Amerks' memorable playoff run ends with 1-0 loss in Game 6 of conference final (2024)

ROCHESTER – Malcolm Subban slowly stepped away from the bench and skated toward his teammates late Friday night in Blue Cross Arena.

At the other end of the ice, the Hershey Bears celebrated with their most valuable player of the series, goalie Hunter Shepard. And standing at their seats, the crowd of 8,777 fans expressed their gratitude for a Rochester Americans team that accomplished what few thought was possible when these playoffs began six weeks ago.

Brandon Biro, one of the Amerks' top forwards, didn't skate in a postseason game because of injury. Three key players on the roster weren't around long enough to make an impact in the regular season: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Kale Clague and Riley Sheahan. Jason Karmanos, associate general manager of the Buffalo Sabres, made under-the-radar trades to strengthen coach Seth Appert's roster for a playoff push, but it was impossible to know if it would be enough.

It was.

The Amerks came within two wins of reaching the American Hockey League's Calder Cup final for the first time since 2000. They were among the final four teams playing in June and won the North Division championship by sweeping the Toronto Marlies. Sabres prospects including Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen and Tyson Kozak flourished in the playoffs.

The unexpected, memorable playoff run ended Friday night, though, with a 1-0 loss to the Bears, who will face Coachella Valley or Milwaukee in the championship series. The difference was a routine shot by the Bears’ Beck Malentsyn. Subban, Rochester’s rock during this run to the Eastern Conference final, kicked the rebound out directly to Shane Gersich, who quickly shoveled the puck in with 7:20 left in the second period of Game 6.

Rochester had opportunities to draw even. Brett Murray's drive to the net and shot drew an audible gasp from the crowd. Isak Rosen had two shots in the same shift earlier in the third period. The Amerks earned scoring opportunities with Murray in the penalty box late in regulation. Yet, they were one goal short of staving off elimination for the fifth time in the postseason.

"When you look back, this might have been our best game of the series in terms of what we created," lamented Appert. "We didn’t finish. Credit to them. They blocked a lot of shots. Shepard was outstanding in goal. But I think we didn’t give up very much at all tonight, and I thought we created enough to win."

The Amerks’ remarkable postseason won’t be remembered for the lows, like the end-of-series handshake or Gersich’s goal that created painful looks on the faces of Rochester’s players. It will be remembered for the stellar performances of Subban, Kulich, Rosen and several others. To the end, the Amerks blocked shots and showed the mettle needed to win a championship.

The chants started as soon as the puck was dropped. “Let’s go Amerks! Let’s go Amerks!” And once fans stopped, the Amerks tried to will the crowd into the game by methodically earning possession of the puck. Defenseman Ethan Prow was called for a penalty only 1:56 into the game, but Rochester held Hershey’s power play to only one shot on goal.

The Bears' game plan was simple: only allow shots from the outside. Kulich, who finished with seven postseason goals, had two stopped by Shepard in the first period.

Scoring first is pivotal against a team such as Hershey. The Bears had held opponents to two or fewer goals in 10 of their 12 playoff games, and the two exceptions were poor performances by Shepard when the Amerks totaled nine goals.

After Gersich put Hershey ahead 1-0, Mason Jobst earned a breakaway, but misfired a pass back to Lukas Rousek. Then, Rochester had only one shot on goal and couldn’t score during a 5-on-3 advantage that lasted 1:25. Twice, the Amerks missed the net when a well-placed one-timer would have been a goal. Their power play went 1-for-15 in the series.

Sean Malone shoveled the puck from the slot toward Hershey's net with Subban pulled for an extra attacker and 1:34 left in regulation, but Shepard made the save. Lawrence Pilut fired a one-timer on goal in the final minute, only to watch the puck miss wide.

"It stings," Appert added. "You want to win the Calder Cup, obviously, but it’s probably less that. It’s more that I won’t get to coach this team again. That’s the reality. This group of men will change. It changes next year. A lot of them are back. The prospects and some of our core veterans we have signed, but it changes.

"This group, it took us time to become what we became, and they had to fight really hard to become a team that really played the right way and loved playing for each other, loved being Amerks. But we grew to that, and I’m incredibly proud of them. To not get to come to practice or have another game with them is probably worse than anything."

Here are other observations from the game:

1. X-factor

Subban is going to have offers to play elsewhere next season.

The 30-year-old was stellar in the playoffs, delivering bail-out saves at key times and showing poise that comes with experience. He needed to be sharp early, and covered up his teammates’ pair of glaring mistakes in the first period. Subban stopped recent Capitals first-round pick Connor McMichael when he got behind the defense, and stood tall when Riley Sutter did the same.

2. Still impressing

If the Sabres don’t give Murray an NHL opportunity, another team will.

The 6-foot-5 winger totaled 23 goals in the regular season, then continued to be a top-line difference maker during the postseason. His 10 goals in 14 games were fifth on the team. Murray creates chaos when he gets to the front of the net. He protects the puck well along the wall, buying time until a passing option emerges. He had an outstanding shorthanded shift in the second period that included a scoring chance, and again almost scored in the third.

3. Man down

The Amerks were down to 10 forwards for most of the game because Linus Weissbach suffered a lower-body injury that forced him to leave. Brendan Warren covered some of those minutes and played well by forechecking on a line with Kulich, but Weissbach's absence was notable.

"I thought it was solid," Amerks captain Michael Mersch said. "The intentions were there. Compete was there. Battle was there. ... It’s kind of the story of the whole series, just really tight matches. As you get older, you look at these types of hockey games, they’re such good hockey games and everybody is playing their best. ... I’m really thankful to have teammates that rose to the occasion this playoffs and brought their game to a new level. That type of hockey is fun to play."

4. Sitting out

No need to panic that Sabres prospects Matt Savoie and Aleksandr Kisakov weren’t in the lineup again Friday night. Savoie, a first-round draft pick in 2022, took warmups, but sat a third consecutive game. It’s a bad matchup for a player joining the team so late in the playoffs. The Bears are big and physical. Kisakov, a second-round pick in 2021, hasn’t appeared in a postseason game because he’s simply not strong enough yet for the style of play. He needs another offseason to gain strength and should benefit from all the extra practice time.