AMERKS APRIL 2024 REPORT CARD
A look back at some of the memorable moments and individual performances from the last month of the regular season
Apr 24, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
With eight games and a 6-1-1-0 record, the Rochester Americans completed the final month of their regular season and closed out the 68th season in franchise history on a high note, finishing with 39 wins and one of the best records in the last decade for the franchise.
Hockey is a team sport, and several key pieces came together to have the Amerks ready for a push towards their first championship since 1996.
PLAYOFF BOUND: A+
You have to get in to have a chance, right? The Amerks did just that on April 12, securing a playoff berth for a third straight season and fifth consecutive barring the pandemic-impacted seasons (2019-20, 2020-21).
“To do what you want to do eventually, you’ve got to get in (the playoffs),” said Amerks head coach Seth Appert. “That’s not a given in this division. This division has been amazing. That’s something that you’re proud of and now we just have to keep moving forward.”
To Appert’s point, the North Division was a gauntlet to get through for the 2023-24 Amerks. It’s the only division in the AHL (or North American professional hockey for that matter) where every team had a points percentage above .500.
After clinching a playoff berth, Rochester continued to push ahead, finishing the season with 88 points and a 39-23-7-3 record to secure second place and home ice advantage for the North Division Semifinals against Syracuse.
YOUNG GUNS: A
A pair of Buffalo Sabres’ prospects made their AHL debuts for Rochester in April, as Swedish duo Anton Wahlberg and Noah Ostlund arrived in the Flower City.
Wahlberg made his debut at the start of the month against Cleveland on April 3. Later that week, the 18-year-old drove the net in Providence, scoring a game-tying goal that eventually helped the Amerks win in overtime against the Bruins.
“He’s been excellent,” said Appert earlier in April. “As a coach, I’m not afraid to put him on the ice in big moments. That’s rare as an 18-year-old. That’s a credit to him.”
Wahlberg was plucked in the second round of the 2023 NHL Draft. A year prior, Ostlund was taken with one of Buffalo’s three first-round selections, going 16th overall in the 2022 draft.
Ostlund skated in the final two games of the regular season for the Amerks, posting his first North American pro point in the season finale against Utica, assisting on a goal scored by fellow first rounder, Isak Rosen.
“I thought he did a really good job,” said Appert. “That’s a tough task coming over from Sweden and getting thrown into two highly contested games. I thought he got more comfortable as it went along.”
Both Ostlund and Wahlberg spent time in their native country playing pro hockey in the SHL, Sweden’s top league. The experience has benefitted the pair of star forwards, and we’ll see, and hope, that it continues come playoff time.
FOLLOW THE LEADER: A
What is a team without its leadership group?
While Brett Murray remains sidelined with injury, the trio of letter-wearing Amerks in Michael Mersch, Brandon Biro, and Ethan Prow contributed throughout the month to help lead their team to victory more times than not.
The trifecta finished April combining for six goals and 15 points (6+9), with each having a flare for the dramatics. Prow sniped the game-tying goal on a one-timer in the final game of the regular season against Utica. Biro netted back-to-back shorthanded goals in the two games prior, and Mersch scored the overtime game-winner in Providence on April 6 for his 400th professional point.
Biro and Mersch both finished top-six in team scoring, while Prow anchored the blueline for 56 games, finishing his season with 19 points (4+15).
GOLD STAR STUDENTS: DEVON LEVI
Devon Levi had a season that few have ever had in the history of the Amerks. Finishing with a .927 save percentage over 26 starts, Levi owns the second-best save percentage amongst qualified goalies in team history since the stat began to be tracked in 1983. Only Amerks Hall of Famer Martin Biron (.930) had a better season.
Levi helped Rochester win 16 games and earn points in 20 of his 26 appearances. Playing in all but one of the team’s games in April, the 22-year-old went 5-1-1 through the month, making over 30 saves in four of his outings.
The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, native ranked second in save percentage across the AHL, trailing only Hershey’s Hunter Shepard. Between Buffalo and Rochester, Levi appeared in 49 games during the 2023-24 campaign, playing more hockey than he ever has in his collegiate, junior, or youth journey.
PLAYOFF SYLLABUS
The Amerks reached 39 wins during the regular season. Now they need 14 more.
The Calder Cup Playoffs begin with a best-of-five series against the third-seed Syracuse Crunch. The second-seed Amerks have home ice advantage and will begin to host with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday, respectively.