AHL American Hockey League

Rochester, N.Y. isn’t exactly the first city that comes to mind when thinking about big market professional sport teams.

The closest city, to Rochester, with big market teams is an hour southwest in Buffalo, N.Y., home to the NHL Sabres and NFL Bills, and the next closest city across Lake Ontario, in Toronto.

Although, Rochester is home territory to the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills, Rochester has more professional sports teams, of its own, than any other single city in the country, while also producing more professional hockey players than any single U.S. city in the country.

Their tie to the Sabres and Bills lie with Sabres’ owner and Rochester billionaire, Tom Golisano, and the Bills training camp is held at St. John Fisher College, home of the Cardinals, in Rochester. Rochester is also home to the NHL Americans that are affiliated with the Sabres.

Rochester was named as the top sports market in the country, by Street & Smith’s Sport Business Journal; the No. 10 “best golf city” in America, by Golf Magazine and the best sports town in the country, by Scarborough Research.

The city holds one of six franchises in the history of North American professional sports that have been played in the same city, uninterrupted since the 1800s. This team is the Triple-A baseball, Rochester Red Wings. The other five cities’ teams include the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Among North American cities with, at least, seven professional teams, Rochester was the only city whose teams all have cumulative winning, regular season records.

Rochester doesn’t limit itself to major sport teams, thought, but also extreme snow sports.

The area has a dozen ski resorts that are open year-round.

Bristol Mountain is home to the steepest vertical slope in the county.

There are also 19 colleges and universities in Rochester that, mostly, compete at the Division II and III level.

Monroe Community College (MCC), which should compete in the NJCAA, is a dominant force in Division II athletics capturing several National Championships in men’s ice hockey and women’s soccer. MCC is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, much like Division I universities, Buffalo and Albany.

The Division I exceptions in Rochester is Hobart College that compete D-I in men’s lacrosse and RIT men’s hockey.

RIT hockey consistently ranks in NCAA polls’ Top 25, while walking away with two consecutive conference championships in the last three-years. Recently, senior, Steve Pinizzotto, was called up with the NHL Washington Capitals.

Despite ice hockey reigning as the dominant sport in Rochester, the city has deemed the titles of Baseball City, USA and Soccer Town, USA, instead.

 Rapper and songwriter, Beneficial, raps:

“We got sports of all sorts, the Roc has it all, whether it’s soccer, hockey, foot, base or basketball. You can check the record books for the Royals and the Amerks, and we got the Rhinos, Redwings and the Rattlers.”

According to the Rochester Sports Project, since 1877, 29 teams in eight professional sports have represented the city:

ICE HOCKEY

Rochester Americans “Amerks” (American Hockey League (AHL): 1935-present)

Also known as the Hornets (1936-1956) and were part of the original International Hockey League (IHL) in 1935-1936.

The Amerks are one of the oldest franchises in the AHL as they celebrated their 50^th consecutive season in 2005-2006. Their years of unbroken league membership ranks second to the Hershey Bears.

They play at the almost 12,000 seated Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial in downtown Rochester and have won six Calder Cups in their 16 championship appearances: 1957, 1960, 1965-1968, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2000.

In addition, the Amerks have won six regular season titles, 14 division champions and three conference champions.

The Americans were the farm team to both the NHL Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers, until last year, when the team halted their affiliation with the Sabres and stayed solely with the Panthers, while the Sabres took their team northeast to Portland, Maine’s AHL Pirates.

LACROSSE

Rochester Knighthawks “K-Hawks” (National Lacrosse League (NLL): 1995-present)

The K-Hawks are one of the leagues most successful franchises as they set a league record in 2006 for reaching the playoffs in each of their first 13 seasons and won two championships in 1997 and 2007.

Each season, the Knighthawks have ranked at the top of the league standings—their worst, coming in third place, next to the Boston Blazers and Philadelphia Wings in 1995.

Every year, since 1997, the ‘Hawks have managed to plug out player awards. In 1997, goaltender, Steve Dietrich was championship game MVP.

Other awards include John Grant, Jr. (2000 – Rookie of the Year), Pat O’Toole (2003 – Goaltender of the Year), Paul Day (2004 – Les Bartley Award), Andrew Turner (2005 – Defensive Player of the Year) and 2007 reigned supreme for the team in the league by awarding four players: John Grant, Jr. (Most Valuable Player and Champion’s Cup MVP), Ed Comeau (Les Bartley Award) and Steve Toll (Transition Player of the Year).

Rochester Rattlers (Major League Lacrosse (MLL): 2001-1008)

As part of the National Division in the Eastern Conference, they made the playoffs in 2001 and 2005, and in 2007 made history by being involved in the highest scoring game in MLL history in their overtime victory against the Denver Outlaws.

In 2008, the Rattlers won their first and only MLL championship in a 16-15 OT win against the Philadelphia Barrage.

Unfortunately, that same year, Rochester sold their franchise to their Canadian neighbours in Toronto.

Rochester Greywolves “The Pack” (Canadian-American League (CanAm): 2008-present)

Also known as the Rochester Iroquois from 1930-1970.

Coming back as a team, more than, 20-years later, in 2008, the Pack, previously named the Iroquois until the 1970s, became a part of the only Canadian box lacrosse league that contains teams in the United States. The CanAm League is comprised of teams, mostly, from western New York and Ontario.

