GAME PREVIEW: METSA RETURNS AS AMERKS HOST CHECKERS
Five things to know as defending Eastern Conference champions make first visit to Rochester
Feb 17, 2026The Rochester Americans (24-17-4-2) continue their three-game homestand Wednesday night at Blue Cross Arena against the Charlotte Checkers (27-16-3-0).
Here are five things to know before the defending Eastern Conference Champions make their way to the Flower City.
SUNDAY SCARIES
Despite Riley Fiddler-Schultz netting his first career hat trick, the Amerks were unable to overcome Utica’s offense in a 7-4 loss to the Comets Sunday evening.
The Amerks had 2-1 and 3-2 leads before Utica scored five unanswered to run away with the win. Fiddler-Schultz scored with 20 seconds left in regulation to secure his third of the night and his first career hat trick. The third-year pro is up to a career high-15 goals on the season. Trevor Kuntar scored Rochester’s opening goal, while Scott Ratzlaff made 34 saves in the loss.
In a rather unique circumstance, the Checkers saw their Sunday game against Hartford get postponed due to a leaking roof, but nearly blasted a hole through it again with their offense the following day, topping the Wolf Pack by a 9-0 final Monday afternoon. Charlotte scored three power-play goals and had 16 of their 18 skaters record a point, while Kirill Gerasimyuk stopped 20 shots for his third shutout in just 12 games with the team.
Charlotte is seven points clear of Hershey to hold down third in the Atlantic Division, but 12 points behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for second.
HERE COMES THE CAPTAIN
For the first time in over two months, defenseman and Amerks captain Zach Metsa is expected to make his return to Rochester’s lineup. The 27-year-old was named the 65th captain in franchise history ahead of the season opening in October but has been limited to 14 games with the letter due to multiple call-ups to the Buffalo Sabres.
Metsa last skated for the Amerks on Dec. 6 at Charlotte, then was called-up and never looked back. The Delafield, Wisconsin native has appeared in 26 games as a Sabre, recording a goal and an assist.
Metsa was reassigned to Rochester as the Sabres reached the NHL’s Olympic break, but was unable to practice with the team until yesterday per the roster policy. In 14 games as an Amerk this season, the captain has amassed two goals and 13 points, hitting the scoresheet in eight of his last nine games before heading back to Buffalo.
Over the course of his career, Metsa has skated in 137 games with the Amerks, recording 83 points (16+67). When announced as the head of the team’s leadership group in October, Metsa became the fifth-youngest captain over the last 30 years for the franchise.
2K LEVI
Following Sunday’s game, Amerks head coach Mike Leone indicated a strong chance for Devon Levi to start each of the next five upcoming games for the Amerks to take them into the beginning of March. Wednesday against Charlotte would mark the 34th time Levi has been called to the crease this season, with the 24-year-old just 11 minutes shy of 2,000 for the season.
The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, native is on pace to crush his numbers from last season which were career-highs in games played (42) and minutes (2,510). With 25 games remaining, it is fully reasonable to think Levi could reach 50 starts. Levi leads the AHL in games and minutes played this season, along with a league best-849 saves.
The 2025 AHL All-Star has faced the Checkers four times prior, showing a 1-2-1 mark against the club with his lone win being a shutout victory Dec. 7, 2024. Levi has allowed two or fewer goals-against in nine of his last 12 starts heading into Wednesday.
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
After going 3-2-0-0 over a five-game stretch against teams outside playoff positioning, the Amerks enter a gauntlet of a stretch in their 2025-26 schedule, playing seven straight against teams ahead of them in the standings. Four of those seven games will come against Laval, which lead the North Division by a healthy margin, including a 13-point gap between themselves and the fifth place Amerks.
Charlotte has three points more than Rochester and are third in its respective division. Rochester will play eight of its 25 remaining games against the Atlantic Division, with Wednesday being the third of four encounters with the Checkers. The two teams split a weekend set against one another down in North Carolina back in December, with the Amerks pulling out three out of a possible four points via a 6-3 win and 4-3 overtime loss. Konsta Helenius scored in both games for Rochester, while Brendan Warren tallied a shorthanded bid in the team’s win over the Checkers.
After tonight, the Amerks will go over a month before seeing an opponent outside the North Division. Starting Friday, the Amerks play 10 in a row against foes from the North.
CHECKPOINT
After Wednesday, the Amerks will have officially played two thirds of their 2025-26 slate of games. Charlotte has played one fewer, yet they are a top-eight team in the AHL with 23 regulation wins while allowing the sixth-fewest goals against at 126.
Cooper Black’s first full season in the AHL has seen the 24-year-old put up a 2.47 goals-against average thus far, coupled with a .904 save percentage.
Charlotte’s offense features a pair of third-year Checkers in Wilmer Scoog and Ben Steeves leading the charge with 17 and 18 goals, respectively, while rookie Jack Devine is closer to a point-per-game pace with 32 (13+19) over 38 games.
The team’s elder statesman is defenseman Trevor Carrick, who has appeared in 734 AHL contests, recording 404 points (102+302) over his 12-year tour of duty with the league.