(WGR Sports Radio 550) - Devon Levi became just the third goaltender in Rochester Americans history to record back-to-back playoff shutouts, joining the likes of Mika Noronen (who did it twice in 2000) and Bobby Perreault (1957).
Rochester advances to the North Division Final after completing their three-game sweep of the Crunch in Syracuse on Thursday night, winning 4-0. It is the third time in four years the Amerks have advanced to this point of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Levi and the Amerks will face either the Laval Rocket or Cleveland Monsters with a shutout streak of 156:31. He gave up the first two goals of Game 1 before Rochester scored the final 11 goals of the series.
Laval currently leads the Monsters, 1-0, in the series, with Game 2 set for Friday in Cleveland.
Levi has played eight playoff games in his career with the Amerks, giving up just 17 goals. That equates to a 1.93 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage.
In 68 regular season games with Rochester over two seasons, Levi has gone 41-19-8 with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
It was Amerks captain Mason Jobst coming through with two goals on Thursday, while defenseman Kale Clague stayed hot, scoring his AHL-leading third goal of the playoffs. He also leads the league in playoff scoring with five points.
2024 first-round pick Konsta Helenius finishes his first AHL playoff series with a goal and two assists for three points in three games.
As for Jiri Kulich, the forward had an assist in Thursday's win, giving him three points in the final two games of the series.
This is Kulich's third Calder Cup Playoff run since being Buffalo's first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. In 20 playoff games, he has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points.
In 123 regular season games with Rochester, Kulich has 53 goals and 41 assists for 94 points.
Back in 2022, the Rocket swept the Amerks in three games in the North Division Finals.