GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HOST ROCKET IN FIRST HOME GAME OF 2026
Five things to know as Amerks welcome first-place Laval back to Blue Cross Arena
Jan 8, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (17-11-3-1) return to home ice for the first time of the new year as they face-off against the first-place Laval Rocket (21-11-0-1) Friday night at Blue Cross Arena.
| HOW TO WATCH! | GET TICKETS! | GAME NOTES | ROSTER SHEET | MEDIA KIT | LINE CHART |
Here are five things to know before the North Division Champions come to town.
HANGING ON
The Amerks skate back to the Flower City with a 3-2 win under their belts from Wednesday in Syracuse as Rochester held off a rally cry from the Crunch.
Rochester built itself a 3-0 lead just over 10 minutes into the first period, but a late second-period goal followed by an early conversion in the third gave Syracuse life. Devon Levi was able to bunker down, making 22 saves over the final 40 minutes to help the Amerks secure the win in regulation, clawing to within a point of Syracuse for second place in the North Division.
Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Nikita Novikov both scored for a second time in as many games, while alternate captain Jack Rathbone wired in his second goal of the team’s three-game road trip. With the win, Rochester has points in 10 of its last 12 games (6-2-3-1).
Laval was one of two teams in the North that were idle Wednesday, but the team last played at home over the weekend, splitting a pair of games with Utica. The back-half of the two-game set saw the Comets complete a third-period rally to stun Laval with a 4-3 final. Despite the upset, the Rocket still hold a four-point lead over the next closest team to them in the standings and are five points out in front of the Amerks, though Rochester does hold a game in hand.
TRAFFIC JAM
Second through fifth place in the North Division are now separated by a mere two points. Syracuse and Toronto occupy a share for second and third in the division at 39 points, while the Amerks rank behind them at 38, and Cleveland holds down fifth with 37. From there, it’s a six-point drop-off to Belleville (31) and even greater for Utica (24), who along with Cleveland are the only teams the Amerks don’t hold games in hand on.
Rochester is 13-8-2-0 against its division this season. That includes a pair of wins against Laval, including their only visit to date at Blue Cross Arena this season on Oct. 24, when Levi pitched a 19-save shutout in a 4-0 win for the Amerks. This was the lone game Rochester has blanked an opponent this season.
Three of Rochester’s 10 remaining games in January will come against teams within striking distance in terms of positioning, with two games against Syracuse and a game remaining against Cleveland.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
The only sour note following Wednesday’s win over Syracuse was that forward Isak Rosén was unable to extend his career-best point streak. The fourth-year Amerk went 13 games in a row with a point in Rochester and on Wednesday was held off the scoresheet for only the second time in his 18-game season wearing the red, white, and blue.
Over his 13-game streak that spanned from Oct. 22 - Jan. 3, Rosén produced 11 goals and seven assists. His streak was the second-longest in the AHL this season behind only Laval’s Laurent Dauphin, who strung together a 16-game point streak that ended on Jan. 2. The veteran forward amassed 24 points (3+21) over that span, including six multi-point efforts over that span.
Additionally, Rosén’s streak was the best by an Amerk since Lukas Rousek went 13 games in 2023-24, collecting 14 points (4+10) in the process.
WORTHWHILE TRADE
It is nearly two years to the date since the Amerks acquired defenseman Noah Laaouan from the Laval Rocket in exchange for Chris Jandric on Jan. 11, 2024. Laaouan had spent that season with Laval’s ECHL affiliate up until that point. He continued to stay in the ECHL for most of his first two seasons in the Amerks’ organization, but turned a corner this offseason and has mostly been a mainstay on the team’s blueline in 2025-26.
Back in late November, Laaouan notched his first AHL goal and has put together six points (1+5) through 20 games this season. Laaouan played in seven AHL games over the three seasons prior to this year.
LAURENT LEADING
Rocket forward Laurent Dauphin enters Friday as the league-leading scorer, producing 38 points (11+27) over 30 games. His plus-22 on-ice rating is also tied for tops in the AHL as the 12-year veteran is on pace to have the best season of his career.
Injuries and call-ups earlier in his career limited how much Dauphin could do in a single season. Last year was the first time the Repentigny, Quebec, native played more than 60 AHL games since 2018-19, and the first time doing so with a single team since his rookie year with Springfield in 2015-16.
Dauphin has put up 315 points, including 131 goals, over his 457 AHL games. He has scored 12 goals in 20 career games against the Amerks highlighted by a four-goal game against Rochester earlier this season back on Nov. 1.