Rochester Amerks on brink of elimination on Friday; What needs to change?

LAVAL, QUEBEC – Friday is do or die for the Rochester Americans. The team is one loss away from being eliminated from the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs by the Laval Rocket.

The Amerks are playing game four in the best-of-five series on the road, in Laval, Quebec. Watch News10NBC at 11 p.m. for highlights of Friday’s game. The Amerks fell to the Rocket 4-1 in game three on Wednesday. That gave Laval a 2-1 series lead.

Rochester fell behind virtually from puck drop, giving up a goal just 15 seconds into the game. But they held down the fort and tied things up on a Lukas Rousek goal at the start of the third period.

A few minutes later, they hit a rough patch that quickly decided their fate for the match. Laval scored three times in a span of less than six minutes, to the tune of the 4-1 win.

“Honestly I like how our team played. To me it wasn’t a 4-1 hockey game,” said head coach Michael Leone.

Now, the Amerks must win games four and five to advance to the Eastern Conference Playoffs, where Charlotte awaits.

It’ll be a quick turnaround, with just one off day on Thursday before the puck drops again on Friday in Laval.

“You just gotta play desperate. The season’s on the line, the guys know that. I don’t think we need to talk about it. We’ve responded all year,” said Leone.

“Next game season’s on the line. This group loves each other, really enjoys spending time together,” said forward Mason Jobst. “I think when there’s a threat that that is potentially gonna end, you get a little bit extra, we all want to continue to play together.”

One player who will need to step up so the team doesn’t have to go home early is Devon Levi. While the second-year goaltender has played well all season, Laval has been his Kryptonite. Wednesday’s game marked the first time all season Levi had given up at least three goals in three straight games.

Of course, stopping shots from this Rocket team isn’t easy. In fact, only the Amerks scored more regular season goals among North Division teams. In the playoffs, Laval has stepped it up, averaging 3.4 goals per game – the third most in the playoffs, only behind – you guessed it – Rochester and Texas.

Still, for the Amerks’ goal scoring to pay off, they’ve got to find a way to stop Laval in this series, and all eyes will be on Levi.

“If you ask Devon, I know he’s got more, I know he’s got more to give, he’s been a horse for us all season. We believe in him. We’re gonna need him to be really good Friday night. He’s gotta respond in a big way and I know he will and he’ll be ready to go,” said Leone.

“When you got the guy in net that we have, you got a chance to win every night,” said defenseman Jack Rathburn.

Friday’s must-win game starts at 7 p.m. If the Amerks win, game five will take place on Sunday in Laval and the puck drops at 4:30 p.m.