TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS END SKID, SPLIT WEEKEND WITH MARLIES
Amerks debut two, win in overtime against potential playoff opponent
Mar 16, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
With three games in four nights, the Rochester Americans (25-23-5-4) continued through their North Division-loaded schedule in the month of March, battling the Utica Comets before spending St. Patrick’s Day weekend facing off with the Toronto Marlies.
While the Amerks have struggled, they managed to end a winless skid in front of their home crowd Friday in dramatic fashion, giving the Flower City faithful reason to show up as home hockey rolls on this week.
STREAK SNAPPED
It wasn’t easy, but Trevor Kuntar had a flare for the dramatics Friday night, helping the Amerks prevent Toronto from completing a rally as he scored the overtime game-winner to top the Marlies, 4-3.
Rochester had 2-0 and 3-1 leads, but a pair of Marlies’ goals scored 21 seconds apart in the final minutes allowed the game to extend beyond regulation. Kuntar’s 15th of the season came just over a minute into three-on-three, with the third-year pro rifling a wrist shot to the top right corner of the net, sending Blue Cross Arena into a frenzy.
The goal ended an 0-6-1-2 stretch for the red, white, and blue that had been their longest winless skid in over a decade. Equally as important, the victory came on home ice, a situation the Amerks have been challenged with all season, especially in the second half.
NEWCOMERS
A pair of new faces entered Mike Leone’s lineup this week, with forward Chris Douglas making his professional debut Friday night, along with center Kaleb Lawrence joining Rochester on a loan from the Los Angeles Kings.
Douglas comes to the Amerks on an amateur tryout agreement that has him signed through the remainder of the 2025-26 season. The 25-year-old finished a 35-point season at the University of British Columbia as the team’s captain before coming over and immediately being place on the right wing of Rochester’s top line with Konsta Helenius and Anton Wahlberg.
Lawrence made his presence felt from a physical aspect, dropping the gloves on back-to-back nights against Toronto and earning 14 penalty minutes over the two-game weekend. Lawrence came over via loan from Los Angeles as the Sabres allowed the Kings to borrow defenseman Nikita Novikov.
BLUECHIPPING
The Amerks saw contributions throughout the week from their blueline, with Zac Jones leading the charge as usual. The first-year Amerk posted a goal and an assist over the three-game week, reaching 50 points (8+42) on the season to become the first Amerks defenseman since Zach Redmond (2018-19) to reach the half-century mark.
Vsevolod Komarov scored his first-ever goal at Blue Cross Arena Friday night and his third goal of the season to put the Amerks ahead late in the game against the Marlies. Gavin Bayreuther tallied an assist on the team’s opening goal Friday, while Ryan Johnson provided the assist on Kuntar’s overtime-winner later in the night.
Rochester has three defensemen with five or more goals this season and five with at least 15 points on the campaign.
COMING UP NEXT
It’s a home heavy stretch for the Amerks, who prepare to play seven of their next eight games at Blue Cross Arena. The action starts this weekend with a Friday face-off against the Syracuse Crunch, before the Amerks then welcome the Hartford Wolf Pack to town for their lone visit on Sunday afternoon for Bills Day.