Jack Stud's Shootout Goal Lifts Checkers Over Amerks 3-2 in Rochester

NHL decision-makers tracking midseason depth should note two developments from Rochester: Jack Studnicka delivered the decisive shootout conversion and Cooper Black recorded his 19th victory of the season in a 3-2 shootout win for the Charlotte Checkers at Blue Cross Arena.

MacKenzie Entwistle opened the scoring 18:15 into the first period, giving Charlotte a 1-0 lead on his third goal of the season with assists to Riese Gaber and Hunter St. Martin. Nate Smith extended the lead to 2-0 at 5:02 of the second period, his sixth of the year, on a play set up by Michael Benning. As the Charlotte site put it, Benning was instrumental in the sequence, "keeping the puck in at the right point before sending Smith in alone behind the Rochester defense."

Rochester chipped away late in the second and early in the third. Jake Leschyshyn cut the deficit with a goal at 19:48 of the middle stanza, his 10th of the season, and Matteo Costantini tied the game 2-2 at 2:37 of the third period, his second of the year. The Americans’ postgame note framed the comeback plainly: "The Rochester Americans (24-17-4-3) erased a 2-0 deficit early in the third period before settling for the consolation point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Charlotte Checkers (28-16-3-0) Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena."

Overtime remained scoreless. Rochester had a prime chance when Jack Devine received a penalty shot with 2:03 left in the extra frame; Amerks coverage reported that "The Quebec native turned aside the shot and overtime continued." After five more scoreless minutes, the game went to a shootout.

Charlottecheckers’ recap captured the decisive sequence and Black’s night: "Following a goalless five-minute overtime, the game advanced to a shootout. Studnicka buried his attempt in the bottom of the second round while Black denied all three Rochester attempts. Black logged his 19th victory of the season in a 30-save effort; he is tied for third in the American Hockey League in wins." Amerks’ boxscore shows both goalies recorded 30 saves on 32 shots in their ledger, while an alternate scoreboard snapshot listed shots on goal at 32 apiece and an Amerks boxscore listed Charlotte with 33 shots; official AHL numbers will reconcile that discrepancy.

Special teams were quiet: Charlotte was 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, while Rochester went 0-for-3 with the man advantage and 2-for-2 on the kill. Amerks notes that Metsa and Rathbone returned to the Rochester lineup for the contest, and the club highlighted a larger season trend: Rochester has earned at least one point in three of the first four head-to-head meetings with Charlotte, "the first time the club has done so since the 2017-18 season."

The three stars named by Rochester were Jack Studnicka, D. Levi and Cooper Black. Charlotte heads to Syracuse for a two-game series beginning Friday, while Rochester closes its homestand on Friday against the Laval Rocket; the Amerks say the next game will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester and on AHLTV via FloHockey. For NHL personnel weighing goaltending depth and sudden-deployment forwards, Studnicka’s shootout poise and Black’s consistent win tally are the sort of AHL performances that invite closer looks.