Rochester, N.Y. -- There appears to be a hockey renaissance in Rochester.
After two years of dreadful hockey, the Amerks are off to a 9-1-1 start on the season, the best record in the American Hockey League.
"Last year was awful. There's no two ways about it. It was terrible," Irondequoit native Rory Fitzpatrick said. "It's a lot better this year, and hopefully we'll just keep getting better as we go."
Amerks Owner Curt Styres deserves some credit for Rochester's success. This past offseason he made a promise to fans in Rochester to improve the quality of his hockey team. He's made good on that promise, bringing in veterans like Chris Taylor to add some experience to his team.
Despite the successes to this point, there's still a major lack of fans at Blue Cross Arena.
"You can't do much better than what we have, being in first place in the league," Amerks President Lewis Staats noted. "I've been told to be patient, that Rochester is a good hockey market. It's a good hockey town," Amerks President Lewis Staats noted.
Through their first six games, the Amerks are averaging 2,630 fans per game, down nearly 1,300 fans from last season.
With winning comes the fans, if you ask the players like Chris Taylor.
"It's been two years that they haven't really won around here. It takes some time. And obviously with the break between Buffalo and Rochester, it's tough, especially with the economy," Taylor said. "Hopefully we'll bring them back slowly. We've got to regain that by keep playing the way we are and winning."
The Amerks are home this Friday against Syracuse and Saturday against Toronto. Both games start at 7:05 p.m.
