Article Written by Aidan Charde
Jr. Amerks Clinch Robertson Cup Playoffs
For the second straight season, the Rochester Jr. Americans have clinched a spot in the postseason, this time achieving the feat with 13 games remaining.
The Jr. Amerks officially earned a berth after Friday night’s game, where they needed a win and losses from both the Danbury Hat Tricks and Philadelphia Rebels. The Hat Tricks fell 5–2 to the New Jersey Titans and the Rebels blew a 4–1 lead in the final seven minutes to lose to the Northeast Generals. That, paired with a Jr. Amerks 6–2 win made Rochester the second team in the NAHL to make the postseason.
Rochester has been great all season, but it certainly took them some time to get into winning form. Through the first month of play, the Jr. Amerks sat at 3–1–3 and were in second place in the division. Two overtime losses and the only regulation loss came during the NAHL Showcase and aside from forwards Andrew Gibbons and Calle Karlsson, who put up seven and nine points, respectively, it was a low-scoring month.
October began well with two wins and an overtime loss, but quickly got out of hand after three consecutive losses sunk the Jr. Amerks into the worst spot of the season. They sat in fourth place with a record of 5–4–4 and a 15.6% success rate on powerplays, still the season-low. But it may have been the catalyst for an epic turnaround, as they broke the losing streak with a 6–1 win and have since lost just five games in regulation.
The second month of the season also saw the explosion of two of Rochester’s best contributors this year, as forwards Hugo Branthsson and Adam Gionta each had more multi-point games than zero-point games. Both forwards scored 10 points in the month and Branthsson strung together an eight-game point streak, which was the longest of the season at the time.
November was a month of high highs and low lows. The team was 7–2–1 in the month with several signature victories — a 4–1 beatdown of the Maryland Black Bears on away ice, the first overtime win of the season, and a 5–0 shutout of Elmira that put the team back in first place in the division, to name a few. Karlsson also earned the team’s first hat trick of the year and the team had a streak of three straight games with a shorthanded goal. However, it also saw some tough moments that included a 6–0 shutout loss and a late blown lead that kept the team from pulling away in the division.
The Jr. Amerks came so close to having a perfect December, winning each of the first five games before dropping the last one of 2024 to the Maine Nordiques. The loss also snapped a streak of eight straight games with a powerplay goal, by far the longest of the year.
Heading into the new year, Rochester was fortunate to have a heavy home slate in the latter half of the season. Though they dropped as far as third after being swept by the Nordiques, they won five of eight games in the month to improve to 24–8–7. It was a month of consistency in the box scores too, as several players including Karlsson, Gionta, Owen King, Jaden Dyke and Ryan Shaw added points in most of the contests.
Even with two games left to play in February, it has been one of the more successful months in team history. Aside from clinching the playoffs, all six of the Jr. Amerks’ wins have come with five or more goals and the squad has a record of 6–1–1.
The team has been great all around, but certain trends have emerged as the season has gone on. Early in the year, the Jr. Amerks were far better on Fridays than on Saturdays: 7–3–0 on Fridays compared to 4–3–2 on Saturdays through mid November. While that trend has all but disappeared as the team has continued to win on both days, it has been clear that Rochester is utterly dominant on home ice. Their record of 18–2–2 in the Ice Center is one of the best home marks in the league and is the top points percentage in the NAHL. They also have a point differential of +43 at home compared to +9 on the road, a staggering difference.
At home and away, the special teams play has been nothing short of spectacular. Currently, the Jr. Amerks sit at a 20.9% powerplay and 87.4% penalty kill, both of which are sixth in the NAHL. They are one of two teams along with the Minot Minotauros to be in the top six in both categories.
Good special teams play has been indicative of good overall play, too. The team is 21–3–7 with a +50 point differential when they score on the powerplay compared to 9–6–1 and a +2 differential when they do not.
Along with strong team play as a unit, some players have stood out as stars this season. While last season’s squad was built on the backs of three incredible scorers, this year has had consistency and contribution all the way down the roster. Calle Karlsson’s 26 goals on the season leads the team and sits just shy of the team record of 31. Adam Gionta has 20 of his own while Owen King (18), Jaden Dyke (16), Hugo Branthsson (14) and Landon Brownlee (13) are all within striking distance with 12 games left.
The defenders on the team have been making a name for themselves with blocked shots and stifling coverage rather than assisting from the blue line like last season. Rochester regularly controls the puck for most of the game — they have tallied 10+ more shots than their opponent 23 times while only being outshot 12 times all season.
In the net, Danick Leroux has been the biggest constant, playing 33 games between the pipes and performing dependably every time. His 25 wins are tied for the most in the NAHL while his 2.113 goals allowed average and 92.12% save rate both sit among the league’s elite. On top of that, he has played the third-most minutes in the NAHL, showing consistency even on weekends where he started both games. Florian Wade was a big part of the season as well, starting 14 games before switching leagues. Wade regressed from a stellar 2023–24, but seemed more unlucky than anything else: A 5–5–4 record despite saving 90.47% of shots.
The Jr. Amerks still have a ways to go before they can call the season complete. Despite being the second team in the playoffs, seeding is still very much up in the air. The team is up 18 points over the fifth-place Johnstown Tomahawks with 12 games to go each, which means Rochester has a slim chance at guaranteeing another top-four finish this weekend. The race for the two bye weeks may come down to the final week of the season, but the Jr. Amerks hold five points over the second place Maryland Black Bears at the moment. Maryland still has to face the Maine Nordiques one more time in a series that could help decide the seeding.
Any updates about seeding and playoff matchups will come via our social media, so follow us on Twitter/X and Instagram @JrAmerksNAHL to stay up-to-date on what comes next!
