GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS AND SENS MEET FOR THIRD STRAIGHT GAME
Rochester starts four-game homestand Wednesday after splitting weekend in Belleville
Apr 8, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Rochester Americans (41-19-4-3) return to Blue Cross Arena to open a four-game homestand starting Wednesday night against the Belleville Senators (31-26-4-5).
It’s the eighth and final time Rochester and Belleville face-off this season, along with being the third straight game against each other. Rochester is facing the same North Division team three times in a row for the first and only time this season. This comes after the Amerks split a pair of games north of the border against the Ottawa Senators’ AHL affiliate, with each altering shutout victories against one another.
Rochester has secured the series win already, showing a 5-2-0-0 record against Belleville. The Amerks have winning records in four of their six North Division season series in 2024-25.
LAST TIME OUT
After being shut out Friday in Belleville, the Amerks returned the favor the next night at CAA Arena, with Devon Levi and Konsta Helenius leading the charge in a 4-0 win for the red, white, and blue.
Levi posted 27 saves, including 13 in the opening period, to register his seventh shutout of the season, leading all AHL goaltenders by two or more shutouts. The 23-year-old’s win Saturday was his 24th of the season, leading the Eastern Conference.
On offense, Helenius had his best performance as an Amerk, posting a natural hat trick for his first three-goal game of his pro career in North America. The 18-year-old scored in the first and second, then tacked on an empty-net conversion in the final minute of the third to secure the hat trick.
Belleville’s loss puts a severe damper on its playoff hopes with the team now trailing fifth place in the North Division by six points with six games remaining in the season. After collecting his fourth of the shutout of the season the night before, Leevi Meriläinen sustained the loss in net Saturday with 29 saves.
HELE vs. BELLY
Helenius’ night against Belleville Saturday wasn’t his lone quality performance against the Sens. All season, the Sabres prospect has tormented the Senators, leading the season series with five goals and 12 points through seven games. That makes up for over a third of Helenius’ AHL points this season, with the Finnish forward sitting at 33 (12+21).
Additionally, Helenius has posted seven multi-point games this season overall. Five of those seven have come against Belleville, and each of his last four multi-point outings came against the Sens.
His 12 goals are fifth-most amongst Amerks skaters and he is one of 10 forwards with double-digit goal totals for the Amerks.
NO FAIL FROM KALE
Another player with a multi-point performance Saturday night came from defenseman Kale Clague, who registered two assists in the team’s 4-0 win. Clague is second on Rochester’s blueline with 38 points (10+28) and is one of seven Eastern Conference defensemen with 10 or more goals this season. Both his goal and point totals are career-bests for the seventh-year pro.
When Clague posts points, the Amerks win more often than not. Over the last 11 games in which the Regina, Saskatchewan, native has scored, the Amerks have gone 9-1-0-1.
Clague’s game Saturday was the 250th of his AHL career with 121 of those having been played with Rochester over the past three seasons. The veteran defenseman also shows a career best plus-six rating through 65 games played thus far.
LIFE SUPPORT
Belleville is staring at death’s door in terms of its playoff hopes. The team not only sits six points out with six games to play, but will face teams above them in the standings the rest of the way through the remainder of the season.
Following Wednesday in Rochester, the team will stay on the road and venture to the Atlantic Division over the weekend for games against Springfield and Providence, respectively.
Following that, the hill only gets steeper as the Senators’ last three games come against the league leading-Laval Rocket.
Stephen Halliday leads Belleville in scoring as a rookie with 44 points (16+28), but has gone cold the last couple of months, having scored just one goal over his last 21 games.
Former Amerk Jeremy Davies is second in scoring with 11 goals and 43 points, along with leading the blueline with 153 shots on goal.
The Senators struggles against the Amerks have mostly come through special teams, with Rochester scoring 11 power-play goals against them. Belleville has both the lowest ranked power-play and penalty kill in the North Division and is 18-18-3-4 against the other six teams within their division.