Amerks open 2026/2027 season with win over Marlies
By: Mateo Ortiz
ROCHESTER, NY - The Rochester Americans opened their 2026/2027 campaign on Friday night against the defending Calder Cup champions, the Toronto Marlies, in a rematch of last year's AHL North Division Semifinal. A dominating second period on both sides of the ice, along with an inexperienced defense
shutting down the Marlies' attack, led to a 3-1 opening night win for the Amerks.
Between the pipes for the Marlies was Samuel Hlavaj, who went 7-11-5 with a .887 save percentage in 22 games for the Iowa Wild last season. For the Amerks, it was AHL veteran Matt Villalta, who went 16-12-3 with a .905 save percentage in 33 appearances for the Tucson Roadrunners in the previous season.
Halfway through the opening frame, the game remained scoreless, with the Marlies leading in total shots eight-to-three.
Toronto had three power-play opportunities in the first 13:30 of play, including a 5-on-3 with 9:31 left in the first period. However, a couple of clutch saves by Villalta kept the Marlies off the scoresheet.
Rochester would have an opportunity on the power play with 1:55 remaining in the first after a hooking penalty on Marlies LW Brendan Brisson. The Amerks would not record a shot, however, as the first period would remain scoreless, with the Marlies leading 13-3 in shots on goal through the first 20 minutes of play.
The Amerks would get their second power-play opportunity of the contest after a tripping penalty by Marlies LW Michael Pezzetta, just 1:33 into the second period. Although they were able to record a couple of open shots on Hlavaj, none were able to find the net.
Rochester would get their third power-play opportunity just two minutes after the Toronto tripping penalty ended. The Amerks would not score once again but came very close to opening the scoring just five seconds after the power play ended, after an acrobatic save by Hlavaj kept the puck between the red line and kept the game at bae. The Marlies would receive their fourth penalty of the game on that save, however: a roughing penalty on defenseman Dakota Mermis.
The fourth opportunity on the power play would be the charm for the Amerks, as LW Riley Fiddler-Schultz would tap the puck past Hlavaj with 9:55 remaining in the middle frame to open the scoring. Fiddler-Schultz was fifth on the Amerks in total points last season with 37 points (21+16) in the previous campaign. Forwards Trevor Kuntar and Carson Meyer were credited with the primary and secondary assists, respectively.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X
Fiddler-Schultz mentioned how important a win against the defending Calder Cup champions was for this team, especially on opening night.
"It's always big to get your first win of the season in the first game, and they're obviously a good team, and that gives us some extra confidence heading into Sunday and into the rest of the season," Fiddler-Schultz said.
The Amerks would net their second goal of the game with 1:09 remaining in the second period as RW Jake Richard scored his first career AHL goal to give Rochester a two-goal advantage. The Buffalo Sabres 2022 sixth-round pick joined the Amerks this season after completing his collegiate career at the University of Connecticut. Defenseman Gavin McCarthy, who was originally credited with the goal, was instead credited with the primary assist, giving him his first AHL point. Forward Thomas Bordeleau was credited with the secondary assist, his first as an Amerk, after recording 21 points (9+12) in 60 games between the Utica Comets and Springfield Thunderbirds.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X
This was Richard's first AHL game, his biggest adjustment heading directly from college to the professional ranks has been the strength and size of the players that he is facing. With that, he also talked about what it was like to be out on professional ice for the first time.
"I think the couple of NHL preseason games and the AHL preseason game helped a lot," Richard said. "I think I kind of found my footing, and I was able to come into this game a lot more confident, and just play my game and not think too much about it."
The second period would end with the Amerks dominating in shots on goal, 14-3, over the Marlies, taking the lead in the game with a 17-16 advantage. Both teams went a combined 1/11 on the power play through 40 minutes of play.
Toronto dominated the shots on goal category through the 14-minute mark of the third period, leading Rochester 14-1 in shots and taking a 30-18 advantage. None of their 14 shots, however, would get past the Amerks netminder, Villalta.
The Amerks would grow their lead to three after LW Conor Sheary shot a one-timer off the faceoff, over the right shoulder of Hlavaj. The 34-year-old veteran played for the Sabres from 2018 to 2020, where he recorded 53 points (23+30) in 133 games for Amerks AHL affiliate. Forward Matthew Peca was credited with the assist after winning the initial faceoff.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X
Amerks Head Coach Michael Leone described how important it was to have a veteran presence like Sheary, who has 655 NHL games under his belt.
"He's a good person, he's a really smart player, and he's been in every situation, we're really fortunate to have him," Leone said.
With 1:53 remaining in the third, the Marlies would get their first and only goal of the contest as RW Henrik Rybinski tapped the puck past Villalta. Forward Luke Haymes and RW Vinni Lettieri were credited with assists on the Rybinski goal.
The score would remain there, as the Amerks would win the season opener 3-1 over the Marlies. The final shot total would end up being 36-20 in favor of the Marlies, after outshooting the Amerks 20-3 in the final stanza.
In his past seven years in the AHL, Villalti has played exclusively in the Western Conference of the AHL. He talked about how it feels like he has joined an entirely new league by moving to the Eastern Conference
"It has that feeling of starting my career again in a sense," Villalti said. "That's the exciting part though; it feels cool, and it gives me a lot of energy and excitement to look forward to."
Villalti, who stopped 35 of 36 shots he faced on Friday night, has three games of NHL experience in his career, with all three games being with the Utah Mammoth, although two of his starts were when the team was in Arizona, before they moved to Salt Lake City. His goal, like all AHL players, is to reach the NHL on a full-time basis, but he does say he needs to build consistency down in the AHL.
"I think the biggest thing is just being consistent every day here," Villalti said. "You gotta earn it to wear that Sabres uniform, and that's not just going to be given to you. So just being consistent here every day and having a smile on my face, giving 110% of what I can do here every day to help the team, and that's what I'm focused on."
Rochester will be back in action on Sunday Afternoon when they travel to Belleville, ON, to take on the Senators at CAA Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 3 pm. The Amerks will return home next Friday when they take on the Syracuse Crunch, with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 pm at the Blue Cross Arena.
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