AMERKS EARN SPLIT WITH BEARS
Rosén reaches 20-goal mark for third straight year, Bayreuther notches two assists in 3-1 win over Hershey
Jan 30, 2026A pair of goals in the first and final minute of the third period proved to be the difference in a 3-1 win as the Rochester Americans (21-15-4-2) earned a two-game split with the Hershey Bears (19-15-5-2) in Friday’s rematch between the AHL’s two oldest teams at Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
With the win, Rochester snapped a six-game skid against the Bears, marking its first victory against Hershey since Nov. 26, 2022.
While Isak Rosén scored his team-leading 20th goal of the season, Anton Wahlberg (1+1) and newcomer Gavin Bayreuther (0+2) both posted multi-point efforts with Bayreuther’s being his first two with the club. Trevor Kuntar, Peter Tischke, and Aidan Fulp capped off the win by adding an assist.
Goaltender Devon Levi improved to 15-9-6 as he stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in his 30th appearance of the campaign. The Quebec native has appeared in 10 of Rochester’s last 12 games since the turn of the new year.
Jon McDonald netted his first goal from Zac Funk and Ryan Hofer for Hershey, which saw its 11-game point streak come to an end. Netminder Mitch Gibson (4-2-2) stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced but took the defeat.
FIRST PERIOD
After a pair of Grade-A saves by Levi in the first two minutes of the contest, Kuntar carried the puck from the center ice down the left wing. The Buffalo native then tucked around the Bears’ net before banking a pass off the side boards to the right point. Tischke received the feed, and as he drifted to the middle of the blueline, he fired a shot on net. Prior to the puck reaching the crease, Fiddler-Schultz redirected it in the high-slot before it banked off a Hershey defenseman who was tied up with Jagger Joshua.
Rochester successfully cleared off both penalties in the opening frame and took the 1-0 lead into the intermission break while also holding an 8-7 shot-advantage.
SECOND PERIOD
While Rochester had a chance to double its lead early in the second stanza as they drew a tripping infraction, but they were unable to capitalize on the man-advantage.
Hershey used the momentum from the kill and knotted the score at 1-1 at the 4:32 mark on McDonald’s shot from the right point. The blueliner, who had not scored since March 2025, grabbed the puck along the wall from Zac Funk and Ryan Hofer and flung a shot on net, which handcuffed Levi.
The two clubs continued to limit each other’s chances over the rest of period as evidenced by the shot totals as the Amerks had eight in the period compared to Hershey’s three.
The score remained tied 1-1 after the first 40 minutes of regulation.
THIRD PERIOD
On the first shift of the period, Bayreuther rimmed the puck around the Rochester net as Olivier Nadeau chipped it the rest of the way out of the zone. Wahlberg played Nadeau’s redirection with his skate and kicked the puck to Rosén just outside the Bears’ blueline. The three-time AHL Star slipped down the left wing and caught Gibson leaning to the left, sneaking a shot inside the post and right leg of the netminder for his 20th goal of the season just 57 seconds into the stanza.
After the tally, the two clubs went toe-for-toe testing each other’s netminder but both Gibson and Levi made the timely saves keeping it a 2-1 score.
As the clock continued to tick down, the Amerks were called for hook with just under three minutes to play. Like on its first two penalties earlier in the contest, the Rochester shorthanded unit successfully cleared off the infraction.
Immediately after the penalty, Hershey continued to spark a late comeback by pulling Gibson for an extra attacker. Despite being down a skater, Bayreuther grabbed the puck behind Levi and gave it to Fulp inside the right dot. The latter of the two defensemen lobbed it outside the zone and Wahlberg sealed the 3-1 win with his second goal in as many games against the Bears.
STARS AND STRIPES
By reaching the 20-goal mark for his third straight season, Isak Rosén became the 15th player in franchise history to do so and first since Amerks Hall of Famer Chris Taylor posted three straight in 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02 … Since Jan. 7, Rochester has held the opposition to 25 or fewer shots in seven of its last nine games while the penalty kill has successfully cleared off its last 18 penalties … Goaltender Devon Levi finished the month of January allowing two or fewer goals in seven of his last nine appearances since Jan. 7.
UP NEXT
The Amerks open the month of February on Wednesday, Feb. 4 with a 7:05 p.m. contest against the Belleville Senators. All the action from The Blue Cross Arena 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: J. McDonald (1)
ROC: R. Fiddler-Schultz (11), I. Rosén (20), A. Wahlberg (6)
Goaltenders
HER: M. Gibson – 26/28 (L)
ROC: D. Levi – 22/23 (W)
Shots
HER: 23
ROC: 29
Special Teams
HER: PP (0/3) | PK (3/3)
ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (3/3)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - I. Rosén
2. ROC - R. Fiddler-Schultz
3. ROC - D. Levi