Written By Aidan Charde
Recap: Jan 23 and 24 vs. Johnstown Tomahawks
It was a chaotic weekend in Pennsylvania, but the Rochester Jr. Americans came out with four points and a solid hold on third place in the East Division after sweeping the Johnstown Tomahawks.
The first game started slow, with just one goal on the board in the opening period. Forward Konner Powell earned his 12th goal of the year with a highlight-reel effort. Forwards Owen King and Colin Dustin extended the team’s lead in the second period, but after a chippy end to the frame, a small skirmish started in the Tomahawks’ defensive zone.
Johnstown’s goalie Zack Ferris joined in on the action, which Rochester’s goalie Florian Wade took offence to, skating the length of the ice to fight with Ferris. After the dust settled, both Ferris and Wade were removed from the game.
King added his second goal of the night early in the third followed by forward Stone Rolston’s eighth on the season to make it 5–0. Those, paired with a perfect frame from goalie Jensen Carlstrom, gave Rochester a big win and its first combined shutout in team history.
The Tomahawks came out stronger in the second contest, starting off the scoring with a goal five minutes into the first period. It looked like it would be the only goal of the period too, until forward Ryan Shaw hit his 30th goal of the year with just one second left on the clock. With the score, Shaw became the fastest Jr. Amerk to hit 30 goals, achieving the feat in 36 games — 18 games faster than the previous best set by Calle Karlsson last year.
The tie did not last long, however, as the Tomahawks jumped back out in front just over one minute into the second period. The 2–1 score held past the second intermission and into the third period, where it looked like a Tomahawks win was likely. Entering the game, Rochester was 3–8–0 when trailing after the second period, but the team did not stop fighting: Forward Clay O’Donnell hit the game-tying goal with 4:19 remaining, sending the game to overtime and an eventual shootout.
A Carlstrom save on Johnstown’s first attempt set the tone, which was followed by a goal from King on Rochester’s second shot. Although Johnstown saved the third shot, they failed to get past Carlstrom on any of their three attempts, giving Rochester its fourth shootout win of the year.
Rochester returns to home ice for its third-annual First Responders Appreciation Night, taking place during Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Rebels.
Preview: Philadelphia Rebels on Jan. 30 and 31
WHERE: Rochester Ice Center | Fairport, NY
WHEN: Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. | Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
Philadelphia has historically not been much of a problem for Rochester — the Jr. Amerks are 13–4–1 all-time in the series and 4–0–0 this season. However, the Rebels average margin of victory against Rochester is 2.6 goals, which increases to 3.0 goals when excluding Philadelphia’s lone overtime win.
By the Numbers
Rochester
26–11–0 | 52 pts | 3rd place | 140 GF | 93 GA | W4 streak
Philadelphia
15–17–8 | 38 pts | 7th place | 103 GF | 114 GA | W1 streak
Stat of the Series
The Rebels were the first team to ever shutout Rochester, winning 6–0 in March 2024. Since then, Rochester is 9–1–0 with a +20 goal differential against Philadelphia.
Curse reversed
Entering the season, Rochester struggled significantly during shootouts, holding a 3–11 record in the format across its first two seasons — including a stretch of eight consecutive losses from Sept. 23, 2023 until Jan. 4, 2025. That could not be further from how the team has been playing in shootouts this year, though, with last weekend’s comeback win giving the Jr. Amerks a 4–0 record in shootouts this year.
Getting the powerplay back
After a streak where the Jr. Amerks scored 20 powerplay goals in 17 games — which saw them increase their success rate from 16.2% to 23.1% — Rochester was held scoreless with a man up for the first full series since Oct. 3 and 4. The unit has rebounded exceptionally after sitting at a meager 10.5% in mid October, but it has performed especially well against Philadelphia this season. In four games, the team is averaging 1.25 powerplay goals per game against the Rebels, their second-best of any opponent.
Shaw sets sights records
In just his 36th game of the season, forward Ryan Shaw notched his 30th goal, becoming the fourth player in history to manage the feat and the first to do it in under 54 games. He is just one goal shy of tying the record set by Massimo Gentile and Calle Karlsson, but is on pace for 48 on the season. While his assist numbers are likely to fall short of Matteo Disipio’s record 51, Shaw is still on pace to have a top-5 season in that metric. With both numbers as strong as they are, it is no surprise that he is also on pace to break Disipio’s record of 81 points. Shaw leads the league in goals, sitting in fifth place in points and fourth in qualified points per game.
Under the radar
Behind Shaw’s season, it is easy to lose sight on some other stars performing well. 10 goals in 10 games for forward Owen King has vaulted him from an average season to being well on pace to surpassing his electric 2024-25 campaign. Meanwhile, forward Konner Powell, who missed 13 games early in the season, would be on pace for a 30-goal season if he played the full schedule.
Nikitins the clear star
The Rebels have had a clear lack of star power on offense, sitting near the bottom of the league with just 103 goals scored. Yet their 114 goals allowed, while not great, sits them at 12th in the league and 10th in goals allowed per game with 2.85. That is due in large part to 18-year-old goalie Ilja Nikitins, who is saving 92.7% of shots he sees this year — the fourth-best of qualified goalies. Somehow, the team is just 10–9–4 with him in the net and eight of his losses come while allowing two goals or fewer.
