Rochester Americans Randy Cunneyworth named AHL's Outstanding Coach
Published on April 11, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
(Rochester, NY)... The American Hockey League announced today that Randy Cunneyworth of the Rochester Americans has been named the winner of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding coach for the 2004-05 season, as voted by members of the media in each of the league's 28 cities.
Currently in his fifth season as head coach of the Americans, Cunneyworth has guided Rochester to the best record in the American Hockey League heading into the final week of the regular season. The Amerks are 49-16-4-6, which is good for 108 points and a league-leading .720 points percentage, entering Monday's action. Rochester clinched its 16th consecutive berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs back on March 13th, and wrapped up the Sam Pollock Trophy as the North Division title on April 3rd.
A 43-year-old native of Etobicoke, Ont., Cunneyworth played six seasons of his 19-year professional career in Rochester, winning a Calder Cup championship with the Amerks in 1983 and returning to the Finals in 1999 and again as an assistant coach in 2000. He was promoted to head coach in 2000-01, and has a compiled a record of 195-146-54 (.562) in his five years at the helm in Rochester.
He is the 26th head coach in Amerks history and has moved into third place on the franchise's all-time wins list. Cunneyworth is the third Rochester coach to win the Pieri Award, joining Don Cherry (1974) and Don Lever (1991).
Other previous winners of the award include Frank Mathers (1969), Fred Shero (1970), Al MacNeil (1972, '77), Floyd Smith (1973), John Muckler (1975), Jacques Demers (1983), Larry Pleau (1987), Mike Milbury (1988), John Paddock (1988), Marc Crawford (1993), Barry Trotz (1994), Robbie Ftorek (1995, '96), Peter Laviolette (1999), Glen Hanlon (2000), Don Granato (2001), Bruce Cassidy (2002), Claude Julien (2003) and Claude Noel (2004).
The Louis A.R. Pieri Award, which was first presented in 1968, honors the late Mr. Pieri, a long-time contributor to the AHL as the owner of the Providence Reds. Pieri also served as the general manager of three Calder Cup champions (1938, 1940, 1949) in Providence.
In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. This season, more than 6.3 million fans have attended AHL games to date, and 16 clubs will continue to vie for the league's coveted championship trophy when the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs get underway next week.
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