AHL Rochester Americans

Rochester Americans weekly

October 15, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans will wear 1960's replica red road sweaters as the Amerks rekindle an old rivalry with the Binghamton Senators Friday, October 18th at The Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks will commemorate the event by wearing the sweaters for the 7:35 p.m. contest.

The Amerks will unveil the throwback sweaters on Thursday, October 17th at a 3:00 p.m. press conference at The Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial. The event will take place in the Amerks' dressing room and will include President and CEO Steve Donner, General Manager Jody Gage and selected Rochester Americans players.

The red uniforms, last worn during the 1980-81 season, will highlight the renewal of the Rochester-Binghamton feud. The two storied franchises played historic games for 20 years. But for the past five seasons, the Rochester-Binghamton rivalry has remained dormant because the American Hockey League franchise relocated. This season, however, the Ottawa Senators moved their AHL affiliate to Binghamton and the B-Sens were born. The Amerks own a 95-96-17 all-time regular season record against Binghamton.

This season's six-game series begins Friday, October 18th in Rochester. Prior to the game, fans can enjoy the Labatt Ice Kickin' Happy Hour at Nathaniel's Pub. Nathaniel's, located at 251 Exchange Blvd., serves as the Rochester Americans' pregame party headquarters for selected Friday and Saturday night home games.

The Amerks enter the contest against the Binghamton Senators with a 0-1-1-1 record. Rochester, despite registering two points in three games, remains tied for first place in the Central Division with the Cleveland Barons. Cleveland, Grand Rapids and Cincinnati have played one game this season and the Syracuse Crunch are still waiting to open their season. The game Friday will be broadcast on WHTK 1280-AM and on the web at www.amerks.com.

The Amerks hit the road Saturday, October 19th for the Hershey Bears' home opener at the 10,500-seat GIANT Center. The 7:00 p.m. game features the two oldest franchises in the AHL. The game will be broadcast on WHTK 1280-AM and on the web at www.amerks.com. The Bears enter their 65th season in the AHL and the Amerks are playing their 47th season. Hershey leads the all-time series with a 193-173-52 record.

The Bears (1-0-0-0, two points) are currently tied for third place in the Western Conference's South Division. Hershey opened the season with a 6-3 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza October 12th. Last season, Hershey advanced to the conference semifinals under the direction of Head Coach Mike Foligno.

Amerks inside the numbers:

Ryan Miller: The rookie goaltender leads the AHL with 189 minutes played... He is fifth in the league in saves (60), and is sixth in goals-against average (1.59)... Miller has started all three games for the Amerks.

Denis Hamel: He leads the AHL with 21 shots after three games.

Rory Fitzpatrick: The Irondequoit native is second in the AHL in shots on goal among defensemen with 11.

Sean McMorrow and Paul Gaustad: The Amerk rookies are second and fourth in the AHL in rookie penalty minutes... McMorrow has 17 PIMs and Gaustad has 10.

Weekly Schedule:

Tuesday, October 15 Day off

Wednesday, October 16 10:30 a.m. practice at the ESL Sports Centre

Thursday, October 17 10:30 a.m. practice at the ESL Sports Centre

Friday, October 18 10:00 a.m. Game-day skate at The Blue Cross Arena 7:35 p.m. game against Binghamton (WHTK 1280-AM, www.amerks.com)

Saturday, October 19 11:00 a.m. Game-day skate 7:00 p.m. game at Hershey (WHTK 1280-AM, www.amerks.com)

Sunday, October 20 Day off

Check out the Rochester Americans Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from October 15, 2002


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