GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS SEARCH FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN IN UTICA
Nov 7, 2026| GAME NOTES | MEDIA KIT | LINE CHART | WATCH ON FLO HOCKEY! |
After closing out the four-game homestand with three consecutive wins, the Rochester Americans (7-4-0-1) travel to Utica to take on the Comets (7-2) as they complete a three game in four-day stretch. The Amerks remained perfect on Friday’s, now an impressive 6-0 following a 4-2 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack. Rochester has now outscored opponents 27-10 on Friday’s and 29-16 inside BCA. Utica has played the fewest games in the AHL but have won four of the last five games and three in a row all at home. The Comets welcome the ‘Merks after a 5-2 win versus the Syracuse Crunch at NBT Bank Arena.
Rochester has lost both games in the season series up to this point, including a 2-1 setback on the road on October 10th and 5-3 on October 21st in the Flower City. Puck drop between in the third rendition of the intrastate battle is set for 6:05 p.m. with pregame coverage on WGR Rochester and AHLTV on FloHockey beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Here is what you need to know before tonight’s game:
BACK ON THE ROAD
Rochester has gotten accustomed to Blue Cross Arena with a 5-2 record at home but haven’t seen the same level of success on the road. The red, white, and blue are 2-2-0-1 on the road but got back to .500 following a 3-2 overtime winner in Cuse on October 23rd. The Amerks saw firsthand how difficult NBT Bank Arena is to play at during the Comets home opener. Utica netted back-to-back goals in the opening four minutes of the second period and held onto the lead for the rest of regulation. Peca cut the deficit just three minutes later, but Rochester generated just 12 more shots on goal after that. The Comets are 4-1 at home in large part for their suffocating defense, as they currently allow the fewest shots in the AHL at 22.2 per game. Utica relishes in the low-scoring battles, with an undefeated record in 1-goal games (4-0) and 2-goal games (2-0). Even with the Amerks bolstering the seventh-best scoring offense, they’ll have their hands full in Utica to replicate that same amount of success we’ve seen in the recent homestand.
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
Simply put, Matthew Peca is really good at the whole hockey thing. The Amerks captain is now tied for the league lead with 17 points (6+11) with Dominik Shane (GR) and Brendan Brisson (TOR) in one less game played. Peca is in the midst of a seven-game point streak, including recording multiple points in the last three games. The Petawawa, Ontario native has collected eight points (2+6) doing most of his damage on the power-play during the win streak. It’s just the third time in Peca’s career that he’s established that many multi-point efforts consecutively and the first since October 2023.
BEST ON BEST
A catalyst for the Amerks three-game win streak has been the revitalization of the power-play. After enduring a 1-17 stretch on the man advantage, Rochester has converted at a 50% (6-12) clip and netted two power-play markers in each of the last three contests. Now sitting 7th in the AHL at 23.7%, the ‘Merks take on the 2nd best PK in the league. Utica has allowed just four goals in 36 chances (88.9%) overall but sit middle of the pack in terms of home penalty kill numbers (17-20). Last night Syracuse went 1-5 on the power-play and Rochester is still looking for its first man advantage marker against Utica this year (0-9).