Subban Backstops Amerks to Shutout Win Over Rocket
March 16, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
(Rochester, NY) -On the strength of a two-point effort from Brandon Biro (1+1) and a stellar 29-save effort from goaltender Malcolm Subban, the Rochester Americans (28-24-4-1) shutout the Laval Rocket (24-25-7-3) 2-0 Wednesday night The Blue Cross Arena.
With the win, Rochester has earned a point in seven of its last 11 games, going 5-4-2-0 over that span, and finished the season-series with a 4-3-1-0 mark for the second straight season against Laval.
Biro, who became the first Amerks skater this season to reach the 50-point mark, extended his point streak to five games as he registered a goal and an assist. Since Mar. 4, Biro has logged 11 points on two goals and nine assists while Lukas Rousek, who also scored his 15th goal of the season, has eight points (4+4) over his last four games. Defenseman Lawrence Pilut earned his 10th assist over his last 10 games to complete the scoring for Rochester.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban (15-13-1) stopped all 29 shots he faced, including 19 through the first two periods, for his second shutout of the season. The Toronto, Ontario, native is the first Rochester goaltender to blank an opponent on home ice since Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on Nov. 3, 2021. Additionally, its his first season with multiple shutouts since the 2014-15 campaign when he posted three with the Providence Bruins.
Forwards Gabriel Bourque and Peter Abbandonato each paced the team with four shots apiece for Laval, who were shutout for the first time since Jan. 15, 2022. Goaltender Cayden Primeau (12-11-6) suffered the defeat in the crease despite making 30 saves. The netminder has appeared in 17 of the last 19 games since Jan. 25 for the Rocket.
Following a scoreless opening period that saw the teams combine for 12 penalty minutes and 21 shots, Rochester was called for a hooking infraction less than three minutes into the second stanza.
Despite on the penalty kill, Brendan Warren and Biro pressured the puck before Biro stepped in-front of a pass intended to go across the blueline between Laval defensemen. As Biro collected the pass, he sprinted towards the Rocket zone one-on-one against a Laval defender. The Penn State product reached the blueline, quickly surveyed the landscape and unleashed a perfectly placed shot over the glove hand of Primeau for his 15th of the season.
In the final 20 minutes, both goaltenders made timely saves to keep the game a 1-0 score.
As the third-period clock was nearing its completion, Laval pulled Primeau for an extra skater. Moments after Biro received Pilut's pass along the wall in the defense zone, he flipped it ahead to the far blueline for Rousek, who tracked the puck down and pushed it into the vacant net to seal the 2-0 victory.
The Amerks continue their push to the playoffs as they hit the road to the Keystone State for a pair of contests beginning on Friday, Mar. 17 when they close out their season-series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 p.m. All the action from Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Storyline Stripes:
The second-period goal by Brandon Biro marked his first shorthanded tally of the season and eventually served as the game-winner, the first of his career ... Lukas Rousek pushed his point streak to four games, showing four goals and four assists over that span ... Biro (6+13) and Rousek (5+11) have combined for 11 goals and 24 assists since Feb. 24.
Goal Scorers
LAV: None
ROC: B. Biro (15), L. Rousek (15)
Goaltenders
LAV: C. Primeau - 30/31 (L)
ROC: M. Subban - 29/29 (W)
Shots
LAV: 29
ROC: 32
Special Teams
LAV: PP (0/4) | PK (3/3)
ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (4/4)
Three Stars
1. ROC - M. Subban
2. ROC - B. Biro
3. LAV - C. Primeau
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