Amerks draw first blood against Crunch | TheAHL.com

Isak Rosén scored with 9:39 left in regulation to send the Rochester Americans to a 3-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch in the opener of their North Division semifinal series on Friday night.

Game 2 of the best-of-five is set for Sunday afternoon.

Highly regarded Sabres prospects Anton Wahlberg and Noah Östlund scored in the opening period to give the Amerks a 2-0 lead. Wahlberg, 18, was a second-round pick by Buffalo in the 2023 NHL Draft; the 20-year-old Östlund was a first-rounder (16th overall) in 2022.

The Crunch pulled even on the first professional goal from Dylan Duke and the first career Calder Cup Playoff tally from Jordy Bellerive.

Devon Levi stopped 35 of 37 shots to pick up the win for the Amerks; Brandon Halverson made 23 saves for the Crunch. It was the professional playoff debut for both goaltenders.

(Rochester leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 26 – ROCHESTER 3, Syracuse 2
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Syracuse at Rochester, 3:05
Game 3 – Thu., May 2 – Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 4 – Sat., May 4 – Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 10 – Syracuse at Rochester, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern