Konsta Helenius' shorthanded rocket goal lifts Amerks past Laval Rocket

Konsta Helenius punctuated a dominant Rochester Americans performance with a highlight-reel blast that has been shared widely online, and local coverage credited him with two goals and two assists in the Amerks’ 4-0 victory over the Laval Rocket at Blue Cross Arena. The AHL’s official channels circulated video of Helenius’ “rocket” against Laval, and a YouTube upload labeled the clip a shorthanded goal from “game 4,” with 177 views and an upload timestamp of eight months ago.

Local beat reporting from 13WHAM and Pickin’ Splinters laid out the boxscore for that Blue Cross Arena meeting: second-year centerman Konsta Helenius finished the night with two goals and two assists, and netminder Devon Levi recorded the shutout. Coach Michael Leone put the performance in blunt terms, saying, “When he’s physically engaged in the hockey game, when he’s physical and skating, it’s just night-and-day difference; he’s attacking the game.” 13WHAM’s account also noted the Amerks’ postgame line of “improved to 4-2 with the win over the Rocket (2-4)” as presented in their report.

The Laval meeting at Place Bell two nights earlier produced a very different script. In that road game the Rocket beat Rochester 4-2 in the first half of a back-to-back set and the third of four meetings since Feb. 20, according to the Amerks’ official recap. Rochester generated 37 shots to Laval’s 23 but could not overcome an early deficit. Jake Leschyshyn scored his 11th goal of the season — his seventh on the power play — and later added an assist for his third multi-point game of the year, while Ryan Johnson recorded his fifth goal of the campaign in the third period.

Laval’s scoring came from J. Roy (16), O. Beck (9), D. Reinbacher (5, credited as the game-winner) and F. Xhekaj (11). Amerks play-by-play described Roy’s goal in detail: “Near the halfway point of the frame, Roy stepped in front of a pass from the right corner inside the Amerks’ end of the ice. The forward gained control in the circle, but rather than cutting to the center of the zone, he went behind the net and banked a shot off Levi’s inner thigh. While sprawling to make a save, the puck trickled across the goal line with 9:14 left in the period. Following an official’s review, it was deemed a good goal after the initial call on the ice was waved off.” Jonathan Fowler was named the first star after stopping 35 of 37 shots; Devon Levi finished 19 of 23 in the loss.

Across the recent series, Helenius has been a recurring disruptive force: the league highlight reels flagged his “rocket” and local writers have spotlighted his physical edge and net-front instincts, while the Amerks’ own recaps show him contributing in multiple roles, including an assist in the Place Bell game. Rochester had scheduled a rematch the following day for Saturday, March 7 at 3:00 p.m., with coverage on The Sports Leader WGR Rochester 95.7 FM/950 AM and on AHLTV via FloHockey.