AMERKS THANKFUL FOR COMMUNITY IN NOVEMBER 2025 REPORT CARD
Rochester goes 5-7-0-0 in November, remain in the North Division race
Dec 2, 2025By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (12-9-0-0) completed one of their busiest months of the season, posting a 5-7-0-0 record through a 12-game November slate.
While the results left room for more on their Thanksgiving table, the Amerks still displayed balanced scoring across the roster, clutch moments to leave fans in awe, and a sense of community to express gratitude for the best fans in the AHL.
BALANCED SCORING: A
No team showcased more depth than the Amerks during the month of November. Decimated by call-ups and injuries, Rochester was forced to field several different iterations of its roster, which through 21 games has yet to ice the team’s complete lineup.
In doing so, an astounding 19 different Amerks scored at least one goal in November. Leading the charge was Trevor Kuntar with six, followed by Jake Leschyshyn at five goals. ECHL call-up Matteo Costantini netted his first AHL goal in his debut early in November, while Noah Laaouan, who had spent the bulk of his first four professional seasons in the ECHL, scored his first in the team’s 4-3 win over Syracuse last Friday. The contest with the Crunch was capped off by Zac Jones getting his first of the season with 14 seconds left to put the red, white, and blue ahead.
COMING IN CLUTCH: B+
Jones wasn’t the only Amerk to score in moments where the lights are the brightest. Rewind to a weekend in Connecticut in mid-November and Kuntar scored to even a game against Hartford with under three minutes to play. That set the stage for Riley Fiddler-Schultz to score in overtime, lifting the Amerks to a triumphant rally that in large part was thanks to what occurred on the other end of the ice. Seconds before Fiddler-Schultz scored, Topias Leinonen sprawled across his crease during a two-on-one sequence to make his best save of the season.
A mere 24 hours later, the Amerks were in a tie game with Bridgeport midway through the third period before Konsta Helenius rifled the go-ahead goal home to help Rochester secure two points.
In Rochester’s second game of November, the team yielded an early 4-1 advantage over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before the Penguins would rally to tie the contest in the third. Amerks captain Zach Metsa would lead his team back in front with a power-play goal in the final half of the frame.
COMMUNITY: A+
The Amerks’ impact is just as important off the ice as it is on it.
The month of November saw the launch of several programs, highlighted by the return of the Amerks Reading Power Play, presented by CooperVision. The Amerks Reading Power Play program is currently in its 20th season, teaming Amerks players with local libraries in support of promoting reading to the Greater Rochester Area.
The Reading Power Play involves Amerks players stopping by local libraries, reading to kids and giving a brief hockey demonstration while also discussing the importance of reading. Each appearance also features a raffle and an autograph session by the visiting player and The Moose as well as complimentary ticket offer for each youth in attendance.
Additionally, several player initiatives have launched as new programs with the team, including Jack’s Pack, a new program with Amerks defenseman Jack Rathbone partnering with EVERY TREE, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing educational and recreational programs for families with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. Rathbone will host EVERY TREE families at all four of the upcoming Amerks’ Sensory & Accessibility games this season, beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 3 against Utica. Each game experience will feature complimentary tickets and a special postgame meet-and-greet with Rathbone, a seven-year pro who holds a deep personal connection to the autism community.
The Amerks also partnered with Comfort Windows Siding Bath for Fidds’ Friends program, with Fiddler-Schultz spearheading the cause. The program provides donated tickets, courtesy of Comfort Windows Siding Bath, for all remaining 2025-26 Amerks home games to various local organizations that primarily focus on assisting underprivileged youth or children who are battling illness. In addition to receiving complimentary tickets, each game experience will also include a postgame meet-and-greet with Fiddler-Schultz, who originally launched Fidds’ Friends while playing junior hockey for the Calgary Hitmen.
In partnership with GiGi’s Playhouse, the region’s leading non-profit supporting people with Down syndrome and their families, forward Carson Meyer brought his preexisting Carson’s Crew program to Rochester. Meyer is hosting GiGi’s Playhouse families at all remaining Amerks home games this season. Each game experience will include complimentary tickets and a postgame meet-and-greet with Meyer, a sixth-year pro who launched Carson’s Crew in 2023-24 while a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization.
DECEMBER SYLLABUS
The year closes with one of the quieter months for the Amerks, who play just nine times throughout December, with five games coming at Blue Cross Arena, beginning Wednesday night against the Utica Comets.
From there, the team will depart the Flower City for a three-game trip that starts in Charlotte against the defending Eastern Conference Champion-Checkers. Rochester returns home the following weekend to host Lehigh Valley in what will be their only other Atlantic Division opponent for the month.
The 2025 calendar year ends with a home-and-home against Cleveland. The Monsters voyage to Rochester Dec. 27, before hosting the Amerks on Monday, Dec. 29 to close out the year and look ahead to 2026.