GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HOST MARLIES TO OPEN HOME-AND-HOME WEEKEND
Five things to know as Rochester opens home-and-home set with Toronto
Mar 13, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (24-22-5-4) open St. Patrick’s Day weekend by hosting the Toronto Marlies (28-20-4-5) Friday night at Blue Cross Arena.
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Here are five things to know before the Amerks try to get back to their winning ways.
OUT OF CAT LIVES
Zac Jones scored Rochester’s lone goal Wednesday night in a 4-1 loss to the Utica Comets that saw the Amerks’ winless skid reach a season-long nine games (0-6-1-2).
The game was back-and-forth, with Devon Levi making a number of quality stops and finishing with 38 saves on the night. The difference came in the final four minutes of the second period, when Utica struck for a pair of power-play goals to take a two-goal advantage, before tacking on a shorthanded conversion in the third.
Rochester enters Friday at risk of tying its longest winless skid in nearly two decades, with the 2007-08 team losing 10 straight in regulation from Dec. 1-26.
Elsewhere in the Empire State that same night, the Marlies dismantled a red-hot Syracuse team with a 5-1 win over the Crunch. The win was just Toronto’s second victory over their last nine road games, though the team is eight points ahead of Rochester holding the fourth spot in the North Division while sitting just four points back of Cleveland for third place.
ROSTER NOTES
In unfortunate news, Amerks defenseman Jack Rathbone was injured during the second period of Wednesday night’s game and did not return. Following the contest, head coach Mike Leone stated he’ll expect Rathbone to “be out a while” as he recovers from an upper-body injury. This comes just over two weeks after the veteran blueliner returned to the lineup from a previous injury that forced him out for a month.
This tentatively leaves the Amerks with seven healthy defensemen, pending moves at the AHL trade deadline. On offense, Red Savage is eyeing a return soon from his lower-body injury. The rookie forward has five points (3+2) over 19 games with Rochester this season, having spent a portion of his year with ECHL-Jacksonville.
Newcomer Kaleb Lawrence won the Amerks some face-offs in his debut with the team Wednesday after being loaned from AHL-Ontario in exchange for defenseman Nikita Novikov. Friday could see the professional debut of forward Chris Douglas, whom Rochester signed to an amateur tryout for the remainder of the season. Douglas finished his fifth season at the University of British Columbia in Western Canada, serving as captain of the team while scoring 16 goals and 35 points over 28 games.
KONSTANTLY PUTTING UP POINTS
Teenage prospect Konsta Helenius registered an assist in Wednesday’s game to push his point streak to four straight and has one point in seven of his last eight games.
Helenius leads Rochester forwards in scoring with 43 points (14+29) this season and has been a consistent contributor when playing Canadian teams throughout his two years in red, white, and blue. Over 43 career games against Belleville, Laval, and Toronto, Helenius has scored 14 goals and amassed 35 points.
This season, his point production is the second highest among all teenage players in the AHL. The Sabres’ first-round draft pick from 2024 leads Rochester with four game-winning-goals this season and the Amerks are 7-2-2-1 when Helenius finds the back of the net.
NO SHOW FOR BO
Toronto is expected to be without their leading scorer Friday as Bo Groulx has been recalled to the Maple Leafs. The veteran center has 50 points (27+23) this season, tying him for third in the league’s goal-scoring category.
The production drops a bit from there, but the Marlies still have three players in their projected lineup with over 30 points this season, including former Amerk Alex Nylander.
The Marlies have scored just as much as they’ve allowed their opponent to, with 181 goals for and against this season.
PLAYOFF PREVIEW?
Despite Rochester’s recent struggles, the team still has a five-point gap between themselves and sixth place Belleville for the final spot in the North Division’s playoff bracket. If the season would end today, Toronto and Rochester would meet in a best-of-three play-in round to kickstart the postseason.
Rochester last faced the Marlies in playoff competition back in 2023, when they swept the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate out of Blue Cross Arena with a 3-0 sweep in the North Division Finals. Toronto is attempting to make it to the playoffs for a fourth straight year, while Rochester continues vying for a fifth consecutive playoff berth.
This season, the teams have met three times, with the Marlies winning both encounters North of the border, while the Amerks won their only prior meeting at Blue Cross Arena, which took place on opening night Oct. 10. Between Friday-Mar. 27, the Amerks and Marlies face-off three times to wrap up their six-game series.