GAME PREVIEW: AMERKS BACK HOME TO HOST COMETS

Five things to know as Amerks look for hometown crowd to help snap winless skid

Mar 11, 2026

By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48

 

The Rochester Americans (24-21-5-4) return home for two games at Blue Cross Arena this week, beginning Wednesday night against the Utica Comets (20-27-5-4).

 

 

Here are five things to know before Rochester takes on Utica for the final time this season.

 

 

Amerks head coach Mike Leone has often preached focusing on the process over the outcome when it comes to development. Of late, the Amerks outcomes have not been favorable, with the team entering Wednesday in the midst of an eight-game winless skid. Their process, however, shows better results may not be far away.

 

Over the weekend, Rochester matched the compete level of first place-Laval, including Saturday’s game where the Amerks pushed the Rocket to the distance in an eight-round shootout ultimately favoring the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate via a 4-3 final.

 

On the other side, the once distant Utica Comets have climbed to within eight points of the Amerks for the final playoff spot in the North Division after winning six of their past nine games. Utica’s momentum took a turn over the weekend, though, as they dropped games on consecutive nights to Belleville and Syracuse, respectively.

 

 

 

As the AHL trade deadline looms, the Amerks have begun to make roster moves even without pulling the trigger on a trade.

 

On Monday, the Amerks swapped players with the Ontario Reign, who received defenseman Nikita Novikov on loan from the Buffalo Sabres while Rochester gets forward Kaleb Lawrence in return. Both players continue to have their rights held by their respective NHL clubs (Buffalo and Los Angeles). Lawrence, 23, has three assists in 16 games with Ontario this season. His rookie year was split between the AHL and ECHL after being drafted by the Kings in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL Draft.

 

A day later, Rochester inked Chris Douglas to an Amateur Tryout for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. Douglas is coming off his fifth season at the University of British Columbia, where the forward notched 35 points (16+19) over 28 games.

 

Both Lawrence and Douglas have major junior backgrounds, with Lawrence skating parts of four OHL seasons between Owen Sound, Ottawa, and London, while Douglas played all 250 of his WHL games for Red Deer.

 

 

Wednesday marks the fourth and final Sensory and Accessibility Night at Blue Cross Arena this season. The promotional evening features no goal horn, reduced lighting and audio, and a fan-first environment welcoming to those with sensory challenges.

 

In December, Amerks defenseman and alternate captain Jack Rathbone launched the Jack’s Pack community program in partnership with EVERY TREE, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing educational and recreational programs for families with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities.

 

Rathbone has hosted EVERY TREE families at each Sensory and Accessibility games this season. Each game experience features complimentary tickets and a special postgame meet-and-greet with Rathbone, a seven-year pro who holds a deep personal connection to the autism community.

 

 

 

Utica’s surge sees them eight points behind Rochester for the final playoff spot in the North Division with less than six weeks to play in the regular season. The Comets had won four straight prior to last Saturday. Over those wins, Utica had outscored its opponents 19-7 despite ranking 28th in league scoring.

 

Xavier Parent has been at the center of attention, skating into downtown Rochester on a six-game goal-scoring streak, including a hat trick performance on Feb. 28 at Belleville. The fourth-year Comet leads his team with 17 goals, which matches his career-high from a season ago.

 

After a multi-month skid, Nico Daws has won five of his last seven decisions in goal, allowing only one goal in four of those five outings. Of Utica’s 16 remaining games, 10 come against teams in the North Division, with five of their six outside coming against the Eastern Conference-leading Providence Bruins.

 

 

It’s the 10th and final time the Amerks and Comets face-off this season, with Rochester looking to take the series win going 5-3-1-0 through the previous nine. The Amerks eight-game winless skid began against the Comets back on Feb. 15 at Blue Cross Arena. Utica pulled away with a 7-4 win after being outscored 9-2 over the previous pair of contests against the Amerks.

 

More than a dozen different Amerks have scored at least one goal through the first nine games with Utica this season, while seven have multiple goals led by Konsta Helenius (5+4) and Riley Fiddler-Schultz (5+2). Zac Jones (2+8) tops all Rochester players with eight assists and 10 points.

 

Devon Levi has been exceptional against Utica for his career, showcasing a 13-1-1 mark with a .925 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average.

 

The Amerks have won just once in the previous four home contests against Utica this season. Rochester is 3-6-1-1 through 11 Wednesday games at home this season.