GAME PREVIEW: WINTER WEATHER BRINGS BEARS TO TOWN
Five things to know as AHL’s two oldest teams clash in first of two meetings
Jan 27, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
On the other side of the year’s first winter storm, the Rochester Americans (20-14-4-2) aim to turn the heat up as their homestand continues with the Hershey Bears (18-14-5-2) for the first of two meetings on the week Wednesday night.
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Here are five things ahead of the AHL’s two oldest teams rekindling their rivalry.
SNOWED IN
On Saturday evening, the Amerks were unable to overcome a solid performance by Zach Sawchenko in goal for the Monsters, who emerged from Blue Cross Arena with a 2-1 win.
With 55 seconds to play, Olivier Nadeau was credited with Rochester’s lone goal to spoil Sawchenko’s shutout bid, but this came less than a minute after the Monsters had scored an empty-net goal to ensure themselves a cushion. Devon Levi made starts on back-to-back nights for the first time this season, stopping 18 of 19 Cleveland shots in his league-leading 28th game in the crease.
That same Saturday saw Hershey score in the final 18 seconds of regulation to earn a point in the team’s 4-3 overtime loss at Lehigh Valley. The Bears were then set to return home for a Sunday meeting with Charlotte, however, mother nature caused the game to get postponed. As a result, Hershey is technically in the midst of a five-game road trip.
BOTH BANGED UP
The Amerks’ roster that was iced against Cleveland Saturday saw Nikita Novikov dress as the only defenseman in the lineup from the team’s opening night roster set in October. Between call-ups and injuries, Rochester had eight bodies that would regularly dress out over the weekend. The man games lost of late have led to the Amerks hitting a snag, having won once over their last five outings.
Things aren’t too different in the Sweetest Place on Earth, as things have gone sour when it comes to the health of Hershey. The Bears and Amerks combine to have just three players (Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Ilya Protas, Andrew Cristall) that have played in every game for their respective teams this season. The league’s oldest team have dressed the second-most players (43) of any team in the Eastern Conference.
Between injuries and call-ups, the Amerks man games lost number has swelled to 182, whereas the Bears are at 185.
GIVE GAVIN A GO
Wednesday could see defenseman Gavin Bayreuther make his Amerks debut after the Sabres acquired the veteran defenseman in a trade with Carolina over the weekend.
Bayreuther, 31, has spent his season playing for AHL-Chicago, where he scored four goals and 13 points over 33 games. The Canaan, New Hampshire, native comes in immediately as the most experienced player on an Amerks roster that began the 2025-26 campaign as the youngest team in the AHL.
Bayreuther has over 100 games of NHL experience and has skated in over 400 professional contests across his 10-year career. This includes postseason action, most notably in 2018 with the Texas Stars when Bayreuther reached the Calder Cup Finals.
In 271 regular season games at the AHL level, the veteran blueliner has scored 29 goals and punched in 130 points. He has played against 24 different AHL teams, but never against Hershey.
THE ROCHESTER RESIDENT
After performing meteorology duties, Amerks goaltender Devon Levi could look to make his 29th start of the season Wednesday night.
The 24-year-old caught attention for making the local news during the winter storm but has been a viral sensation for the Amerks since arriving onto the scene with the team at the tail end of 2023.
Levi is approaching 100 starts as an Amerk, with his next one being number 97. Over three seasons, the Sabres prospect shows a 55-27-14 record. This season alone, Levi leads the AHL in games played (28), minutes (1653:10) and saves (723). He is one of six goaltenders with at least three shutouts on the season and has 10 for his Amerks career, with his last two shutouts coming over the past three games he’s started at Blue Cross Arena.
ALWAYS MAKING HISTORY
The Bears roar into town on a stretch of play not seen by the team since the 2018-19 season, with the club riding a 10-game point streak (4-0-4-2). They are one of five teams in the league to reach a double-digit point streak this season and are the only team from the Eastern Conference to do so.
Despite earning points, the Bears have not been earning many wins of late, dropping six of their last seven. Each of those seven games have gone to overtime, a first for the 88-year-old franchise.
Wednesday is meeting two of four on the season between the league’s two oldest teams. In their only prior encounter, the Amerks fell by a 2-1 final Nov. 9 at Hershey, with Trevor Kuntar scoring the lone Rochester goal.
Wednesday is the 470th all-time regular season meeting between the Amerks and Bears, with Hershey skating away with the victory in each of the last five face-offs.