minutes. Yet with all that enforcer power does not always come results, as the Generals are just 17–22–6 and sit out of playoff position entering the weekend.
