GAME PREVIEW: WEEKEND ROLLS ON AS AMERKS MAKE PIT STOP IN SYRACUSE
Rochester looks to stop streaking Crunch
Mar 22, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (35-18-3-3) play the middle game of their three-game weekend on the road Saturday night as they visit the Syracuse Crunch (28-19-8-4) at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Tonight is the 10th of 12 meetings on the season between the intrastate adversaries. The Amerks have gone 5-3-0-1 against Syracuse so far this season, but have dropped the last two meetings with the Crunch. The season series will conclude at the end of the month, as Rochester will encounter Syracuse three times over the next eight days.
LAST TIME OUT
Josh Dunne scored Rochester’s only goal, doing so in the last second of the team’s 2-1 loss on home ice to the Charlotte Checkers Friday night. The game concluded a four-game season series against the Checkers that the Amerks went 1-3-0-0 in. Dunne’s goal was his ninth of the season, with rookies Noah Östlund and Konsta Helenius each picking up assists.
Devon Levi made his 33rd start of the season, stopping 16 shots on goal. The Amerks ended their three-game homestand with a 1-2-0-0 mark and have one win over their past seven games (1-4-0-2).
Conor Geekie scored twice for Syracuse on Friday as the team went on to blank the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-0. Matt Tomkins started the game and made 16 saves, but was relieved by Ryan Fanti midway through the third. The backup made four saves to preserve the team shutout, which is Syracuse’s eighth of the season.
200 FOR ROUSEK
Amerks forward Lukas Rousek is expected to play in his 200th game as an Amerk Saturday in Syracuse. The 25-year-old was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft by Buffalo and has gone on to play in 17 games with the Sabres.
As an Amerk, the Ostrov nad Ohri, Czechia, native has amassed 138 points (33+105) over his four years in red, white, and blue. Rousek’s best season to date came in the 2022-23 campaign when he led Rochester in scoring during the regular season with 16 goals and 56 points. He then went on to add 12 points (5+7) during the team’s Calder Cup Playoff run which saw Rochester reach the Conference Finals for the first time in two decades.
Currently, the fourth-year pro is third in team scoring with six goals and 37 points. Additionally, Rousek has been the ironman for Rochester this season, standing as the only player to appear in every game for the team thus far.
IF THESE WAHLS COULD TALK
Rookie forward Anton Wahlberg made waves as a late arrival last season with Rochester, scoring the team’s first goal in the Calder Cup Playoffs against Syracuse. This season in his first full year of pro hockey in North America, the Swedish teenager is on the team’s top 10 scoring list, posting 23 points (9+14) in 50 games played.
“It’s been a big change,” said Wahlberg when speaking about adjustments made in his rookie season. “Moving to the states and living on my own has been a big part of it. The great thing is there are good guys in the room and good coaches here that will help you whenever you need anything. It’s awesome to have these guys around.”
Wahlberg, a Malmö, Sweden, native, was taken 39th overall by Buffalo in the 2023 NHL Draft. Earlier this season, Wahlberg represented his home country at the World Junior Championship, posting an above point-per-game average (eight points in seven games) to lead his team to the semi-finals.
Wahlberg’s discipline is above all else in the AHL. The 19-year-old has zero penalty minutes through 50 games this season, which is more games played than any other player in the league with no penalties by a significant margin. The next closest to Wahlberg would be Abbotsford’s Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who has accrued no penalties through 32 games.
CRUNCH TIME
When it matters most, Syracuse has been able to turn the engines on. After drifting in and out of playoff positioning for much of the season, the Crunch have gone on a five-game win streak, outscoring the opposition 27-9 over that span. The team has also won three straight at home, dating back to a 4-3 shootout win over Rochester at the start of March.
Conor Sheary has been leading the charge of late, posting 11 points (4+7) over his last eight games played.
Logan Brown has also been a driving force, skating into Saturday with a five-game point streak, including scoring a hat trick against Springfield last weekend.
Jesse Ylonen leads the season series in scoring against the Amerks, but was dealt to Nashville at the NHL trade deadline and subsequently reassigned to Miwaukee.
Isak Rosén tops the scoring for Rochester when facing the Crunch this season, posting seven goals and eight points in nine games against Rochester’s bitter rival.