Rochester Americans’ Salak gets first start with team
New goalie will have a chance to show his stuff against Syracuse
After getting his first taste of both the NHL and AHL as a reliever, Alexander Salak will get his first start in North America tonight when the Rochester Americans play the Syracuse Crunch.
Salak, a 22-year-old Czech, signed with the parent Florida Panthers as a free agent in the spring. He vaulted up the prospects’ list for many scouts with two solid seasons in the Finnish Elite League.
Now he’s out to prove he can play in the NHL, and to do so he must perform well with the Amerks this season.
“The talent’s in place and he’ll have a chance to prove himself,” said Amerks coach Benoit Groulx, whose club takes a 1-1-1 record into the 7:05 game at Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial.
Salak played 18 minutes, 28 seconds for the Panthers on Friday in a 7-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, taking over from starter Thomas Vokoun in the third period. He allowed two goals on seven shots.
He was then returned to the Amerks on Saturday morning, meeting the team in Albany. Again, he took over after the starter was pulled early in a 6-1 loss to the River Rats.
Tyler Plante allowed three goals in the first 25:50 and Groulx turned to Salak. He stopped 12 of 15 shots, including a penalty shot by Nick Dodge.
“For him, it’s an adjustment,” Groulx said of the North American style.
Despite a 5-2 win at home over Lake Erie on Friday, the Amerks couldn’t build any momentum in Albany.
“The game was 1-zip (Albany after one period) … and then they scored a short-handed goal and that seemed to change the momentum totally,” Groulx said. “It’s still a process for us of putting the team in place. We’re giving up too many odd-man rushes. We want to be aggressive on the forecheck but we don’t have the right timing on the forecheck yet. When you support the play, you have to readjust all the time and we don’t have the proper cohesion yet.”
KEVINO@DemocratandChronicle.com
Hockey night
The matchup: Amerks vs. Syracuse Crunch (affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets).
Time/place: 7:05 tonight/Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
Tickets: $11, $14, $17, $19, $20.
Records: The Amerks are 1-1-1. Syracuse is 1-2-0.
Broadcasts: WHTK-AM (1280), WHTK-FM (107.3), Time Warner Cable Sportsnet (Channel 26).
Web site: www.amerks.com.
