Written by Aidan Charde
Recap: New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Jan. 16 and 17
Returning to the Ice Center for the first time in the second half, the Rochester Jr. Americans wasted no time getting back to business, winning both games against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings.
Game one started off looking like an even matchup, despite the vast differences between the teams on paper. Both teams lodged 11 shots on goal in the first period and each team had one powerplay, both of which were unsuccessful.
However, with nine seconds remaining before intermission, forward Ryan Shaw broke the deadlock with his 27th goal of the season. The goal opened the floodgates for both sides; despite the break immediately after, the first two minutes of the second frame saw three more goals. Shaw scored again less than one minute after puck drop and, 50 seconds after that, forward Colin Dustin made it 3–0. New Hampshire decided that was when it was time to join the party, ending the shutout on an unassisted strike 15 seconds after Dustin’s score.
Forward Owen King added a powerplay goal later in the frame, and by the start of the third period the game felt over — Rochester had lost just once this season when leading after the second period. Regardless, forward Keanan Dewberry provided more insurance with his eighth goal of the year, giving Rochester a 5–1 win.
Goalie Florian Wade was a force in the net once again, rebounding from his season-worst performance a week prior. Wade had his fourth 30-save game of the year and his fifth start with one or fewer goals allowed.
Whereas game one took some time for Rochester to get going, game two never felt like a close contest. Three minutes in, forward Corson Maguire hit his 10th goal of the year, followed by a powerplay goal from Shaw three minutes after to give the Jr. Amerks a speedy 2–0 lead that they never gave up.
Once again, the second period saw Rochester’s small lead turn into an insurmountable advantage as King scored less than one minute after the frame began. Forward Stone Rolston, who had not scored a goal since Dec. 13, made it 4–0 before defenseman Maxim St-Pierre scored his first career goal minutes after returning to the ice after what looked like a game-ending injury. Rolston capitalized on the momentum, putting his second shot in the net unassisted soon after for his first two-goal game and gave Rochester a 6–0 lead to end the frame.
Again, Rochester could have taken its foot off the gas, but Dustin and Maguire each added goals, split up by one from the Mountain Kings, to make the final score 8–1, Rochester’s highest mark since the 12-goal masterclass in October.
The Jr. Amerks head out of town for a weekend to face the Johnstown Tomahawks in Pennsylvania, but return the weekend after for their third annual First Responders Appreciation Night.
Preview: Johnstown Tomahawks on Jan. 23 and 24
WHERE: 1st Summit Arena | Johnstown, PA
WHEN: Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. | Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
One of the most exciting rivalries in the league returns this weekend as two teams who have sparred 21 times in three years face off for the first time since one of the strangest series in either teams’ histories. Rochester holds the edge 12–6–3, but the Tomahawks always prove to be a difficult matchup.
By the Numbers
Rochester
24–11–0 | 48 pts | 3rd place | 132 GF | 91 GA | W2 streak
Johnstown
17–14–6 | 40 pts | T-5th place | 106 GF | 119 GA | W1 streak
Stat of the Series
The last time the teams met, they produced the goal swing in NAHL history: Rochester lost 7–0 on Friday, but won 12–3 on Saturday — a 16-goal swing between games!
Momentum shifter
After game one of the last matchup, Johnstown was 7–1–2, second place in the division, and the second-best goal scoring team in the league with 41 in just 10 games. Rochester, meanwhile, was 4–6–0 and tied for last place in the East Division while scoring the third-fewest goals in the league, a total of 20 in the same number of games. One glance at the standings today shows just how much the second game impacted both teams’ seasons — Rochester is 20–5–0 since then while Johnstown is 10–13–4 and the Jr. Amerks have scored nearly twice as many goals as the Tomahawks in that span.
Offensive firepower
Few teams are clicking on offense as much as Rochester is right now. The team is averaging 5.7 goals per game since Dec. 19 and have only been held to under three goals once since Oct. 31. Predictably, that has come with great results from the offense’s core three, plus one new addition. Ryan Shaw has been on a heater, even by his standards — 31 points in his last 13 games and eight goals in his last five — and is joined by Owen King, who has 24 points in the same 13-game stretch. Adam Gionta missed five games with an injury, but has tallied eight points in six games since his return. Meanwhile, defenseman Sam Schulte has 12 points since being acquired by Rochester in mid-December and has set a franchise record for consecutive games with a point following a team debut.
Crucial for standings
This weekend is the second of three series between Johnstown and Rochester, and due to the split in the opening matchup, a sweep in this series could make the difference at the end of the season. Johnstown sits at the bottom of the playoff seeds for the division, but only 11 points separate them from the second-seeded Maine Nordiques. Additionally, Johnstown enters looking to claim its first win streak of longer than two games since Nov. 8–15.
Strong stars
The Tomahawks’ scoring has slowed down since the last matchup against Rochester, but it has not stopped its top line from being efficient scorers. Forwards Nick Jarmain, Emerson Marshall and Charlie Zetterkvist account for 52 of the team’s 106 goals this season. Both Jarmain and Marshall are averaging over one point per game and Jarmain’s five game-winning goals are tied for third place in the NAHL. Defensively, both of the team’s main two goaltenders are stopping over 90% of shots, but are each averaging 2.95 goals allowed per game.
