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Posts tagged 'Albany River Rats'

Posts Tagged ‘Albany River Rats’

River Rats Mascot was Down and Out but Found a Home

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June 16, 2010 - By Keith Wozniak
River Rats Mascot was Down and Out but Found a Home

The on ice hockey season is officially over and now we patiently wait for the NHL draft and free agency to start.  The only information out there right now is rumor and speculation, so why not go for something a little different and talk about a mascot.

The Albany River Rats recently packed up and moved to Charlotte, leaving their mascot Rowdy the Rat unemployed.  Below is a series of four videos that were released that chronicled his days of saying goodbye, being down and out and eventually a happy ending.  The videos were not all released at the same time which at first left anyone who found them curious about what would happen.

A great job by the Tri-City ValleyCats for this cute story (for a lack of better words).  I’ll admit that I had never heard of the ValleyCats but if I’m ever out that way I’d probably find a way to visit for a game.  Minor league teams don’t have the massive marketing and promotion budgets that the big leagues do so you have to give credit to the creative forces behind things like this.

Rowdy Says Goodbye

“Rowdy says his finals goodbyes to the Times [...]Read More

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Friday Night Fights Featuring MacIntyre and Bonneau

March 13, 2010 - By Keith Wozniak

The game on Friday night between the Rochester Americans and Albany River Rats took less than 12 minutes before the two teams proved they were not going to be pushed around by the other.  Steve MacIntyre set the pace early with a huge hit on Casey Borer behind the Rats net and from then on it was a physical first period.  That type of hit is what fans would love to see more of.  A big hard clean hit.

Steve MacIntyre vs Zack FitzGerald at 11:17 of the first period:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvNMfGkmJw

Two seconds later Jimmy Bonneau vs Brad Herauf:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIympUYecTM

The Amerks are on the road on Saturday night against the Syracuse Crunch, a team they’ve beaten eight times already this season.  The Crunch will be looking for redemption on home ice and I’m sure Mirasty will be looking for a rematch against MacIntyre.  Unfortunately I will not be at the game, hopefully someone else will to get some video!

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Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Other Possible AHL Affiliation Changes

February 9, 2010 - By Keith Wozniak

The next six months are going to be for the American Hockey League with teams being sold, teams being moved, and affiliation changes taking place.  This post could become confusing with all of the changes and possibilities that could take place.

One thing is for certain is that the affiliation between the Rochester Americans and Florida Panthers will last through the 2010/2011 season.  Talks have not yet started about a possible extension but it was recently reported in the Democrat and Chronicle that both parties have until November 2010 to work something out.

American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that the league’s Board of Governors has approved the relocation of the AHL franchise owned by the Edmonton Oilers from Edmonton, Alta., to Oklahoma City, Okla., to begin play there in the fall of 2010.

No, there is not currently an AHL team in Edmonton.  The Edmonton Oilers are one of many NHL teams that owns the rights to an AHL franchise so in a sense they are relocating what they own but has been dormant from Edmonton to Oklahoma City.  The still unnamed team will play at the Cox Convention Center.

In [...]Read More

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Alexander Salak Named AHL Player of the Week

October 26, 2009 - By Keith Wozniak

The American Hockey League announced on Monday that Rochester Americans goaltender Alexander Salak has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 25, 2009.  Salak made three starts in a 48-hour span over the weekend and won them all, stopping 88 of 91 shots for a 0.98 goals-against average and a .967 save percentage.

On Friday night, Salak turned aside 32 of 33 shots and was named the game’s first star in Rochester’s 2-1 victory at Albany. On Saturday, he finished with 22 saves as the Americans rallied for a 3-2 overtime win in Syracuse. And on Sunday evening, Salak was again selected as the number-one star of the game as he stopped all 34 Syracuse shots for his first career AHL shutout, a 3-0 decision over the Crunch.

In recognition of his achievement, Salak will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Americans home game.

Salak is now 5-0-0 with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in six appearances for Rochester, helping the Amerks to a seven-game winning streak and an 8-1-1-0 record overall, good for first place in the North Division. The [...]Read More

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Protecting the Goalie; Gameday Amerks vs Rats

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October 23, 2009 - By Keith Wozniak

The Amerks travel to Albany tonight to try and revenge their only regular season loss of the season.  The Amerks played a lousy game on October and lost 6-1 to the River Rats.  I wrote after that game that the they were slow, they were rarely able to generate consistent offense, and they looked tired.

A lot has changed since that  game though.  The team has had more than a week of practice time together and have been on a four game winning streak since then.  The chemistry, the winning streak, the pride, and the hard work should be enough for the team to put together another win.  One thing the Amerks will need to do is not allow the River Rats to try and push them around again.  We should expect to see Jimmy Bonneau back in the lineup.

