The Rochester Americans (30-22-6-3) scored late in the third period to force the game beyond regulation but were unable to find the net again during the shootout as they came up short in a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies (28-20-9-2) Friday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Despite the shootout defeat, the Amerks have earned at least one point in 19 of their last 27 games dating back to Jan. 17, which includes a 4-0-0-1 mark over their last five home games. Rochester boasts a 3-1-0-1 mark through the first five games of the season-series with the Marlies.
Forward Linus Weissbach, who missed the previous five games, returned to the lineup and scored his 11th goal of the season late in the contest to help the team secure at least one point. Ryan Johnson earned his third assist in as many games while Tyson Kozak notched the secondary helper. Graham Slaggert appeared in the 100th game of his AHL career against is former team.
Goaltender Michael Houser (2-1-1) made his fifth appearance of the season for the Amerks and first since Nov. 1. The Youngstown, Ohio, native stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced before making two more saves in the shootout.
Toronto’s Dylan Gambell scored for the third straight game while helping the club to its third consecutive victory. Nick Abruzzese sealed the win as he was the only skater to convert in the shootout. Goaltender Dennis Hildeby (17-9-6) made 34 saves, which included three in the shootout, in his 33rd appearance of the campaign.
Facing a 1-0 deficit late in the third period, Kozak forced a turnover atop the face-off dot inside the Rochester end of the ice. Johnson scooped up the puck before launching an outlet pass to Weissbach as he snuck behind the Toronto defensemen. The Swedish forward raced in towards Hildeby and snapped a shot past the blocker to even the score with just 2:44 left in regulation.
In overtime, both goaltenders stood tall as they combined to make eight saves (Houser-3, Hildeby-5) but neither team could secure the win, thus the shootout was required.
Rochester elected to shoot first in the skills competition, however, Weissbach, Brandon Biro, and Jiri Kulich were unsuccessful on their attempts. Meanwhile, Houser stopped Alex Steeves and Logan Shaw, but Abruzzese’s shot was true to give the Marlies the 2-1 win.
In the first period, the Amerks drew a pair of penalties, but Toronto opened the scoring with just over two minutes left in the frame as Gambrell and Tate Singleton connected on an odd-man rush.
The game remained a 1-0 score until Weissbach evened the game in the final frame, but Toronto captured the victory.
The Amerks close out their three-game homestand on Sunday, March 24 with a 3:05 p.m. matinee against the Utica Comets. All the action from The Blue Cross Arena will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
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