GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS FACE BELLEVILLE TEAM ON THE BRINK
Five things to know as Rochester hosts Sens in pivotal matchup Friday
Apr 2, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
In what could be viewed as the biggest game of the season to date, the Rochester Americans (28-26-5-4) face-off against the desperate Belleville Senators (25-31-8-1) for the final time this season Friday night at Blue Cross Arena.
Here are five things to know ahead of this pivotal North Division matchup.
CHECKMATE
Despite a strong five-on-five performance along with two power-play goals, the Amerks were unable to overcome a slow start and timely scoring from Charlotte, which emerged from Blue Cross Arena Wednesday night with a 5-3 final.
The loss for the Amerks snapped their three-game win streak on home ice, but Rochester has still put up big numbers offensively, scoring 17 goals across its past four in the Flower City.
Noah Laaouan scored for the first time since late November, while Konsta Helenius and Gavin Bayreuther put in power-play conversions to keep Rochester’s man-advantage atop the Eastern Conference. Devon Levi made 19 saves on the night, appearing in his league leading-45th game of the 2025-26 campaign.
Belleville hasn’t played in nearly a week. After blanking Manitoba in a 5-0 win Friday, the Sens’ luck was reversed Saturday evening in a 1-0 shutout loss.
MAGIC NUMBER
Rochester’s magic number to secure a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs is down to 10. Despite the regulation loss to Charlotte Wednesday, the Utica Comets fell in a shootout to Providence, resulting in a point being shaved off the Amerks’ magic number.
A combined 10 points gained from Rochester and/or lost by Belleville and Utica will result in the red, white, and blue clinching playoffs. Friday is a four-point swing with the Amerks facing Belleville, meaning a regulation victory could reduce Rochester’s number to six.
An Amerks playoff berth would mark the fourth time in franchise history the Amerks have a segment where the team qualifies for five straight playoffs and the first since an incredible run of consecutive berths from 1990-2005.
PUSH TO THE MAX
Friday could see the professional debut of Sabres prospect Maxim Štrbák, whom the Amerks have on an Amateur Tryout for the remainder of the current season. The news of Štrbák’s arrival in Rochester comes after the 2023 second-round draft pick signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres on Wednesday, with that contract coming into effect beginning next season.
Štrbák is coming off his third season at Michigan State University, where the 20-year-old logged three goals and 18 points across 37 games for the Spartans. He was part of a team that won the Big Ten Hockey Championship in each of his three seasons.
The Slovakian blueliner represented his country at the 20225 IIHF World Junior Championship, serving as an alternate captain for the team. Štrbák accrued six points (1+5) in tournament play this past winter. It marked the third consecutive year he had represented Slovakia and first with a letter on his jersey.
Štrbák will wear No. 18 with Rochester.
SO LONG, SENS
Friday marks the eighth and final time Rochester faces off with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate this season. Through seven encounters thus far, the Amerks are 4-2-1-0 when facing Belleville, though the Sens have won the last two, including a 3-1 loss for the Amerks most recently on Feb. 4.
Konsta Helenius has dominated Belleville over his young professional career. The teenage superstar has six goals and 18 points across 13 regular season games playing the Senators. This includes a hat trick against the club almost a year ago to the date on Apr. 5, 2025, at Belleville. This season, Helenius is up to seven points (2+5) in five games against this divisional adversary.
After scoring three power-play goals in one period against the Senators on Dec. 10, the Amerks have gone 0-for-9 over their last four against Belleville.
Rochester has outscored Belleville, 28-23 in the season series. Three of the last four against them have been decided in overtime.
Since the start of February, Belleville yields a 6-13-0-0 record. In that same span, the Amerks have gone 6-11-1-2.
CONTAIN KALIYEV
Despite their struggles, the Senators still have a roster that features the league’s leading goal-scorer. Arthur Kaliyev is five or more ahead of his peers, leading the AHL with 36 goals through 63 games. Last Friday, the sixth-year pro recorded his first hat trick of the season after cooling off with only three goals over his previous 10 contests.
Against Rochester this season, Kaliyev has five goals, including an overtime-winner when the Amerks travled to CAA Arena on Jan. 16.
Of Kaliyev’s 36 goals this season, 16 have come on the power-play, ranking him second in the league in that category. The former Los Angeles Kings’ prospect also leads the AHL with 237 shots on goal.