GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS HOST SENS ON TEDDY BEAR TOSS NIGHT
Five things to know as Amerks look for bounce back win ahead of holiday break
Dec 18, 2025By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
In their final game before the holidays, the Rochester Americans (14-10-2-1) host their annual Teddy Bear Toss Night on Friday at Blue Cross Arena against the Belleville Senators (11-14-3-0).
Here are five things to know ahead of game three in this four-game homestand.
WEDNESDAY WOES
Despite Isak Rosén scoring just minutes into his return to Rochester, the Amerks were met with a desperate Utica hockey club that fought for a 3-2 win Wednesday night in downtown Rochester.
Zac Jones also found the back of the net for his second of the season, while Devon Levi made 16 saves in goal on a night where the two division rivals combined for only 40 shots. The loss was Rochester’s first in regulation since Nov. 26, snapping a six-game point streak where the team went 3-0-2-1. It also marked the first regulation loss to the Comets since Nov. 23, 2024.
The Amerks have dropped six of their last seven Wednesday games since the start of November, showing a 1-5-1-0 record over that span.
Belleville has been sitting since Sunday where the team overcame a deficit to force overtime, but still fell a point short in a 4-3 loss to Bridgeport. The Senators are 1-4-1-0 in December, but still yield a playoff spot in the North Division, sitting fifth out of the seven clubs.
100 FOR LEO
Friday night will see Amerks head coach Michael Leone behind the bench for his 100th regular season game with the team since being named the 34th coach in franchise history in June of 2024.
Through his first 99 contests since making his Amerks debut, Leone, the second-youngest coach in the AHL, has guided the club to a 56-32-11 mark while also helping the club reach the North Division Finals this past spring.
Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Leone's Amerks are tied for second in the AHL with 329 goals scored, including 81 tallies that have come on the man-advantage. The 81 power-play conversions are most in the Eastern Conference, while the club's 16 shorthanded markers rank third in the AHL in that same span.
Leone has seen 45 different players put on the Amerks' sweater, with 40 recording at least one point, while 33 have found the back of the opposition's net. The second-year head coach has used six different netminders with five earning the victory in the blue paint.
More than a dozen skaters have appeared in one game for both Rochester and Buffalo under Leone's leadership. Four skaters have made their NHL debuts and four tallied their first NHL goals.
A SHIFT IN BELLEVILLE
Following the team’s 10th loss over its last 12 games, the parent Ottawa Senators announced earlier in the week that the organization was parting ways with Belleville head coach David Bell, who had been in the midst of leading the Senators for a third straight season. Over his time with the team, the Sens logged 83 regular season wins and appeared in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Stepping in now is interim head coach Andrew Campbell. The 37-year-old skated parts of 11 AHL seasons while appearing in 42 NHL games between Los Angeles, Arizona, and Toronto. The Caledonia, Ontario. native is in his third season with the Sens, having served as an assistant coach prior to the promotion. Before then, Campbell was behind the bench as an assistant for OHL-Hamilton for a pair of seasons from 2021-23.
SETTING THE TABLE
It’s the second time in nine nights the Amerks and Senators get together, with Friday’s tilt serving as the fourth of eight in the season series and second of four in Rochester between the two clubs after the Senators claimed a 6-4 victory in their first visit on Nov. 12. The Amerks fell behind by a 4-0 deficit before scoring four of the next five, which included Carson Meyer's first of the slate.
Rochester has won eight of its last 12 games against Belleville dating back to the 2023-24 season.
Konsta Helenius, who has produced four goals and five assists since Nov. 28, has tallied 18 points (7+11) in 12 career games versus the Senators. He added his first-career AHL hat trick in the 4-0 win on Apr 5.
During Rochester's 6-1 victory at CAA Arena last week, the Amerks scored three power-play goals in the opening frame for the first time since Feb. 21, 2024, which also came against Belleville during the first period.
The Amerks are 10-7-0-1 over the last five seasons in Belleville, earning at least one point in 11 of the last 18 matchups over that span. Conversely, Rochester sports a 6-8-1-2 mark in the Flower City. Most of Belleville’s losing of late has come on home ice. The team has a winning road record and has accrued points in seven of its last 10 games away from their province.
ISAK(ING) STUFFER
When in the AHL this season, Rosén has done nothing short of tormenting the league, bashing a team best-10 goals through along with 20 points in only 14 games. His 1.43 points-per-game ranks second in the league amongst skaters with at least 10 games played, while he is one of eight players with at least six power-play goals this season.
The two-time AHL All-Star is currently riding a career-best 10-game point streak, scoring seven goals and seven assists for 14 points over a stretch dating back to Oct. 22 against Syracuse.
When facing the Senators, Rosén has operated at a point-per-game pace throughout his career, scoring eight goals and 21 points in as many contests.