Rochester Americans return to Buffalo for two more games
March 1, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release
(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans are bringing two more American Hockey League games to HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The Amerks will host the Cleveland Barons on Sunday, March 20th and battle the St. John's Maple Leafs on Sunday, April 3rd. Both games are 5:00 p.m. starts.
"The Rochester Americans are announcing that two additional home games are being moved to the HSBC Arena. The moving of these two games will allow more fans in Western New York to see the Amerks play," said Amerks President and CEO Steve Donner. "We are serving as ambassadors of hockey in upstate New York, as well as maximizing revenues for both organizations on these two games."
The Amerks currently lead the AHL with a 41-10-3-5 record (90 points). With their 5-2 victory Sunday vs. Syracuse, the Amerks broke a 40-year-old franchise record for consecutive home victories when they secured their 16th straight win.
Tickets for the two games are priced at $10.00, $15.00 and $20.00 and will go on sale Wednesday, March 2nd at 9:00 a.m. at the HSBC Arena box office, www.sabres.com, all tickets.com outlets, on the web at www.tickets.com, or charge by phone at 888-223-6000.
Fans should note that the game on March 20th was initially scheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd at The Blue Cross Arena. The April 3rdcontest is being played on the originally scheduled date, but has changed time and venue.
Rochester has already played two games in Buffalo this season, winning both contests while setting franchise attendance records in both instances. The first game featured an Amerks' 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks on November 5th in front of a franchise-record crowd of 12,126. In the second game, Rochester defeated the Edmonton Road Runners 2-0 on December 28th in front of a new record crowd of 17,898.
Last season, Rochester played three games in Buffalo, which included two in the AHL's Western Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Admirals. In Game Three on May 22nd, the Amerks drew a crowd of 8,462, and Game Four on May 23rd attracted over 6,800 to HSBC Arena.
The Amerks and Sabres are in their 26th season as affiliated partners in 2004-05, extending the longest such working relationship in professional hockey. On May 14, 2003, Amerks President and CEO Steve Donner and Sabres owner Tom Golisano announced the signing of a new affiliation agreement, which added an additional two seasons to the existing deal.
It was during the 1979-80 campaign that the two organizations first formed a professional hockey partnership. Billy Inglis was the first head coach of the Amerks while partnered with the Sabres. Future coaches included Mike Keenan, Joe Crozier, Jim Schoenfeld, Don Lever, John Van Boxmeer, John Tortorella, Brian McCutcheon and Randy Cunneyworth. Both Keenan (1994) and Tortorella (2004) went on to coach NHL teams to Stanley Cup victories.
In the last 25 seasons with Buffalo as their NHL affiliate, the Amerks have won three Calder Cup championships (1983, 1987 and 1996) and advanced to six other AHL finals. Rochester has also made the playoffs 15 straight seasons. In fact, the Amerks have made the postseason 22 of 25 seasons while with the Sabres.
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