THIRD-PERIOD RALLY COMES UP SHORT IN 6-4 LOSS TO SENS
Amerks erupt for four goals in third period, Meyer scores in season debut
Nov 12, 2025Facing a 4-0 deficit early in the final frame, the Rochester Americans (8-6-0-0) battled back on the strength of a furious third-period comeback that ultimately came up just short in a 6-4 loss to the Belleville Senators (6-6-1-0) Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.
GAME SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERY POST-GAME REPORT
Despite the defeat, Rochester has won seven of the last 11 games versus Belleville dating back to the 2023-24 campaign. The Amerks have won four of their first six home contests this season while leading the division in goals on home ice.
Trevor Kuntar and Ryan Johnson both tallied a pair of assists while Anton Wahlberg, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, and Jake Leschyshyn all contributed third-period goals. Carson Meyer, who made his season debut after starting the campaign on the injured reserved, sparked the third-period rally by opening the scoring for the Amerks with his first goal since Feb. 15, 2025 with the San Diego Gulls.
Zach Metsa, Matteo Costantini, Nikita Novikov, and Viktor Neuchev all had one assist each.
Goaltender Devi Levi (6-2-0) made his eight appearance of the campaign, making 18 saves but was dealt the defeat. Topias Leinonen (1-2-0) replaced Levi in the third period but did not face a shot on goal in nine minutes of relief.
Philippe Daoust tallied a career-best four points for Belleville while Stephen Halliday (0+3) and Arthur Kaliyev (2+0) also notched multi-point outings. Goaltender Hunter Shepard (3-4-0), who carried a shutout into the final stanza, stopped 38 of the 42 shots he faced to earn the win.
FIRST PERIOD
Moments after successfully clearing off its first penalty of the contest, Jamieson Rees gathered a loose puck near center ice after it was fumbled out of the Belleville zone. The Hamilton native sped ahead with the puck, and with the Amerks behind him, cut towards the slot in front of Levi before snapping a shot through the legs of the Rochester netminder for his first of the campaign.
Six minutes later, the Senators doubled their lead 57 seconds into their first power-play of the night. As Kaliyev was stationed atop the right dot, he fired a rocket off a feed from Halliday and Daoust at the 13:45 mark.
SECOND PERIOD
After weathering a flurry of shots in the opening half of the period and successfully clearing three straight infractions, the visitors drew its second power-play with just under three minutes to play in the frame.
On the ensuing man-advantage, Halliday, who fanned on a potential shot from the left of Levi, sent a pass through the zone for Carter Yakemchuk. The latter slid it the top of the point for Daoust to pick his spot through bodies in front of the Rochester net inside the 2:30 mark.
THIRD PERIOD
Wyatt Bongiovanni extended Belleville’s lead to 4-0 in the opening minute of the third before Rochester struck for three goals in a span of 2:20 with Meyer, Wahlberg, and Fiddler-Schultz bringing the Amerks to within a goal.
The Senators regained their multi-goal advantage after exhausting their timeout and Kaliyev scored on a sharp angle shot from the right of Levi, chasing the Amerks All-Star goaltender for just the second time in his career.
The two clubs traded goals in the final 3:28 to close out the 6-4 score, which included Leschyshyn’s team-leading seventh goal of the season and Jenik’s empty-netter in the waning seconds of regulation.
UP NEXT
The Amerks hit the road for a three-game trek through the Atlantic Division beginning on Friday, Nov. 14 when they clash with the Hartford Wolf Pack at PeoplesBank Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV on FloHockey.
Goal Scorers
BEL: J. Rees (1), A. Kaliyev (5, 6), P. Daoust (3), W. Bongiovanni (6), J. Jeník (1)
ROC: C. Meyer (1), A. Wahlberg (3), R. Fiddler-Schultz (2), J. Leschyshyn (7)
Goaltenders
BEL: H. Shepard – 38/42 (W)
ROC: D. Levi – 18/23 (L) | T. Leinonen– 0/0 (ND)
Shots
BEL: 24
ROC: 42
Special Teams
BEL: PP (0/4) | PK (0/2)
ROC: PP (2/2) | PK (4/4)
Three Stars:
1. BEL - P. Daoust
2. BEL - A. Kaliyev
3. ROC - C. Meyer