GAME PREVIEW: BEST OF THE AHL COLLIDE AS AMERKS VISIT ROCKET
Top two teams in the league battle in massive four-point weekend
Mar 6, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (34-14-3-3) return to action after a six-day layoff, continuing on with the second half of the team’s four-game road swing when they take on the Laval Rocket (35-15-2-1) Friday night at Place Bell.
Tonight kicks off a weekend of hockey between the Amerks and Rocket, who face-off both Friday and Saturday in the Great White North. The first meeting is game six of eight on the season series between the two North Division foes. The Amerks have gone 2-2-1-0 through their previous five meetings with the Rocket, but have won each of the previous two contests that took place in Laval.
After Saturday, the only meeting left for the 2024-25 regular season comes back in the Flower City when Rochester hosts Laval on April 11 at Blue Cross Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
The Amerks competed in 13 rounds of shootout hockey over the previous weekend to begin their four-game road trip.
On Friday, the team fell short in a nine-round standoff to the Utica Comets. In the team’s most recent game on Saturday, first-period goals from Anton Wahlberg and Noah Östlund helped Rochester build a 2-0 lead, but multiple rallies from Syracuse culminated in a four-round shootout, where the Crunch completed their comeback in 4-3 fashion.
Jagger Joshua also found the scoresheet, scoring his first goal as an Amerk – and of the 2024-25 season – in the third period. Devon Levi suffered the loss in goal, making 33 saves.
Laval enters the weekend having won three straight, with its most recent performance being a 5-1 drubbing of the Utica Comets on Wednesday.
Laurent Dauphin was one of five different goal-scorers for the Rocket, but led his team overall with a season high four-point game (1+3). Canadiens’ prospect Cayden Primeau made 31 saves in goal for his 13th win of the season. The sixth-year pro has only lost twice in the AHL this season.
BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY
Friday’s contest marks a meeting between the top two teams in not only the AHL’s North Division, but the league as a whole.
Rochester leads the 32-team landscape with 74 points, while Laval trails by only one standings point, along with having a game in hand.
The teams’ top two point producers are separated by only five points, with Isak Rosén fronting the charge for Rochester with 50 points (26+24), while former Crunch forward Alex Barre-Boulet has found himself comfortable in his new Laval residence, leading the Rocket with 45 points (14+31).
The Amerks lead the AHL with 20 road wins, while the Rocket have the second-most points on home ice in the Eastern Conference at 38. Montreal’s AHL affiliate has only lost six times in regulation on home ice. Rochester only has six regulation losses on the road.
Both the Rocket and Amerks also have tremendous defense and goaltending, with both sides ranking top six in the league for fewest goals-against.
BEAST IN THE WINTER
The month of February brought out the best of the beast, with Devon Levi being named the AHL’s goaltender of the month.
Levi made seven starts in February and allowed a total of 11 goals on 175 shots, good for a 5-2-0 record, a 1.66 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. He also posted three shutouts while leading Rochester atop the AHL standings in the process.
The second-year pro made 29 saves in a 4-0 win over Belleville on Feb. 7, and turned aside 21 of 22 shots to help the Amerks to a 5-1 win in Cleveland on Feb. 11. After getting pulled in the second period of a loss to Laval on Feb. 16, Levi responded with back-to-back shutouts, making 26 saves in a 4-0 win over Cleveland on Feb. 19 and stopping 30 shots in regulation and overtime plus all five shootout attempts to earn a 1-0 win over Toronto on Feb. 22. Levi closed out the month by registering 28 saves in a 5-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Feb. 28.
The Sabres’ prospect and former Florida Panthers’ draft selection currently has a record of 19-6-3 in 28 games for Rochester this season, ranking fourth in the league with a 2.19 goals-against average, fifth with a .919 save percentage and tied for first with five shutouts. The 23-year-old native of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., represented the Amerks at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic last month.
BLAST OFF
Through five games in the season series, the Rocket have outscored Rochester, 14-10, however the Amerks lead the Eastern Conference overall with 188 goals. The Rocket have been kept to 170 goals, placing them near the middle of the pack in the AHL, but have outscored the opposition 14-6 over their current three-game win streak.
The last time these two teams exchanged pleasantries was 19 days ago in Rochester, where Laval chased Levi out of the net for the first time in his career in what resulted in a 5-2 win for the Rocket.
Rochester’s last visit to Place Bell saw the team string together three goals in less than six minutes during the second period en route to a 3-1 win on the road in December.
Jack Rathbone leads the series with two goals, while he and Lukas Rousek share the co-lead in points for the season series with three apiece.
Throughout his career, Amerks captain Mason Jobst has been able to use the Rocket’s jet fuel for his own momentum, amassing eight goals and 16 points against Laval through 22 career games against them.