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Amerks look to learn from Game 1 defeat

After dropping the opening game of their first-round series to Toronto, Rochester seeks lessons in the loss.

BRIGHTON, N.Y. — Saturday morning in the Rochester, N.Y. suburb of Brighton, the Americans took the ice to shake off their playoff-opening 2-1 loss in Game 1 of the North Divison Semifinals to the Toronto Marlies, a game in which Head Coach Chris Taylor counted the offensive chances as 23-10 in their favor. 

For a team of players who someday hope to be NHL regulars, "You learn every day. You learn every shift," Taylor explained. "You learn you can't take one second off in these types of games or it can be in the back of your net."

Tage Thompson played 65 games in Buffalo this year, scoring just 12 points before joining Rochester for this playoff run. "Getting the opportunity to play playoff hockey, it's a whole other level," Thompson said. "It's a lot more physical, a lot faster, things are happening quick out there. So, I think just that in itself helps you make plays quicker. You have to be more intense every shift."

Credit: J.T. Messinger

These games are immensely valuable to the development of players like Thompson and Will Borgen, who himself got 4 games up with the Sabres in addition to the 71 he played with the Amerks in his first full pro season.

"Just rounding out my game, just playing a 200-foot game," added Thompson. "I think when I'm physically engaged in puck battles and strong on pucks and good in the defensive zone, I think that's when you see the offensive chances start to come."

Credit: J.T. Messinger

"Playoff hockey is a completely different level," Borgen replied." It's like everyone's amped up times ten, and I think it helps out a lot just knowing what it takes."

And as educational as the experience alone can be, learning how to perform and win as the pressure rises is a skill the organization wants all these players to have as they make the jump to Buffalo.

"How guys can handle big games, how they can handle situations that we're in," Taylor detailed before bringing the focus back to the immediate challenge at hand. "We outplayed a team that we believe we outplayed them, and we end up short. So, we have to learn from that. How do we respond? How do we get better so that we don't let these games slide away from us?"

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