AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks battle within division

Published on October 14, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Amerks play new foe and familiar friend this weekend: The Amerks prepare for two North Division games this week, which includes the first ever game against the expansion Toronto Roadrunners on Friday night. The Amerks will then travel down Interstate 90 to face the Syracuse Crunch. The Amerks enter Friday's game with a 1-0-0-1 record (three points) after a season-opening win over the Hamilton Bulldogs and a 2-1 overtime loss at Binghamton on Saturday. To find out all the statistics on your favorite Amerks players or any other players in the AHL, check out www.pointstreak.com.

Friday, October 17, 2003 7:30 p.m.
Toronto Roadrunners vs Rochester Americans
Blue Cross Arena

The Roadrunners have been just that, playing their first three contests on the road, posting a record of 1-2-0-0. Toronto defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-3 on Monday to notch the franchise's first victory. Forward Jani Rita collected three points (2+1) and goaltender Stephen Valiquette stopped 29 shots to put Toronto into the win column. Rita (2+1) is tied with teammates Jamie Wright (2+1) and Dan Tessier (1+2) with three points to lead the Roadrunners in scoring. In two games played, Goaltender Stephen Valiquette has a 3.00 GAA and a .912 save percentage between the pipes for Toronto. Saturday, October 18, 2003 7:30 p.m.
Rochester Americans at Syracuse Crunch
Onondaga County War Memorial

On Saturday, the Amerks battle their Thruway rival, the Syracuse Crunch at 7:30 p.m. at the Onondaga County War Memorial. The game is the first of 12 meetings between the two teams. The Crunch are 0-0-1-0 (one point) and in fourth place in the North Division. The Crunch will host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, October 17th. This will be the 101st time the Crunch and Amerks have faced each other. The Amerks lead the all-time series with a 50-37-13 record. Last season, the Rochester won the season series with the Crunch 7-2-2-1, including 3-1-1-1 at Syracuse. Amerks Forward Jason Pominville picked up seven points (4+3) in 10 games against the Crunch. Sean McMorrow collected 95 penalty minutes in 10 games. The Crunch are celebrating their 10th anniversary in the American Hockey League this season.

Amerks on the dials:

Television- Friday's home game against Toronto will be televised tape delayed on Time Warner Cable Channel 98. The contest will be aired on Saturday, 18th at 12:30 p.m. Radio and Webcast- Both games this weekend will be broadcast on WHTK 1280-AM and webcast on the Official Website of the Rochester Americans at www.amerks.com.

Faceoff- Catch the latest episode of "Faceoff", the Amerks and Knighthawks weekly highlight and talk show this Saturday, October 18th at midnight and on Sunday, October 19th at noon only on the WB-16. Faceoff will be taping forward Jason Pominville this Wednesday at Bill Gray's on Jefferson Road in Henrietta from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Come on out and support the show!

AMERKS SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE:

Friday, October 17 TORONTO ROADRUNNERS 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, October 18 at Syracuse Crunch 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 24 TORONTO ROADRUNNERS 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, October 25 at Hershey Bears 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 26 SYRACUSE CRUNCH 6:05 p.m.
Friday, October 31 HAMILTON BULLDOGS 7:35 p.m.
***Home Games in Caps

AROUND THE BOARDS:

· Amerks goaltender Tom Askey is ranked sixth in the AHL with a 1.47 GAA.
· Amerks forward Jason Pominville is tied for sixth in the AHL in goal scoring (2).
· The American Hockey League announced earlier this week that Springfield Falcons center Jeff Taffe has been named the Sher-Wood AHL Player of the Week for the period ending October 12, 2003. Taffe recorded four goals and one assist for five points in two games last week as Springfield split its opening weekend matches.

At The box office: 2003-04 Season Ticket packages are still available! Full season ticket packages start at $99 per seat! Flexible ticket packages, including voucher packs, start at $92.50 per pack! Call 454-5335 to order your season ticket package. If you don't see a package that fits your schedule, please contact us and we can create one for you. For all ticket information, check out www.amerks.com.

Friday Night October 17th, is Boy Scout and Girl Scout Night at The Blue Cross Arena, when the Amerks take on their newest AHL rival, the Toronto Roadrunners. All scouts and their families can order special $5.00 tickets by contacting the Amerks Group Sales Department at 454-5335. All scouts in attendance can receive a free scout patch and participate in the Moose's scout parade during the first intermission.

Dress up in your favorite costume for our Halloween game between the Amerks and the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday, October 31st @ 8:00 p.m. You can purchase a $14.25 or $10.25 ticket for $5.00 by wearing your Halloween costume to the game! There will be candy giveaways and a costume contest.

SABRE TALK:

At Last: After two shutout losses to open the season, the Buffalo Sabres won their first game of the season on October 13th, when they defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 at HSBC Arena. Captain Mirolslav Satan and Daniel Briere led the Sabres with two points (1+1) apiece. Former Amerk Martin Biron stopped 18 shots to earn the victory in goal.

Rayzor's Night: The Sabres will honor former Amerk Rob Ray on October 28th when the Sabres host the Minnesota Wild at HSBC Arena. Ray is the National Hockey League's All-Time Penalty Minutes Leader with one team accumulating 3,193 minutes in 889 games. In three seasons in Rochester, Ray collected 46 points (14+32) in 125 games. His 796 penalty minutes rank him tenth on the Amerks All-Time Penalty Minutes list.

Upcoming Games: Buffalo will play the first game of the team's six game West Coast trip on Thursday night, when they faceoff against the Edmonton Oilers at 9:00 p.m. The Sabres will face the Calgary Flames on Saturday, October 18th at 9:00 p.m. The team will wrap up their tour of Western Canada on Monday, October 20th against the Vancouver Canucks at 10:00 p.m.

Check out the Rochester Americans Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from October 14, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central