AMERKS DROP FIRST OF TWO TO BEARS
Wahlberg scores lone goal, Levi makes 19 saves in 3-1 loss to Hershey
Jan 28, 2026The Rochester Americans (20-15-4-2) made it a one-goal game early in the second period, but were unable to solve Hershey Bears (19-14-5-2) goaltender Clay Stevenson any further as they dropped a 3-1 decision in the first of back-to-back meetings between the AHL’s two oldest teams Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the loss, Rochester has points in 16 of its last 23 games dating back to Nov. 22, 2025. The Amerks have only suffered back-to-back regulation losses just three times since the start of the season.
Forward Anton Wahlberg notched his first goal since Nov. 15 and fifth overall of the campaign while Carson Meyer and Isak Rosén providing the helpers. Meyer’s assist was his 11th of the season, while Rosén added his fourth since the start of December.
Goaltender Devon Levi (14-9-6) shouldered the defeat in what was his league-leading 29th appearance of the season and sixth in the last seven games for Rochester. Levi finished with 19 saves as he faced 25 or fewer shots in five of his previous seven appearances since Jan. 9.
Grant Cruikshank, Justin Nachbaur, and Henrik Rybinski all found the back of the net in the first, second, and third periods, respectively, for Hershey, which extended its point streak to 11 straight games. Stevenson (11-8-3) stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced to improve to 11-8-3 on the season.
FIRST PERIOD
Although the Amerks had two of the first three power-plays of the night as well as the first four shots, Hershey opened the scoring at the 9:59 mark on its first shot of the game.
On Rochester’s second man-advantage of the frame, Matt Strome and Jon McDonald broke up a play inside the Hershey zone. After intercepting a pass, McDonald provided an outlet for Cruikshank as he snuck behind the blueline and sped away uncontested towards Levi. The Wisconsin native fired a shot that clanked off the crossbar and the back of Levi before trickling across the goal-line for the 1-0 lead.
The two clubs continued to clamp down in the final 10 minutes of the period as they only combined for six more shots as Hershey took the 1-0 lead into the intermission break.
SECOND PERIOD
On the first shift of the second period, the Bears had ownership of the puck in the offensive zone before McDonald tucked a shot to the left corner from the right point. Former Amerk Dalton Smith tipped the puck ahead to Nachbaur, who golfed it overtop the left arm of Levi for his second of the season.
With the Amerks trailing 2-0, Peter Tischke, who was appearing in his third game with the Amerks this season after starting the campaign in the ECHL, circled around net with the puck. The blueliner handed it to Rosén inside the dot before the latter provided a long-stretch pass through the neutral zone for Meyer. As Meyer temporarily stopped the puck, he tapped it ahead for Wahlberg, who cut towards the center of the ice and wired a shot off the right post to cut the deficit in half at the 6:55 mark.
Rochester, which finished the period with eight shots for the second straight stanza, successfully cleared off a tripping infraction and faced a 2-1 deficit after 40 minutes of play.
THIRD PERIOD
Like the second period, Hershey got a goal early in the frame to make it a 3-1 cushion.
With the puck inside the Rochester zone, Louie Belpedio gathered a cross-ice feed off a bank pass and pushed it to Brett Leason to fire towards the net. Levi made the initial save but the puck squeaked between his legs and Rybinski was there to sweep the rebound into the vacant net.
The Amerks pressed to cut into the deficit as they tested Stevenson 12 times over the last 18-plus minutes, but were unsuccessful as Stevenson and company prevailed for the win.
UP NEXT
The same two teams clash again on Friday, Jan. 30 as the Amerks and Bears close out their two-game set with a rematch at Blue Cross Arena. Game time between the league’s two cornerstone franchises is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
Goal Scorers
HER: G. Cruikshank (7), J. Nachbaur (2), H. Rybinski (5)
ROC: A. Wahlberg (5)
Goaltenders
HER: C. Stevenson – 27/28 (W)
ROC: D. Levi – 19/22 (L)
Shots
HER: 22
ROC: 28
Special Teams
HER: PP (0/2) | PK (3/3)
ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (2/2)
Three Stars:
1. HER - C. Stevenson
2. HER - J. McDonald
3. ROC - A. Wahlberg