(Grand Rapids, MI) – The Rochester Americans scored three goals in the third period to close out a 5-3 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins at Van Andel Arena on Friday night, snapping the Griffins’ 15-game home point streak, as the teams played the first of a two-game set this weekend. With the win, the Amerks improve to 19-19-2-1 on the season.
Jerry D’Amigo scored twice for the Amerks and Jean Dupuy added the eventual game-winning goal and an assist. Matt Donovan and Evan Rodrigues also scored for Rochester while Justin Bailey collected two assists and recorded a game-high eight shots on goal as the Amerks finished the night with a season-high 49 shots. Linus Ullmark stopped 41 of 44 shots to earn his first win with the Amerks since October.
Tomas Nosek, Ryan Sproul and Jakub Kindl each scored for the Griffins while goaltender Tom McCollum made 44 saves in the loss. Rochester native Mark Zengerle recorded an assist for Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids got on the board first at 6:15 of the opening period when Nosek was the recipient of a fortuitous bounce. Ullmark made the initial save, but the rebound kicked out front directly to Nosek, who knocked it in for the goal.
The Amerks nearly tied it up moments later when McCollum covered up a loose puck near the goal line. The red light went on, but a lengthy video review revealed that the puck never crossed the line.
Minutes later, back-to-back goals gave the Amerks a 2-1 lead with Bailey factoring in on both tallies. Donovan tied things up at one with his fourth of the season at the 9:31 mark of the period. As the puck came around the zone from the other side of the ice and bounced off the half-wall, Donovan played the carom perfectly as he one-timed the puck as it came off the boards and beat McCollum from a difficult angle. Bailey and William Carrier earned the assists.
D’Amigo gave the Amerks a 2-1 lead later in the first with his fifth of the season. As he and Bailey entered the Grand Rapids zone with speed, Bailey dropped a pass to his right and D’Amigo fired a wrist shot from the high slot that beat the Griffins netminder.
The Griffins tied it up late in the second on a nifty passing play that ended when Zengerle made a long cross-ice pass to Sproul, whose one-timer found the back of the net.
With the teams tied heading into the third period, it was the Amerks who broke the stalemate and took a two-goal lead into the final minutes of the frame. First, Rodrigues netted his fifth of the season with helpers from Dupuy and Colby Robak. Dupuy then scored the eventual game-winner at the 11:25 mark when he intercepted a clearing pass just inside the Grand Rapids blue line and buried a wrist shot to put the Amerks up 4-2.
Despite a two-goal deficit, the Griffins did not go down quietly. With a two-man advantage, Kindl blasted a slapper from the point into the top right corner of the net to make it a one-goal game with 2:07 remaining and more power play time on the clock. But Rochester killed it off and D’Amigo added an empty-netter to seal the 5-3 win over one of the AHL’s hottest teams.
The same two teams meet for the second straight night on Saturday, Jan. 23 as the Amerks and Griffins close out their weekend set with another go-around at Van Andel Arena. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be the second of four meetings between the former North Division rivals this season and will be carried live on FOX Sports 1280 Rochester.
Goal Scorers
RCH: D’Amigo (5,6), Donovan (4), Rodrigues (5), Dupuy (4)
GR: Nosek (5), Sproul (4), Kindl (2)
Shots
RCH: 49
GR: 44
Goaltenders
RCH: Ullmark – W (41/44)
GR: McCollum – L (44/48)
Special Teams
Amerks Power Play: 0-1
Amerks Penalty Kill: 4-5
