The Rochester Americans face elimination from the Calder Cup Playoffs, as they lost 4-0 to the Chicago Wolves in Chicago on Thursday night and trail 2-1 in the best-of-five Calder Cup Western Conference Quarter-Final series.
Adam Cracknell scored twice, Keith Aucoin and Ty Rattie scored for Chicago and AHL Goalie of the Year Jake Allen made 18 saves for his first career playoff shutout, while Andrey Makarov made 26 saves for Rochester in the loss.
The AHL affiliate of the recently eliminated St. Louis Blues received reinforcements in the form of Cracknell, who scored a goal in the six-game series loss to the Blackhawks.
All four of the Wolves goals came by way of special teams, Cracknell tallied while shorthanded and on the power play within a span of 108 seconds late in the first period to provide the home team with an early cushion and the lead was expanded with a pair of power play markers from Aucoin and Rattie early in the third period.
Game 4 is an 8:30 start at Allstate Arena Friday night and if Rochester wins and extends the series to the limit, the deciding Game 5 will be Sunday afternoon.
******
Veteran Alexander Sulzer is returning to his home country, as the German-born defenseman signed a five-year contract with Kolner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga(German Ice Hockey League).
The 29-year-old blueliner played in 131 NHL games with Nashville, Florida, Vancouver and Buffalo over six seasons and was acquired along with Cody Hodgson from the Canucks for Zack Kassian and Marc-Andre Gragnani in February 2012.
Sulzer had two assists in 25 games for the Sabres, but suffered a concussion in March that ended his season. The Sabres informed the veteran, who was an unrestricted free agent, that they would not be extending him a contract offer for next season, most likely because they will be giving young blueliners Mark Pysyk, Ramsus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe and Nikita Zadorov legitimate shots to earn roster spots with the big club at training camp next September.
For Those on Twitter: Follow @mikeinbuffalo