Rousek nets game-winner, Levi makes 26 saves in season debut in 2-1 win over Laval
Nov 20, 2024
A goaltending duel between Devon Levi and Jakub Dobeš ultimately ended in favor of the Rochester Americans (8-5-2-0), who prevailed with a thrilling 2-1 victory over the first-place Laval Rocket (12-2-1-0) after Lukas Rousek sealed the win in the final minute of overtime Wednesday night at Place Bell.
With the win, Rochester has earned at least one point in nine of its last 11 games dating back to Oct. 23. Additionally, the Amerks have picked up at least one point in 17 of their 23 road games in Laval, going 15-6-2-0 over that span.
Along with Rousek’s overtime goal from Ty Tullio, Brett Murray notched his fourth of the season on the power-play during the opening frame from Josh Dunne and Zachary Metsa. Rousek’s tally was his second of the year and first-career overtime-winner while Dunne notched his first assist with Rochester. Meanwhile, Metsa, whose 11 points tops all active Amerks skaters, is tied for the league-lead amongst all blueliners with 10 assists. Riley Fiddler-Schultz registered a pair of shots in his season debut.
Levi (1-0-0), who was reassigned earlier in the week by the Buffalo Sabres, also made his season debut for Rochester. The Quebec native stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced to earn the win. The second-year netminder has held the opposition to three or fewer goals in all but four of his 27 appearances with Rochester dating back to the 2023-24 season and boasts a 17-2-4 record in those games.
After being held without an official shot for the first 8:36, Laval, which had an attempt bounce off the right post of Levi’s net, thought they broke the scoreless game at the 11:35 mark as Sean Farrell finished off a loose puck. Following a lengthy review, the officials waved off the would-be goal to keep the game 0-0.
Rochester gained the game’s first power-play chance of the night, however the Rocket scored while shorthanded on Florian Xhekaj’s third of the season before the Amerks countered back just 41 seconds later.
Following Xhekaj’s breakaway goal after a turnover at center ice, the Amerks gained possession inside the offensive zone and setup their man-advantage. After…
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