GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS BEGIN ATLANTIC DIVISION ROAD TRIP IN HARTFORD
Five things to know as Amerks look to maintain dominance over Wolf Pack
Nov 14, 2025The Rochester Americans (8-6-0-0) hit the road for three straight games against Atlantic Division competition, beginning Friday night as they visit PeoplesBank Arena to clash with the Hartford Wolf Pack (3-6-3-0).
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Here are five things to know before the Amerks make their lone visit to Hartford this season.
SAVED BY THE BELL(EVILLE)
After trailing 4-0 early in the third period, the Amerks fought valiantly, racing back to make it a one-goal game on two separate occasions before dropping a 6-4 final to the Belleville Senators Wednesday night at Blue Cross Arena.
Making his season debut, Carson Meyer scored Rochester’s first goal on the team’s 32nd shot of the game coming 6:14 into the third. From there, the red, white, and blue posted three goals in a 2:20 span, with Anton Wahlberg and Riley Fiddler-Schultz chipping in to make it a one-goal game as the Amerks swarmed Senators’ goaltender Hunter Shepard.
The Sens would thwart momentum again with their fifth goal, but Jake Leschyshyn kept the pulse going for the Amerks with his team-leading seventh of the season, making it 5-4 with less than four minutes to play before Belleville’s Jan Jenik sealed the deal with an empty-net goal for the 6-4 final.
Despite the outcome, Rochester heavily outpaced the Senators in shots, favored by a 42-24 margin. In addition to the goal-scorers, defenseman Ryan Johnson and forward Trevor Kuntar each registered two assists.
Devon Levi made 18 saves through nearly 50 minutes of playing time. Topias Leinonen came in relief of the All-Star goaltender, but faced no shots through 8:47 of action.
HOWLING FOR A WIN
Wednesday morning saw Hartford forward Dylan Roobroeck score late in regulation to help the Wolf Pack earn a point in the team’s 3-2 overtime loss at Providence. Despite that, the New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate has dropped five straight, going 0-2-3-0 over that stretch. Their 29 goals for are fourth-lowest in the AHL’s Eastern Conference.
Hartford ranks seventh in the Atlantic Division and are one of only six AHL teams yet to reach double-digit point totals. This will be the second straight season the Amerks catch the Wolf Pack in the midst of a five-game slump. In their last visit back on Jan. 25, the Amerks took a 6-3 final to hand Hartford a sixth straight regulation loss for the first time in franchise history.
Excluding COVID-impacted seasons, the Wolf Pack have missed the Calder Cup Playoffs in seven of 10 seasons since the franchise returned to the AHL in 2013.
JAKE RETURNS TO THE PACK
Friday marks the first time Amerks forward Jake Leschyshyn returns to the team he called home the previous three years. Leschyshyn, 26, wore a Wolf Pack jersey for 134 regular season games, then an additional 15 in the Calder Cup Playoffs, including the team’s run to the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, where he scored five goals in 10 games.
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native played more AHL games (69) last year than any prior season, posting 13 goals and 24 points for the Rangers’ affiliate. While skating under the New York umbrella, Leschyshyn appeared in 14 NHL games for the Rangers.
Since trading jerseys, the seventh-year pro has led the Amerks with seven goals, while his nine total points rank fifth in team scoring.
FANCY SEEING YOU HERE
Two familiar foes from season’s past in the North Division now wear Hartford colors in the Atlantic. Veteran defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who was plucked from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization during the offseason, is currently in his 12th season and first with Hartford. Last year, Pouliot finished second among all AHL defensemen with 46 assists and posted 53 points overall in 70 games. Tonight would be Pouliot’s 422nd AHL game.
On the attacking side of things, the all-too-familiar Trey Fix-Wolansky will face a team he’s done a lot of damage against over his career. While skating for Cleveland the previous six seasons, Fix-Wolansky tormented Rochester, operating at over a point-per-game pace with 33 (16+17) in 29 contests.
ROCK ‘EM, SOCK ‘EM
The Amerks have found good fortune when facing the Wolf Pack over the years, winning 11 of the previous 15 meetings with Hartford dating back to the 2017-18 campaign. Since the 2018-19 season, Rochester has won six of eight road meetings against the Wolf Pack, displaying a 6-1-1-0 mark.
Rochester has scored six goals in each of the last three contests and have outscored Hartford 29-17 during its five-game win streak versus the Connecticut club. The Amerks' power-play has gone 11-for-25 over that same span.
Pandemonium ensued during the last meeting in Hartford on Jan. 25 , when the two clubs combined for 160 penalty minutes, including 132 in the second period alone, with 122 of those minutes being accrued at the end of the frame. Rochester jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the middle stanza and 5-1 advantage in the third period before finishing with a 6-3 victory. Four different Amerks logged multi-point efforts while eight had at least one point.