TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS HEADING BACK TO PLAYOFFS
Rochester picks up five of six points over three-game weekend
Apr 7, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (41-19-4-3) played three games over a four-night span, posting a 2-1-0-0 record. More importantly, the red, white, and blue are heading back to the Calder Cup Playoffs for a sixth straight AHL postseason.
Several noteworthy feats were accomplished in the week that was. Let’s dive in!
HATTY FOR HELENIUS
Saturday in Belleville was a night the young rookie Konsta Helenius won’t soon forget. Buffalo’s first-round selection who went 14th overall last summer was on another level against the Senators, scoring in each period, culminating with an empty-net goal in the final minute to secure his first professional hat trick in North America.
Helenius has had an up-and-down rookie season as the Finnish forward continues adjusting to the smaller ice in North America, but has shown signs of improvement from late February onward. Since Feb. 21, Helenius has amassed 13 points (5+8) over his last 18 games. The 19-year-old is second in rookie scoring for the Amerks with 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points.
The Belleville Senators seem to bring out the best in Helenius, who leads Rochester in the season series with 12 points (5+7) against Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, accounting for over a third of his points this season. Helenius has posted seven multi-point games for the Amerks, with five coming against the Sens.
SEVENTH HEAVEN
On the same night Helenius scored three, goaltender Devon Levi allowed none, turning aside 27 Belleville shots for his second shutout of the season against the Senators and seventh overall this season.
Five of Levi’s last 18 starts have resulted in shutout wins for the 23-year-old prodigy. Levi leads the AHL with seven shutouts, with four goaltenders behind him at five apiece.
With wins over Springfield Wednesday and Belleville Saturday, the Sabres’ prospect improved his win total to 24, which leads the Eastern Conference and is one back of Milwaukee’s Matthew Murray for the league lead.
With five games to go in the season, Levi is one shutout back of soon-to-be Amerks Hall of Famer Ryan Miller for tying the all-time single-season record in Amerks franchise history.
ON THE HUNT FOR HOME ICE
The Amerks picked up four of a possible six points thanks to a 5-2 win over the Thunderbirds Wednesday, followed by the 4-0 blanking of Belleville Saturday. Rochester was helped over the weekend by first-place Laval, who managed just one point in its weekend at Abbotsford.
Because of this, the separation is down to only four points between the Amerks and Rocket for control of not just the North Division, but the top record in the AHL as a whole.
Both teams have five games remaining, including one against each other to wrap up their season series this Friday night.
While the Amerks continue to claw towards first, the team has put itself in a good spot to try and guarantee home ice through at least the North Division Semifinal round. To do so, Rochester needs one more standings point the rest of the way. They can reach this as soon as Wednesday, or on that same night if the Amerks were to lose in regulation and Utica were to beat Syracuse in any fashion, Rochester would still lock up home ice advantage.
With the team’s split in Belleville over the weekend, the Amerks were able to exempt themselves of playing in the best-of-three play-in round that gets the playoffs started.
COMING UP NEXT
Rochester plays just two games this week as they kick-off a four-game homestand taking them into the final weekend of the regular season.
A pair of Canadian opponents come south of the border to the Flower City, beginning with a Wednesday meeting against Belleville. This contest wraps up the season series with the Senators and is the third straight game the two teams face-off. Rochester has already secured the season series, owning a 5-2-0-0 mark. Belleville sits six points behind teams in playoff positioning, basically putting them in make or break mode come Wednesday night in downtown Rochester.
On Friday, the Amerks could be playing for a chance to tie with Laval for ownership of the North Division. If Rochester wins Wednesday, they will be two points back of the Rocket entering Friday’s contest against them. It is also Hall of Fame Night at Blue Cross Arena, as Ryan Miller will become the seventh goaltender in franchise history to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.