AMERKS OUTLAST BELLEVILLE IN BACK-AND-FORTH AFFAIR
Rochester survives for a 6-5 win after Sens rally from down 4-1 to force overtime
Jan 11, 2026Despite a rally cry that saw the Belleville Senators (14-18-6-0) score four goals in the third period to force overtime, Jack Rathbone would thwart hopes of a Senators win by scoring 13 seconds into the extra session to lift the Rochester Americans (18-12-3-1) to a 6-5 overtime win in a back-and-forth affair Sunday afternoon at CAA Arena.
The Amerks return to the win column and are 18-12-3-1 as the midway point of the season approaches. At 40 points, the Amerks remain in fourth in the North Division standings and are only a single point back of both Toronto and Syracuse, who share a two-way tie for second place. Belleville picks up a point, though its 14-18-6-0 record sees them on the outside looking in when it comes to playoff positioning as they have 34 points and more games played than any other AHL team (38).
In addition to Rathbone, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Ryan Johnson, Brendan Warren, Red Savage, and Carson Meyer found the back of the net. Rathbone was the only skater with multiple points on the night (1+1).
Scott Ratzlaff made his second career AHL start, stopping 25 shots to improve to 2-0-0. Both of his starts have come on the road with both victories happening thanks to Rathbone scoring in overtime.
Wyatt Bongiovanni (1+2) finished with a three-point night for the Sens, while Lassi Thomson scored twice and Philipe Daoust (1+1) and Arthur Kaliyev (1+1) each had multi-point efforts. In goal, former Buffalo Sabre James Reimer, who signed a professional tryout with Belleville earlier in the week, made 22 saves in his first AHL appearance since Jan. 22, 2011, when he posted a 29-save shutout.
FIRST PERIOD
Despite being outshot by an 11-7 margin, it was the Amerks jumping on the board first thanks to an early goal from Fiddler-Schultz less than four minutes in. Trevor Kuntar prevented Belleville from clearing the puck along the left-wing side, then passed it to Jagger Joshua, who drove the net for a chance that Reimer stopped, but kicked the rebound across the crease where Fiddler-Schultz was able to get a piece of for his third goal in as many road games.
The Senators found the equalizer five minutes later when Stephen Halliday swung the puck to Bongiovanni for a one-timer from the right wing that got by Ratzlaff to make it 1-1. Before the frame ended, Konsta Helenius had a chance to put Rochester back out in front with a breakaway opportunity, but the puck had rolled off his stick.
SECOND PERIOD
Another scoring chance saw the Amerks nearly take the lead midway through the frame on a shorthanded rush. Johnson fed the puck across to Jake Leschyshyn for a shot that hammered off the crossbar behind Reimer. Moments earlier, Ratzlaff turned Halliday aside in the slot with a kick save on top of the paint in what was Belleville’s best chance of the period.
After a flurry of chances, Johnson capitalized 12:55 into the second to nab the Amerks a 2-1 lead. The defenseman pinched in for a give-and-go with Helenius. After dishing it to the Finnish forward on the right wing, Helenius then flipped the puck back to Johnson to the surprise of Reimer, who was unable to reposition himself toward the left wing before Johnson fired the puck through to the top of the goal for his third of the season.
Warren doubled Rochester’s lead as he and Johnson scored 90 seconds apart to make it a 3-1 game. Warren, the Amerks’ longest tenured active player, spun off a defenseman on the right-wing boards, creating space to approach the net from an angle where the winger went five-hole on Reimer for his fifth goal of the season.
THIRD PERIOD
Rochester kept its foot on the gas pedal 2:47 into the final frame of regulation with Savage scoring his third of the season at the side of the goal. A point shot was taken toward Reimer, but missed with the puck banging off the end boards and finding Savage cruising down toward the goal, where the rookie was able to whack the puck past the veteran goaltender to increase the Amerk lead to three.
From there, chaos ensued through the back half of the frame. Belleville’s Lassi Thomson scored a pair of one-timers to put the Sens within reach, but a shot from the center of the blueline from Rathbone was knocked down and punched through from Meyer at the 13:40 mark, repadding the lead to 5-3.
Kaliyev kept the pulse going for the Senators with his league-leading 24th goal of the season with under five minutes to play, setting the stage for Daoust to even the score 5-5 off a shot to the side of Ratzlaff with 1:50 to play.
OVERTIME
While Belleville salvaged a standings point, Rathbone was sure to get Rochester the extra one. The sixth-year pro carried the puck into the zone 13 seconds into three-on-three, rifling a shot over the glove side of Reimer for his second overtime-winner of the season, allowing the Amerks to escape CAA Arena unscathed with a 6-5 win.
STARS AND STRIPES
Rathbone’s goal was his third career overtime-winner … Fiddler-Schultz has scored in each of his last three road games and has 10 points over his last 10 contests (5+5) … Ratzlaff has won both of his first two AHL starts in overtime
UP NEXT
The Amerks return home o the Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 14 to face-off with the Syracuse Crunch for their second consecutive midweek clash. The action will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester, beginning at 7:00 p.m., as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
Goal Scorers
BEL: W. Bongiovanni (10), L. Thomson (8-PPG, 9), A. Kaliyev (24), P. Daoust (11)
ROC: R. Fiddler-Schultz (9), R. Johnson (3), B. Warren (5), R. Savage (3), C. Meyer (7), J. Rathbone (5 – OT GWG)
Goaltenders
BEL: J. Reimer – 22/28 (OTL)
ROC: S. Ratzlaff – 25/30 (W)
Shots
BEL: 30
ROC: 28
Special Teams
BEL: PP (1/2) | PK (2/2)
ROC: PP (0/2) | PK (1/2)
Three Stars:
1. BEL – L. Thomson
2. BEL – W. Bongiovanni
3. ROC – J. Rathbone