The Amerks are in Syracuse tonight coming off of a 3-2 win over the Senators in front of a sold out crowd in Binghamton.  They did something in this game they haven’t done yet this season, got off to a fast start with some early goals and then were able to hold on to the game.  Paul Szczechura had an early impact assisting on Kassian’s first goal of the game.  The Amerks recap of the game is below, I was not able to see or listen to any of the game so I can’t offer much more.

From the Democrat and Chronicle:

“We’ve been trying to focus on that our last couple of games, (fast start)” Rochester coach Ron Rolston said. “We played here last weekend and got down and wanted to come out with a good start. We had to make sure we had energy at the start of the game to create the tempo and get momentum for our team.”

Center Paul Szczechura picked up an assist on Kassian’s goal in his first shift of the season after returning from knee surgery.

“I was a little nervous going in and didn’t know what to expect but it made the game a lot easier after that,” Szczechura said. “It helped me get into the game and get my confidence up, especially contributing early in the first shift.”

Sounds as if Leggio played a great game Friday night, it’ll be interesting to see if Rolston breaks the pattern of alternating goalies during this three in three weekend.  Based on the pattern it’s Drew MacIntyre’s turn to play, a trend that’ll have to stop at some point.

They’re closing out this two week stretch of road games tonight at Syracuse.  Rochester won the first game of the season between the two teams in a shootout after coming back from an early two goal deficit.  They need to get off to a quick start like Friday night and take control of the game.

QUICK START FUELS AMERKS 3-2 WIN OVER BINGHAMTON

(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Americans returned to Binghamton Friday night to face the Senators and used a quick start to propel themselves to a 3-2 victory at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. With the win, the Amerks improve to 4-4-2-1 (11 points) on the season while having gained at least a point in seven of their last nine games.

The Amerks got off to their fastest start of the season, scoring two goals in the first 2:33 of the opening period while David Leggio stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn his third victory of the year. Rochester also welcomed two additions to the lineup tonight as forwards Paul Szczechura and Maxime Legault each made their season debuts after beginning the year on the injured list. Szczechura, who is coming off a 21-goal season with Norfolk last year, wasted no time getting on the score sheet with the Amerks as he picked up an assist on a first period goal by Zack Kassian.

Jacob Lagace got Rochester going with a goal just 1:09 into the contest for his fourth of the season. After collecting the puck behind the Binghamton net, Lagace skated out to the left faceoff circle and took a shot, which trickled past Senators goalie Robin Lehner. Drew Schiestel and Mark Voakes each registered an assist on Lagace’s goal.

Less than 90 seconds later, Kassian notched his fourth goal of the campaign when he jammed in a rebound. Phil Varone took the initial shot and was credited with an assist, as was Szczechura for his first point of the season.

Binghamton’s Pat Cannone cut the Amerks’ lead in half midway through the period with a power play goal as he beat Leggio low to the stick side. The score remained 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes with Rochester out-shooting Binghamton 13-12.

Rochester struck quickly again to start the second period as Marcus Foligno notched his fourth goal of the season 1:39 into the frame to give the Amerks a 3-1 lead. The rookie walked out of the corner and tucked the puck just inside the post to beat Lehner. Voakes was awarded the lone assist on the goal for his second point of the game. Just under six minutes later, Francis Lessard drew Binghamton back within one when he re-directed a cross-ice pass from Mark Borowiecki past Leggio to make it a 3-2 game. Lessard also had a pair of fights in the game, both against Rochester’s Joe Finley.

The teams played a scoreless third period with Rochester out-shooting the Senators 12-6 in the frame and finished the game with a 35-31 edge in shots. With under a minute to go, Alex Biega was whistled for high-sticking, sending the Senators to a power play, but Rochester was able to hold on for the win.

Notes: Tonight’s game followed a five-day layoff for the Amerks, who hadn’t played since Saturday in Binghamton… Lagace, Kassian and Foligno each scored their fourth goals of the season tonight; those three players are now tied for the team-lead in goals with Derek Whitmore and Corey Tropp… The Amerks return to action on Saturday for the second of three consecutive games on the weekend when they travel to Syracuse to face the Crunch… The Amerks and Crunch will play a home-and-home series, which concludes Sunday in Rochester at 6:05 p.m.