GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS MAKE FINAL VISIT TO SYRACUSE THIS SEASON
Five things to know as Rochester seeks first three-game win streak since mid-February
Apr 8, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
As their magic number continues to shrink, the Rochester Americans (30-27-5-4) roll on in their four-game road trip with their final stop of the season at Upstate Medical University Arena to face the Syracuse Crunch (39-21-3-4) Wednesday night.
| HOW TO WATCH | PLAYOFF PRIMER | GAME NOTES | MEDIA KIT | LINE CHART |
Here are five things to know before the Amerks and Crunch meet for the 12th and final time this season.
SHOOTERS GONNA SHOOT
The Amerks began their road trip with a bend, not break situation Monday night. After carrying a 3-1 lead into the final five minutes of regulation, Cleveland was able to score twice to tie it and eventually force a shootout. The Amerks would then fall behind in the breakaway challenge before rallying on goals from Vsevolod Komarov and Carson Meyer to pull out the win, topping the Monsters with a 4-3 road victory.
Devon Levi had to be good – and was – making 35 saves, plus preventing three of four shots from going in during the shootout to secure his 22nd win of the season and Rochester’s 30th as a whole.
The Amerks had a 2-0 lead early in the second period with Trevor Kuntar and Matteo Costantini scoring 1:06 apart. Cleveland would cut into the deficit later in the frame, but Kuntar’s second of the night made it 3-1 early in the third period. That goal would mark the only shot on net Rochester had in the frame compared to Cleveland’s 14. Each of the Amerks’ last three wins have come past regulation.
The rest of the AHL was idle Monday. Syracuse last played Saturday and also went to a shootout, though the score did not favor them in a 4-3 final at Springfield. Nick Abruzzese evened the score in the third period for the Crunch to gain a point, but Syracuse was unable to avoid dropping a third straight contest.
SIX NEEDED WITH SIX TO GO
The Amerks are inching closer and closer to securing a playoff berth for a fifth straight season. With the win Monday at Cleveland, Rochester has reduced its magic number to six points. There is a world where the Amerks can punch their ticket to the postseason as soon as this Friday at Springfield, though they would need some help from Toronto, who plays Utica both tonight and Friday.
At the same time, the Amerks are chasing the Marlies who have stumbled into a four-game losing streak. Rochester is only five points back of the fourth-place Marlies and have a game in hand on Toronto. The Amerks can finish no higher than third in the North Division at this point, though those chances are not favorable as Cleveland’s magic number to avoid the play-in round is just four.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
The Amerks continue to get reinforcements from the college circuit as the end of the regular season nears. As the team continues awaiting the debut of defenseman Maxim Štrbák, who joined the club on an Amateur Tryout last week, the Amerks have now added Liam Valente out of Western Michigan University.
Valente, 22, is joining the Amerks on a Professional Tryout for the remainder of this season, but has already inked a one-year AHL contract for the 2026-27 campaign. The now former Bronco captured an NCAA National Championship with Matteo Costantini, who he’ll be reunited with once more in Rochester. In his senior season, Valente amassed 20 goals and 35 points to help Western Michigan reach a fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Märsta, Sweden, native was named the Fargo Regional Most Outstanding Player a season ago after 33 points with the Broncos, along with eight power-play goals. Valente’s award season continued into this year, being named an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and led the conference with 10 power-play tallies this time around.
RIDE THE LIGHTNING
Syracuse will be without the services of its top three point-getter in Jakob Pelletier, Conor Geekie, and Dylan Duke, all of whom were summoned by the parent Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday evening.
Pelletier, the league’s leading scorer, is on the run of his career. The fifth-year pro is currently riding the league’s longest point streak in nearly a decade, as Pelletier has found the scoresheet in 18 straight games, tormenting opponents with eight goals and 25 points since Feb. 20.
The 18-game streak is the longest in the AHL since Hershey’s Paul Carey recorded points 19 games in the early goings of the 2016-17 season. The last player to reach a 20-game point streak in the league was also a Bear, with AHL Hall of Famer Alexandre Giroux hitting a 23-game streak during the 2008-09 season.
Overall, Pelletier leads the AHL with 75 points (28+47). Of the 30 home games he’s appeared in for the Crunch, Pelletier has recorded at least a point in 28 of those contests.
Duke, meanwhile, trails only Belleville’s Arthur Kaliyev (37) and Grand Rapids’ John Leonard (32) in goals this season with 31, including an AHL-best 17 power-play tallies.
12 TIMES TOO MANY
Including playoffs, tonight will be the 61st time since the start of the 2022-23 season that the Amerks and Crunch face-off. Rochester yields a 5-5-0-1 record through the first 11 meetings of this season and have won at least five games each year against the Crunch over the past eight.
In their last encounter, the Amerks collected their first shootout win of the season with a 3-2 effort at Blue Cross Arena Mar. 29. The Salt City has not been kind to the Amerks this season, with the Crunch taking four of the previous five contests played at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Levi could potentially make his 49th start of the season Wednesday night. The 24-year-old owns a 10-7-5 career record in 22 career appearances against the Crunch. Levi earned his first win against the Crunch earlier this season back on Nov. 28 after being winless in his four previous regular season contests (0-2-2) dating back to Jan. 31, 2025. Levi posted his second career shutout against the Crunch in a 3-0 win on Jan. 14. Over his last seven starts opposite Syracuse, the former AHL All-Star boasts a 5-1-1 record with 187 saves.