CRUNCH RALLY PAST AMERKS IN OVERTIME TO TAKE GAME 2

Apr 28, 2024

The Rochester Americans (1-1) scored once in each period, including Mason Jobst’s game-tying goal late in the third to force overtime, but the Syracuse Crunch (1-1) prevailed midway through the extra session to claim a 4-3 win in Game 2 of the North Division Semifinals Sunday at The Blue Cross Arena.

                                                 GAME SUMMARY      PHOTO GALLERY      POST-GAME REPORT

The intrastate rivals are knotted at 1-1 in the best-of-five series as it shifts to Syracuse for Game 3 on Thursday, May 2.

The overtime contest was the 80^th all-time in Amerks playoff history and second in the last three games against Syracuse dating back to Game 5 of the 2023 North Division Semifinals.

While Jobst scored his first of the playoffs in the third period, Michael Mersch and Linus Weissbach both scored in the first and second frames, respectively, for the Amerks. Jobst notched his first multi-point effort of the spring whereas Lukas Rousek, Ryan Johnson, Jiri Kulich, and Ethan Prow all added assists. Johnson’s helper was his first professional playoff point.

Goaltender Devon Levi (1-1) made his second appearance of the playoffs, stopping 30 of the 34 shots he faced. The rookie netminder made nine saves in the third period as well as the overtime frame but suffered his first postseason loss.  

Gabriel Fortier (1+1) and Philippe Myers (0+2) both registered their first multi-point efforts of the postseason. Fortier’s goal served as the overtime-winner while Gage Goncalves, Sean Day and Jordy Bellerive all scored in regulation for the Crunch. Goaltender Brandon Halverson (1-1) made 24 saves for his first career AHL playoff victory.

Late in the third period with Rochester trailing 3-2, Johnson gathered the puck to the left of the Amerks net. The rookie defenseman slid a pass to Prow at the opposite corner of the zone before Jobst ultimately gained possession. As the team’s regular season MVP skated towards Halverson, he somehow managed to pick the upper corner despite warding off a pair of Syracuse defensemen to even the score at 3-3 with just under four minutes to play in regulation.

In the overtime period, Syracuse tested Levi several times in the first half of the extra frame, including a grade-A stop on Bellerive on the doorstep.

Just past the halfway point, the Amerks broke…