TACO BELL WRAP-UP: AMERKS REMAIN SIX POINTS UP ON A PLAYOFF SPOT
Rochester’s struggles not resulting in teams gaining ground
Mar 2, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (24-20-5-3) had by far their roughest week of the season, dropping three straight contests in regulation for the first time as their winless skid reaches six straight.
Despite their struggles, the Amerks enter their final 20 games of the season still six points ahead of sixth-place Belleville and an 11-point advantage on Utica.
Still, the Amerks will seek answers as they look to get back on track for the home stretch of the regular season.
UNSIXCESSFUL
With the 3-1 loss Sunday evening at Syracuse, the Amerks have now gone winless through a half dozen games for the first time in over four years. In April 2021, Rochester dropped seven straight in regulation toward the tail end of the COVID-shortened season.
This time around, Rochester has gone 0-4-1-1, being outscored 29-14. The team suffered a 4-2 loss at Cleveland after yielding a 2-0 lead on the Monsters Wednesday. They returned home Friday for a game that was a back-and-forth affair with Laval for about 35 minutes before the Rocket pulled away in what on paper looked like a lopsided outcome with the 9-3 final.
Laval’s six unanswered goals Friday were continued by Syracuse Sunday evening, as the Crunch carried a 3-0 lead into the third period before Riley Fiddler-Schultz got the Amerks their lone goal of the contest off a loose puck sitting in the crease from a Konsta Helenius shot.
‘FIDDS’ STILL FIRING
Fiddler-Schultz continues to have a breakout campaign for the Amerks, producing a pair of goals over the weekend and 17 on the season thus far. More impressively, 14 of his 17 goals this season have come over the previous 28 games.
Fiddler-Schultz is second to only Isak Rosén (25) in goal production on the team, while his 29 points are fourth-best on Rochester’s roster, as are his shot totals (105). He is also tied for fourth in power-play goals with four.
The third-year pro amassed 26 points (13+13) in his first full AHL season with the Amerks from last campaign. Fiddler-Schultz remains to be the only Amerk to have played in each of the team’s 52 games this season. He is one of 37 players across the AHL that have not missed a game this season. Entering play Monday, there have been 1,098 different players that have appeared in at least one AHL game this season.
BASH BROTHERS
Jagger Joshua and Trevor Kuntar have been the wing pairing centered by Fiddler-Schultz for the bulk of the season. While the trio have all been able to produce points, Kuntar and Joshua have handed out punishment to the opposition with their gritty style of play.
The pair of Amerks forwards are first and second on the team in penalty minutes. Joshua leads the charge with 79, while Kuntar chases him at 69. On Friday, Joshua dropped the gloves with Rocket captain Lucas Condotta. The fighting major was his fourth of the season with all of them taking place on home ice.
Kuntar picked up four penalty minutes over the weekend, along with his 14th goal of the season. Kuntar has 26 points on the season and is six shy of tying his combined point total (32) from the previous two years in Providence.
COMING UP NEXT
The Amerks remain out on the road with the hill remaining steep as they trot to Place Bell North of the border for a two-game set against the first-place Laval Rocket. The pair of games are their last with Montreal’s AHL affiliate this season, with Rochester showing a 2-3-1-0 record through the previous six encounters.