(Bridgeport, CT) – The Rochester Americans closed out their first three-in-three of the season with a 4-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Sunday at Webster Bank Arena in the final stop of a four-game, eight-day road swing. The afternoon win extends Rochester’s point streak to a season-long nine straight games as the Amerks closed out the road trip with a 3-0-0-1 record to inch closer to the Toronto Marloes for first place in the AHL’s North Division standings.
Veteran defenseman Zach Redmond led the way offensively for the Amerks with a three-point effort, including a pair of power-play tallies, and Seth Griffith added two points (1+1) to extend his point streak to five straight games. The game was Redmond’s first three-point outing since April 13, 2014 as a member of the St. John’s IceCaps, moving him into a tie for third on the team in scoring with 15 points (6+9) in 17 games.
Colin Blackwell rounded out the scoring with his team-leading second shorthanded goal of the season while Stuart Percy (0+2) contributed a pair of assists as Rochester won it’s first-ever matchup in Bridgeport. Adam Wilcox earned his second start in five games for the Amerks, turning aside 36 of 37 to improve to 3-2-3 on the season.
Casey Bailey provided the lone Bridgeport goal while Kristers Gudlveskis made 29 saves in the loss for the Sound Tigers.
The Amerks jumped out to a 1-0 lead exactly halfway through the first period as the Sound Tigers were on their second consecutive penalty. Griffith stepped through the right circle and sent a shot off the body of Kyle Burroughs just north of the crease. The puck kicked back towards the blueline, where a waiting Redmond fired a one-timer that sailed past Gudlevskis’ blocker side.
Later in the first, rookie Sean Malone was sent to the box for holding, giving the Sound Tigers the man-advantage. Towards the end of the penalty kill, the Amerks freed the puck and sent it down the ice with Nick Baptiste in pursuit. Baptiste fired the initial shot that pinballed its way through the crease before Blackwell was able to steer in the bouncing puck to put Rochester up by a pair.
The Sound Tigers cut the Amerks lead in half eight minutes into the second period. With Matt Tennyson in the box for slashing, Bridgeport capitalized on the man-advantage. A scramble around the net led to a cross-ice pass from Dal Colle to Vande Sompel to Bailey. Bailey stepped into the left circle, and took a shot that went off the post and over Wilcox to make it a 2-1 game.
Rochester widened the gap with two more goals in the third period, beginning just 2:09 in when Griffith swept in Redmond’s rebound for his third goal in six AHL games this season. The Sound Tigers’ fate was sealed when Redmond tallied his second goal of the night on the power-play with 2:15 remaining, sending the Amerks to their third win in four games.
The Amerks return home from their weekend trek through the Atlantic Division on Wednesday, Dec. 13 when they host the intrastate rival Utica Comets in a North Division showdown at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950AM ESPN Rochester.
Goal Scorers
RCH: Redmond (5, 6), Blackwell (4), Griffith (3)
BRI: Bailey (5)
Goaltenders
RCH: Wilcox – 36/37 (W)
BRI: Gudlevskis – 29/33 (L)
Shots
RCH: 33
BRI: 37
Special Teams
RCH: PP (2/3) | PK (5/6)
BRI: PP (1/6) | PK (1/3)
