ROCHESTER – Mike Leone played at three colleges and grinded in the minors and Europe for three seasons before beginning the next phase of his hockey life. So the Americans coach has a soft spot for his depth players who have battled and waited for their opportunities.
Leone knows their buy-in and contributions are vital to a team’s success, especially in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
To wit: in Friday’s 3-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch in Game 1 of the North Division semifinal, wingers Brendan Warren and Riley Fiddler-Schultz, two fourth-liners signed to AHL contracts, buoyed the Amerks.
Warren and Fiddler-Schultz scored 2:48 apart in the second period before the noisy crowd of 6,600 fans in Blue Cross Arena, helping the Amerks erase a two-goal advantage the Crunch grabbed minutes earlier.
Defenseman Kale Clague scored the winner 3:55 into the third period, beating Crunch goalie Brandon Halverson from the point.
Remember, the Sabres’ top affiliate features five first-round picks – forwards Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen just returned from Buffalo – and other prospects.
“We don’t have (Warren and Fiddler-Schultz), we don’t come out with the ‘W,’” Leone said. “And those guys know that they’re really important to our group and I believe in them, and they showed up tonight in a big way.”
Leone said his appreciation for those type of players is “just in my DNA.”
“I know sometimes we look at the Kulichs and Rosens, but at the end, the guys at the bottom are the ones you need the most,” he said. “… We’re not at where we’re at right now without those guys, and you win with those guys – you absolutely win with those guys.
“Whether it’s a Kuli or a guy that’s not in the lineup, you need everybody on board to buy into their role. Those guys have done an incredible job, like, unbelievable job.”
Leone’s belief has helped those guys seize their roles.
“It gives us so much confidence,” Warren said. “It makes us feel like we’re a huge part of the team. I think it drives us to want to be contributors and make a big impact. He’s been like that from Day One. He’s been unbelievable for me.”
Warren, 27, played a career-high 58 games this season, his fifth with the Amerks. Right now, he said his confidence has never been higher.
“I think age and experience has something to do with that, just being in these situations more and more, I get comfortable with them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fiddler-Schultz, 22, acknowledged some doubt crept into his head as he sat out the first 14 games this season as a healthy scratch.
“It’s hard not to,” said Fiddler-Schultz, who also registered an assist on Clague’s goal. “But you’ve just got to try to fight back with your positive self-talk and trusting the abilities that you have as a player. And that was just something I really tried to do throughout that time.”
For Fiddler-Schultz, his goal 7:14 into the second period has special meaning.
“That was a really cool moment,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster this year, but (I’m) just so grateful that I’m in the position I’m in now. And to get that goal, that was quite a big moment.”
Notes: Former Sabres winger Conor Sheary scored 21 seconds into the second period before center Dylan Duke made it 2-0 at 3:29. … Amerks goalie Devon Levi made 25 saves. … Amerks rookie forward Anton Wahlberg missed the game because he was sick. … Game 2 is Sunday afternoon at Blue Cross Arena.
