Another night, another struggle for the Rochester Americans against the Syracuse Crunch.
Rochester, fueled by a very large home showing, took advantage early and grabbed a 1-0 lead. Zach Redmond’s second goal of the playoffs did it for the Amerks here.
Rochester’s lead would almost last the rest of the period, but if we have learned anything at this point, we know that Syracuse can score at will.
Matthew Peca’s second goal of the playoffs tied things up with less than a minute in the first.
Things would stay tight throughout the early minutes of the second period until Justin Bailey netted his second goal of the playoffs. Bailey’s goal pushed Rochester out to a 2-1 lead at 7:48 of the second.
From there, it was all downhill for the Amerks.
Syracuse would go on to score three straight goals in the second period, all within two-and-a-half minutes of each other. The rout was on.
Rochester would get one back late in the third period, Danny O’Regan’s first goal of the series, but that would be all she wrote.
Rochester’s slim playoff hopes would come crashing to a halt, thanks to a 6-3 Syracuse Crunch final. Syracuse completes the 3-0 series sweep, as they move on to face the winner of the Toronto Marlies / Utica Comets series.
We know by now that the Crunch is a much better, offensively-rounded team. Syracuse’s parent club, the Tampa Bay Lighting, has done an incredible job drafting and developing talent. This series showed off that bevy of talent.
Syracuse is the type of team Rochester will strive to be in the coming years but for now, Rochester packs their bags and heads home for the summer.
Final: Syracuse 6, Rochester 3
Shots on Goal: Rochester 36 | Syracuse 26
Amerks Goal Scorers: Zach Redmond (2), Justin Bailey (2), Danny O’Regan (1)
Crunch Goal Scorers: Matthew Peca (2), Cal Foote (1), Olivier Archambault (2), Mitchell Stephens (1), Mathieu Joseph (2), Alexander Volkov (3)
Three Stars of the Game:
1. Mitchell Stephens: 1 goal, 1 assist
2. Matthew Peca: 1 goal, 2 assists
3. Gabriel Dumont: 1 assist
Quote from the game: “I am so proud of the group of guys in this room,” Nathan Paetsch told Amerks.com. “It was a pleasure playing with them. The excitement they brought back to the City of Rochester and the way they came to work every day was something special. There is a lot of character in the room and a really good group of guys.”