Albany River Rats

Template:Short description Template:Infobox Pro hockey team 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

Before the formation of the franchise

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Associated Press, May 30, 1990</ref>

Transition from the Islanders to the River Rats

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Dead link</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2009 bus crash

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Move to Charlotte

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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hockey in Albany after the River Rats

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Affiliates

New Jersey Devils (1993–2006)
Colorado Avalanche (2006–2007)
Carolina Hurricanes (2006–2010)

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

Regular season

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

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	—	—