GAME PREVIEW: CALDER CUP CHAMPION-BEARS MAKE LONE VISIT TO ROCHESTER
Rochester starts four game homestand at Blue Cross Arena
Nov 21, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (8-5-2-0) begin a four game homestand at Blue Cross Arena starting Friday night when they host the back-to-back defending champion Hershey Bears (11-4-2-0).
This will be the first of two meetings on the season between the American Hockey League’s two oldest franchises. Last season, Hershey took both outcomes against Rochester, though the Amerks did earn a point on the road in an overtime loss. The only other meeting slated against the Bears comes Jan. 19 in Hershey.
“You look at what they've done and it's pretty remarkable,” said Amerks head coach Michael Leone. “I mean, they’re back-to-back champions and they're in a league where there's a lot of movement and you’d be hard pressed to find teams that have the exact same lineup that they started a season with. They're a really good team. They don't beat themselves. They don't give you much. They're heavy and they’ve got different ways that they can beat you. We have a lot of respect for their team, and it'll be a really good test for us.”
LAST TIME OUT
Lukas Rousek scored in the final minute of overtime Wednesday night in Laval, guiding the Amerks to a 2-1 win against the North Division’s first-place Rocket. Brett Murray got Rochester’s lone goal in regulation, while Devon Levi, who was reassigned from Buffalo earlier in the week, recorded 26 saves in his first AHL start of the season.
The victory saw Rochester end its four-game winless skid and catapulted the Amerks into fourth place in the division. The Amerks continue to have success away from home, going 6-2-1-0 on the road this season and are 12-3-1-0 over their last 16 games outside the Flower City, dating back to March 13, 2024.
Hershey built itself a 3-0 lead Wednesday night in Toronto, but allowed the Marlies to rally and top the Bears by a 4-3 final in overtime. Ethen Frank posted an assist and has points in three of his last four games. The Bears forward has 11 goals, leading the AHL’s Eastern Conference. Despite the loss, Hershey owns first in the Atlantic Division, sitting with a six-point gap between themselves and the next closest team (Hartford).
BATTLE OF THE BEST
Friday’s matchup is the 467th all-time meeting between the Bears and Amerks. Over a combined 155 seasons, the two franchises have collectively won 5,612 AHL games. Hershey leads the AHL all-time with 13 Calder Cups and have won back-to-back championships entering this season. The Bears are attempting to win a third straight Calder Cup and would be the first team to do so since the Springfield Indians captured three straight from 1960-62.
Rochester owns six Calder Cups over its 69-season existence and beside Hershey, the Amerks have more Calder Cups than any other active team. The Amerks’ first Calder Cup came in 1965, where the team topped Hershey in the finals in a 4-1 series. The teams last met in the playoffs during the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, when the Bears advanced to the Calder Cup Finals after a 4-2 series win that ended with Game 6 in Rochester.
HELLO, OLD FRIEND
On Wednesday, Bears head coach Todd Nelson reached 1,000 pro games coached. Nelson, in his third season as the bench boss in Hershey, was once an Amerk, playing for Rochester during the 2000-01 season. The Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, native scored six goals and 26 points for the Amerks from the blueline, helping the team to a 104-point finish and playoff appearance.
Nelson would retire from playing at the end of the following season, then step into coaching first with Muskegon in the now defunct United Hockey League. Before Hershey, Nelson was an assistant coach for the NHL’s Dallas Stars for four seasons.
A five-time Calder Cup champion, Nelson owns the distinction of being just the third person in AHL history to win a Calder Cup as a player (1994, Portland), assistant coach (2008, Chicago) and head coach (2017, Grand Rapids & 2023, Hershey).
LEVI REPEATS
Devon Levi will draw his second consecutive start in goal for the Amerks after aiding the team to victory Wednesday night.
“He's a really good goalie. He makes timely saves and he has poise. He reads the play really well and is really good on his rebound control. I thought he was one of, if not our best player.”
“He's obviously extremely talented and very elite,” said team captain, Mason Jobst. “Any time you have a goaltender like that, it gives you a chance to win. And it feels almost like every single night, regardless of how the team is playing, he makes huge saves and he's just so athletic. You got to see it on Wednesday. He made some really big saves on some two on ones late in the game that helped us secure that win.”
OH FIDDLESTICKS
For a second straight game, forward Riley Fiddler-Schultz will draw a spot in the lineup after making his season debut in Laval. The 22-year-old is in his second professional season. In 2023-24, Fiddler-Schultz skated in six games with Rochester, then went on to finish second in goals with ECHL-Jacksonville, scoring 23 in 51 games. The Edmonton, Alberta native made the Amerks roster out of training camp in October and has been with the team ever since.
“I've tried to stay as ready as I can over the last month or so,” said Fiddler-Schultz. “I’ve been staying positive and working hard in practice and with off-ice stuff to try and be ready for when my number is called and I felt like I didn’t miss a beat out there.”
“I thought he was outstanding,” said Leone. “I give him a lot of credit. I’ve had a lot of conversations with him; hard conversations where he probably could have been in the lineup before. I thought he was probably our best forward Wednesday night and when you’re playing to win, you deserve to go out in overtime like he did.”
“You never want to rely on that because you're not going to have a coach that does that every time,” said Fiddler-Schultz. “But Leo's (Leone) done a great job of just kind of making sure that I'm doing alright and making sure my mental space is good and just kind of explaining to me a bit of why things are the way they are. That's going to also help me along the way just to trust that they do value me here and that I'm here for a reason.”
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The Amerks remain home through Thanksgiving and into Black Friday, hosting Hershey and Utica this weekend, followed by Wednesday and Friday matchups next week with Cleveland and Syracuse, respectively. After facing the Bears, the Amerks will play 14 of their final 15 games of the calendar year against teams in the North Division. The Amerks went 18-12-4-2 on home ice last season and are 2-3-1-0 to begin the new campaign.
Rochester leads the AHL in average shots on goal with 34.8 per game, while ranking third in shots allowed at 26.07. Dating back to last season, the Amerks are 31-0-2-1 in their last 34 games when leading after two periods.