AMERKS FLIP THE SCRIPT ON MONSTERS TO SPLIT HOME-AND-HOME
Ratzlaff picks up first AHL win, Rosen extends point streak in 4-3 overtime win over Cleveland
Dec 29, 2025After suffering a 4-3 overtime loss on Saturday in the first half of the home-and-home series, the Rochester Americans (16-10-3-1) flipped the script in Monday’s rematch at Rocket Arena, topping the Cleveland Monsters (13-10-4-1) by way of the same score in overtime in their final contest of the calendar year.
Rochester, which has points in 10 of its last 12 games dating back to Nov. 22, close out the month of December having played six of its previous nine games beyond regulation, which includes each of the last three. The Amerks go into the New Year tied for second place in the North Division with 36 points, three back of Laval.
Rookie forward Red Savage (1+1) notched the first multi-point outing of his AHL career, which included the primary assist on Jack Rathbone’s (1+1) game-winning goal, his first since Feb. 17, 2024. Along with Savage and Rathbone each turning in a pair of points, former Monster Carson Meyer and Konsta Helenius each had two assists while Isak Rosén (1+0), who was reassigned to Rochester over the weekend, pushed his point streak to 12 straight games.
Tyler Kopff, who notched two points in Saturday’s overtime defeat, Anton Wahlberg (0+1), and Vsevolod Komarov (1+0) closed out the scoring for Rochester.
Goaltender Scott Ratzlaff (1-0-0) made his AHL debut, becoming the fifth different netminder used by the Amerks this season through 30 games. The 20-year-old goaltender finished with 24 saves, which included a game-saving stop on a Cleveland odd-man rush prior to Rathbone’s overtime winner.
Forwards Mikael Pyyhtiä (2+1) and Luca Del Bel Belluz (0+3) both totaled three points each for Cleveland, which entered the game winners in seven of its last 10 games dating back to Dec. 4. Goaltender Ivan Fedotov (9-6-3) saw his season-best five-game win streak come to an end as he finished with 23 saves for the second straight contest against Rochester.
FIRST PERIOD
The Monsters controlled the first half of the period as they registered nine of the first 10 shots of the game. On an extended shift in the Rochester zone for nearly two minutes, Del Bel Belluz fired a shot from the right face-off dot. While Ratzlaff made the initial save, Roman Ahcan poked the rebound free for his sixth of the season.
Moments after clearing off its first penalty of the night, Rochester used the energy from the kill before leveling the score at 1-1 with just over two minutes left in the frame.
After providing a pass to Rosén at the offensive blueline, Helenius wrapped it down the right wall. Zac Jones stopped the puck from exiting the zone and gave it to Wahlberg. The Swedish forward tucked it back down the wall to Helenius then regained ownership as he was positioned between the dots. With an obstructed path to the net, Wahlberg instead slid it to his right for Komarov, who rocketed a shot over the blocker of Fedotov for his second of the season.
SECOND PERIOD
After Rosén nearly gave Rochester its first lead of the night, Noah Laaouan delivered a heavy hit to separate the puck from a Cleveland skater.
On the continuation of the play, Kopff took the puck down the wing before Savage banked a pass back to Rathbone at the right point. The Boston native skated into the circle and flung a shot towards the net that glanced off Kopff. Savage secured the rebound and immediately wired it into the back of the net with 6:31 left in the frame, giving the Amerks a 2-1 cushion entering into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
THIRD PERIOD
With a power-play to begin the frame, Cleveland capitalized with the extra skater as Pyyhtiä fired a low shot from the left dot of Ratzlaff just 45 seconds in.
Just over 10 minutes later, Trevor Kuntar drew a tripping call against the Monsters to give Rochester its third power-play of the contest.
After gaining possession just inside the neutral zone, Helenius skated down the right wall with speed and then exchanged a give-and-go with Meyer as they raced across the blueline. Helenius accepted the return feed near the face-off circle, and using Jake Leschyshyn as a decoy at the backdoor, he centered it for Rosén to convert for his 13th of the season at the 9:03 mark.
Unfortunately for the Amerks, late inside the final two minutes, they iced the puck on three separate occasions before Pyyhtiä banged in Del Bel Belluz’s backdoor feed from a knee to even the score and ultimately force overtime.
OVERTIME
Each team had a grade-A chance denied by the opposition’s netminder, which included Ratzlaff denying Cleveland’s 2-on-1 odd-man rush with just under three minutes to play.
After the stoppage in play, Savage won the ensuing draw to the right of Ratzlaff back to Rathbone before the skaters made their way up the ice along with Meyer. The latter gave a return feed back to Savage, who then left a drop pass inside the near dot for Rathbone. As the defenseman went around the circle and cut towards the center of the zone, he uncorked a shot past Fedotov to seal the 4-3 overtime win.
STARS AND STRIPES
With a goal in the second period tonight, it marks the 14th straight game in which the Amerks have scored in the middle frame against Cleveland dating back to April 3, 2024 … The Amerks improved to 11-0-2-0 when forward Konsta Helenius has registered a multi-point game while outscoring the opposition 61-29 over that span … With goaltenders Scott Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen each having one win so far during the 2025-26 season, it marks the first time since the 2013-14 campaign Rochester has had two rookie netminders earning at least one victory.
UP NEXT
The Amerks usher in the New Year on Saturday, Jan. 3 when they head north of the border for a North Division showdown against the Toronto Marlies at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The 4:00 p.m. matinee 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. Komarov (2), R. Savage (2), I. Rosén (13), J. Rathbone (3 – OT GWG)
CLE: R. Ahcan (6), M. Pyyhtiä (5, 6)
Goaltenders
ROC: S. Ratzlaff – 24/27 (W)
CLE: I. Fedotov – 23/27 (OTL)
Shots
ROC: 27
CLE: 27
Special Teams
ROC: PP (1/3) | PK (1/2)
CLE: PP (1/2) | PK (2/3)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - K. Helenius
2. CLE - M. Pyyhtiä
3. ROC - I. Rosén