GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS AIM FOR SPLIT WITH BEARS ON HALL OF FAME NIGHT
Five things to know as Amerks try to avoid three straight regulation losses for first time all season
Jan 29, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
On a Friday night where legends are honored, the Rochester Americans (20-15-4-2) and Hershey Bears (19-14-5-2) write another chapter in the AHL’s oldest rivalry on Hall of Fame night at Blue Cross Arena.
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Here are five things ahead of the Amerks’ final game in the month of January.
BEWARE OF BEARS
Anton Wahlberg ended a 25-game drought with his fifth goal of the season Wednesday night, but timely goals from Hershey saw the Bears skate away with a 3-1 victory in the first of two meetings on the week against Rochester.
Hershey netted a shorthanded goal in the first period, then found its second and third goals inside the two-minute mark of the second and third periods, respectively.
Devon Levi made 19 saves in the game, including a highlight-worthy stop on Bears rookie Andrew Cristall in the third period, while Hershey’s Clay Stevenson made 27 saves for the win before getting recalled by Washington following his first-star performance.
HALL’S NEWEST MEMBERS
The Amerks will induct their 70th and 71st members into the team’s Hall of Fame, with 1987 Calder Cup champion Claude Verret being inducted posthumously, along with 1996 Calder Cup winner Dean Melanson.
Verret played his entire AHL career in Rochester, establishing himself as one of the most prolific scorers in franchise history despite only playing four seasons with the Amerks from 1983 to 1987. In 229 career games with Rochester, Verret produced an astounding 259 (111+148) points, including back-to-back 90-point seasons, while also adding 27 (10+17) points in 31 postseason appearances. He was the AHL’s top scoring rookie during the 1983-84 season and later helped the Amerks win the Calder Cup in 1987.
Widely regarded for his physicality and tenacious style of play, Melanson patrolled the Rochester blueline for parts of six seasons from 1992-96 and then again from 1997-99. In 353 games as an Amerk, Melanson recorded 100 points on 22 goals and 78 assists while piling up 852 penalty minutes, which rank sixth all-time in franchise history. His 353 games played also place him 19th all-time and rank fifth-most by a defenseman, trailing only fellow Amerks Hall of Famers Darryl Sly, Don Cherry, Doug Janik, and Dave Fenyves.
BUILDING HIS OWN CASE
It’ll be a long time before he’s eligible for votes, but current Amerks forward Isak Rosén could be amassing a career worthy of consideration for the hall in Rochester.
The 22-year-old is in his fourth season wearing the red, white, and blue, currently leading the team in goals with 19 and leads all forward in points with 31 (19+12). Rosén is a goal away from reaching the 20-goal mark for a third straight season, with that feat having last been performed by Chris Taylor, who posted 20+ goal seasons from 1999-02.
Over his time in the Flower City, Rosén has amassed 81 goals and 173 points in 221 games. Next month, the Stockholm, Sweden, native will head to the AHL All-Star Classic, marking a third straight season where Rosén has been recognized by the league. He is the first Amerk to appear in three consecutive all-star games in the 21st century.
ILYA’S ELITE, IT’S CRISTALL CLEAR
Hershey has a pair of rookie forwards leading the charge for not only their team, but all first-year Eastern Conference players. Newcomer and 19-year-old Ilya Protas is tops in the conference with 33 points (17+16) by a rookie, followed by 20-year-old Andrew Cristall with 32 (8+24).
Cristall is tied for leading all AHL rookies in assists with 24 with seven in the month of January alone. Protas was held off the scoresheet Wednesday, snapping a seven-game point streak for the Capitals’ third-round pick from the 2024 NHL Draft.
Protas is on pace to have the highest scoring season from a teenager in Bears franchise history.
BIG NUMBERS
When combining the numbers of these two franchises, the Bears and Amerks will combine for 11,689 games by the conclusion of Friday’s contest. The clubs have put together 5,718 wins and 40,586 combined goals.
Friday is the third of four meetings in the season series, with Hershey having won the previous two tilts and six straight dating back to the start of the 2023-24 season. This will serve as the 471st all-time meeting between the two clubs who have combined for 19 Calder Cups.
On Wednesday, former Amerk Dalton Smith played his first game against Rochester at Blue Cross Arena after playing 157 games over four seasons in the red, white, and blue. He earned his first point of the season on an assist.