GAME PREVIEW: AHL SEASON RESUMES WITH AMERKS BACK IN UTICA
Five things to know as Amerks play second of three straight against Comets
Feb 13, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
With the All-Star Classic in the rearview mirror, the Rochester Americans (23-16-4-2) get back to regular season play as they start a home-and-home weekend with the Utica Comets (13-22-5-3) Saturday at Adirondack Bank Center.
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Here are five things to know before the Amerks’ Valentine’s Day matchup in Utica.
THE BRIGHTEST OF STARS
The Amerks were the lone North Division team to have three players represented at the AHL’s All-Star Classic in Rockford, Illinois earlier this week.
Konsta Helenius, Isak Rosén, and Zac Jones all took center stage at BMO Center Tuesday and Wednesday. Helenius, competing in his first All-Star event, won the AHL’s Fastest Skater competition, completing a lap in under 14 seconds. The next day, the teenage prospect recorded two assists in the North Division’s first game of the round robin tournament. Jones would follow with a helper in the team’s game against the Pacific Division later in the night.
The Rochester trio are the top three scorers for the Amerks on the season, combining for 41 goals and 70 assists for 111 points. Jones leads all Amerks and is tied for the league lead in points by a defenseman with 40 (7+33). Rosén’s 24 goals are second in the Eastern Conference and tied for third across the AHL. Helenius is second in scoring amongst teenage players in the league with 34 points (10+24).
Originally, Utica defenseman Seamus Casey was named to the All-Star Classic, but due to injury the second-year Comet was replaced by veteran sniper Brian Halonen, who currently leads Utica with 14 goals this season.
WE MEET AGAIN
A week ago, Rochester was in Utica for the last game before the All-Star break. They return to the scene of the crime coming off a 5-1 lopsided victory over the Comets from one Saturday ago.
Each of the Amerks’ All-Stars shined as Helenius, Rosén, and Jones each logged a goal and an assist in the tilt. Rochester’s power-play came back to life after struggling the previous six games, going 0-for-19 before Helenius scored midway through the third period.
Devon Levi had a solid performance in goal, making 34 saves to pick up his 16th win of the season and 12th all-time against Utica, improving to 12-1-1 when facing the Comets in what was his 100th start as an Amerk.
Following Saturday’s game, the scene shifts to Rochester for a rematch Sunday afternoon at Blue Cross Arena.
JAGGED EDGE
Jagger Joshua got the Amerks on the board last Saturday at Utica, scoring his seventh goal of the season. The Dearborn, Michigan, native is three goals shy of tying his rookie totals from the 2023-24 season as a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Joshua has produced points in consecutive games and has found the stat sheet in three of his last six. His game in all three zones has been reliable, with Joshua recording an even or better plus/minus rating in 15 of his last 18 contests. He has not gone consecutive games as a minus player since the middle of November and is tied for second most games played for Rochester this season at 44.
The 26-year-old leads all Amerks in penalty minutes with 68 and is eighth in the North Division. Joshua remains as the only player on Rochester’s roster to have scored an even strength, power-play, and shorthanded goal this season.
LESS IS MORE
Despite over 200-man games lost due to injury and call-ups, the Amerks have weathered the storm from a defensive and goaltending standpoint through much of their recent adversity. Over the last 11 games, the Amerks have surrendered three or fewer goals 10 times, allowing an average of 1.81 goals-per-game.
This comes at a time where for nearly half of those 11 games, the Amerks had five of their opening night roster defensemen out of the lineup. The acquisition of Gavin Bayreuther has helped, while supplemental depth through Issac Belliveau and Aidan Fulp hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Over the last 11 games, the Amerks have scored three shutout victories, with Levi posting a pair and Scott Ratzlaff getting his first professional whitewash on Feb. 6 against Springfield.
At one point in January, the Amerks were 21st in the AHL for goals-against. They have since climbed into a tie with Ontario for 11th in the league.
NO LOVE LOST
Saturday is meeting eight of 10 in the season series between Utica and Rochester, with the Amerks currently edging out their intrastate foe with a 4-2-1-0 record against the Comets. This also marks the final time this season the Amerks hit the road for a game at Adirondack Bank Center, a venue they’ve left with wins in 17 of their last 20 visits.
While the Amerks return to regular season play still yielding a playoff spot, the Comets are further from postseason positioning than any other team in the AHL, sitting 18 points behind Rochester for what would be the fifth and final playoff spot available in the North Division.
Prior to last weekend’s tilt, the Comets had strung together points in seven straight home games, including a 3-0 win against Rochester last month. The Amerks, meanwhile, are tied for the North Division lead in road points with 29. They are one of seven AHL teams with more than 28 points away from home this season.
At least one team has scored three or more goals in all seven meetings between Utica and Rochester this season. Each team has picked up a 3-0 shutout win against the other, while three games have been decided by one goal and one game has gone to overtime, with the Comets winning that encounter on Dec. 3, 2025, at Blue Cross Arena.