Late Goal Lifts Amerks over Senators
December 27, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
(Rochester, NY) ... Lawrence Pilut scored the game-tying goal in the third period and then set up the game-winner with only two seconds remaining in regulation to cap a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind win for the Rochester Americans (20-6-2-2) over the Belleville Senators (18-12-1-0) Friday at The Blue Cross Arena.
With the victory, the Amerks became just the fourth AHL team and first from the North Division to reach the 20-win mark this season while improving to 15-3-1-1 over their last 20 games dating back to Nov. 1, earning points in 17 games over that span, and holding a three-point cushion atop the Division standings. Additionally, Rochester has picked up points in 22 of the last 27 contests overall, going 18-5-2-2, while also earning 43 out of a possible 60 points through its first 30 contests of the season.
It only took 30 games for Rochester to reach the 20-win mark this season, the team's fewest since the 2006-07 Amerks needed 27 games.
Pilut tallied his third three-point outing of the season with a goal and a pair of assists while forward Taylor Leier scored in the final seconds in regulation for the third time in last two contests. Zach Redmond opened the scoring for Rochester with his fifth marker of the season while Eric Cornel rounded out the night with his sixth of slate.
Goaltender Jonas Johansson (10-2-2) earned his eighth straight victory as he made 33 saves. Dating back to Nov. 13, the third-year netminder boasts a perfect 8-0-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.74 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage while allowing just two goals or less in six consecutive starts over that span.
Vitaly Abramov, Joseph LaBate and Jordan Murray all scored for Belleville, which came into the matchup riding a franchise-best 10-game road win streak dating back to Nov. 8. Netminder Filip Gustavsson (7-5-1) stopped 27 shots but suffered the loss.
Entering the third period down by a goal, the Amerks found the equalizer with 7:51 left in regulation as Pilut scooped up the loose puck atop the Senators zone and flung it towards the cage. With screens out in front of the goaltender being provided by Dalton Smith and Brett Murray, the puck made its way to the top left corner of the net for Pilut's fourth of the season.
"I didn't like how we played the first two periods," said Amerks head coach Chris Taylor. "I thought they (Belleville) outskated us and dominated a lot of game for the first 40 minutes. We talked about that during the intermission then came out and played our best period in the last four or five games and we got rewarded for playing the right way."
"We got the offense going in the third period and we were skating, hitting and getting into the dirty areas," said Pilut when talking about the difference in the third period as opposed to the first two. "We knew we just had to go out and play with poise and speed like we know we can."
Rochester continued to use the season-high crowd of 8,053 to its advantage late in regulation as Casey Mittelstadt drew a high-sticking infraction with 37 seconds left in the contest. Much like earlier in the frame, Pilut had the puck just inside the far blueline. As the clock was dwindling down, the former SHL Defenseman of the Year unleashed a shot through traffic that glanced off a falling Leier and into the net with two seconds to spare.
"I first got hit first (by one of their skaters) and then my hair was in my eyes," described Leier when talking about his game-winning goal. "My helmet was kind of out of whack as I went into the slot. As a defenseman pushed on my back, my stick broke and all I saw was the puck coming towards my face."
"I ducked out of the way and I just felt the puck hit my left shoulder and I wasn't sure if it went into the net and I then heard the horn," Leier added. "Sometimes luck happens like that, but it was a big goal for our team."
While Pilut earned the primary assist on the power-play marker, Mittelstadt picked up the secondary helper, his first-career point as an Amerk.
"Casey played well tonight," explained Taylor. "He had a lot of good looks and he drew us the power-play at the end of the game. Casey had a couple shots that he just missed the net, but overall he had a good night."
The first period began with the two North Division teams trading power-play goals before the 5:00 mark and they went into the intermission even at one.
Four minutes into the second stanza, Sean Malone sent Scott Wilson and Cornel into the Belleville zone on a 2-on-1 odd-man rush. Wilson an Cornel exchanged a give-and-go before the latter tapped his sixth of the season just inside the right post to give the Amerks a 2-1 lead.
"Wilson played awesome tonight," Taylor pointed out. "His forechecking, his penalty-killing. He did a lot of great things and I believe it was his best game as an Amerk. He drove pucks wide and it was good to have him back in the lineup as he brought a lot to the Cornel and Malone line."
The Amerks advantage did not last as Belleville scored two goals less than five minutes apart to take a 3-2 lead into the final period of play.
Rochester flipped the deficit during the third period as Pilut and Leier both scored to give the Amerks a 4-3 come-from-behind win, its third this season when entering the final 20 minutes when trailing after two periods.
