The Amerks won on the road again and are now tied for first place in points in the division and second place overall in the league. An excellent way to head into the Christmas break.
To get technical for a quick moment, the AHL standings are based on points percentage so the Marlies are still in first with a game in hand but going off points alone they’re both at 44. Enjoy the moments as they happen.
The last time the Amerks had success like this was the 2009/2010 season and at should come as no surprise that Chris Taylor (as a player) and Randy Sexton (as a GM) were key parts to the that team just like this one.
Adam Wilcox earned his third straight win, the team won their fourth in a row and the team continues it’s incredible record as the only team in The AHL to only have one regulation loss on the road.
The game had a pretty well paced back and forth pace without a whistle until there was 8:42 left in the first period when Wilcox covered the puck. Rochester made a push with less than two minutes left generating about four quick shots.
Garret Ross snapped an eight game drought scoring the first goal of the game with 20 seconds left in the first period. Seth Griffith carried the puck around the back of the net and sent a cross ice pass from the top of the face off circle and Ross fired it past Michael McNiven. Ross snapped an eight game drought with that goal.
Laval controlled play in the second period leading 17-9 in shots and also scored a goal to tie it up 1-1. Chris Terry shot the puck towards the net and it went in after bouncing off of the back of Wilcox.
Dalton Smith had one scoring chance in the second and Kevin Porter doinked a shot off the post and that was about it for offensive pressure. Wilcox kept the Amerks in the game that period.
Through the first nine minutes of the third period the Amerks only had two shot on net when Stuart Percy shot the puck from the point and CJ Smith tipped it in to give the Amerks a 2-1 lead. Well, the original credit went to CJ Smith. And then they changed it to Sahir Gill. On the final score sheet Percy was given credit which turned out to be the game winner. The puck was tipped by Adam Cracknell of Laval. Took a few replays to figure that out!
Kevin Porter sealed the win with 5:12 left on the clock in the third period with a short handed snipe to put the Amerks ahead 3-1. Nick Baptiste got the puck out of the zone and Porter rushed after it without looking back.
Baptiste now has 16 points this season, 8 of those are against Laval.
Rochester continued to play their game until the buzzer and earned another win. The team has now won four straight games. They only have two regulation losses in their last 23 games. In 31 games played this season the team only has six total regulation losses!
Whatever the situation was with Steve Moses it didn’t impact the team this weekend. The team is strong, the bond is strong and they’re on the bus back to Rochester to enjoy three days off before playing Laval again at home on Wednesday night.
