Amerks defeat Bears

Ryan Oleksyn / Sports writer

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Rochester Americans defeated the Hershey Bears by a final score of 3-1 on Friday. The Amerks were able to bounce back after just losing to the same Hershey team back on Wednesday.

"I'm really proud of the group," said Amerks head coach Michael Leone. "They're working really hard on face-offs, they're really selfless guys."

Amerks bench reaction to goal on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 (Photo: Juniper Lasky)

Through the first few minutes, multiple in close chances were exchanged between the two sides and included a breakaway for Hershey which was stonewalled by Amerks goaltender Devon Levi.

But it would be Rochester lighting the lamp first thanks to winger Riley Fiddler-Schultz tipping one in front of the net and giving Rochester the 1-0 lead. It was Fiddler-Schultz's 11th goal of the season, and he was assisted by Peter Tischke and Trevor Kuntar.

Video: @ AmerksHockey on X

Rochester was tasked with killing of two penalties in the first frame and were able to fend off the Bears' power play opportunities both times.

After one period of play Rochester was ahead on the scoreboard over Hershey by a score of 1-0, the Amerks also lead in shots on goal 8-7 over the Bears.

Ryan Johnson behind the Rochester net on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 (Photo: Juniper Lasky)

To begin the second period, Hershey was much more aggressive with getting pressure towards the net and they were rewarded as a result.

With 15:28 remaining in the second period the Bears would match Rochester's goal with one of their own as defenseman Jon McDonald scored his first goal of the season. He was assisted by Zac Funk and Ryan Hofer. The Bears were now tied with the Amerks at one a piece.

Both teams were able to continue to get shots on goal, but the score would remain the same for the remainder of the period, and we had a deadlock contest heading to the third as Rochester still led in shots on goal 16-10 over Hershey.

To begin the third frame, Rochester would make a tone setting play by finding the back of the net in the first 57 seconds thanks to a snipe from Amerks winger Isak Rosén. it was Roséns 20th goal of the season and he was assisted by Anton Wahlberg and Gavin Bayreuther. With 19:03 remaining in the third, Rochester jumped back out in front to a 2-1 lead.

Video: @AmerksHockey on X

With that goal Rosén clinched his third consecutive season scoring 20+ goals for the Amerks.

"It's been really fun of course," said Rosén. "It was good to get a win today."

The final frame became very chippy down the stretch as multiple roughing penalties were handed out to both sides. As crunch time was approaching, the Bears pulled goaltender Mitch Gibson and sent out the extra attacker.

After a loss of possession in the Rochester zone by Hershey, the Amerks took advantage of the empty net and buried the game sealing goal with 32 seconds remaining. Rochester winger Anton Wahlberg earned his sixth goal of the season and he was assisted by Aidan Fulp and Gavin Bayreuther.

With the final seconds counting down the Amerks would hold the puck and lock up the 3-1 victory over the Bears.

The Amerks next game is Wednesday at home against Belleville at 7:05 p.m. With the win, Rochester remains in fourth place in the North Division and improve their record to 21-15-4-2 on the season.