AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Open 47th Season Friday Night

October 10, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... A festive atmosphere surrounds the Rochester Americans' home opener on Friday, October 11th at The Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial. The daylong list of events begins at 5:30 p.m. with a block party on Exchange Street in front of the building, and concludes with the debut of the $1.25 million Constellation Video Board. The pregame party includes food and beverages and live music by the band "Ruby Shooz."

The Amerks open their 47th season in the American Hockey League against the rival Albany River Rats at 7:35 p.m. on Friday. The first 5,000 fans will receive a rally card, courtesy of the Democrat and Chronicle. Constellation Brands will also hand out 10,000 collector's cups, commemorating the inaugural night of the Constellation Video Board.

Rochester opens the season at home against the River Rats for the second time in three seasons. The home and season opener on October 11th will be broadcast on WHAM 1180-AM by Don Stevens and John Bednarski. The Amerks lead the all-time series with a 34-29-7 record. Last season, Rochester had a 2-1-1 record against Albany. The series was tightly contested, as two of the games headed to overtime and all of the contests were decided by two goals or less. Greece native Brian Gionta (2+2) and Steve Guolla (1+3) led the Rats with four points. The Amerks' Francois Methot (2+2) and Henrik Tallinder (2+2) also tallied four points to lead the team. Rochester goaltender Tom Askey registered a 1-0-1 record and a 1.40 goals-against average against Albany.

The game Friday is the first of three games the River Rats will play in Rochester. The two former Empire Division rivals meet three times in Albany as well. The River Rats enter the season under the direction of new head coach Dennis "Red" Gendron. Gendron will try to turn around a team that finished with the worst record in the American Hockey League during the 2001-02 campaign. Albany (52 points) ended the season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference's East Division. The Amerks (32-30-15-3, 82 points) finished in second place in the Central Division and advanced to the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Rochester hits the road for the first time on Saturday as they battle the Philadelphia Phantoms at the First Union Spectrum. The game is a rematch of the 2002 Western Conference Qualifier, won by the Phantoms in two straight games. Face-off is set for 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WHAM 1180-AM.

The Amerks return home Monday afternoon for a 5:05 p.m. Columbus Day game against the Hamilton Bulldogs. The game will be broadcast on WHTK 1280-AM. The Rochester Americans won the season series a year ago, going 5-2-1 against Hamilton. The Amerks were a perfect 3-0-1 at The Blue Cross Arena. Each game in Rochester was hard-fought, as three of the four contests were decided by one goal or less. Tom Askey was superb in goal for Rochester, compiling a 2-1-1 record and a 1.94 goals-against average.

AMERKS SELECT CAPTAINS: Friday night, Rochester Americans defenseman Doug Houda will make his debut as the Amerks' team captain. Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth named Houda the team's captain for the 2002-03 season on Tuesday. Chris Taylor and Rory Fitzpatrick will serve as the Amerks assistant captains. Houda enters his fifth season with the Amerks and brings over 1,000 games of professional experience to the ice each night. Taylor has been an assistant captain for the past two seasons and led Rochester with 66 points (21+45) last season. Fitzpatrick becomes the first Rochester native to wear the "A" on his Amerk sweater. The Irondequoit native enters his second season with the Amerks.

DYNAMIC DUO: The Rochester Americans boast one of the finest goaltending tandems in the AHL, with veteran Tom Askey and rookie Ryan Miller. Askey is coming off a season that saw him register a career-best 2.52 goals-against average, and tie for the team lead in wins (16) and shutouts (3). Miller comes to Rochester after an amazing collegiate career at Michigan State. In 2001, he was awarded the Hobey Baker Award, given to Division I college hockey's best player. The East Lansing, Mich., native set the NCAA record for shutouts with 26 over three seasons and compiled a 73-19-12 record with the Spartans.

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