GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS LOOK FOR WEEKEND SWEEP OF MARLIES
Five things to know as Rochester looks to build momentum after snapping winless skid
Mar 14, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (25-22-5-4) hit the road for the back-half of their St Patrick’s Day weekend with a rematch against the Toronto Marlies (28-20-5-5) Saturday afternoon at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
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Here are five things ahead of Rochester’s final visit north of the border this season.
LUCK OF THE IRISH
Trevor Kuntar helped the Amerks return to the win column Friday night, lifting the team to a 4-3 overtime win against Toronto at Blue Cross Arena to end a season-long nine-game winless skid.
It wasn’t easy, as Vsevolod Komarov made it a 3-1 game in favor of Rochester late in the third, but a pair of goals scored 21 seconds apart from one another helped the Marlies salvage a point out of the contest.
Konsta Helenius and Olivier Nadeau scored earlier in the game, while Scott Ratzlaff made 31 saves to pick up his fourth win of the season.
Saturday is game five of six in the season series against Toronto, with the host team winning each of the previous four meetings. Since the start of the New Year, Toronto has lost eight of its 10 games that have gone beyond regulation. The Marlies are seven points ahead of Rochester, yielding fourth place in the North Division standings.
LEVI BACK IN THE CREASE
Amerks head coach Mike Leone indicated Friday morning that his goaltenders would split duties over the weekend. With Ratzlaff getting the win Friday, the Amerks will turn back to Devon Levi for his league leading-41st start of the season.
The 24-year-old is 1-1-0 against Toronto this season, having last faced the Marlies in a loss on Jan. 3. Levi shows a 17-15-8 record in 2025-26, but has won over 53 percent of his career starts as an Amerk. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, native’s best career performance came in his rookie season at Toronto, where Levi made an astounding 52 saves in a 2-1 overtime win over the Marlies Feb. 19, 2024.
Levi will look to end a personal winless skid of seven games, despite making 30 or more saves in three of those outings. His last win came Feb. 14 at Utica.
JONES IN HISTORIC CHATTER
It has been a career year for Zac Jones, who reached 50 points on the season with his 42nd helper of the campaign on Komarov’s goal Friday night.
With the assist, Jones now has the most points by an Amerks defenseman since Zach Redmond hit 50 in 2018-19. Jones needs one point to become the first Amerks blueliner to exceed 50 points in 15 years, with Michael Kostka being the last one to do so when he shoveled 54 points (16+38) across the 2010-11 season.
Should Jones maintain his current pace, the fifth-year pro has an opportunity to become Rochester’s all-time single season leader for assists by a defenseman. Bob Hess holds the record with 58 set during the 1980-81 campaign.
SWEET 16
Friday’s win could be the momentum boost the Amerks need as they hit the final month of regular season play. Entering Saturday, Rochester has 16 games left with a six-point lead on Utica and seven-point advantage over Belleville: the two teams on the outside looking into the North Division playoff race.
Half of Rochester’s six games remaining in March come against Syracuse and all but one of their opponents are from within the division. The Amerks meet the Marlies today and again on Mar. 27, with the teams separated by seven points. If the regular season would end today, the Amerks and Marlies would meet in a best-of-three series to begin the Calder Cup Playoffs.
ARTURING HIS OWN STORY
Given he didn’t dress in Rochester, all signs point to Artur Akhtyamov making the start for the Marlies on their home ice. The second-year Marlie has 31 starts on the season, pitching a 17-10-4 mark, though he has won only two of his last eight trips to the crease.
Akhtyamov is 1-1-0 against Rochester this season, allowing four goals in each appearance. He is 2-5-4 this season when allowing four goals. Last season, the Russian-born goaltender went 3-0-1 when facing the Amerks. He has beaten Rochester in each of his three career home games against the red, white, and blue.
As a team, the Marlies are surrendering the fifth-most goals against (185) in the Eastern Conference.