TACO BELL WRAP-UP: LEVI SHINES TO KICK-OFF HOMESTAND
Amerks split two of their first six games on season-long six-game homestand
Jan 26, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (20-14-4-2) came home for their first extended stretch of play at Blue Cross Arena all season starting this past Friday.
It began in a big way with a 3-0 shutout win against the Comets, before the Cleveland Monsters spoiled hopes of a weekend sweep by carrying a 2-1 win away from the Flower City.
It was a busy weekend for the guy in goal, so let’s dive into that and more on this week’s wrap-up.
LEANING ON LEVI
For the first time in the 2025-26 season, Devon Levi made starts on back-to-back nights. Amerks head coach Mike Leone decided to ride the hot hand after his 24-year-old goaltender pitched his third shutout of the season Friday night, dispatching of Utica with a 23-save performance.
While Levi was not rewarded with a win on Saturday, this season’s AHL workhorse churned out another quality start, allowing just one goal on 19 shots before the Monsters tanked an empty-net goal for the 2-1 final.
Levi has helped Rochester earn points in five of his last seven starts. His three shutouts have all came at home and prior to allowing Cleveland’s first goal of the game in the second period on Saturday, the Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, native had gone nearly 160 minutes between goals allowed at Blue Cross Arena.
Entering the week, Levi is one of six goaltenders with three or more shutouts this season. He leads all AHL goalies in games played (28), minutes played (1653:10), and is the only goaltender with over 700 saves (723).
NEXT MAN UP
After losing Jack Rathbone due to injury at the end of Rochester’s three-game road trip, the team was handcuffed again entering the weekend with Zac Jones earning another recall to the Buffalo Sabres. As a result, the team entered the homestand missing five defensemen from the Amerks’ opening night roster.
Injuries and call-ups have challenged the Amerks in more ways than most recent seasons. As the final week of January begins, Rochester has lost 182-man games to said situations. Riley Fiddler-Schultz is the only Amerk to have played in every game for the team so far this season.
From Rochester, the Amerks have seen eight different players earn NHL recalls this season. Eleven different Amerks have also been tagged with injuries through the first 40 games of the campaign.
BOLSTERING THE BLUELINE
Some of the big news coming from the week that took place off the ice came over the weekend when the Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes made a one-for-one trade, dealing prospect Viktor Neuchev in exchange for veteran defenseman Gavin Bayreuther, who will report directly to Rochester.
Bayreuther, 31, was brought in to help stabilize a defense core that has been hit with the aforementioned call-ups and injuries. The Canaan, New Hampshire, native has over 100 games of NHL experience, along with over 100 assists on his AHL resume spanning parts of nine years. The lefty shot produced 13 points (4+9) in 33 games playing for Carolina’s affiliate in Chicago this season.
In 2018, Bayreuther made it all the way to the Calder Cup Finals as a member of the Texas Stars. His NHL experience came between Dallas and Columbus.
COMING UP NEXT
The Amerks go bear hunting this week with Hershey roaring into town for two games Wednesday and Friday. While the Bears have just one win over their last seven contests, each of those have gone to overtime as the team is riding a 10-game point streak (4-0-4-2).
Friday is Rochester’s annual Hall of Fame Night, with Calder Cup Champions Dean Melanson and Claude Verret becoming the 70th and 71st members of the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame.