TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS END 69TH REGULAR SEASON IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
Rochester has best finish in six years
Apr 21, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (42-22-5-3) completed their 69th season in franchise history with a 1-1-1-0 record to close out the final week of the regular season as the team prepares to enter the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Amerks entered the final week of the season knowing they would finish second in the North Division regardless of the results of their final three games. The focus was instead on the process, rather than the results.
ALL IN
Amerks forward Lukas Rousek became the first Rochester forward since Eric Cornel (2018-19) to appear in every regular season game for the team. The fourth-year pro was also one of 12 AHL forwards to play in all 72 games across the league.
Rousek, 26, celebrated by scoring a goal in the team’s season finale, a 3-2 overtime loss to Toronto, on the eve of his birthday. The Sabres’ sixth-round draft pick from 2019 finished fourth in team scoring with 42 points (7+35) and led all Amerks’ forwards with 35 assists.
The Czechia-born winger enters the Calder Cup Playoffs hoping to build off past performances, with Rousek having scored seven goals and 24 points over 29 postseason games. Last season, Rousek led Rochester in scoring against Syracuse in the North Division Semifinal, collecting six assists over five playoff games.
KONSTA-NTLY IMPROVING
Rookie forward Konsta Helenius scored the final goal of the Amerks’ 2024-25 season Saturday evening in Toronto. Buffalo’s 14th overall pick in last summer’s NHL Draft finished his first pro season in North America with 14 goals and 35 points. His totals placed him eighth in scoring for Rochester, while his 14 goals were fifth-most on the team.
The 19-year-old appears to have turned a corner at the right time. Down the stretch, Helenius finished with five goals over his final five games of the season and 15 of his 35 points came from Feb. 21 onward.
The prospect’s first season in red, white, and blue saw Helenius amass three game-winning-goals, including one in dramatic fashion via the shootout against the Marlies back in February. The Ylojarvi, Finland, native also scored three power-play goals.
On April 5 in Belleville, Helenius scored a natural hat trick, marking his first professional three-goal game.
NO FEAR OF MONSTERS
Rochester’s final win of the season came last Wednesday on home ice, with the team collecting a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Monsters. The conclusion of that contest saw the end of Rochester’s most dominant season series against Cleveland in the history of the two teams’ seasons against one another.
The Amerks went 7-1-0-0 against the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate. Across eight games, Rochester decimated Cleveland in goals, outscoring the Monsters by a 35-16 margin. Five of Cleveland’s goals came in its lone win against the Amerks back in November, meaning the Buckeye State rival was limited to 11 goals over a seven-game stretch facing the Amerks.
Zachary Metsa scored the game-winning-goal on Wednesday, coupled with an assist. The second-year pro had more success against Cleveland than any other team, piling up nine points (4+5) in the series. Brett Murray shared the lead in points with Metsa throughout the season series, also collecting nine (5+4).
COMING UP NEXT
It should come as no surprise that Rochester will face Syracuse to open up the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. This best-of-five series could complete the trilogy, as the intrastate foes will be meeting in the North Division Semifinals for a third straight postseason.
Each side has claimed victory over the other, with Rochester passing Syracuse on its way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023, followed by the Crunch exacting vengeance last May. Both series have reached a decisive Game 5.
Rochester owns home ice advantage in the series, putting Games 1 and 2 at Blue Cross Arena on Friday, April 25 and Sunday, April 27, respectively.