TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS KEEP PACE IN NORTH DIVISION
Late heroics help Amerks push past Syracuse to split two-game week
Dec 1, 2025With November now in the rearview mirror, the Rochester Americans (12-9-0-0) enter the final month of 2025 third in the North Division standings. After a 3-1 loss to Cleveland on Thanksgiving Eve, the Amerks returned to play for a Black Friday matchup with the Syracuse Crunch, topping their opponent with a stunning comeback and go-ahead goal in the final seconds to lift the red, white, and blue to a 4-3 victory.
Here are some of the standout moments from Rochester’s closing days of November.
ZAC ATTACK
Amerks defenseman Zac Jones has been piling up points all season long, but it wasn’t until Friday that the veteran blueliner notched his first goal in a Rochester jersey. The conversion couldn’t have come in a more clutch situation. With the game tied 3-3, Jones raced toward a loose puck sputtering in front of the goal. With 14 seconds to play, the team’s leading scorer poked it through the legs of Syracuse’s Ryan Fanti to put Rochester ahead for good.
It was a three-point week for the former New York Rangers draft pick, who potted a goal and two assists, extending his team lead to 19 points (1+18) through 17 games. Jones leads all AHL defensemen in points and leads the league in power-play points with 14 (all assists).
Jones enters December riding a five-game point streak (1+5) and has produced at least a point in 13 of his 17 games as an Amerk.
LEVI SHINES
Devon Levi made 63 saves over the course of back-to-back starts against Cleveland and Syracuse, including 26 against the Crunch Friday night to secure his ninth win of the season, tying the 23-year-old for first in the AHL for victories.
On Wednesday, despite the outcome, Levi was credited with a season-high 37 saves, making it the sixth time in Levi’s three-year run with the Amerks where he has made 37 or more stops.
Levi’s win Friday was his 50th with Rochester. Over 81 games, the AHL All-Star owns a 50-23-8 record. This season, Levi is 7-1-0 on the road, where the Amerks will play three of their next four games.
ROSY IN ROC
After a month of time in Buffalo, two-time AHL All-Star Isak Rosén returned to his roots in Rochester, scoring a goal and an assist in his two games with the team on home ice this past week.
In registering points, Rosén has now found the scoresheet in six consecutive games at the AHL level, logging three goals and five assists in that span. Since the start of last season, the Amerks are 26-1-0-0 when Rosén scores a goal.
While up with the Sabres, Rosén posted three goals and seven points over a 10-game stint in the blue and gold.
COMING UP NEXT
Rochester’s three-game homestand wraps up as the month of December starts with action Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena against the Utica Comets. The visitors skate into the Flower City ranked last in not only the North Division, but the AHL as a whole.
Following Wednesday, the Amerks board a flight and head down to Charlotte, where they’ll face the defending Eastern Conference champion Checkers on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game in the Queen City begins a three-game road trip for the often ventured Amerks to start this season, as Rochester then travels to Belleville the following Wednesday.