Amerks gear up for Game 5 against Crunch on Saturday

ROCHESTER, NY (WHEC) – After rattling off back to back wins, the Rochester Americans prepare for a winner-takes-all game against the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night. They’ll play at the Upstate Medical University Arena, the site of the first two games of the series which Syracuse won.

The winner of Game 5 advances to the North Division Finals to play either the Utica Comets or Toronto Marlies.

Despite the struggles in games 1 and 2, Rochester has scored twelve goals in the last two matchups, capped by a 4-0 victory last Sunday.

The magnitude of the game is bigger but head coach Seth Appert is trying to keep his players grounded.

“In big moments, people don’t rise to the occasion,” Appert said after the team’s practice skate on Wednesday. “That is false. Michael Jordan didn’t elevate in big moments. He was the same stud, he always was. Other people get eaten up by the big moments, right? It looks like the great players rise, the great teams rise, the great teams keep being who they are. You know, the Navy SEALs talk about that, right? You don’t you fall. You fall to your level of training. So we just want to be the best version of ourselves. And if we do that, we will give ourselves a good chance to win.”

Puck drop on 7pm on Saturday in Syracuse. For ticket info and availability, click here.