Rochester Americans History: Calder Cup Champions

Twenty-year anniversary of Rochester Americans’ Calder Cup win

Twenty years ago today, the Rochester Americans, AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, captured the league’s most coveted prize: the Calder Cup.

Before they got there, however, they had to get through the regular season and playoffs – and the goaltending of Steve Shields was a huge contribution to the team’s success.

At the start of the playoffs, the Rochester Americans were third in the Southern Conference’s Central Division, finishing the regular season with 83 points and a record of 37-34-5-4.

Their coach that year? None other than John Tortorella. Yes, THAT John Tortorella.

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Craig Charron and Dixon Ward were the top two players on the team during the regular season, scoring 95 and 94 points each, respectively.  Ward’s 56 assists were most on the team, while Charon’s 43 goals led the team.

After a solid regular season, the Amerks found themselves pitted them up against the Adirondack Red Wings, who had 86 points after the regular season and finished one slot ahead of the Amerks in the division.

Rochester had no problem taking care of the Red Wings, sweeping them 3-0 in the series. Overall, the Amerks outscored Adirondack 13-2, including a whopping 6-0 in the third game on April 26, 1996.

The second round brought them up against the Cornwall Aces, who finished three points back in the regular season.

Once again, the Amerks had no problem, sweeping them 4-0.

Rochester won the first two games of the series by scores of 3-2 and 6-3, then took a 3-1 win in game three. The fourth game required overtime for a decision, but in the end, the Amerks beat out the Aces 3-2 to win the series on May 7.

It was on to the next one – thing time, the Syracuse Crunch.

Rochester won the first two games of the series by victories of 5-2 and 6-4, but Syracuse came within one with a 4-2 win in game three.

The Amerks quickly rebounded, winning 4-1 to gain a 3-1 series lead. They then took care of the Crunch in game five with a thrilling 6-5 overtime win.

With that, it was time to meet Portland, who’d come into the Final after beating out Worcester, Springfield and Saint John.

This one took seven games, but in the end, the Rochester Americans ended up on top.

The Calder Cup Final series was back-and-forth, with Rochester gaining an early 2-0 series lead thanks to 5-3 and 5-1 victories in games one and two, respectively.

It was then Portland’s turn to win two, with the Pirates coming out on top 3-2 and 5-4 to even the series.

Rochester won game five in overtime 5-4 before Portland took the sixth game by a 5-1 margin.

Finally, it all came down to the day: June 13, 1996. The Rochester Americans defeated Portland 2-1 to win the Calder Cup.

To probably no one’s surprise, right-winger Dixon Ward – who was 26 at the time – led the team in playoff scoring, with 35 points in 19 games, including a team-high 11 goals and 24 assists.

Twenty-two year old center Brian Holzinger registered 24 points (10-14) in 19 games, while 27-year-old Charon had 17 points in 19 games in the playoffs that season.

Other notable names on that team: Scott Nichol, Doug Houda, Rumun Ndur, Wayne Primeau and Curtis Brown.

Twenty-three year old Steve Shields, who had been drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1991 and was in just his first full AHL season at the time (having split the previous year between the AHL and ECHL) was solid in net for the Rochester Americans.

In that year’s regular season, Shields went 20-17-2 with a 3.56 GAA and .891 save percentage, carrying most of the workload for the Rochester Americans. He dramatically improved during the season, and it was a huge piece of why the Amerks made it to the Calder Cup.

Shields set an AHL record with 15 playoff victories. He recored a 2.50 GAA that postseason, recording one shutout and allowing 47 goals against during 1,127 minutes of play.

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Anyone have any memories of that Rochester Americans season, or the Calder Cup win? Share yours below!