AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks' division-clinching game in Buffalo on TV this weekend

April 4, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... Rochester Americans fans will get to see the Amerks win their 14th division title, as Time Warner Cable Channel 98 will air the Amerks' 6-4 win over St. John's at noon on Saturday, April 9th. Rochester defeated the Maple Leafs on the blue ice at HSBC Arena in Buffalo this past Sunday.

A crowd of 15,326 braved the weather to see Rochester become the first team in the American Hockey League to clinch its division. The division crown was the Amerks' first since the 2000-01 season. The contest against the North Division rival St. John's Maple Leafs was the fourth and final trip to Buffalo for the Amerks. Rochester finished 4-0-0-0 this season at the home of its National Hockey League affiliate.

Over the next two weeks, the Amerks will play six of their final seven regular season games on the road. Rochester travels to Binghamton (Friday), Syracuse (Saturday), St. John's (April 11th & 13th), Hamilton (April 15th) and Cleveland (April 17th).

This week, Rochester hits the road for five games in eight nights, beginning this Friday, April 8th at the Broome County Arena against the Binghamton Senators (41-21-5-7, 94 points). The contest is the eighth and final regular season meeting between the two teams. The Amerks lead the season series with a 4-1-2-0 record. The Senators enter the week just one point behind the Philadelphia Phantoms for first place in the East Division. Binghamton is one of seven AHL teams to clinch a Calder Cup playoff spot. The contest will be broadcast on WHTK 1280-AM and amerks.com.

On Saturday, April 9th, the Amerks battle the Syracuse Crunch at 7:30 p.m. at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Rochester owns a 6-2-0-2 mark against the Crunch this season. The game this Saturday is the 11th of 12 meetings between the North Division rivals. The Crunch (32-29-7-4, 75 points) are fighting for their playoff lives with eight games left. Syracuse trails the Hamilton Bulldogs (34-28-7-5, 80 points) by five points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North. The contest will be broadcast on WHTK 1280-AM and amerks.com.

After a travel day on Sunday, April 10th, Rochester will battle the St. John's Maple Leafs twice in three days. The visit is the last to the "Rock" for the Amerks as the Toronto Maple Leafs are moving their AHL franchise to Toronto in 2005-06. Rochester just defeated the Leafs Sunday in Buffalo to improve to 5-0-0-1 this season against St. John's. Both games are 6:05 p.m. starts from Mile One Stadium. The Leafs (42-27-1-4, 89 points) are only two points away from overtaking the Manitoba Moose for second place in the North Division.

The Amerks' last regular season home game is Saturday, April 16th at 7:35 p.m. against the Syracuse Crunch. The home finale features the team's annual Awards Night. The organization will present the awards for most valuable player, scoring champion, most improved player, game-winning goals and most popular player. The club will also bestow the Fairand/O'Neil Sportsmanship Award, the Rob Zabelny Unsung Hero Award and the McCulloch Community Service Trophy. The Booster Club will also honor its member of the year.

In addition, the Amerks will honor five local high school hockey players as the 2004-05 winners of the Thomas M. Nichols scholarship. Nichols was a local attorney at Harris Beach who was instrumental in keeping the Amerks in Rochester during the 1970-71 season. He was also part of the ownership group in the early 1970s. Nichols, who was originally from Boston, was an ardent supporter of youth and high school hockey.

Amerks Notes

· Rochester (49-14-4-6, 108 points) became the first team in the AHL to clinch its division. The Amerks captured the North Division after beating St. John's 6-4 Sunday in Buffalo. The division crown was the team's 14th and first since the 2000-01 season.

· The Amerks are four points away from breaking their franchise record for points in a season. In 1998-99, Rochester set the team record with 111 points.

· Thomas Vanek has moved into a second-place tie in rookie scoring with 58 points (34+24) in 68 games. He is also tied for the AHL lead with 19 power-play goals.

· Ryan Miller won his league-leading 39th game on Sunday and can become the first AHL goalie in 40 years to win 40 games. Amerk Gerry Cheevers was the last player in AHL history to hit the 40-win plateau, as he won a league-record 48 in 1964-65.

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