SPORTS

Amerks' Armia dazzles, and the best is yet to come

Kevin Oklobzija
@kevinoDandC
  • Joel Armia dazzled in scoring one goal and setting up the game-winner
  • The second-year right winger has 10 goals%2C 12 assists and 22 points in 26 games
  • Zac Dalpe and Phil Varone also scored and goalie Matt Hackett made 21 saves for the win
Rochester's Joel Armia (33) can't control the his own rebound in front of Adirondack goalie Doug Carr.

It's not just that Joel Armia can score goals. Or that he can set them up.

It's how he does it.

The second-year right winger doesn't just barge his way to the net and have pucks bounce off his shin or knee. He doesn't wind up and overpower goalies with a big slap shot.

Not that there's anything wrong with those things; a goal's a goal.

But quite simply, Armia is an entertainer when he has the puck. Even for his teammates.

"He's pretty fun to watch," defenseman Mark Pysyk said after Friday's 3-2 victory over the Adirondack Flames, when Armia scored the first goal on a scintillating end-to-end rush and then set up Phil Varone's winning goal with 2:14 to play.

Because of his ability to create offense out of nothing, and with his pick-pocket stick skills in open ice and on the wall, he's a one-of-a-kind talent on the Amerks roster.

"He does something every game where he kind of brings everyone to the edge of their seat," Amerks coach Chadd Cassidy said. "He's a game-changer, that's what he is."

And with 10 goals, 12 assists and 22 points in 26 games, the best is very much still to come, his coach says.

"I don't think he's even scratched the surface of how good he's going to be the rest of the way," Cassidy said.

That's a rather scary thought, considering what the Pori, Finland, native accomplished on Friday night on home ice in front of 6,805 fans.

In the first period, with the Amerks on a power play, he bounced into Flames winger Ben Hanowski on the end boards in the Amerks zone and, seemingly in the same motion, took the puck and started the other way.

He picked up speed approaching the Adirondack blue line, darted past two defenders, sped down the left of the slot and then whipped a high backhander into the top right corner of the net.

The American Hockey League's All-Star Skills Competition came two nights early.

Amerks goaltender Matt Hackett gets a piece of this shot to push it wide of the net in the first period against Adirondack.

"All the way, by himself," Pysyk said.

Except that really wasn't Armia's plan.

"I tried to find some options to pass to somebody but they had everything covered," Armia said. "So I just tried to get it just to the zone, and when I had the good place to shoot I just took the shot and it went in."

During a late-game power play, he made a behind-the-back pass into the slot to Phil Varone, and the Amerks veteran centerman slammed his own rebound past goalie Doug Carr to break a 2-2 tie.

"All the guys had in their mind that we have to score now, so it didn't go to overtime," Armia said.

KEVINO@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/@kevinoDandC

Kevin's 3 stars

1. Joel Armia, RW, Amerks ... A dazzling, end-to-end rush to a goal, plus slick assist on GWG.

2. Phil Varone, C, Amerks ... Scored the winning goal with 2:14 left.

3. Max Reinhart, C, Flames ... 1 goal, team-high 4 shots.