Rochester Americans Finish Spengler Cup Run

(Photo: Melissa Kania)

While the Rochester Americans may want to forget what the scoresheets for the 2013 Spengler Cup say, there’s no denying that the overseas trip to Switzerland must have been an unforgettable one.

After all, how many times in a young player’s life does he get to spend Christmas with his teammates in Switzerland, competing against a number of international teams, including ones from the KHL, Swiss League and Team Canada?

It began with a lengthy flight to Frankfurt, Germany, followed by a shorter flight to Zurich and then eventually, the Rochester Americans made it in to Davos, Switzerland. The team celebrated Christmas with its first practice on the ice at Valliant Arena in Davos before the Spengler Cup officially opened on December 26.

In their first game of the Spengler Cup, the Rochester Americans dropped a 5-0 decision to Genève-Servette on December 26. The Amerks were outworked and outplayed and simply couldn’t get any offense going. Kaspars Daugavins, Matthew Lombardi (2), Juraj Simek and Cody Almond scored for Genève, while Tobias Stephan had 23 saves.

For the Amerks, Matt Hackett had 32 saves in his first game of the tournament, while Alex Hutchings and Brayden McNabb each had three shots on goal in the loss. Both goaltenders – Hackett and Stephan – were named best players for their respective teams.

The biggest story of the game – and perhaps the tournament, for the Rochester Americans – was Frederick Roy’s performance in the game – or as his jersey said, Frederick Piuze-Roy. The forward was served with a roughing penalty in the third period and shortly after returning, things started up again. A scrum with Cody Almond at the buzzer resulted in Roy receiving a slashing penalty, a five-minute roughing penalty and a game misconduct. He was also seen throwing around sticks and ultimately having a temper tantrum after being sent off the ice – a clear sign of frustration for how the game ended up.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering: the reason his jersey said “Piuze-Roy” is because that is the name on his passport, and it’s the one they went with when printing the jerseys. Piuze is Frederick’s mother’s maiden name, while of course Roy is his father’s last name.

Following the loss, the Rochester Americans faced CSKA Moscow, a team currently playing in the KHL, in a closer-fought battle.

CSKA got on the board first as Igor Grigorenko scored a power play in the first period, but the Amerks didn’t sit back.

Phil Varone tied things up at one with just six seconds remaining in the first period to score the first goal of the tournament for the Rochester Americans. Luke Adam would give the Amerks their first lead in the second period, notching an even-strength goal assisted by Phil Varone and Dan Catenacci.

Minutes later, former NHLer Alexander Radulov tied things up. CSKA would score its second power play goal of the game during the third period, as Nikolai Prokhorkin returned CSKA to the lead. Grigorenko added his second of the game to further the lead before Luke Adam notched his second goal to lessen the gap with just one second remaining in regulation.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the Amerks fell 4-3. Matt Hackett was once again in net for the Rochester Americans (34 saves), while Rastislav Stana had 25 saves for CSKA. Johan Larsson had a team-high five shots on goal during the game; he was also 5-4 in the faceoff circle. With two goals on two shots, Luke Adam received player of the game honors for the Rochester Americans, while Radulov received the same for CSKA Moscow.

The Rochester Americans final game of the Spengler Cup would see them face Team Canada and drop an eventual 6-3 decision that would eliminate them from further 2013 Spengler Cup contention.

Alex Hutchings, Dan Catenacci and Joel Armia scored for the Amerks, with Canada goals coming from Jacob Micflikier (2), Byron Ritchie (2), Derrick Walser and Alexandre Giroux. Nathan Lieuwen played 20 minutes of the game for Rochester, stopping 11 of 14 shots faced. Hackett also made an appearance, stopping 17 of 19 shots in the second and third period. For Canada, Chris Mason had 19 saves before Allen York came in his relief to stop five shots in the third period.

Luke Adam was named player of the game for Rochester, while Byron Ritchie received the honors for Team Canada.

Following the Amerks’ elimination, Matt Hackett was loaned to Team Canada for its semifinal game against Genève-Servette after an injury to goaltender Chris Mason prior to the game. Hackett played part of the game, coming in to relieve Allen York in an eventual Canada loss.

Genève-Servette went on to defeat CSKA Moscow and win the 2013 Spengler Cup.