GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS BEGIN WEEKEND AT HOME AGAINST CRUNCH
Five things to know as Amerks look to string together consecutive wins on home ice
Mar 19, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (25-23-5-4) enter a home-heavy portion of their schedule starting Friday night when they host the Syracuse Crunch (35-19-3-2) at Blue Cross Arena.
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Here are five things to know going into Friday’s face-off.
TORONTO SPLIT
The Amerks settled for a split in last weekend’s pair of games with the Toronto Marlies. After Trevor Kuntar lifted Rochester to an overtime win Friday night, the Amerks were held scoreless in a 3-0 setback in Saturday’s rematch north of the border.
Devon Levi recorded 24 saves and was Rochester’s best penalty killer as the team cleared all six man-advantages the Marlies had. The Amerks limited Toronto to just four shots in the third period, but were unable to score on any of their 26 shots, with half a dozen coming from defenseman Gavin Bayreuther.
After winning 12 of 13, the Syracuse Crunch enter Blue Cross Arena having dropped three in a row over a four-day span last week, losing games to Toronto, Lehigh Valley and Laval. Because of its success prior, Syracuse remains entrenched in playoff positioning and is nearing the opportunity to clinch a spot in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs as they rank second in the North Division.
McCARTHY LATEST TO JOIN AMERKS
The Amerks’ youthful injection continues in March with Sabres prospect Gavin McCarthy the latest to join the team this week. McCarthy, a former Junior Sabre, could potentially make his pro debut at some point this weekend.
The Boston University defenseman inked a three-year, entry-level contract with Buffalo on Tuesday, then signed an amateur tryout with the Amerks for the remainder of the current season. McCarthy, 20, recorded 20 points (4+17) in 36 games as captain of the Terriers.
A native of Troy, New York, McCarthy was grabbed by the Sabres in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft. Before that, the blueliner spent two seasons patrolling for USHL-Muskegon, collecting 10 goals and 40 points over 95 games. McCarthy is the second amateur tryout signing for the Amerks this season after the team brought Chris Douglas in last week from the University of British Columbia.
PROSPECTS SHUFFLED TO JACKSONVILLE
As an influx of talent comes in, the Amerks and Sabres continue to evaluate all of their prospects at all levels. Forward Tyler Kopff, along with goaltender Topias Leinonen have been reassigned to ECHL-Jacksonville in an effort to allow both players more playing time than what is available to them in Rochester for the moment.
Leinonen has been to the ECHL once before this season and has dealt with injuries that have sidelined him for much of the year. He has taken the crease eight times this season, with seven games coming as an Amerk. Leinonen last played for Rochester back on Dec. 5, 2025.
Kopff is in the first of two years on his entry-level contract with Buffalo and has a goal and five points through 30 games this season. This marks the first time the 22-year-old is reassigned to Jacksonville. The Ridgewood, New Jersey, native has skated in just seven games with the Amerks since the turn of the new year.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Friday begins a session of home cooking for the Amerks, who play seven of their next eight games at Blue Cross Arena through Apr. 4. Over that span, three opponents from the Atlantic Division will come to town (Hartford, Charlotte, Providence), while Rochester hosts Syracuse twice, plus a pair of Canadian opponents via visits from the Marlies and Senators.
Rochester has the third-fewest home games played in the Eastern Conference at 28. The team has gone 11-12-3-2 on home ice, with its last appearance being a 4-3 overtime win last Friday against Toronto.
Following this stretch, the Amerks end the season with six of their final seven contests away from home.
SYRACUSE STARTING TO STUMBLE
The Crunch stumble into Blue Cross Arena after three straight losses for the first time in 2026, going 0-2-1-0 last week while being outscored 13-5.
This is meeting nine of 12 on the season between the Amerks and Crunch, with Rochester sporting a 4-3-0-1 record thus far against its intrastate opponent. The last time these teams met came at the beginning of the month when Syracuse held on for a 3-1 win over the Amerks Mar. 1.
The Crunch are led by AHL leading scorer Jakob Pelletier, who has 23 goals and 64 points through 53 games. At his current pace, Pelletier could look to become the third player in Syracuse Crunch history to record 80 or more points in a single season, joining Carter Verhaeghe (82 in 2018-19) and Alex Barre-Boulet (84 in 2022-23).