Written by Aidan Charde
Recap: East Division Semifinals Games 1 and 2
The Rochester Jr. Americans welcomed the Johnstown Tomahawks for the first two games of the division semifinals last weekend and came away with two wins despite a slew of unpredictable circumstances.
The team welcomed back the RIT Pep Band for the series and the energy they brought made an early impact as Clay O’Donnell, who had not played since Feb. 7, scored his first goal of the season and the team’s first goal of the playoffs 10 minutes into the period. Johnstown tied the contest up less than two minutes after.
Midway through the first period, star goalie Danick Leroux went down with a lower body injury while making a save. As Leroux was helped off the ice, emergency backup goalie Jensen Carlstrom took the ice just a few minutes after making his rookie lap to mark his NAHL debut. Carlstrom, who joined the team just days earlier, could only enter in the event Leroux got hurt. He took a few minutes to stretch and warm up before play resumed.
What seemed like a tough break turned into an incredible performance from Carlstrom, who rose to the occasion and stopped the first 15 shots he saw until allowing one goal in the third period. Second period scores from Calle Karlsson and Gabe Randel gave the team room to operate in and despite Johnstown tightening the game to make it 3–2, O’Donnell found the back of the net for a second time while Landon Brownlee notched one of his own to give Rochester a 5–2 win to open the series.
Entering game two, Carlstrom was more prepared to be the starter, and it showed as he looked dominant throughout most of the game. But the MVP of the night may have just been the rink staff, who helped fix a pair of issues in the first period. The first happened before the game began as the red carpet used for the national anthem and ceremonial puck drop left a residue on the ice that needed to be cleaned before the opening face off.
Meanwhile, as the game progressed it became clear it would be a much tighter game than the night before. Owen King lit the lamp for the first time this postseason to start the scoring late in the first period, but both goalies looked nearly unstoppable.
Chaos struck again with under one minute to go when Hugo Branthsson landed a vicious hit on a Tomahawk who went crashing into the penalty box window. Referees stopped the game as Branthsson’s hit was so hard that it shattered the glass, spilling shards onto the ice as well as in the box. The officials decided to end the period early while rink staff cleaned the area and cut a piece of plexiglass to size in the short time during intermission to allow the game to continue. The final 47 seconds of the first period were played after the break before the teams swapped sides and the second period began immediately.
It took less time to get going in the second as Jaden Dyke extended the lead less than one minute in, but Johnstown was able to halve the gap before the frame ended and make the score 2–1. Despite a strong third period and over two minutes of an extra man thanks to a pulled goalie, the Tomahawks could not tie the game and Rochester escaped with another win.
With two wins in the bag, the Jr. Amerks need just one more to advance to their first-ever division finals. Two wins at home also means the team is guaranteed at least one more home game, although they first have their sights set on this weekend’s matchup in Pennsylvania.
Preview: Johnstown Tomahawks on April 25 and 26 (if necessary)
WHEN: April 25 at 7:30 p.m. | April 26 at 7 p.m. (if necessary)
WHERE: 1st Summit Arena | Johnstown, PA
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
Last weekend was the first postseason matchup between the Jr. Amerks and Johnstown Tomahawks, but all-time Rochester holds a series record of 10–5–1. The teams met twice in 1st Summit Arena this season with each team earning a sweep of the other. The more recent series, won by the Jr. Amerks, saw the Tomahawks manage to get off just 26 shots on goal in the entire weekend.
Race for 10
With few top scorers returning from last season, the Jr. Amerks’ postseason leaderboard is wide open. Clay O’Donnell and Jaden Dyke lead the way with six points each. Right behind them is Adam Gionta with five. All three are chasing the milestone of becoming the first Jr. Amerk to hit 10 playoff points—a small but meaningful mark for a young franchise. The all-time playoff points record is held by Luca Leighton with nine.
Watch for physicality incoming
After the most recent regular season matchup between these teams saw 188 minutes worth of penalties get handed out, the first two games of the series had a combined 22 minutes of infractions. PIM is not the only measure of physicality and, being the postseason, it makes sense that skaters would be more careful about their play. But as the Jr. Amerks get the Tomahawks on the brink of elimination, the upcoming games could have a different tone about them.
Who will step up?
Two games down and three different players have stepped up to make big impacts: Carlstrom played phenomenally in the net in game two while both Landon Brownlee and Clay O’Donnell managed three-point nights in game one. Who will step up in game three? Elite scorers Calle Karlsson and Owen King have each notched a goal with Karlsson adding an assist as well. Forward Ryan Shaw is a candidate as well after he finished the season scoring four points in his final three games.
Rochester keeping scorers in check
Johnstown isn’t a team with high end scorers, but they did have depth scoring with practically anyone on their roster able to find the net at any time. That has not been the case so far in this series. Of their top performers, only Ryan Flaherty, their second-leading scorer in the regular season, has scored a goal on Rochester so far. That is impressive considering the Tomahawks had scored 11 goals in their first round matchup.
