AMERKS DAILY PRESS CLIPS Saturday, M ay 15, 2021 Amerks Edged By Comets In Goaltending Duel By Staff Report Amerks.com The Rochester Americans (10-14-2-1) began their final homestand of the 2020-21 campaign on the short end of a 1-0 loss to the intrastate rival Utica Comets (16-10-0-1) in a goaltending duel Friday at The Blue Cross Arena. The matchup was the second of three get-togethers this week and the 10th meeting overall between the two teams this season. Rochester has earned at least one point in four of the last nine get-togethers thus far. Forward Brett Murray, playing in his second game back with the Amerks following a brief two-game stint with the Buffalo Sabres, and defenseman Oskari Laaksonen each registered four shots on net while Michael Mersch, Steven Fogarty and Ryan Jones all had three. The Amerks successfully killed all three penalties tonight, including a five-minute major, marking the fourth straight game in which the club did not allow a power-play goal. Since the start of May, Rochester has gone 15-for-15 while being a man down. In his second appearance with Rochester since making his NHL debut, goaltender Michael Houser (0-2-0) made 26 saves but was dealt with the loss. In two starts in the Amerks crease, Houser has stopped 60 of the 63 shots he faced while posting a 1.55 goals against average to go with a .952 save percentage. With his fifth goal of the season, Curtis McKenzie tallied the lone marker in the contest from Nikita Alexandrov and Josh Teves. The goal, which gave Utica its third straight victory and fourth of the last five games dating back to May 7, was McKenzie’s second point in consecutive games for just the second time all season. Rookie netminder Evan Fitzpatrick (2-0-0) stopped all 33 shots he faced to record his first-career professional shutout. Through his first three games with Utica this season, Fitzpatrick has allowed only four goals for a 1.65 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. After a scoreless opening 20 minutes of play, the Comets got onto the board as McKenzie steered in a Teves point shot at the 5:37 mark of the period. Alexandrov carried the puck up the right wall towards Teves and handed it to the defenseman just inside the blueline. Teves fired the shot that was seemingly going wide, but McKenzie extended his stick at the last second to redirect inside the far post past an unsuspecting Houser. Despite Rochester outshooting Utica 22-16 through the first two periods, they trailed going into the final frame of regulation 1- 0. During the third period, each team registered 11 shots on the opposing netminder but the goaltenders made the saves to keep the score a one-goal game. The Amerks, in a last-ditch effort to find the equalizer and force overtime, pulled Houser for the extra attacker but Fitzgerald denied the chances to record the 1-0 shutout victory. The Amerks continue their final three-game homestand on Saturday, May 15 as they close out their season-series with the Syracuse Crunch at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV. The North Division matchup will also be televised live on CW Rochester. Amerks Score Late, But Come Up Short To Comets By Staff Report Amerks.com The Rochester Americans (10-13-2-1) wrapped up the road portion of their 2020-21 regular season schedule with a 3-1 loss to the Utica Comets (15-10-0-1) Wednesday at the Adirondack Bank Center. Despite the loss, however, Rochester has collected at least one point in 23 of the last 34 games against Utica dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, going 17-11-2-4 over that span. Rookie forward Brendan Warren (1+0) notched the Amerks lone tally of the night, while fellow rookie forward Dominic Franco (0+1) added the primary assist and defenseman Nick DeSimone (0+1) got the secondary helper. Goaltender Michael Houser (0-1-0), fresh off a four-game stint with the Buffalo Sabres, got the loss as he made 34 saves on 37 shots he faced in his Amerks debut, becoming the fifth different netminder to appear in a game this season for Rochester. Utica forward Vincent Arseneau (1+0) opened the scoring in the first period with his fourth of year, while defenseman Jett Woo (1+0) and forward John Stevens (1+0) rounded out the scoring for the Comets, who improved to 9-2-0-0 in their last 11 home games. Tyler Tucker finished with a team-high two assists. Goaltender Michael DiPietro (3-1-0) earned his fourth straight start, extending his win streak to two games while fending off 33 shots from the Amerks. Trailing 2-0 in the waning minutes of the third period, Rochester pulled Houser in favor of the extra attacker, but the Comets would capitalize despite being a man down. From in-between the bluelines, Stevens converted on a long rage shot with 2:33 remaining in regulation to give Utica its largest lead of the night. It would take until there was just 1:16 left to go in the contest when the Amerks finally found the back of the net to spoil DiPietro’s bid for a shutout. From between the face-off circles, Franco fired an initial shot that DiPietro turned aside. Waiting just to the left of the crease, Warren found the rebound and tipped the puck in for his third of the season to make it a 3-1 game. Heading into the middle frame with a one-goal lead, Utica held off Rochester for another 20 minutes of play while finding its second marker of the contest. On the rush, Nolan Stevens drove the puck through the neutral zone and connected with Woo before gaining the offensive zone. Once Woo retrieved the puck, the Comets defenseman boomed a shot from the top of the left circle towards the Amerks crease. As Woo’s chance skipped across the ice, the puck took a sharp bounce and flew over the stick-side of Houser and into the upper left corner at the 6:54 mark. For the remaining 13:06 of the second stanza, Rochester was held to just three shots on goal heading into the final 20 minutes of play. As the clock ticked down on the opening period, Utica held Rochester scoreless while getting on the board not even five minutes into the period. As Cameron, who played four years of college hockey at Rochester Institute of Technology, eluded Amerks defenseman Ryan Jones from behind the net, he retrieved the puck back on a low cycle and made a feed to Arseneau, who was stationed to the left of the blue paint. The quick pass from Cameron enabled Arseneau to sneak the puck past Houser to put Utica in front 1-0. Heading into the first intermission, the Comets held a slight 11-9 advantage in shots while both teams were unsuccessful on the power-play to begin the contest. The same two teams exchange pleasantries again for the second time in three nights on Friday, May 14 as the Amerks kickoff their final homestand of the 2020-21 campaign with a rematch against the Comets at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV. The North Division matchup will also be tape-delayed on CW Rochester beginning at 10 p.m. Comets w in last home game as AHL affiliate of Canucks By Steve Jones Rome Sentinel The Utica Comets went out with a win, beating the Rochester Americans 3-1 Wednesday in the last home game as the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks at the Utica Aud. The Canucks are relocating the affiliate to British Columbia in the offseason. Utica will host the AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils in the 2021-22 season, and will retain the Comets name. This year’s team was a powerhouse at home, with an 11-2 record at The Aud. “It was awesome,” said Utica head coach Trent Cull after the game. The coaches and players saluted the crowd before leaving the home ice one last time. “My goal as a head coach is to create a team that the fans can be proud of,” one with good work ethic that is worth the price of admission. His message before the game in the locker room was clear: “I want your best. I think the boys did a great job.” He added, “They knew I wanted this one. It’s the closest we’d get to a playoff game” this season. “I was a little choked up when I left the ice.” Vincent Arseneau started the scoring, recording his fourth of the season 4:34 into the game. Shawn Cameron sent a backhanded feed to Arseneau from behind the net to where he was cutting to the crease. Arseneau beat goalie Michael Houser to make it 1- 0 Comets. Cameron earned his second assist of the season and Mitch Eliot was credited with his fourth assist. “It’s pretty emotional,” Arseneau said after the win.