Levi Blanks Crunch as Amerks Take 2-0 Series Lead

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AHL Rochester Americans

Levi Blanks Crunch as Amerks Take 2-0 Series Lead

April 27, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY) - Goaltender Devon Levi stopped all 35 shots faced, while defenseman Kale Clague posted three points (1+2) as the Rochester Americans blanked the Syracuse Crunch by a 4-0 final in Game 2 of the North Division Semifinals Sunday afternoon at Blue Cross Arena.

The win gives Rochester a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series with an opportunity to end the series as soon as Thursday, May 1 when the series shifts to Syracuse for Game 3 at Upstate Medical University Arena.

In addition to Clague, Buffalo Sabres first-round picks Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosén each found the back of the net. Clague, who's now scored in back-to-back playoff games, also added two assists on the night for a three-point performance, while Helenius has a pair of points (1+1) through his first two AHL postseason games.

Devon Levi 's seventh career playoff appearance saw the 23-year-old post his first shutout of the postseason and eighth overall as a pro, which includes the regular season.

FIRST PERIOD

Helenius scored the opening goal of the contest 10 minutes into the frame after neither team scored in the first period of Game 1. The Sabres' prospect was stationed beside the goal, when Clague took a shot from the left point that hit off a body in front, causing Syracuse goaltender Brandon Halverson to lose sight of the puck. The puck would land on the tape of Helenius, who quickly whacked it past the frazzled Halverson for the 1-0 Amerks advantage.

Jack Rathbone amplified the physicality of the series with a huge check along the boards in front of the penalty box on Dylan Duke 12:37 into the first.

Levi's largest test of the period came with a minute to play. Tristan Allard broke over the Rochester blueline for a two-on-one. The pass was taken away, so he elected to shoot from the left circle, where Levi fought off the chance with a shoulder save to ensure the Amerks would carry the lead into intermission.

SECOND PERIOD

Brendan Warren was robbed of his second goal of the playoffs past the six-minute mark of the second. After Halverson denied the initial shot from Warren by extending his right leg across as the Amerks forward dug away in the blue paint, Warren then spun again for his rebound opportunity at the side of the goal. A sprawling Halverson reached back into his crease, falling to his side while making a stick save on the goal-line, keeping the game 1-0.

Things got scary in the latter stages of the period as chaos ensued, resulting in a spirited bout between Jack Finley and Vsevolod Komarov. Moments later, a collision between Gabriel Dumont and Jack Rathbone left the latter banged up, though the fifth-year pro would return minutes later to help Rochester kill off a penalty.

"The really good teams have that," explained Amerks head coach Michael Leone when talking about composure. "I think it's built over time, certain moments of the game. High stress, it starts with me, too. I think the coaching staff were calm and were saying the right things on the bench. I think it goes a long way for the group, and I think they take on the personality of your coaching staff.

"We lost two defensemen for, I don't know, five minutes," said Kulich, "so we just have to make sure that we're going to help them defensively and just let Levi be Levi, you know? I don't know what to say about him. Just a beast."

Seconds following Syracuse's power-play, Noah Östlund drew a slashing call on Joel Teasdale to get Rochester a man-advantage of its own. It took all of four seconds for the Amerks to capitalize, scoring their second power-play goal of the series thanks to Kulich, who scored his signature one-timer from the right-wing circle, blasting the puck past the ears of Halverson to gain Rochester a 2-0 advantage with 14 seconds to play.

"Power-plays mostly wins those games in the playoffs, said Kulich". So, that's what we needed for sure."

THIRD PERIOD

It was déjà vu for Clague, who scored the third goal for the Amerks early in the third just as he did Friday night.

The veteran defenseman corralled a pass from Kulich 5:53 into the frame. At the left point, Clague unloaded a shot that found the bottom right corner of the net, building the lead to 3-0 for the Amerks with his second goal of the playoffs.

"Maybe it's just like everything's more amplified," said Clague on his game through the first two games of the series. "It's just exciting hockey. It's easy to get up for. It is a fun time of year and we want to win. You know everyone's playing with an extra edge."

Syracuse put all its chips on the table, emptying the net with nearly seven minutes left. The Crunch continued applying pressure, but Levi stood tall, eventually affording an opportunity for the puck to pop free for Rathbone to shoot down the ice. Rosén raced to beat out an icing, then from the corner flung the puck into the empty net, extending the lead for good measure.

After mustering only six shots in the first, Syracuse fired 29 shots onto Levi through the final 40 minutes, but the second-year pro was impeccable throughout to secure his first playoff shutout.

"It was really good," Levi said. "I think that we got under them. I was seeing well, I think that they maybe had one or two taps, which is where they get a lot of their offense from, plus even the forwards blocking shots out there. It all made my job easy tonight. That was a rallying cry in the locker room going into the third period for coming into to block the win for him Komarov.

STARS AND STRIPES

The Amerks are up 2-0 in a series against the Crunch for the first time since 1997, when they went on to sweep Syracuse, 3-0 ... Kulich's goal was his first of the playoffs since Game 5 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against Hershey back on May 31, 2023 ... Levi's playoff shutout is the first by an Amerks goaltender since Malcolm Subban stopped all 31 shots against Syracuse in Game 4 of the 2023 North Division Semifinals ... Clague leads Rochester in points with four (2+2) through two playoff games.

UP NEXT

The North Division Semifinals continues on later this week, with the scene shifting to Syracuse for Game 3 on Thursday, May 1 at Upstate Medical University Arena. The action will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester, beginning at 7:05 p.m., as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.

Goal Scorers

SYR: None

ROC: K. Helenius (1-GWG), J. Kulich (1-PPG), K. Clague (2), I. Rosén (1-EN)

Goaltenders

SYR: B. Halverson - 18/21 (L)

ROC: D. Levi - 35/35 (W)

Shots

SYR: 35

ROC: 22

Special Teams

SYR: PP (0/2) | PK (3/4)

ROC: PP (1/4) | PK (2/2)

Three Stars:

1. ROC - D. Levi

2. ROC - K. Clague

3. ROC - J. Kulich

POST-GAME SOUND AND HIGHLIGHTS

GAME HIGHLIGHTS: https://youtu.be/MbJrMZBtg_Y

MICHAEL LEONE POST-GAME: https://youtu.be/IkIr6tkWUB8

KALE CLAGUE POST-GAME: https://youtu.be/HsfAtSXaiEU

JIRI KULICH POST-GAME: https://youtu.be/VTDdeREBnh8

DEVON LEVI POST-GAME: https://youtu.be/9XZnUbdSDTM

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