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Albany River Rats

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Albany River Rats
CityAlbany, New York
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
Operated1993–2010
Home arenaMVP Arena
ColorsRed, black, white
     
AffiliatesCarolina Hurricanes (2006–2010)
Colorado Avalanche (2006–2007)
New Jersey Devils (1993–2006)
Franchise history
1990–1993Capital District Islanders
1993–2010Albany River Rats
2010–presentCharlotte Checkers
Championships
Regular season titles2 (1994–95, 1995–96)
Division titles3 (1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98)
Calder Cups1 (1994–95)

The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center.

History

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Before the formation of the franchise

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Without a viable indoor arena with an ice surface, through the end of the 1980s the city of Albany had never had a minor league professional hockey team. Three separate attempts to establish teams in the neighboring cities of Schenectady and Troy had proven unsuccessful.[1]

After this troubled period for hockey in the region, construction of the palatial Knickerbocker Arena in downtown Albany in 1990 changed the face of the sport in the Capital District. The week that the new arena opened, plans were unveiled worldwide for the formation of the fledgling Global Hockey League, a challenger to the NHL with teams in North America and Europe that would begin play in November of that year.[2] One of six inaugural franchises announced in the league's initial press conference was the Albany Admirals, which was to be owned by businessman Joseph O'Hara and had signed a lease to play in the Knickerbocker Arena. The Capital hockey community was abuzz with excitement, and commitments for over 3,000 season tickets were received. However, by the end of May, disagreements between O'Hara and the league founders led O'Hara to withdraw his franchise from the new league. In June, the league postponed its opening season by a year, but the venture never materialized and the Global Hockey League never made it to the ice.[3]

Transition from the Islanders to the River Rats

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On March 22, 2006, the Devils announced that they were cutting ties with the River Rats after the 2005–06 AHL season, as the parent club announced the purchase of the Lowell Lock Monsters. Despite the move, the River Rats were not relocated.[4] In April 2006, The Carolina Hurricanes signed a one-year agreement (with the option to renew for two additional) with the River Rats to be their farm affiliate; the end result was essentially a swap of AHL affiliates as the Lowell franchise had previously been the top affiliate of Carolina.[5] Later on, Carolina was joined by the Colorado Avalanche in a one-year partnership agreement. On February 22, 2007, the Carolina Hurricanes and Albany River Rats announced that their affiliation agreement had been extended through the 2008–09 season.[6]

On April 24, 2008, the River Rats lost 3–2 to the Philadelphia Phantoms in the (until then) longest game played in AHL history. The Phantoms' Ryan Potulny scored 2:58 into the fifth overtime. Albany gave up 101 shots on goal, and goaltender Michael Leighton made 98 saves.[7]

2009 bus crash

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On February 19, 2009, five people were seriously injured when a bus carrying the team home from a game in Lowell struck a guard rail and rolled on its side on Interstate 90 in Becket, Massachusetts. Nicolas Blanchard, Joe Jensen, Jonathan Paiement, Casey Borer, and the River Rats radio color commentator John Hennessy were taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield with serious injuries.[8]

Move to Charlotte

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In late January, 2010, word began to leak out of Raleigh that the franchise was about to be sold and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. On February 10, it became official as the Albany River Rats website announced that the sale of the franchise had been completed, and that the team would be moving to Charlotte at the conclusion of the 2009–10 AHL Season. "Capital District Sports, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, the Albany River Rats, has sold its American Hockey League franchise to MAK Hockey, LLC located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The sale will not affect the remainder of the 2009-10 season, with regular season games concluding on April 10, 2010 followed by the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs."[9]

Hockey in Albany after the River Rats

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Although relocation of the Portland franchise would not come to fruition, Albany did not go long without an AHL franchise. On June 6, it was announced that the Lowell Devils would be relocating to Albany, reestablishing the city's connection with the New Jersey Devils. Despite the tradition of the River Rats branding, officials announced that as a separate entity from the previous franchise, the new team would be known as the Albany Devils.[10] The relationship only lasted through the 2016–17 season, after which the Devils announced they would be relocating their AHL team to Binghamton, New York to replace the Ottawa Senators' team after they relocated.[11]

