Sports
In May 1993, the Rochester Americans trailed the Binghamton
Rangers, three games to two, in the second round of the American Hockey League
playoffs. The Rangers were especially eager to put the final nail in the Amerks’ coffin; Rochester
had bounced Binghamton
from the playoffs the previous two seasons, and the Rangers — not to mention
their legions of fans in the Southern Tier — were thirsting for revenge.
And even if the Amerks won at home
in Game 6, they’d still have to travel to Binghamton
for the deciding game, which would be played in front of thousands of rabid
Rangers fans.
But Rochester
pulled it off. The Amerks won at home, 7-5, then
entered hostile territory and pulled out a 3-2 win to clinch the series — and
once again dash the hopes of the Binghamton
faithful.
That series helped cement the Rochester-Binghamton rivalry
as one of the most intense in the AHL, a rivalry that still thrives today. The Amerks have faced a few different Binghamton incarnations — the Whalers, the
Rangers, and now the Senators — but the acrimony has always been there.
“There’s great history there,” says Amerks
general manager Jody Gage, an Amerk Hall of Famer who took part in his fair share of
Rochester-Binghamton clashes. “We’ve had some great battles.” He then adds with
a laugh, “I remember some great brawls, too.”
That history is
actively being passed down to newer generations of Amerks.
Defenseman Brandon Smith, a three-year Rochester
veteran, knows full well the gravity of the rivalry. “You have to prepare a
little more (for Binghamton),”
he says. “You have to finish every check. You have to be on top of your game.”
The rivalry will be renewed this Saturday when the Senators
arrive at Blue Cross Arena for their fourth game of the 2006-07 season against the Amerks.
Although Binghamton leads the all-time
regular-season series, 14-15-4, Rochester
has won all three contests so far this year. On top of that, the Amerks have won five of seven playoff series against the
various Binghamton
teams.
The intensity of the rivalry might have peaked two years
ago, when both teams were stocked with talented players who were forced to play
at the AHL level thanks to the National Hockey League lockout. Binghamton
and Rochester
had two of the best teams in the league, and they played like it.
“There was a lot of skill and lot of toughness,” says
fourth-year Rochester
winger Michael Ryan. “It seemed like there were four
or five goals every game and four or five fights every game.”
Ryan says the rivalry has become so huge largely because of
each team’s passionate fans. The loyal followers of both teams come from cities
with storied hockey histories, and they expect big things from their hockey
teams. It’s that fan fervor that has stoked every Binghamton-Rochester
showdown.
And, says former Amerks player and
current coach Randy Cunneyworth, the teams usually
give the fans what they want when they clash. “The games are always exciting
for the fans,” he says. “It’s a battle every night.”
Rochester shares another big rivalry with Syracuse, and because the Amerks
and the Crunch are in the same division, at times that enmity carries a little
more weight than the Binghamton
one.
However, even though the Amerks
and the Senators are now in different divisions, the two franchises have
managed to retain their animosity for one another. The fact that the two teams
are in different divisions might even make the Sens-Amerks
rivalry that much more unique.
Even though Rochester has controlled the series so far this
year, and even though the Amerks clearly have a
better team than the Sens in 2006-07, this Saturday’s
game promises to live up to the rivalry’s standards. Records, as they say, go
out the window when Rochester and Binghamton meet.
“I don’t know why it is or how it started,” says Smith, “but
they bring their best effort, and I’d like to think we do the same.”
The
Rochester Americans host the Binghamton Senators Saturday, December 16, at 7:35
p.m. at Blue Cross Arena. Tickets are $11, $15 and $19, and can be purchased at
the BCA box office, through Ticketmaster, or by calling 454-5335.
This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2006.
