Amerks Get Blanked in 2-0 Loss to Crunch
December 6, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
(Syracuse, NY)... Despite a near-perfect effort from starting goaltender Andrey Makarov, the Rochester Americans were blanked by the Syracuse Crunch 2-0 at the War Memorial at Oncenter in Syracuse Saturday night. It was a reversal of fortunes for both clubs, as Syracuse responded with a shutout of its own against Rochester following a 3-0 Amerks win in Syracuse back on Oct. 31.
The story for the Amerks was their goaltender Makarov, who continued his stingy play against the Crunch this season. Makarov stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced in the losing effort, and has only allowed one goal on the 72 shots he has faced in two matchups against the Crunch this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was equal to the task between the pipes for the Crunch, earning a shutout after stopping all of Rochester's 33 shots on net. Vladimir Namestnikov, who was recently demoted from the Tampa Bay Lightning, finished with a goal and an assist while Jerome Samson tallied the eventual game-winning goal for Syracuse.
The two clubs spent most of the first period feeling each other out with a few power-play opportunities mixed in, but the scoring opportunities were kept to a minimum. The Crunch would break open the scoring, however, with less than three minutes left in the opening period.
The damage was done by Samson, who was the beneficiary of a nifty play from Namestnikov, who skated into the Amerks zone and lifted a shot on goal. The puck was deflected by Samson and snuck by Makarov at the 17:08 mark of the first period.
The second period was a more assertive affair from both teams, as they combined for 24 shots on goal that included a two-man advantage for Syracuse and two separate power-plays for the Amerks. Despite the extra scoring opportunities, the score remained 1-0 in the Crunch's favor heading into the third period.
The Amerks had a golden opportunity to tie the score in the final six minutes after Dylan Blujus dumped Chad Ruhwedel in the Syracuse corner and was sent to the penalty box for boarding. The Amerks, unfortunately, couldn't muster a goal with the man-advantage due to a number of blocked shots from the Crunch.
Looking at a last-ditch effort to tie the score, Rochester pulled Makarov for the extra skater as time approached the final minute, but Namestnikov jumped on a loose puck in the neutral zone and sealed the game into the empty net.
The Amerks wrap up their three-in-three weekend on Sunday with an afternoon tilt in Toronto against the Marlies as the North Division rivals face-off at 3:00 p.m. at Ricoh Coliseum. The game can be heard live on FOX Sports 1280 Rochester.
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