AMERKS TAKE DOWN COMETS IN OVERTIME TO RECLAIM FIRST PLACE
Rochester reaches 30-win mark for ninth straight season with 4-3 win over Utica
Feb 15, 2025Isak Rosen’s team-leading 25th goal of the season tied Saturday’s game late in the third period to force overtime before rookie Noah Östlund completed the 4-3 come-from-behind win 1:49 into the extra frame as the Rochester Americans (30-13-3-1) edged out the Utica Comets (17-22-3-2) at Adirondack Bank Center to find their way back into win column.
With the victory, Rochester’s league-leading 20th on the road and 30th overall this season, the Amerks reclaimed sole possession of first place in the AHL’s North Division standings ahead of Sunday’s pivotal matchup against the Laval Rocket, who sit one behind Rochester with two games in hand.
The Amerks, who improved to 9-1-0-0 through the first 10 games of the season series with the Comets, have won 15 of the last 16 road games since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
Along with Östlund’s (1+1) multi-point effort, Rosén (1+2), Lukas Rousek (0+3), and Kale Clague (0+2) all finished with multi-assist performances in the overtime victory. Rosén, whose 25 goals rank second in the AHL behind only Toronto’s Alex Steeves, leads all players with seven goals and 13 points in the 10 games versus Utica, while Rousek tops both teams with 10 assists.
Goaltender Felix Sandström improved to 10-4-1 through his first 15 games with Rochester while winning each of his last seven appearances. Dating back to win at Utica on Nov. 1, the Swedish netminder boasts an impressive 10-2-1 mark while holding each opponent under three goals in all 10 wins. Sandström has defeated Belleville, Bridgeport, Hartford, Lehigh Valley, Syracuse, and Utica (twice) over his current career-long win streak.
FIRST PERIOD
Seven minutes after Graham Slaggert was unable to convert Rochester’s first road penalty shot since Oct. 28, 2024, which was also by the former Notre Dame product, Utica opened the scoring at the 13:10 mark.
With the puck inside the Amerks zone, Joseph Gambardella tucked behind the net, and as he attempted to wrap it around the cage, it rolled off his stick. With bodies crashing for the rebound, the puck pinballed off Nathan Légaré before coming to rest inside the back of the net for his sixth of the season.
SECOND PERIOD
Five minutes into the second period and trailing by a goal, Riley Fiddler-Schultz forced a turnover to the left of the Comets’ net. Rosén grabbed the puck and moved it inside the near circle before Östlund tucked it between his legs. Rathbone was on the receiving end of the latter’s feed and uncorked a blast for his fourth of the season.
While Utica reclaimed its lead on Jack Malone’s tally with just over six minutes left in the stanza, Rochester knotted the score at 2-2 at the 16:23 mark.
Just prior to the second power-play of the night expired for the Amerks, Clague dumped the puck down the left wing from the neutral zone. A Comet tried to gather the puck outside the right circle, but Rousek stripped him of it before Komarov wired home his second of the slate near the end of the frame.
THIRD PERIOD
Early in the final stanza, Topias Vilen skated through the neutral zone with the puck before dipping into the left side of the blueline. The defenseman snapped a pass behind Xavier Parent, however, after turning himself around, he quickly gave it to Brian Halonen to tuck under the crossbar to restore Utica’s lead at the 5:22 mark.
Amerks head coach Michael Leone pulled Sandström with 3:13 left in regulation with an impending face-off in the Utica zone. After Mason Jobst’s face-off win, Leone’s decision paid off as all six players played a part in the game-tying goal before Rosén finished off a one-time feed from Rousek and Clague.
Prior to the goal which ultimately forced overtime, Östlund gave the puck to Clague and Brett Murray provided a screen on goaltender Isaac Poulter with 2:35 remaining.
OVERTIME
The Amerks drew a penalty 37 seconds into the overtime period before keeping Utica trapped inside its own zone for just over 50 seconds of the infraction. The Comets appeared to gain possession, but Rousek, again, poked the puck off a Utica stick, keeping the tired bodies on the ice.
Jobst stepped onto the ice and gathered the feed from Rosén before giving a pass back to Östlund inside the offensive zone. The rookie forward used a Comets defender as a screen and then threaded a shot past the blocker of Poulter, giving Rochester the 4-3 win.
STARS AND STRIPES
Rochester became the third team in the AHL this season to reach the 30-win mark, and dating back to the 2015-16 slate, the team has posted 30 or more victories in nine straight seasons (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign) … The Amerks are now five wins away from matching the franchise record for most road wins (25) ... Isak Rosén, who has nine goals and 12 points in his last eight games, is second in the AHL in goals (25) while his 43 points are tied for fifth-most … Despite not converting on the penalty shot in the first period tonight, Graham Slaggert was the last Amerk player to have a penalty shot on the road (Oct. 28, 2024).
UP NEXT
The top spot in the American Hockey League’s North Division is up for grabs when the Amerks return home to host the Laval Rocket on Sunday, Feb. 16 in the weekend finale at The Blue Cross Arena. The battle for North Division supremacy gets underway at 3:05 p.m. and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
Goal Scorers
ROC: J. Rathbone (4), V. Komarov (2), I. Rosén (25), N. Östlund (5 – OT GWG)
UTC: N. Légaré (6), J. Malone (7), B. Halonen (17)
Goaltenders
ROC: F. Sandström – 29/32 (W)
UTC: I. Poulter – 25/29 (OTL)
Shots
ROC: 29
UTC: 32
Special Teams
ROC: PP (2/3) | PK (1/1)
UTC: PP (0/1) | PK (1/3)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - N. Östlund
2. UTC - X. Parent
3. UTC - B. Halonen