GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS ENTER CLEVELAND SEEKING SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN
Amerks begin stretch of four games in six days with only Tuesday game of the season
Feb 11, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (28-12-3-1) will play four games over the next six days, beginning Tuesday night in Cleveland as they face the Monsters (24-13-4-4).
Tuesday marks the sixth of eight encounters between the Amerks and Monsters this season, with this serving as the only game Rochester plays on a Tuesday all year, as well as the final time the Amerks visit Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Rochester owns a 4-1-0-0 mark in the season series thus far and have won each of the previous three contests played in the Buckeye State.
LAST TIME OUT
Devon Levi lived up to his All-Star status with another stellar All-Star performance in the first game for Rochester coming out of the annual midseason festivities with a 29-save shutout Friday night at Blue Cross Arena as the Amerks trumped Belleville by a 4-0 final.
Konsta Helenius scored first, ending a 17-game goalless drought and ultimately being credited with the game-winner, as Kale Clague, Anton Wahlberg, and Graham Slaggert also chipped in with goals. Clague, Helenius, and Wahlberg also chipped in with assists for the trio to finish with multi-point contests.
Levi’s shutout was his third of the season and his third consecutive win. As a team, Rochester has won five straight contests for a third time this season.
After leading 4-1 through the first period, Cleveland was unable to hold off Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Saturday night. The Penguins responded with three goals, including the game-tying conversion with 19 seconds left, before completing the rally to drop Cleveland in overtime, 5-4. Despite the loss, Cleveland has points in three straight games and eight of its last 10, going 4-2-3-1 in that span.
ZACH ATTACK
Amerks defenseman and alternate captain Zachary Metsa enters Tuesday with the third-most points by a defenseman in the AHL with 32 (3+29) while being the team’s only blueliner to have appeared in all 44 games.
His 29 assists are second-most, trailing only Syracuse’s Derrick Pouliot in that category.
Metsa, who has eight points (1+7) over his last eight games, is inching closer to his first significant AHL milestone, as the Delafield, Wisconsin, native needs two more games to reach 100 for his young career.
In five games against Cleveland, Metsa has two goals and six points this season.
TERRIFIC TWOSOME
The Amerks’ dynamic duo of Levi and Felix Sandström in goal has become one of the more formidable tandems in the AHL. The pair of goaltenders have combined for a 24-8-3 record with a .909 save percentage and a goals-against-average that is sub-2.50 for the season.
While Levi is in his second professional season, Sandström is a veteran of 10 years as a pro, including his time at the start of his career overseas. While Levi carries a three-game win streak into the week, Sandström is riding a career-best six-game win streak, having not lost since Dec. 6, 2024. The Swedish-born goaltender is also 4-0-0 lifetime in Cleveland, including a 22-save performance in a 4-2 win for Rochester back on Nov. 6.
Levi has gone 2-1-1 over his two seasons as an Amerk against Cleveland. The 23-year-old’s last game facing the Monsters was Dec. 22, when the Sabres’ prospect made 23 saves in a 3-2 victory.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The Amerks have taken comfort within the conditions of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Dating back to November of the 2023-24 season, the Amerks have won five of six and have points in each of their last half dozen visits to Cleveland, possessing a 5-0-1-0 record in that time.
Over that span, Rochester has outscored Cleveland, 28-22, but three of the last six games have reached overtime. A third of Slaggert’s nine goals have come against the Monsters this season, including two of his league-leading five shorthanded goals.
Brett Murray is operating at a point-per-game pace against the Monsters as well, churning out two goals and five points over the season series.
Cleveland, Columbus’ AHL affiliate, has one of its top prospects missing in Luca Del Bel Belluz, who has been on recall with the Blue Jackets since Jan 8.
In his absence, veteran forward Rocco Grimaldi and the experienced Trey Fix-Wolansky both continue to put up points by ranking in the top-20 of AHL scorers. While owning as many points as games played (39 in 39 games played), Fix-Wolansky has seemingly struggled of late with finding the back of the net himself, scoring just two goals over his last 14 games.