Rosen's Hat Trick Fuels Amerks' 4-0 Shutout of Thunderbirds

Rochester Amerks #72 Carson Meyer and Springfield Thunderbirds #28 Otto Stenberg prepare for faceoff in Friday evening contest

By Christopher Drummond

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Isak Rosen delivered a dominant performance Friday night, recording a hat trick as the Rochester Americans blanked the Springfield Thunderbirds 4–0 at Blue Cross Arena.

The victory marked the first meeting of the season between the two clubs and capped a six-game homestand for Rochester. With the NHL on an extended break for the Winter Olympics, the Amerks welcomed back key contributors Rosen and Konsta Helenius—both of whom made an immediate impact.

Rosen opened the scoring early in the first period, netting his 21st goal of the season to give Rochester a 1–0 lead. The goal was set up by Anton Wahlberg and Zac Jones, who recorded their 16th and 32nd assists of the season, respectively.

Moments later, play was briefly overshadowed by a concerning incident involving defenseman Nikita Novikov, who took a puck to the head area and went down on the ice. Novikov exited the game later in the period and did not return in the opening frame.

Despite multiple penalties assessed to both teams in the first period, neither side was able to capitalize on the power play. Late in the frame, Rosen struck again on a breakaway after a feed from Helenius, burying his 22nd goal of the season. Gavin Bayreuther also picked up an assist on the play as Rochester took a 2–0 lead into the first intermission while outshooting Springfield 13–7.

Rosen completed the hat trick in the second period, scoring his 23rd goal of the season and sending hats raining onto the ice as the Amerks extended their lead to 3–0. Rochester remained firmly in control the rest of the way.

Trevon Kuntar added the final goal in the third period, redirecting a shot past the Springfield goaltender to seal the 4–0 victory.

Rochester doubled up Springfield in shots on goal, finishing with a 33–15 advantage. The Thunderbirds accumulated as many penalty minutes as shots, underscoring the Amerks’ control throughout the contest.

Following the game, Amerks head coach Michael Leone praised his team’s effort and the return of Rosen and Helenius to the lineup.

“I am really proud of the guys tonight,” Leone said. “I’ve been saying for the last two weeks that I felt we’ve been playing a lot of good hockey. I thought they were great on the puck and off the puck tonight. They played the game the right way and got rewarded.”

Leone also highlighted goaltender Scott Ratzlaff, who earned one of the game’s three stars after stopping all 15 shots he faced for the shutout.

“I thought he made some good saves,” Leone said. “He’s only 20 years old, and sometimes I can’t believe he’s 20. He has a bright future.”

Ratzlaff, starting in place of Devon Levi, said his focus was keeping things simple.

“I just wanted to go out there and have fun—that’s what hockey is all about,” Ratzlaff said. “It was nice to be at home. These fans are amazing, and to get a win is pretty cool too. Rosen had a night, and I’m so happy for him. When we’re scoring like that, I try to stay even keel. You never think you have the game in hand.”

The Amerks will close out their schedule before the break with a back-to-back road matchup against the Utica Comets. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.