GAME PREVIEW: CLEVELAND COMES TO ROC AS HOMESTAND CONTINUES
The Amerks look for their first consecutive wins on the season against the Monsters
Nov 4, 2026By Griffin Della Penna | @GriffinDP_
As the calendar flips to November, the Rochester Americans (5-4-0-1) embark on their most difficult test yet: playing three games in four days. The homestand continues for the Amerks as they welcome the Cleveland Monsters (6-4) to the Flower City following back-to-back contests against Atlantic Division opponents.
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Last Friday, Rochester put together a convincing 6-3 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to remain undefeated on Friday’s this season after a 3-2 setback a week ago to the Hershey Bears. Even while shorthanded due to injury, the Amerks recorded two goals on the power-play and finished with five multi-point performers on the evening.
After coming out of the gate 4-1-0-0 to begin the year, Cleveland enters this five-game road swing losers of three of its last five matchups. The Monsters are the only team remaining in the AHL who has not played a game against a divisional opponent through the first month of the season, going 3-1-0-0 versus the Atlantic and 3-3-0-0 against the Central.
Wednesday will also be the inaugural ASL Night inside Blue Cross Arena, with enhanced in-arena features that includes sign language interpreters available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Pregame coverage for the opening meeting between the Amerks and the Monsters on WGR Rochester and AHLTV on FloHockey is slated for 7:00 p.m. with puck drop at 7:05 p.m.
Let’s talk about some news and notes before tonight’s tilt:
NEXT MAN UP
What makes Rochester’s win on Friday even more impressive is how they got it done shorthanded. Head coach Michael Leone rolled out his first 11-forward and seven-defensemen lineup against the Phantoms due to the number of injuries sustained up front, and that trend continued throughout the night. Veteran Carson Meyer was punched after the whistle in the opening period and remains on the injury report, while Jason Polin missed a segment of the game before returning to the bench.
Leone has already ruled out Conor Sheary, Red Savage, Gavin McCarthy, Thomas Bordeleau, Jack Rathbone, Matteo Constantini, and Meyer for action versus Cleveland.
Due to the lack of forward depth and help down the middle, Amerks general manager Stacy Roest announced Tuesday the signing of Ryan Sandelin to a professional tryout. The Hermantown, Minnesota, product led the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) with five goals and six points through six games and brings in 149 AHL games of experience to Rochester. Sandelin spent the last two seasons with the Iowa Wild, recording 24 points (11+13) following a rookie campaign with the Colorado Eagles.
Leone mentioned Tuesday that he views the adversity hitting the team as an opportunity for players to take advantage of additional ice time and increased roles. If Friday was any indication of how the team would respond, expect players like Matthew Peca, Caleb Jones, and Dennis Gilbert in his return to lineup following a stint in Buffalo, to set the tone with a high compete level against Cleveland.
GETTING GOALS EARLY
After hovering around .500 playing at home last season, the Amerks have shown signs of dominance inside BCA.
Rochester is outscoring opponents 21-13 at its own barn compared to 12-12 on the road. Even if high goal totals have been dependent on where the game is played, something that hasn’t mattered is Rochester setting the tone early. The Amerks have bolstered a 12-4 edge in the first period which is tied with Abbotsford for the AHL’s largest goal differential in the opening 20. In matchups where they have recorded first blood, Rochester is 5-1 with the lone loss coming in Syracuse after surrendering a 2-0 lead on October 17th.
Like most teams, Cleveland is also good when they establish an early lead with a 3-0 record thus far.
Rookie head coach Nick Bootland would like to see a little bit more edge from his team when they are on the losing side heading into intermission. The Monsters are winless in matchups where they face a first period deficit (0-4) and are just 1-4 when trailing after two periods. If Rochester can combine its hot starts with some 585 magic that formula could bode well to begin the first of eight meetings versus Cleveland on a high note.
CLOSE GAMES vs BLOWOUTS
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you get the job done, but through 10 games, Cleveland and Rochester have secured wins in much different ways. The Monsters have shown that they are comfortable in the clutch, while the Amerks have blown teams out on multiple occasions to earn victories.
In the opening month, Cleveland is a perfect 4-0-0-0 in games decided by two goals or less. They’ve scored at least three goals in all their victories and have won a league-best three games beyond regulation with two in overtime and another in a shootout. Using that same sample size, Rochester is towards the bottom half of the league in close games, going 2-4-0-1.
Luckily for the red, white, and blue, their potent offense has showcased lots of lopsided scores in its favor when the final horn sounds too. The Amerks defeated Hamilton (4-1) and Lehigh Valley (6-3) by three goals and Syracuse (7-1) by six in the opening month. Cleveland has shown that they can be susceptible in high-scoring affairs, entering with a 2-4-0-0 mark in games decided by three goals or more.
In 9 of their 10 games thus far, the winning team has netted four or more goals to get the win. With both teams having top 10 offenses, you’d think that Rochester has the edge due to its seventh-best scoring defense in the league that has been the backbone of the group thus far.