FIVE-GOAL FIRST PERIOD PROPELS AMERKS PAST COMETS
Amerks erupt for seven straight goals in Friday’s 7-4 rout of Utica
Oct 17, 2025On the strength of seven different goal-scorers, the Rochester Americans (2-1-0-0) erased a 2-0 deficit in the opening period before erupting for seven straight unanswered goals on their way to a 7-4 victory over the Utica Comets (0-2-1-0) Friday night at Adirondack Bank Center.
With the win, Rochester improved to 26-7-1-1 in the last 35 matchups against the Comets, which includes a 15-2-0-1 record when playing on the road at Adirondack Bank Center since the 2022-23 campaign. The Amerks have scored five or more goals in 10 games during that span, which includes five in the last 12 meetings alone.
Isak Rosén produced a game-high three points (1+2) to lead the Amerks to their second win of the slate while second-year skaters Vsevolod Komarov and Noah Östlund both contributed a goal and an assist apiece. Defensemen Jack Rathbone, Ryan Johnson, who was assigned by the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, and Zac Jones all tacked on a pair of helpers. Viktor Neuchev, Konsta Helenius, Brendan Warren, and Riley Fiddler-Schultz each scored one goal while Tyler Kopff closed out the scoring by adding a helper.
Rosén, who’s recorded all but one of his six points so far this season on the power-play, is now tied for the AHL scoring lead with Providence’s Alex Steeves.
Netminder Devon Levi (2-0-0) earned his second win of the season in as many starts by stopping 26 of the 30 shots he faced. In nine career appearances against Utica since making his Amerks debut, Levi boasts a perfect 9-0-0 mark, 2.56 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage.
Matyas Melovsky (1+1), Xavier Parent (1+1), Calen Addison (0+2) and Mike Hardman (0+2) all netted two points for Utica, which remains winless through its first three games of the season. Angus Crookshank and Thomas Bordeleau both found the back of the net while Topias Vilen plotted an assist.
Rookie goaltender Jakub Malek (0-1-1) suffered the defeat while making 20 saves in his second AHL appearance of his career.
FIRST PERIOD
After surrendering a pair of quick tallies to Utica in the first six minutes, Rochester countered back by scoring seven straight unanswered goals, including five in less than nine minutes to close out the opening frame and seize control of a 5-2 score.
Facing a two-goal deficit, Kopff pressured a Utica skater along the boards, forcing a turnover for Komarov. The second-year blueliner attempted to play the puck towards the netminder, but as luck would have it, he poked it off Malek’s stick at the top of the crease for his first goal of the campaign at the 9:40 mark.
The Amerks drew a penalty on the ensuing shift to gain their first man-advantage of the contest. The visitors, who posted three power-play goals in the first two games of the season, exhausted nearly all the time with the extra skater before Helenius secured a rebound and snapped it overtop the netminder’s glove to even the score at 2-2.
Three minutes after Helenius scored his first goal of the season, the Finnish forward helped Rochester take a 3-2 lead as he dumped the puck down the right wing. While the Comets temporarily possessed the puck, Rathbone gained control at the right point before sliding it to Johnson. The latter patiently waited for Neuchev to position himself in-between the dots, allowing the Russian forward to redirect Johnson’s offering for his first goal since Jan. 29, 2025, also against Utica.
With the Amerks carrying their first lead of the night, Helenuis played the body in-between the face-off dots, which kept the puck in the offensive zone as the Amerks were again on the power-play. After the puck took a bounce off the boards, Jones gathered it at the right point before handing it to Östlund, who spotted Rosén inside the near dot. The two-time 50-point-getter had time before he roofed a shot over the right shoulder of the Comets’ netminder, doubling Rochester’s lead by a pair with just under three minutes to play.
To close out the high-scoring first frame, Komarov had the puck at the left point after Johnson connected on a pass from his spot. Komarov took his time and fired a shot towards the net for Östlund to steer into the cage for his first of the campaign.
SECOND PERIOD
While the first period saw the intrastate rivals combine for seven goals, the middle stanza saw a total of 12 penalty minutes on six infractions.
Neither team was able to capitalize on the man-advantage, as Rochester successfully cleared off a 5-on-3 disadvantage for nearly 40 seconds, preserving its three-goal cushion.
THIRD PERIOD
Holding a 5-2 advantage to begin the final period, where Rochester entered outscoring Utica 55-36 in the final frame over the last three seasons, the Amerks added a pair of goals from Warren and Fiddler-Schultz.
Warren’s second marker of the campaign came off his backhand following an odd-man rush with Kopff whereas Fiddler-Schultz’s first goal was a redirection off a Rathbone shot at the 15:08 mark.
Utica managed to add two more goals in a span of 51 seconds in the closing minutes of regulation, but the game was well out of reach with Rochester earning the 7-4 victory.
UP NEXT
The Amerks close out the three-game road swing in the first half of a home-and-home with the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7:00 p.m. All the action from Upstate Medical University Arena will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
STARS AND STRIPES
With the five goals in the first period, it was the most Rochester has scored in an opening frame since on Nov. 24, 2017 in a 10-3 victory over Binghamton … Rochester has outscored Utica 57-38 in the final 20 minutes of regulation over the last four seasons … Viktor Neuchev, who suffered a season-ending injury last season, scored his first goal since Jan. 29, 2025, also against Utica … Isak Rosén has posted 16 points (8+8) in his last 11 games versus the Comets dating back to the start of last season.
Goal Scorers
ROC: V. Komarov (1), K. Helenius (1), V. Neuchev (1), I. Rosén (3), N. Östlund (1 - GWG), B. Warren (2), R. Fiddler-Schultz (1)
UTC: X. Parent (2), M. Melovsky (1), A. Crookshank (1), T. Bordeleau (1)
Goaltenders
ROC: D. Levi – 26/30 (W)
UTC: J. Malek – 20/27 (L)
Shots
ROC: 27
UTC: 30
Special Teams
ROC: PP (2/3) | PK (3/4)
UTC: PP (1/4) | PK (1/3)
Three Stars:
1. ROC - I. Rosén
2. ROC - N. Östlund
3. ROC - V. Komarov