AMERKS UNABLE TO HOLD LEAD IN 5-4 LOSS TO ISLANDERS
Rochester drops heartbreaker after third-period rally by Bridgeport
Nov 21, 2025Despite storming out to a 3-0 lead, the Rochester Americans (10-8-0-0) were unable to hold off a third-period surge by the Bridgeport Islanders (6-8-1-1), who scored the final three goals of the contest, including the go-ahead tally in the final minute of regulation to escape with a 5-4 win Friday at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the loss, the Amerks have earned points in 16 of their last 18 meetings against Bridgeport dating back to the 2017-18 campaign. Rochester suffered its first regulation home loss to the Islanders since March 15, 2018, after entering with an 8-0-3-0 mark in the previous 11 contests at The Blue Cross Arena.
Jagger Joshua and Nikita Novikov both collected a multi-point effort with two assists each while Carson Meyer, Graham Slaggert, Olivier Nadeau, and Graham Slaggert provided the scoring for the Amerks. Zac Jones, Vsevolod Komarov, and Konsta Helenius all tallied an assist.
Goaltender Topias Leinonen (2-3-0-) made his first home start and sixth appearance of the season, stopping 23 of the 28 shots he faced.
Joey Larson, Matthew Maggio and Chris Terry, who appeared in his 899th AHL game, all chipped in a goal and assist, respectively. Terry, who surpassed Amerks’ legend Dick Gamble for 16th on the AHL’s all-time games played list, broke a 4-4 deadlock in the final minute of play. Goaltender Magnus Högberg (4-5-2) made 19 saves in his 11th contest of the campaign.
FIRST PERIOD
Less than five minutes into the opening period, Noah Laaouan laid a heavy hit on an Islander as the puck was dumped into the Amerks zone. Novikov rimmed it around from behind Leinonen to Helenius. The second-year Finnish forward gathered it then exchanged a pass with Meyer as they crossed into the Bridgeport blueline. While the puck rolled off Helenius’ stick, Meyer snatched it and quickly wired over the glove of Högberg for his third goal and fourth point of the season.
Moments later, Rochester began an odd-man rush out of its defensive zone. While Neuchev provided a pass to the far corner for Jones, the latter and Komarov exchanged a series of passes inside the blueline. After trading spots with Jones, Komarov skated through the high slot before firing a shot for Nadeau to redirect at the 9:01 mark for his second tally in his last four games.
SECOND PERIOD
The middle frame began nearly identical to the first for the home club as they found the back of the Islanders’ net less than five minutes into the period to increase its lead to 3-0.
Immediately following an extended shift, Fiddler-Schultz won a draw in the left circle back to Laaouan at the point. The Halifax native skated down the wing before dropping it back to Novikov just inside the blueline. As the third-year defenseman fired a shot, it was redirected by both Joshua and Fiddler-Schultz before the latter converted for his fourth of the season.
The Islanders, despite trailing by three, cut into the deficit as Joey Larson and Marc Gatcomb each scored to make it a one-score game after 40 minutes of play.
THIRD PERIOD
Early in the final frame, Rochester successfully killed off a slashing penalty that was assessed in the final minute of the second period. After stepping out of the box and receiving a drop pass from Slaggert just inside the Bridgeport blueline, Joshua carried the puck and made a quick return pass for Slaggert, who connected on a one-timer past a sprawling Högberg to double the lead.
The Islanders scored twice more to knot the score at 4-4 at the 11:54 mark on Adam Beckman and Maggio’s tallies.
As the final frame was nearing its completion and overtime looming, Bridgeport dumped the puck inside the Amerks zone. A Rochester skater played the puck around the boards only to have Luke Rowe intercept and fire a quick shot from the right point. Before the puck reached Leinonen, it glanced off a defender and directly onto the stick for Terry, who sealed the 5-4 win for Bridgeport with 37 seconds remaining in regulation.
UP NEXT
The Amerks close out the three-game week on Saturday, Nov. 22 when they head to the Adirondack Bank Center for an intrastate showdown with the Utica Comets. Game time is slated for a 6:00 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
BRI: J. Larson (8), M. Gatcomb (4), A. Beckman (6), M. Maggio (2), C. Terry (3)
ROC: C. Meyer (3), O. Nadeau (2), R. Fiddler-Schultz (4)
Goaltenders
BRI: M. Högberg– 19/23 (W)
ROC: T. Leinonen – 23/28 (L)
Shots
BRI: 28
ROC: 23
Special Teams
BRI: PP (1/4) | PK (1/1)
ROC: PP (0/1) | PK (3/4)
Three Stars:
1. BRI - C. Terry
2. BRI - M. Maggio
3. ROC - J. Joshua