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AHL Rochester Americans

Appert Reaches Milestone Win as Amerks Outlast Checkers, 3-2

January 12, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Charlotte, NC) -The Rochester Americans (16-12-3-1) used a pair of third-period goals, one of which came in the final minutes of regulation, to earn a 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (17-13-4-0) in the first of back-to-back meetings between the two teams Friday night at Bojangles' Coliseum.

It was also a milestone win for Amerks head coach Seth Appert, who becomes just the seventh head coach in the 68-year history of the franchise to reach 100 career wins with Rochester.

With the victory, Rochester pushed its point streak to four games, improving to 3-0-1-0 over that span, while also winning the last three games in Queen City dating back to the start of last season. The Amerks also improved 8-15-0-0 all-time against Charlotte after splitting the first two games of the season series with the Checkers earlier this year and taking the first game of the weekend series.

Kale Clague (1+1) recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season for the Amerks while Justin Richards and Joseph Cecconi scored their fourth and first goals of the campaign, respectively, in in the third period. Lukas Rousek and Viktor Neuchev each extended their point streaks while Tyson Jost, Mason Jobst and Brett Murray all recorded an assist.

Goaltender Devin Cooley (6-5-2) made his first appearance since Dec. 29 and 12th overall of the campaign for Rochester. The netminder, who shows a 2-0-1 mark in his last three road contests, made 37 saves to earn the victory.

Gerry Mayhew (1+1) notched a goal and assist while Jake Wise completed the scoring for Charlotte, who played its first home game since Dec. 22.

Goaltender Spencer Knight (10-7-4) made his 21st appearance of the campaign and was dealt the loss despite making 20 saves.

Less than four minutes after Charlotte took a 2-1 lead 45 seconds into the final period, Rochester answered right back to even the score at the 4:31 mark.

Aleksandr Kisakov began an offensive play inside the Amerks zone as he slid a pass to Neuchev. The latter of the two forwards provided an outlet to Clague, who sprinted up the left wall. Prior to Clague stepping across the blueline, he handed it to Richards, who drifted inside the zone and fired a shot that trickled inside the right post.

The score remained tied at 2-2 and it seemed Rochester was heading towards its 13th game beyond regulation as the clock was nearing its expiration.

The Amerks hemmed the puck inside the Checkers zone, but after Jost poked it free in-behind Knight, Rousek grabbed it as he skated with his back towards the wall. The flashy forward spotted Cecconi atop the right point and the blueliner unloaded a shot through traffic to give Rochester its first lead of the night with just over three minutes to play.

Charlotte attempted to force overtime as they pulled Knight for the final 2:24, but Cooley and company held off the final push to earn the 3-2 win.

Early in the contest, Charlotte kept the puck inside the offensive zone as it was dumped back into the right corner of Cooley. After Wise gained possession, he provided a quick pass for Mayhew at the bottom of the face-off circle. Mayhew flipped the pass from his backhand to forehand before slipping it between the pads of the Rochester netminder at the 5:55 mark.

Much like the third period, the Amerks answered to even the score as Clague blasted a Jobst rebound from in-between the face-off circles with 7:35 remaining in the frame.

Following a scoreless second period, the Checkers took an early 2-1 advantage in the third period, however, Rochester scored twice in the period to close out the first of two against Charlotte.

The Amerks and Checkers take it outdoors for a rematch in the highly anticipated Queen City Outdoor Classic on Saturday, Jan. 13 in Uptown Charlotte. All the action from Truist Field will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.

Stars and Stripes:

By earning his primary assist on Joseph Cecconi's game-winning goal in the third-period, Lukas Rousek pushed his point streak to a career-high nine games, over which he has recorded 10 points (3+7) ... By way of his helper in the first period, Mason Jobst becomes the eighth different Amerk to reach double figures in assist (10) this season ... Seth Appert earned his 100th win as Rochester's head coach, becoming just the seventh head coach all-time to reach the 100-win mark.

Goal Scorers

ROC: K. Clague (2), J. Richards (4), J. Cecconi (1)

CLT: G. Mayhew (8), J. Wise (7)

Goaltenders

ROC: D. Cooley - 37/39 (W)

CLT: S. Knight - 20/23 (L)

Shots

ROC: 23

CLT: 39

Special Teams

ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (4/5)

CLT: PP (1/5) | PK (3/3)

Three Stars:

1. ROC - J. Cecconi

2. CLT - G. Mayhew

3. ROC - K. Clague

--@AmerksHockey--

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