"A lot of guys competed in the third period and I was pleased with that," Taylor said. "Seeing Pilut get a little gritty in the back-end of the ice was good for our team and I think it is something that he enjoys when he gets under the opponent's skin."
The Amerks hit the road for the final two games of the calendar year beginning on Saturday, Dec. 28 with their third trip of the season to the southern tier for a North Division showdown against the Binghamton Devils at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.
POST-GAME INTERVIEWS
Amerks Forward Taylor Leier - https://youtu.be/DDDEym488UU
Amerks Defenseman Lawrence Pilut - https://youtu.be/lQXzkL_F4d8
Amerks Forward Scott Wilson - https://youtu.be/CWHAq-cIbcg
Amerks Head Coach Chris Taylor - https://youtu.be/MNbJ3-0pFYQ
GOAL SCORERS
ROC: Z. Redmond (5), E. Cornel (6), L. Pilut (4), T. Leier (3 - GWG)
BEL: J. Murray (3), J. LaBate (3), V. Abramov (12)
GOALTENDERS
ROC: J. Johansson - 33/36 (W)
BEL: F. Gustavsson - 27/31 (L)
SHOTS
ROC: 31
BEL: 36
SPECIAL TEAMS
ROC: PP (2/5) | PK (3/4)
BEL: PP (1/4) | PK (3/5)
THREE STARS
1. L. Pilut (ROC)
2. T. Leier (ROC)
3. V. Abramov (BEL)
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from December 27, 2019
- Griffins Fire Blanks at Admirals - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Iowa Routs Rockford 6-2 Friday Night - Iowa Wild
- Rocket Put in Strong Effort, But Marlies Trio of Second-Period Goals Lead them to 3-2 Victory - Laval Rocket
- Chimuelos Fall to Stars in Shootout - San Antonio Rampage
- Late Goal Lifts Amerks over Senators - Rochester Americans
- Stars Come back to Defeat Rampage 3-2 in Shootout - Texas Stars
- Phantoms Wrap up Road-Swing at Wilkes-Barre - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Angello's Hat Trick Powers Penguins to 4-2 Victory - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Blue Jackets Assign Defenseman Adam Clendening to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Post Game Notes: Stars 3 at Rampage 2 (SO) - Texas Stars
- Crunch Burned by Devils, 2-1, in Shootout - Syracuse Crunch
- P-Bruins Get Back in Win Column with 4-3 Victory over Springfield Thunderbirds - Providence Bruins
- Wolf Pack Fall in Return from Holiday Break - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Schneider Stops 39 In 2-1 Win Over Crunch - Binghamton Devils
- Ladd scores twice, Bellows records a goal for the fifth straight home game in front of 6,271 fans on Friday - Bridgeport Islanders
- Sens Suffer Late Disappointment in Rochester - Belleville Senators
- Sgarbossa's OT Goal in Utica Extends Bears Win Streak to Nine - Hershey Bears
- T-Birds Top Line Flourishes, But Bruins Prevail - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Comets Claw Back to Earn Point against Hershey - Utica Comets
- Ads Return from Break with Shutout - Milwaukee Admirals
- San Diego Gulls Reassign Eriksson Ek to Tulsa - San Diego Gulls
- Condors Host Fortnite Saturday - Bakersfield Condors
- Marlies Open a Back-To-Back against the Rocket Tonight in Laval - Toronto Marlies
- San Jose Doomed by Five-Goal Second, Dropped 8-1 - San Jose Barracuda
- Quine Tallies Six Points in Offensive Onslaught over San Jose - Stockton Heat
- Sens Continue to Add to Franchise Best Road Winning Streak - Belleville Senators
- Lindholm Returns to Eagles, Anderson Reassigned to Utah - Colorado Eagles
- Bears Summon Milner from South Carolina - Hershey Bears
- San Jose Barracuda Captain John McCarthy Announces Retirement Due to Health Reasons - San Jose Barracuda
- Christian Djoos Recalled by Capitals - Hershey Bears
- Tinordi, Blackwell Recalled by Predators - Milwaukee Admirals
- Heat Return from Holiday Break against San Jose - Stockton Heat
- Rochester Americans Game Preview: Friday, December 27, 2019 vs. Belleville Senators - Rochester Americans
- Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Forward Mathieu Joseph to Syracuse Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Red Wings Bring Back Three from Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Game Preview: Bears at Comets, 7 PM - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers Host Hartford for Teddy Bear Toss - Bridgeport Islanders
- Game Day Build-Up: Senators at Americans, December 27 - Belleville Senators
- Blues Recall Defenseman Jake Walman - San Antonio Rampage
- Panthers Recall D Riley Stillman from T-Birds - Springfield Thunderbirds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
