Providence Bruins Bring Six-Win Surge to Rochester, Chasing Atlantic Top Seed

When the AHL's top team rolled into Blue Cross Arena carrying a six-game winning streak and a 13-1 overtime record, Rochester had a narrow path to a result: score first, absorb Providence's power play, and force the issue past sixty minutes. The Americans executed all three.

Matteo Costantini snuck the puck over Michael DiPietro's right pad with 42 seconds left in overtime to give Rochester a 2-1 win over the Providence Bruins on Saturday, handing the Atlantic Division leaders just their second overtime loss of the season in front of 7,718 fans. The two points pushed the Amerks to 67 and kept them relevant in the North Division's late-season standings battle. Providence took one point from the defeat, holding at 104, and its Atlantic top seed is nowhere near threatened - but losing in overtime to a 65-point Rochester team snaps one of the more dependable streaks in the league.

The game's decisive front was goaltending, and Devon Levi won it. Levi stopped 23 of 24 shots to improve to 21-18-8, outperforming DiPietro on a night when the Providence starter carried the most imposing individual numbers in the AHL. DiPietro entered Saturday leading the league in wins (32), goals-against average (1.95) and save percentage (.929), and had not lost in overtime since March 1, 2025. He made 19 saves on 21 shots but could not stop Costantini's shot late in overtime, absorbing his first extra-time defeat in over a year.

The scoring was compact. Anton Wahlberg opened it 3:31 into the first period, converting a Konsta Helenius pass near the right corner into a shot that slipped under DiPietro for the early Amerks lead. Providence answered on the power play at 12:02, Victor Söderström firing a James Hagens feed into the upper-right corner to level it at 1-1. Georgii Merkulov, who leads Providence with 55 points, collected the secondary assist. Neither team scored through the second or third periods.

The overtime winner came from an unexpected source. Costantini spent the first half of the season in the ECHL with the Jacksonville Icemen before locking down Rochester's first-line center role; Saturday's goal was his fifth of the year and third in six games, with Helenius and Vsevolod Komarov drawing the assists. Helenius's helper brought him level with Zac Jones at 57 points apiece at the top of Rochester's scoring race. Jones, who led the Amerks entering the game, provided the zone exit that triggered the OT sequence. Riley Tufte, who paces Providence with 31 goals, was held scoreless on a night the Bruins totaled 24 shots but couldn't solve Levi when it counted.

Providence visits Hartford on April 10 with its Atlantic seeding secure. Rochester heads to Cleveland on Monday needing every available point to protect its playoff standing. Saturday's two felt like a lot more than two.