AMERKS SCORE LATE IN LOSS TO SPRINGFIELD
Kuntar reaches the 20-goal mark, Jones records 50th assist and 60th point in 3-1 loss to T-Birds
Apr 10, 2026Trevor Kuntar scored his 20th goal of the season late in regulation, but the Rochester Americans (31-28-5-4) fell by a 3-1 score to the Springfield Thunderbirds (30-29-6-2) Friday at MassMutual Center.
The Amerks, who remain close to clinching their fifth straight trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs, have earned at least a point in seven of their last 11 games in Springfield, showing a 5-4-1-1 mark over that span. Additionally, Rochester has logged a .500 winning percentage or better in each of its last nine seasons versus Springfield since the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
Kuntar became Rochester’s third different skater with 20 or more goals on the season while Zac Jones reached both the 50-assist and 60-point mark on the slate. Jones and Konsta Helenius, who entered the weekend with a nine-game point streak, became the first set of Amerk teammates to post 40 or more assists and 60 points in the same season since Clay Wilson and Jamie Johnson did so in 2009-10.
Anton Wahlberg added an assist to complete the scoring, his 35th point of the season.
Goaltender Scott Ratzlaff (4-5-1) made his first start since Mar. 28, stopping 25 of the 27 sits he faced but took the defeat in-between the pipes. After posting a 3-1-0 mark through his first five appearances in the AHL, the rookie netminder shows a 1-3-1 record over his previous five games.
Dillon Dube (2+1) registered his second three-point outing over his last five games for Springfield, which has won five straight and six of its last seven dating back to Mar. 21 to remain in the hunt of playoff spot. Chris Wagner added his team-leading 24th goal to cap the win.
Netminder Will Cranley (5-4-0) came within two minutes of notching his first AHL shutout in his 12th career appearance and just ninth of the 2025-26 season. The Peterborough, Ontario, native finished with 22 saves to earn the win.
FIRST PERIOD
In an evenly played first 20 minutes of regulation, Springfield jumped out to 5-0 shot-advantage while also drawing the initial penalty.
Rochester and Ratzlaff cleared off the infraction while also slowly turning the tide as they finished the period with a narrow 9-8 lead in shots but were unable to capitalize on its first man-advantage.
Both Ratzlaff (8) and Crawley (9) went into the dressing rooms perfect as they combined to stop all 17 shots they faced in the first period.
SECOND PERIOD
While neither club was able to find success on the power-play, Springfield broke the scoreless game with a pair of goals 3:12 apart to take a 2-0 lead.
On the first Thunderbirds tally, Quinton Burns was on the receiving end of Dube’s centering feed between the circles before he fired a shot on Ratzlaff. The Amerks’ rookie netminder used his right pad to make the save, but Wagner backhanded in the rebound for his 24th goal of the slate.
Shortly after the marker, Dube stole the puck in the right circle of the Amerks’ end and immediately wired a shot past Ratzlaff to double the lead at the 15:22 mark.
Rochester, much like the first period, took a carryover power-play into the intermission while being held off the scoresheet.
THIRD PERIOD
Trailing by a pair to start the period, the Amerks were unable to solve Cranley in the opening part on the leftover power-play time before the club took two penalties 66 seconds apart.
The Amerks were able to successfully clear off the infractions to keep the game a 2-0 score, then as the third-period clock was dwindling down, pulled Ratzlaff as they held the puck in the offensive zone.
Kuntar scooped up the loose puck behind the Springfield net and dished it to the left face-off circle for Jones. The two-time AHL All-Star carried the puck towards the top of the blueline and snapped a shot on net for Wahlberg to redirect. The rebound fell to the left of Cranley and Kuntar quickly backhanded a shot to get the Amerks on the board with 2:22 left in regulation.
Rochester tried again for late-game heroics by pulling Ratzlaff again for an extra attacker, but a centering feed to an Amerk was fanned on and caromed out of the zone. Dube tracked down the puck by outracing a defender and sealed the 3-1 win for Springfeld.
UP NEXT
The Amerks put the finishing touches on their four-game road swing as they face the league-leading Providence Bruins on Saturday, April 11 for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop. All the action from Amica Mutual Pavilion will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM WGR Rochester as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
Goal Scorers
ROC: T. Kuntar (20)
SPR: C. Wagner (24), D. Dube (15,16)
Goaltenders
ROC: S. Ratzlaff – 25/27 (L)
SPR: W. Cranley – 22/23 (W)
Shots
ROC: 13
SPR: 28
Special Teams
ROC: PP (0/3) | PK (4/4)
SPR: PP (0/4) | PK (3/3)
Three Stars:
1. SPR - D. Dube
2. SPR - W. Cranley
3. SPR - C. Wagner