For the first time all season, it appears that the Rochester Americans find themselves in some sort of a losing skid.

After taking the North Division by storm, Rochester has cooled off lately – losers of two in a row, three of the last four and four of the last six games.

Results

December 27 – Rochester 4, Belleville 3

ROC: Z. Redmond (5), E. Cornel (6), L. Pilut (4), T. Leier (3)
ROC: J. Johansson – 33 saves (W – 10-2-2)

December 28 – Binghamton 2, Rochester 0

ROC: No goals scored
ROC: A. Hammond – 27 saves (L – 10-5-2)

December 31 – Utica 3, Rochester 2

ROC: T. Leier (4, 5)
ROC: A. Hammond – 15 saves (L -10-6-2)

Three Big Things

1: Cooling Off

Rochester had been playing out of their minds, taking the North Division by storm. As of late, the Amerks appear to have come back to Earth a little.

Losers of two in a row, Rochester has a perfect opportunity to bounce back when the start the 2020 portion of their schedule.

2: Leier Continues to Impress

In nine games this season, Taylor Leier has had himself a run.

Leier has six points (five goals, one assist) in his return from major offseason surgery. While the Amerks have struggled, Leier has not.

While the Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle to effectively score, Leier’s hot start just might get some more eyes on him.

We saw recently with Dalton Smith signing a NHL contract and making his NHL debut, it does not seem out of the realm of possibility at this point to see Leier make his return to the National Hockey League.

3: Hanging Tough

Despite the aforementioned recent struggles, the Rochester Americans find themselves hanging tough in the North Division.

Rochester has paired their recent struggles with the recent struggles of the Toronto Marlies.

After 32 games, Rochester is tied with the Utica Comets for the North Division lead. Rochester does have two games in hand over Utica.

Standings

Coming Up

Friday, January 3 – Rochester Americans at Belleville Senators
Saturday, January 4 – Rochester Americans at Toronto Marlies