TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS ENTER BREAK IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Reinforcements from Sabres help Amerks earn four-point weekend
Feb 8, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (23-16-4-2) took advantage of the NHL Olympic break, as a trio of Sabres returned to the Flower City to help the Amerks go 2-1-0-0 in their final week ahead of the AHL All-Star Classic.
Following a 3-1 loss to Belleville Wednesday, the Amerks posted a lopsided weekend, shutting out the Springfield Thunderbirds by a 4-0 final on home ice Friday, before dismantling the Utica Comets via a 5-1 outcome on the road Saturday evening.
Here are key notes from the first week of play in February.
THREE’S COMPANY
As the week rolled on, the Amerks received all three of their All-Stars back from the Sabres, with defenseman Zac Jones returning Wednesday, before forwards Konsta Helenius and Isak Rosén arrived for the weekend.
Rosén’s presence was felt in an instant Friday, scoring just minutes into the game to begin a natural hat trick, the first of his career and second hat trick in his last eight games as an Amerk. Helenius assisted on goals two and three for Rosén Friday.
The next evening, Rosén, Helenius, and Jones each recorded a goal and an assist, with Jones’ goal counting as the game-winner while Helenius ended Rochester’s woes on the man-advantage with a power-play goal.
Jones leads all Amerks in points and is tied for the league lead in points by a defenseman with 40 (7+33). Helenius leads Rochester forwards in assists with 24 this season, while Rosén’s 24 goals lead the team and are second-most in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall.
ONE RATZLAFF WILL REMEMBER
Rookie goaltender Scott Ratzlaff made his fourth AHL start and first on home ice for the Amerks Friday night against Springfield. The 20-year-old Sabres draft pick from 2023 didn’t disappoint.
Ratzlaff stopped all 25 shots he faced to earn his first professional shutout, improving to 3-1-0 as an Amerk in the team’s 4-0 grounding of the Thunderbirds. In doing so, he became the first rookie goaltender to record a shutout for Rochester in over a decade and joins Devon Levi in becoming the first tandem for the Amerks to each record at least one shutout since Michael Houser and Malcolm Subban did so during the 2022-23 season.
The Irma, Alberta, native began the season with ECHL-Jacksonville, where he was recognized as the league’s Goaltender of the Month at the start of the season in October.
Ratzlaff was recalled to the Amerks in December, winning his debut game in front of over 13,000 fans at Cleveland Dec. 29, 2025.
A HUNDRED AND COUNTING FOR LEVI
Devon Levi made 34 saves Saturday in the team’s 5-1 win over the Comets to secure his 16th win of the season in what was the third-year pro’s 100th appearance as an Amerk. The Comets didn’t make things easy for Levi, including a second period in which they fired 17 shots on goal.
Levi, 24, is the only goaltender with 32 starts in the AHL. His 1,889 minutes played are tops in the league, as are his 820 saves. Levi has lived up to his moniker of being called Beast when playing the Comets, owning the intrastate rival with a 12-1-1 lifetime record against Utica.
His .910 save percentage is 11th best among all qualifying goaltenders in the AHL and Levi now shows a 57-29-14 record to go with 10 shutouts for his AHL career.
COMING UP NEXT
Helenius, Jones, and Rosén can be seen representing the AHL’s North Division during the league’s All-Star Classic, with festivities taking place Tuesday and Wednesday in Rockford, Illinois.
The rest of the Amerks will hit the pause button to go into break mode until the AHL schedule resumes right where it left off, with Rochester back in Utica next Saturday to start a home-and-home with the Comets, concluding with a Sunday matinee at Blue Cross Arena.