AMERKS EARN WEEKEND SPLIT WITH ROCKET
Neuchev, Östlund each score in 5-2 loss to Laval
Nov 1, 2025The Rochester Americans’ (7-3-0-0) quest for a sixth straight victory came to a halt as they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Laval Rocket (6-4-0-0) in Saturday’s rematch between the North Division rivals Saturday afternoon at Place Bell.
Despite the defeat, the Amerks have won six of the last eight games, which includes a pair of victories over the Rocket. The two teams split the weekend series north of the border following Friday’s 2-1 outcome for Rochester.
Forwards Noah Östlund and Viktor Neuchev scored their second and third goals of the season, respectively, for the Amerks, who allowed five goals for the first time in 17 games. Zac Jones added to his league-leading assist total (12) as helped set-up both Rochester goals while Vsevolod Komarov and Jake Leschyshyn recorded one apiece.
Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (0-2-0) made his second appearance of the season with Rochester, stopping 29 of 33 shots he faced.
Laval’s Laurent Dauphin (4+0) became the first Rochester opponent to record four goals against the Amerks since Utica’s A.J. Greer did so back on Feb. 18, 2022. The four-goal outing was a career-high for Dauphin, who now has two career hat tricks against Rochester and four overall. Joshua Roy (0+2) notched a pair of assists while netminder Jacob Fowler improved to 4-2-0 as he made a season-best 36 saves.
FIRST PERIOD
On the opening shift of the matinee and the puck just outside the Amerks zone, Laval’s William Trudeau grabbed it and skated down the left wing. As the defenseman reached the top of the near face-off dot, he centered a pass for Dauphin to snipe a shot over Georgiev to give the Rocket a quick 1-0 lead just 59 seconds into the contest.
As the frame continued, Rochester had a great chance to tie the game as Östlund had a breakaway opportunity, but his backhand attempt sailed overtop the net.
Shortly after a media timeout, Komarov controlled the puck behind his own net before deciding to begin the play. The rugged blueliner pushed it to his right for Jones, who caught the pass on his backhand. The latter slid a pass through the neutral zone for Neuchev, who after weaving across the blueline, fired a long-range shot that caught Fowler by surprise to knot the score with just under seven minutes to play.
The two clubs, who combined for 23 shots and eight penalty minutes during the opening frame, went into the break tied at 1-1.
SECOND PERIOD
On Laval’s second power-play chance of the day, the home utilized the extra skater, cycling the puck around the outside of Amerks defenders. It wasn’t until Sean Farrell gave Alex Belzile a feed from atop the point before the veteran forward dished a nifty no-look, backdoor feed for Dauphin to steer past Georgiev’s left arm at the 4:01 mark.
The Amerks drew the game’s next three penalties but were unable to capitalize on any of the man-up opportunities before they were called for their own infraction with under four minutes left in the frame.
While on the power-play, it was nearly a carbon copy as the one to start the period as Dauphin finished off his hat trick from inside the right dot as Roy and Adam Engström both logged the helpers.
THIRD PERIOD
The penalties began to pile up in the final frame with both teams trading power-play goals, beginning with Jared Davidson blasting a one-timer at the 10:20 mark before Östlund brought Rochester within a pair as he did the same five minutes later.
Rochester faced a 4-2 deficit in final two minutes of regulation before Dauphin sealed the scoring as Georgiev was pulled for an extra attacker.
UP NEXT
The Amerks return to the Flower City as they welcome the Syracuse Crunch back to The Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 5. The intrastate showdown 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
ROC: V. Neuchev (3), N. Östlund (2)
LAV: L. Dauphin (4, 5, 6 – GWG, 7), J. Davidson (7)
Goaltenders
ROC: A. Georgiev – 29/33 (L)
LAV: J. Fowler – 36/38 (W)
Shots
ROC: 38
LAV: 34
Special Teams
ROC: PP (1/8) | PK (2/5)
LAV: PP (3/5) | PK (7/8)
Three Stars:
1. LAV - L. Dauphin
2. LAV - J. Fowler
3. LAV - J. Roy