Amerks Blank Abbotsford at Home
By: Wendy Halik
Updated: February 3, 2012
The
Rochester Americans kicked off their busy month of February with a 3-0
win
over the Abbotsford Heat at The Blue Cross Arena on Thursday night. The
victory was the second straight for Rochester and brings the Amerks to
within three points of first-place Toronto for the top spot in the
American Hockey League's North Division.
Rochester
and Abbotsford will square off for the second time in as many nights on
Friday at The Blue Cross Arena as the two teams complete the first half
of their season series.
Game time is slated for 7:35 p.m.
David
Leggio was spectacular between the pipes for the Amerks all night,
turning aside all 33 Abbotsford shots to earn his first shutout of the
season. The 27-year-old goaltender's
first-star performance was highlighted by a pair of breakaway denials
early in the third period to protect Rochester's lead.
"We
had outstanding goaltending and that keeps you in there to get your
legs," said Head Coach Ron Rolston. "As the game went on, I thought we
got a little crisper and both
teams tried to play as much as they could in the other team's end. That
becomes a physical game when there are a lot of bodies in the zone and
guys banging around."
Nick
Crawford, Phil Varone and Travis Turnbull each contributed a goal
apiece offensively for Rochester, while Marcus Foligno chipped in a pair
of assists as the Amerks scored
at even strength, shorthanded and on the power-play in front of a crowd
4,483. Paul Szczechura and Brayden McNabb each had an assist as well, as
McNabb was playing in his first game with the Amerks since Nov. 25
after being re-assigned from the Buffalo Sabres
earlier in the day.
Heat netminder Leland Irving, making his first start for the club since December 3, finished with 18 saves in the loss.
The
Amerks wasted little time in lighting the lamp, as they jumped out to a
1-0 advantage just 1:35 into the contest. Crawford accepted a cross-ice
pass at the right point from
Foligno and released a quick wrister that found its way through a screen
and past Irving.
After
more than 40 minutes of scoreless play, Rochester doubled its lead to
2-0 with a shorthanded goal 2:56 into the final frame. Varone opted to
shoot while on a two-on-one
shorthanded rush with Foligno and beat Irving to the glove side with a
wrist shot from the left circle. The tally represented Varone's sixth of
the season and 19th
point in the last 22 games.
Turnbull
added a power-play goal with just under four minutes to go in
regulation to provide some insurance, roofing a rebound from the low
slot over a sprawled Irving.
