Rochester Americans stave off elimination with 5-1 win over Rocket
If Jacob Fowler didn't realize it before, he certainly does now.
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The Laval Rocket rookie goaltender no longer is at Boston College, playing against boys. Fowler now is in professional hockey, and the 20-year-old received his baptism by fire Friday night against the Rochester Americans.
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Fowler allowed four goals on 14 shots in barely more than 39 minutes and was replaced by veteran Cayden Primeau. But the damage was already done and the hole too precipitous for the Rocket to overcome.
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Rochester breezed to a 5-1 victory before 10,243 Place Bell spectators to stave off elimination. The best-of-five North Division final is tied 2-2 heading into Sunday afternoon's (4:30 p.m.) fifth and deciding game.
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One-game, winner-take-all with both teams' seasons on the line. What more could one expect, or hope for, from the top two clubs in the division.
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'They come into our barn and put on that kind of performance against us in front of our fans,' forward Owen Beck said. 'We're both in the same position with our backs against the wall. We have to come back and remember tonight and use that to fuel us for Sunday.'
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Josh Dunne scored two goals for Rochester while adding two assists. Isak Rosen, Tyson Kozak and Konsta Helenius also scored. Two of the Americans' goals came on the power play while the visitors' final goal, by Helenius, came with the team shorthanded.
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Joshua Roy scored Laval's only goal — his second in as many games — at 7:45 of the second period, narrowing the deficit to 3-1. But Dunne's second goal came only 1:37 later, defusing any momentum the Rocket might have gained.
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This was the eighth time in two seasons Rochester has faced an elimination game, and it improved to 6-2. The Americans now have won their last four road elimination contests.
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Rochester goalie Devon Levi uncharacteristically had allowed 12 goals in the series' opening three games. This marked the first time the Dollard-des-Ormeaux native had allowed three or more goals in three successive AHL contests. And while Levi was 1-6 with an .841 save percentage against Laval heading into the match, he was virtually flawless on this night while stopping 22 shots.
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