GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HEAD TO SYRACUSE SEEKING THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
Five things to know as Amerks continue three-game weekend with home-and-home against Crunch
Mar 28, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The busiest weekend of the season to date continues for the Rochester Americans (27-24-5-4) as they hit the road Saturday night to take on the Syracuse Crunch.
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Here are five things to know ahead of Saturday’s game.
CAN WE CALL THIS A WINNING STREAK?
With 11 goals over their last two games, the Amerks have officially won back-to-back contests for the first time since mid-February. Following a 6-3 win over Hartford Sunday, the Amerks scored early and never looked back Friday night, topping a Toronto Marlies team by a 5-2 final to prevent their opponent from clinching a playoff spot.
Five different Amerks found the back of the net, with Anton Wahlberg scoring the game winner 8:01 into the second period. Devon Levi was sharp, stopping 27 shots to secure his 19th win of the season.
The Crunch began their three-game weekend on home ice as well, though Syracuse’s fortunes were not as good as the Amerks. A Crunch rally fell short against Hershey, as the Bears scurried out of Upstate Medical University Arena with a 4-3 win, handing the Crunch just their eighth regulation loss on home ice this season.
Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate secured a playoff spot last weekend after topping the Amerks, though they are four points behind Laval as they continue to compete for a North Division title.
A FEAT FOR FIDDLER
Friday’s win against the Marlies was capped off by an empty-net goal from Riley Fiddler-Schultz, who in doing so reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his AHL career.
The third-year Amerk has had a remarkable story, going from an undrafted player who began his career in the ECHL – to a healthy scratch for the first six weeks of last season – to now being on a multi-year NHL contract with the Buffalo Sabres and a top four-point producer for Rochester.
Of his 20 goals this season, 14 have come since flipping the calendar to 2026. The Edmonton, Alberta, native has produced six points (5+1) over his last 10 games.
SCOTT STARTS IN SYRACUSE
Amerks head coach Mike Leone confirmed following Friday’s game that rookie goaltender Scott Ratzlaff would get the start in Syracuse. The 21-year-old will get an opportunity to exact some vengeance after being tagged for five goals against on 21 shots facing the Crunch eight days ago.
Ratzlaff will reach double-digits in games played with his 10th appearance and ninth start of the season. The 21-year-old is 4-3-1 with a shutout on the season. Three of his four victories have taken place on the road. Prior to last week’s start, Ratzlaff had made 30-plus saves in each of his three prior games.
CRUNCHING NUMBERS
Saturday is game 10 of 12 on the season between the Amerks and Crunch, with Rochester yielding a 4-4-0-1 record in the season series. Syracuse has skated away as the victor in each of the last three encounters, though the Amerks had won the previous trio of contests. A victory tonight would give Rochester at least five wins in each of the last four seasons with the Crunch and seven of the last eight dating back to the start of 2018-19 campaign.
Since the 2016-17 season, the Amerks are 46-12-5-1when scoring three or more goals against the Crunch. The Amerks face-off against Syracuse again Sunday afternoon, then wrap-up the season series on Wednesday, Apr. 8 back at Syracuse.
JAKOB’S LADDER
The AHL’s leading point producer is also the league’s hottest player.
Syracuse forward Jakob Pelletier is up to 71 points (26+45) on the season, ranking five points ahead of former Crunch forward, Alex Barré-Boulet, who has 66 points with AHL-Colorado.
Pelletier enters Saturday on the longest active point streak in the AHL at 14 games, recording six goals and 21 points. The fifth-year pro recorded two assists in the loss against Hershey Friday, with his first helper serving as his 200th AHL point. When playing on home ice, Pelletier has points in 24 of 28 games.
The 2026 All-Star has nine points (5+4) in the season series against Rochester.