The Rochester Americans shifted to Laval in their best-of-five AHL North second-round series after splitting the first two games at Blue Cross Arena last weekend, but after tying the game in the third period, the hometown Rocket scored three unanswered goals in a 4-1 victory at Place Bell on Wednesday.
Laval opened the scoring just 15 seconds into the contest, as Sabres winger Alex Tuch’s younger brother Luke beat Devon Levi on a long shot. The Amerks outshot Laval 33-20 in the contest, but were unable to beat Rocket goalie Cayden Primeau until early in the third, when Jiri Kulich and Jack Rathbone set up Lukas Rousek for the tying goal.
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The deadlock lasted just 2:11, as Florian Xhekaj put Laval ahead for good on a backhand roofed over Levi’s left shoulder. The Rocket pulled away with goals from Laurent Dauphin and Joshua Roy to take the series lead 2-1.
“I really like our game, but (the Xhekaj goal) was a momentum killer,” Rochester coach Michael Leone said after the loss. “I think the shots were 26-12 after (the first and second) periods…..that’s a tough one. When (Laval) get one (goal) in this building, they build a lot of momentum.”
The series resumes on Friday with Rochester facing elimination for the first time. If they win, the fifth and deciding game will take place on Sunday afternoon in Laval.
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