Friday night in Rochester, NY saw plenty of fireworks as the Calder Cup Playoffs started for the Rochester Americans. The Americans kick off their quest for the Calder Cup against their Western New York rival the Syracuse Crunch. Both teams were separated by one point at the end of the 2023-24 regular season. Rochester had 88 points compared to Syracuse’s 87. Before coming into the game it was already clear that this was going to be a battle and was it ever.
The Kids Are Alright
In the first period, the Americans came out strong scoring the first goal of the game 61 seconds into the frame. The goal came from the 18-year-old rookie sensation Anton Wahlberg who avoided a hit and toe-dragged a Crunch defender. The Swedish forward just stayed poised and made a great deke to get around netminder Brandon Halverson. His early goal got the Amerks in front quickly in this one. For Wahlberg, it’s his first-ever American Hockey League (AHL) playoff goal.
Wahlberg wouldn’t be the only young Swede to score in this one. 12 minutes later, 20-year-old Noah Ostlund would add his name to the goal sheet for his first-ever AHL & Calder Cup Playoff goal. While the Americans were on the powerplay, Viktor Neuchev had a board battle to regain the puck for Rochester. He found Lukas Rousek on the sideboards who kept his head up and sauced over a pass to a wide-open Ostlund. Ostlund collected the puck, took a breath, and ripped a shot on the net doubling the Americans lead 2-0.
The Crunch added two goals of their own as Dylan Duke scored in the second period to make it 2-1 Americans. In the third period, Jordy Bellerive at the 7:59 mark tied the game. It’s no surprise that the game was this tight as it’s been the norm for both teams this season. However, the game did not stay tied for long. Less than three minutes later, Isak Rosen would cap off the Swede-Trifecta as he was Johnny on the spot for the Americans.
Related: Race To The Calder Cup: Rochester Americans vs Syracuse Crunch
In a hectic run of play in the Crunch zone, Nikita Novikov found Zach Metsa at the top of the zone near the blue line. Metsa shot the puck on the net and Rosen was in the right spot to tip it into the net. The was officially 3-2 just a little over halfway into the third period. It was enough to give the Americans the 3-2 win over the Crunch to take the 1-0 series lead.
Fear the Americans Beast
Another big contributor to the win for the Americans is netminder Devon Levi. Levi stopped 35 of the 37 shots that he faced against the Crunch. The 22-year-old Montreal, Quebec native received the third star of the game for his performance. Per the Amerks PR, he was the first Americans rookie netminder to earn a win since 2014. Furthermore, he was the first Americans rookie netminder to earn a win in his playoff debut since 2005.
Levi finished the regular season with a 16-6-4 record with a .927 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.42 goals-against average (GAA). His SV% was second-best in the AHL while his GAA was ninth in the league. It comes as no surprise why he played as well as he did in Game 1 for the Americans. Furthermore, if he keeps up the style of play that he has had for the Americans in 26 games during the regular season, he will be the series X-Factor.
What’s Next for the Amerks
The next game for the Americans is on Sunday, April 28 with the puck drop at 3:05 pm Eastern on AHL TV. Game 2 will be at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester before the series heads to Syracuse on May 2. Rochester is looking to take a 2-0 stranglehold on the series in the Best-of-Five matchup before the North Divison Final. Expect a tough Game 2 on Sunday where the Crunch will want to come out and even the series. If the Americans can come out and play their structured defense, they have a good chance of ending Sunday’s game with a 2-0 series lead. It wouldn’t be surprising if there is a plethora of penalties in the game so expect some fireworks.
