Swedish power carries Amerks past Syracuse in playoff opener

Rochester, N.Y. — Just one game into the Rochester Americans unveiling of their promotional mantra for this spring's 2024 Calder Cup playoffs – Proud to be Pesky – it's already time for a change. The new rallying cry: How Swede it is. Swedish-born forwards Anton Wahlberg, Noah Östlund and Isak Rosen scored the goals and Devon Levi stopped 35 shots –including a highlight-package point-blank stop with 4.9 seconds remaining – as the Amerks opened the best-of-five North Division semifinals with a 3-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night. “I said to the guys after, we're going to put the tre kronor, the Swedish crown jersey, on,” Amerks coach Seth Appert said. “We were Team Sweden tonight.”