TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS NAB POINTS IN TWO OF THREE GAMES ON TRIP
Rosén’s hat trick highlights three-game road trip
Jan 20, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (19-13-4-2) played a busy stretch of three games over a four-day span on the road, picking up points in two of the three contests to stay in the pack of teams vying for playoff positioning as the second half of the season begins.
A six-game homestand is on deck for the Amerks, but first, let’s look back at what occurred away from the Flower City.
ROSÉN PULLS OFF THE TRICK
The Amerks trailed 3-0 at one point in Belleville, and if not for Isak Rosén, they may have left CAA Arena pointless.
Instead, the 22-year-old All-Star helped charge the rally cry, scoring three of the team’s four goals to force overtime with Rosén’s first career hat trick, including the game-tying conversion coming in the final 90 seconds of regulation. Rosén is up to 18 goals on the season, leading Rochester despite only playing in 24 of the team’s 38 games.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native is third in team scoring with 29 points (18+11) and leads the club with a 1.21 points-per-game average. His 18 goals are tied for ninth in the AHL.
LESCHYSHYN BACK ON TRACK
On Monday afternoon in Syracuse, the Amerks got on the board in the second period thanks to a power-play tally from center Jake Leschyshyn, who scored his ninth goal of the season, and more importantly, his first in 12 games and second over his last 18.
The veteran forward of nearly 400 professional games scored seven goals through the first 14 games of the season, but hit a speedbump when he was out of the lineup for several weeks with a lower-body injury.
Leschyshyn has reached double-digit goal totals twice in his AHL career before, with a career-best 14 being scored with Henderson in the 2021-22 season. The former Vegas Golden Knights draft pick has 15 points (9+6) in 32 games as an Amerk to date.
DEVON THE WORKHORSE
Devon Levi continues to be a league leader in several workhorse categories. The 24-year-old started both in Belleville and Syracuse during Rochester’s road trip, with rookie Scott Ratzlaff getting the call in Utica on Saturday.
Levi made 28 saves in each of his two games against the Senators and Crunch, respectively, helping Rochester secure a standings point in each game with several clutch saves, including a breakaway stop on Conor Geekie in Syracuse Monday night, plus a dazzling glove save on Belleville’s Hayden Hodgson in the slot on Friday.
The third-year Amerk leads the AHL in minutes played at 1535:04, saves with 682, and is tied in games played with Texas’ Remi Poirier at 26. He is one of 18 different goaltenders to have at least two shutouts on the season and has helped the Amerks earn points in four of his last five starts.
COMING UP NEXT
After playing the second fewest home games through the opening half of the season, the Amerks return to Blue Cross Arena for a season-long six-game stretch, taking them through two weeks of action. The homestand begins Friday when Rochester welcomes Utica to town. The Amerks will attempt to snap a skid as the Comets have won each of their last three meetings with Rochester.
The focus then shifts to Cleveland Saturday evening for a meeting with the Monsters on Military Appreciation Night.