TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS’ 70TH SEASON ENDS IN FIRST-ROUND SERIES LOSS TO MARLIES
Rochester pushes Toronto to the distance in three-game set
Apr 27, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The 70th season of Rochester Americans hockey has officially come to a close.
After forcing Game 3 with a win on home ice, the Amerks’ quest for a Calder Cup was denied by the Toronto Marlies, who skated away with a 4-2 victory in a winner-take-all showdown north of the border on Sunday evening.
GOT THERE
While the Flower City will continue its wait for the Calder Cup’s return, Rochester still managed to persevere through loads of adversity to make the playoffs for a fifth straight season. It had been two decades since the last era of Amerks’ teams to make a run this many seasons in a row.
The Amerks finished fifth in the North Division with 72 points and a 31-31-6-4 overall record. Their power-play was tops in the Eastern Conference at 23.3% and fourth-best across the AHL.
Zac Jones helped will the Amerks to the finish line with the best season from a defenseman that this team had seen in over 15 years. Jones’ 62 points led all AHL blueliners and was 12 clear of the next closest. Earlier in the week, the two-time AHL All-Star was named the Eddie Shore Award winner, being recognized as the league’s top defenseman.
LEVI GOES BEAST MODE…AGAIN
After a shutout loss Wednesday, the Amerks had their backs against the wall yet again Friday night. In front of their home crowd at Blue Cross Arena, Devon Levi was sure to extend the season. The 24-year-old made 29 saves in one of his best performances of the 2025-26 campaign, recording his third playoff shutout and 11th of his professional career.
Levi turned away some of Toronto’s top guns, including point blank saves on Alex Nylander, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, and Marlies captain, Logan Shaw.
The Quebec native did not come up with the result he had hoped for Sunday, but again managed to stand tall in several big moments, including a first-period sequence where Toronto had nearly two full minutes of a five-on-three advantage.
Levi now owns an 8-8 record across three playoff runs with Rochester, possessing a 2.57 goals-against average, coupled with a .917 save percentage.
DON STEVENS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
It was the end of the season for Amerks players, but the end of an era for the franchise and its fans.
After arriving as the new voice of the Amerks ahead of the team’s 1986-87 season, Don Stevens would go on to cement his legacy as the longest-tenured play-by-play voice in American Hockey League history.
What was originally designed to be a short move for a couple of seasons turned into a forever home for the Alberta native. Stevens went on to call two Calder Cup wins and spent 40 seasons as the primary play-by-play voice of Amerks hockey. He captured the James H. Ellery Award twice for his outstanding media coverage.
The 70th season of Amerks hockey saw Stevens honored by several teams around the league, along with being recognized Apr. 4 on Don Stevens Appreciation Night. It all culminated in the Stevens receiving the Key to the City by Rochester mayor Malik Evans, the highest honor bestowed upon on an individual, and proclamation by Monroe Couty Executive Adam Bello, proclaiming April 17, 2026 “Don Stevens Day” in Rochester.
“Now and forever, go Amerks.”