Win or go home: Youthful Amerks learning on the fly as they take on Crunch in Game 5
Continuing their quest to win the Calder Cup for the first time since 1996 is obviously the primary goal Saturday night when the Rochester Americans take on the Syracuse Crunch in the win-or-go-home fifth game of their North Division series.
But from a Buffalo Sabres organizational standpoint, a victory in Game 5 would not only advance the Amerks to the division finals, but it would give Seth Appert’s young team another valuable set of games to experience what it’s like to be playing hockey at this time of year.
“It’s really immeasurable to go through these tough playoff series against really good opponents that are physically demanding to play against,” Appert said following practice at Blue Cross Arena Thursday.
And this is exactly what the Sabres’ hierarchy, led by general manager Kevyn Adams and coach Don Granato, want for kids like AHL rookies Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen, Tyson Kozak and Matej Pekar, plus young vets such as Linus Weissbach and Lukas Rousek. Get them into these high-pressure atmospheres because it helps so much in their development as potential Sabres.
Look back to last spring when Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka and Peyton Krebs went through the grind of three playoff series before the Amerks were eliminated by Laval. All three learned so much playing in that environment where every shift matters, and it helped them go into Sabres training camp a few months later and perform to a level whereby they made the final roster and were in Buffalo all season.
After losing the first two games of the series in Syracuse, the Amerks took those lessons to heart and bounced back with a pair of resounding victories last weekend in Rochester.
How to watch live stream, buy tickets: Amerks play Crunch in Game 5 of AHL Playoffs
Game 4: Malcolm Subban, Amerks blank Syracuse 4-0 to tie series at two games each
Rosen, a wildly skilled 20-year-old, struggled in Syracuse but he watched the tape, worked hard during practice and he was a different player in the two victories.
“Rosen struggled in Games 1 and 2,” Appert said. “First North American playoff games, and as much as you talk about how the level of physicality, intensity and competitiveness is going to rise, sometimes until you live it it’s hard to know. He got to have that punch in the face so to speak, looked inside himself, we had a meeting with him, and then he was excellent last week.”
Kulich sat out the first two games with an injury, then made his return Friday night and he scored a goal in each home game. “Kulich did a really good job learning without playing,” Appert said. “He didn’t want to let his teammates down and it tore him up that he couldn’t be available for Games 1 and 2.”
Once he was cleared for Games 3 and 4, Kulich barreled forward and that really impressed Appert, seeing a 19-year-old play with so much confidence.
“The playoffs are no time to put your toes into the water to test the temperature before diving in,” Appert said. “You have to dive in and that’s easier said than done when you’re as young as they are. He has a knack for big moments. We saw that at the World Juniors, he’s not afraid of the stage at all. I was really impressed Friday because that’s his first playoff game in pro hockey. I really liked the way Kuli attacked.”
How the young kids play Saturday will be vital for Rochester, but so often in playoff games, goaltending is the determining factor and Malcolm Subban has been mostly outstanding in this series.
He gave up only five goals in the two losses, and after a sloppy Game 3, he pitched a 31-save shutout in Game 4. He has a .923 save percentage compared to his Crunch counterpart, Max Lagace, who’s at .879.
“At the end of the day stuff happens in hockey, but you rally together,” Subban said. “I try to be at my best especially when the team needs me the most and vice versa, the team’s there for me when I’m not feeling it so much. It’s a sign that the boys are clicking in the room and it takes character to come back and tie the series up. We’re happy we tied the series up, but I’m not satisfied.”
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Young Rochester Amerks ready to take on Syracuse Crunch in Game 5
