ROCHESTER, NY – Mikhail Grigorenko finished with a goal and an assist, including the eventual game-winner, as the Rochester Americans doused the Adirondack Flames 4-1 Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena. The game was the first leg of a home-and-home series between the new intrastate rivals, who will get reacquainted Saturday night as the action moves east down the thruway to Glens Falls.
Phil Varone and Joel Armia also scored goals for the Amerks, with Johan Larsson adding an empty net goal in the final two minutes as Rochester won its third straight and improved to 4-1-0-0 on the young season – its best five-game start since 2006. Andrey Makarov shut down the Flames in his first start of the season, stopping 34 of 35 shots in his season debut. 
Jake McCabe and Chad Ruhwedel also added assists for Rochester, with McCabe’s assist counting as the first point of his American Hockey League career. Ruhwedel and Varone extended their personal scoring streaks to five games apiece and remain the only two players this season to record a point in all five games.
Markus Granlund scored Adirondack’s lone goal just over two minutes into the opening period, and Brad Thiessen stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced in goal.
The Amerks fell into early penalty trouble as William Carrier was penalized just 2:07 into the game. Adirondack wasted no time on the ensuing power-play when Granlund skated in on an odd-man rush and went upstairs on Makarov to give the Flames an early 1-0 lead.
Rochester would return the favor with a power-play score of its own with 7:22 left in the first period as Ruhwedel took a shot from the blueline with Zac Dalpe stationed in front of the net. Thiessen made the original save on Ruhwedel’s shot and got a pad on Dalpe’s rebound attempt, but Varone was there to clean up the mess and tie the score 1-1.
The very next shift, the Amerks held the puck in Adirondack’s zone before Armia spotted a wide-open Grigorenko in the high slot. Armia drifted a pass from behind the net and the 2012 first-round pick wasted no time in stepping into a blast that sailed over Thiessen’s glove to put the Amerks ahead 2-1 just 33 seconds later.
Rochester’s penalty kill would be tested midway through the second period after Dan Catenacci and Johan Larsson took consecutive penalties. Fortunately for the Amerks, though some critical zone clears and solid saves from Makarov they were able to preserve the one-goal advantage.
Armia added some insurance for the Amerks with 9:46 remaining on a quick shot from the slot that went top corner on Thiessen. With the two-goal advantage in tow, the goaltender Makarov was at his best. With just under five minutes remaining, Kenny Agostino slipped to the front of the net and tried to slide the puck into the net, but Makarov went into a split and stuffed the attempt with his left pad.
Down by two goals, the Flames pulled Thiessen with 2:23 remaining in regulation, but the Amerks won a puck battle in their own zone, allowing Larsson to fire one into the empty net from deep in his own zone to put Rochester up 4-1 and effectively sealing the win.
Game report by Rochester Americans