You can watch the game for FREE on The AHL Live http://www.ahllive.com.

Alexander Salak will be getting the start in the net.

Tyler Plante hurt his knee during Wednesdays game against the Binghamton Senators.  Rory Fitzpatrick is also dealing with pain from scar tissue following his sports hernia surgery and will be out of [...]Read More

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Tuesday Morning Practice; Pride and Depth

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October 20, 2009 - By Keith Wozniak

Starting on Wednesday night we’ll start to get an idea of what this years Rochester Americans team is really made of when they start a crazy week of four games in five nights.  They’re home on Wednesday versus the Binghamton Senators, away at Albany on Friday, Syracuse on Saturday, and return home on Sunday to play the Crunch again.

The team is on a three game winning streak and the team chemistry appears to be building every game.

In two previous back to back home and away games the team has struggled out of the locker room getting started.  The first road game in Albany was a mess, they lost 6-1.. but it was only the third game of the season.  This past Saturday was a different story.  Too many penalties in the first period allowed the Marlies to take an early 3-0 lead in the first.  The Amerks pulled together and came back to win the game 4-3 in OT thanks to a short handed goal by David Brine.

“We may have taken them lightly after the game on Friday night.  The win shows our pride and depth in the locker room knowing the game is not over,” Benoit [...]Read More

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A Rare Monday Hockey Night in Rochester

October 12, 2009 - By Keith Wozniak

Tonights game is simple, the Amerks need to win.  That’s it.  No other outcome will be acceptable.

There’s been talks about the team not having had a full week of practice together.  The fact that Taffe, Repik, and Duco were late to joining the team.  That may have been the case for some sloppy play even though they won on Friday night, but there’s no excuses anymore.  This team was built to win.  Built to score some goals.  They need to find a way to do those things.

Unfortunately what we’ve seen is a team that has been slow and afraid to play physical at times.  The only players that have played a consistent physical game have been Graham Mink, Kenndal McArdle, and Jordan Henry.

The Amerks have one win, one loss, and one overtime loss.  They’re better than last season already but shouldn’t we be expecting more?

I’ll remind myself now that it’s only going to be the 4th game of the season… the company line is that it takes time for a team to find it’s identity and build chemistry.  My take on it is that these guys are not rookies, they should be able to adjust.

The [...]Read More

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Amerks have Three Games in Four Nights

October 9, 2009 - By Keith Wozniak

The Amerks have three games in four nights coming up and we’ll get the chance to see what this team is made of.  Last weekend some key players were missing that will be back.

Here’s my guesses for changes in the lineup this weekend:

Out of the lineup: Matt Duffy, Dan Collins, Peter Aston, Jimmy Bonneau, Jon Landry, and Luke Beaverson.

In the lineup: Rory Fitzpatrick, Jason Garrison, Mike Caruso, Michal Repik, and Mike Duco.

With Oreskovich still getting work visa issues straightened out I’m assuming we’ll see James DeLory in the lineup to fill the final spot.  Luke Beaverson was not very effective so I hope DeLory is given a chance.

A full lineup should be exciting to watch.  The Amerks will have more offense with Repik and Duco on the ice.  The question mark will be with James DeLory to see how he plays.  The defense will also be stronger.

Tyler Plante will get the start in net on Friday night.  Assuming he plays as well as he did last weekend he’ll probably play all weekend.

The key to winning these games will be a strong transition game and the defense preventing the opposition from getting to the [...]Read More

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What happened to some of last years Amerks?

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October 2, 2009 - By Keith Wozniak

Drew Larman is currently playing with the Providence Bruins

The summer of 2009 has been an exciting one with the roster that has been built for the 2009/2010 Rochester Americans.  There’ll be a lot of questions from fans getting to know some of the new players but also a lot of questions wondering about some favorites from last season.

So here’s a quick rundown of players that are no longer in the Florida Panthers or Rochester Americans organizations:

Tanner Glass – He signed a one year two way deal with the Vancouver Canucks.  After a strong training camp he’s on the Canucks opening night roster.  The Panthers had said they would have liked him back but were not ready to offer him a deal prior to the start of free agency.

Janis Sprukts – is currently playing for Dinamo Riga in the KHL.  Sprukts was unhappy last season when he realized he had no real chance of cracking the Florida Panthers lineup.  So he packed up his things and went across the pond.

Mike Brodeur – The Florida Panthers were ready to offer him a $105,000 contract to stay in the organization but Brodeur thought [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

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