Five things to know as Rochester closes weekend out today against Hartford
Mar 22, 2026
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (25-24-5-4) huddle up for a Sunday matinee as they host the Hartford Wolf Pack (24-31-4-2) on Bills Day at Blue Cross Arena.
Here’s what you need to know before kicking off the game.
After trailing 5-1 to Syracuse in the third period Friday, the Amerks continued to battle rather than simply roll over, nearly rallying for an improbable comeback before ultimately falling by a 5-3 final to the Crunch.
Zac Jones got Rochester on the board first before Syracuse scored five straight, including three goals in the middle period to take a commanding lead. Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Carson Meyer brought life back into the crowd at Blue Cross Arena with goals in the back half of the third period to cut the deficit in half. Amerks head coach Mike Leone pulled Scott Ratzlaff in favor of an extra attacker with over three minutes to play, but the Amerks were unable to solver goaltender Brandon Halverson any further.
Saturday saw the Amerks receive a rare day off while Hartford began its weekend in Toronto, dropping a 6-3 final to the Marlies. While the Wolf Pack are in the Atlantic Division, the loss had negative implications for the Amerks, who are now 13 points back of the Marlies for fourth in the North Division.
Defenseman Gavin McCarthy could potentially make his professional debut with the Amerks Sunday afternoon, and it would come against his older brother, Case, should he be in the lineup for Hartford.
The Troy, New York, native grew up with Case McCarthy, whom the New Jersey Devils drafted four years prior to Gavin being plucked by the Sabres in 2023. Since his selection, the older McCarthy has split three professional seasons between Hartford and the ECHL. This season, Case has one assist over nine games with the Wolf Pack.
Gavin comes to the pro ranks after finishing his season as captain at Boston University where he posted 21 points (4+17). He and Case played together at college in 2022-23 when Case wore the “C” for the Terriers.
Times have been tough for the Amerks of late. The red, white, and blue have just one win over their last 12 games and are 6-12-2-3 over their past 23 games. The slide began Feb. 15 against Utica when the Amerks dropped their first of what would be nine winless contests. At that time, the team was six points ahead of Belleville and 11 in front of the aforementioned Comets for a playoff spot.
Fortunately for the Amerks, their struggles have coincided with Belleville’s as well, who are still two points back of a Rochester team that owns a whopping five games in hand on the Senators.
Utica, who dropped a pair of games to Providence over the weekend, are six back of the Amerks. Both the Comets and Sens have dropped three straight.
In the same 23-game span Rochester has played, Utica has gone 11-10-1-1, while Belleville has posted an 8-12-2-1 mark. Combining all three team’s records, the Amerks, Comets and Senators have gone 25-34-5-5 over the 69-game stretch.
Dating back to the 2017-18 campaign, Rochester has earned wins in 12 of the last 16 contests against Hartford, while also recording at least one point in 17 of the previous 18 exchanges, going 14-3-1-2 over that span. The Amerks are also a near-perfect 9-1-1-0 versus Hartford dating back to the final meeting in the 2018-19 campaign.
In nine of the last 17 meetings, the visiting team has come away with the victory. Additionally, nine of the previous 14 encounters have been one-goal games. This includes Rochester’s come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win Nov. 14 at Hartford, when Riley Fiddler-Schultz netted the game winner.
The Amerks also enter today’s tilt riding a six-game home winning streak against Hartford, dating back to Nov. 22, 2022. After beginning with a 4-0 win, the home club has tallied 31 goals compared to the Wolf Pack’s 15. Of Rochester’s 31 goals, 10 have come while on the man-advantage.
With under a month to go in the 2025-26 season, Hartford finds itself at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and are only a point ahead of Utica for last place in the Eastern Conference. The New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate are a bottom five team in both goals for and goals against this season, despite bringing in some noteworthy additions over the offseason, including forward Trey Fix-Wolansky.
Fix-Wolansky has over 300 AHL points and leads his team with 25 goals on the year, his fourth straight with 25 or more. Beyond him, Hartford has only one other player (Brendan Brisson) with more than 30 points this season.
The Wolf Pack are 2-2-0-0 on their five-game road trip that ends in Rochester. After that, seven of their final 10 games will come on home ice.