Friday, April 19, 2013

4/19 Recap: Armia comes close as Aces fall

Joel Armia finished with a plus-one rating Friday but Assat was defeated by Tappara 3-2 in game three of the SM-Liiga championship series. Armia (15:50 TOI) missed a golden opportunity late in the first period (below) but came back on his very next shift to contribute to an Aces power play tally as the team's went to the first intermission tied 1-1. Assat trails the best-of-seven affair 2-1 with game four taking place Saturday in Pori.



In OHL action, Brady Austin put in a strong defensive performance as Belleville opened the OHL Eastern Conference final with a 3-2 win over Barrie. Alex Lepkowski finished with an even rating for the losing side as neither of the Sabres prospects were on the ice for any of the game's goals. The two clubs will go back at it Saturday in Belleville.

In AHL action,  David Leggio made 35 stops and Cody McCormick added a late power play goal as Rochester was defeated by Toronto 4-1. Leggio was again fantastic for the Amerks, making many tough stops including one for the highlight reels on a Jerry D'Amigo breakway, while Johan Larsson (career-low) and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc were two of four Amerks to log a minus-three rating. Daniel Catenacci, who reported to the Amerks earlier in the week, did not dress.