Affiliates

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This market was previously served by: Albany Choppers of the IHL (1990–91)
The franchise was replaced by: Albany Devils of the AHL, a relocation of the Lowell Devils (2010–2017)
The franchise was later known as: Charlotte Checkers

Season-by-season results

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Regular season

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Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing
1993–94 80 38 34 8 — — 84 312 315 3rd, North
1994–95 80 46 17 17 — — 109 293 219 1st, North
1995–96 80 54 19 7 — — 115 322 218 1st, Central
1996–97 80 38 28 9 5 — 90 269 231 3rd, Empire State
1997–98 80 43 20 11 6 — 103 290 223 1st, Empire State
1998–99 80 46 26 6 2 — 100 275 230 2nd, Empire State
1999–00 80 30 40 7 3 — 70 225 250 4th, Empire State
2000–01 80 30 40 6 4 — 70 216 262 6th, Mid-Atlantic
2001–02 80 14 42 12 12 — 52 172 271 4th, East
2002–03 80 25 37 11 7 — 68 197 235 5th, East
2003–04 80 21 39 11 9 — 62 182 257 7th, East
2004–05 80 29 38 — 6 7 71 198 248 7th, East
2005–06 80 25 48 — 4 3 57 206 278 7th, Atlantic
2006–07 80 37 36 — 4 3 81 246 258 4th, East
2007–08 80 43 30 — 3 4 93 213 198 3rd, East
2008–09 80 33 40 — 3 4 73 219 258 7th, East
2009–10 80 43 29 — 3 5 94 244 231 2nd, East

Playoffs

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Season 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
1993–94 L, 1-4, POR — — —
1994–95 W, 4-0, ADK W, 4-2, PRO -- W, 4-0, FRE
1995–96 L, 1-3, COR — — —
1996–97 W, 3-1, ADK W, 4-3, ROC L, 1-4, HAM —
1997–98 W, 3-0, ADK W, 4-0, HAM L, 2-4, PHI —
1998–99 L, 3-2, HAM — — —
1999–00 L, 3-2, ROC — — —
2000–01 Out of playoffs
2001–02 Out of playoffs
2002–03 Out of playoffs
2003–04 Out of playoffs
2004–05 Out of playoffs
2005–06 Out of playoffs
2006–07 L, 1-4, HER — — —
2007–08 L, 3-4 PHI — — —
2008–09 Out of playoffs
2009–10 W, 4-0 WBS L, 0-4 HER — —

Team records

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Single season

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Goals: 46 Canada Jeff Williams (1998–99)
Assists: 63 United States Keith Aucoin (2006–07)
Points: 99 United States Keith Aucoin (2006–07)
Penalty Minutes: 348 Canada Matt Ruchty (1994–95)
GAA: 2.10 Canada Michael Leighton (2007–08)
SV%: .931 Canada Michael Leighton (2007–08)

Career

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Career goals: 155 Canada Steve Brûlé
Career assists: 214 Canada Steve Brûlé
Career points: 369 Canada Steve Brûlé
Career penalty minutes: 1197 Canada Rob Skrlac
Career goaltending wins: 77 Poland Peter Sidorkiewicz
Career shutouts: 8 Poland Peter Sidorkiewicz
Career games: 423 Slovakia Jiri Bicek

Former affiliates (8 stations)

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References

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  1. ^ "Home". hockeydb.com.
  2. ^ "Global Hockey Names Six Sites". The New York Times. February 11, 1990. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Associated Press, May 30, 1990
  4. ^ "What's next for the River Rats?". Capital News 9. March 22, 2006. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2006.
  5. ^ "River Rats announce new affiliation, lease". American Hockey League. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2006.
  6. ^ "River Rats to remain Carolina's top farm club through 2008-09". Carolina Hurricanes. February 22, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2007. [dead link]
  7. ^ "Phantoms win five-overtime marathon". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 25, 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-09-20. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Three seriously injured as bus carrying AHL team crashes". TSN. The Canadian Press. February 19, 2009. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  9. ^ "Capital District Sports announces River Rats sale". Albany River Rats. February 10, 2010. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  10. ^ "Devils shift AHL operations to Albany". New Jersey Devils. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  11. ^ Dougherty, Pete (January 26, 2017). "Sources: Albany Devils leaving for Binghamton". Times Union. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
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