The Greywolves, in their first year back since 1984, made a President’s Cup appearance, but ended with a record of 7-11 and hope for a winning season in 2009 as they see their first home opener of the year on May 1, at 8 p.m. at the ESL centre in Rochester against Buffalo.

The team serves as a talent pool for the Knighthawks. 

Rochester Iroquois (North American Amateur Lacrosse Association: 1930-1984)

The Iroquois were an American box lacrosse team dating back to the 1930s as part of the North American Amateur Lacrosse Association. In 1970 the team switched leagues to CanAm and changed their name to the Greywolves.

Their franchise ended in 1984 when the team made it to the President’s Cup, but came back to Rochester more than 20-years later.

MEN’S SOCCER 

Rochester Rhinos (United Soccer League First Division (USL): 1996-present)

Also known as the Raging Rhinos, in 13-year history, have never failed to make the playoffs and appeared in the championship game six times: 1996, 1998-2001 and 2006. They have been league champions three times: 1998, 2000 and 2001.

The team has also beat three Major League Soccer (MLS) teams en route to winning the U.S. Open Cup in 1999, becoming the only non-MLS team to win the cup.

From 1996-2004, the club was a league leader in attendance and named one of the top five minor league sport franchises by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal.

Their home field is at the, almost, 14,000-seated Rochester Rhinos Stadium at PAETEC Park in downtown Rochester.

Rochester Lancers (North American Soccer League (NASL): 1967-1980)

Part of the American Soccer League in 1967-1969.

After three-years competing in the American Soccer League, the Lancers were bumped up a level and won the league championship in their first year with the North American Soccer League.

A year later, in 1971, they won the division title and it wasn’t until five-years later that the team won their second division title.

The Lancers made it to the playoffs six times in their 13-year history and ended with a 135-146-13 record.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Western New York Football Club Pride (United Soccer League Women’s League (USL W-League): 2008-present)

Also known as Rochester Rhinos Women (2005-2008) and Rochester Ravens (1996-2005).

The team is the successor to the Rochester Rhinos Women and was originally founded as the Ravens in 1996, but was later sold and re-launched with a new name.

WNY FC rosters two of the worlds best soccer players with Adjoa Bayor (Ghana) and Natalie Martineau (Canada).

Bayor is the “skipper of the Black Queens,” also known as the Captain of the Ghana Women’s National Team. In April 2007, she was a member of the World All-Star’s team and won the African American Play of the Year award in 2003.

Rochester Rhinos Women (United Soccer League Women’s League (USL W-League): 2005-2008)

After switching owners from the Ravens in 2005, the Rhino’s Women saw their best year in 2004 when they ended third in the league and in 2007, despite coming in fourth place, they made it to the National Semifinals in the playoffs for the first time.

Rochester Ravens (United Soccer League Women’s League (USL W-League): 1996-2005)

As part of the W-League, the Ravens started their first few years as a juggernaut in the league, playing host to the championship in 1997. In that summer, the team played the U.S. Women’s National Team in Rochester, losing, 8-0.

BASEBALL

Rochester Red Wings (International League (Triple-A): 1899-present)

Also known as the Rochester Bronchos (1899-1907), Rochester Hustlers (1908-1920), Rochester Colts (1921) and Rochester Tribe (1922-1928).

The Red Wings are the oldest and longest running minor league franchise in the history of professional sports.

In addition, sport historian, Douglas Brei, reported that the Wings are only one of two franchises in North America to have captured a league championship in every decade of the 20^th century.

Currently, the team is the Triple-A affiliate to the Minnesota Twins that produced players like Hall of Famer, Cal Ripkin, Jr. (Baltimore Orioles) and 2006 American League MVP, Justin Morneau (Minnesota Twins).

From 1929-1960, the Wings were the farm team for the MLB St. Louis Cardinals and in 1961 began the 42-year stint to the Baltimore Orioles.

On April 18, 1981, the Red Wings, along with the Pawtucket Red Sox made baseball history when they held the record for the longest professional baseball game, lasting a total of 33 innings and eight-hours, 25-minutes over the course of three days.

The team has captured 20 league championships: 1899, 1901, 1909-1911, 1928-1931, 1939, 1940, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1988, 1990, 1997.

Rochester Tribe (International League (IL Double-A): 1922-1928)

In their six-year career, the Tribe went 534-457, making two second place rankings in the league.

Fan favourites and Hall of Famers, Rabbit Maranville and Jocko Conlan (center field), spent the 1927 season with the Tribe. Rochester native and professional golfer, Walter Hagen, owned the team.

Rochester Colts (International League (IL): 1922)

In their only season in the league, the Colts, under management of IL Hall of Famer, George Stallings, ended with a record of 100-68 and were 20 games behind the Baltimore Orioles that were in the peak of their IL dynasty.

Rochester Hustlers (International League: 1908-1920)

The Hustlers ended their career with a losing record, 642-671. Their best record came in 1913 when hey finished 92-62 and lost by four-points in the league championship game to the Newark Indians.

The next year, the team finished in third place and after that, began their downfall after switching managers from, John Ganzel.

Rochester Bronchos (Eastern League American Association: 1899-1907)

The Bronchos first season was impressive as they ended up winning the league championship and ended their career with three titles: 1899, 1910 and 1911.

The team saw their worst season in 1903, when the finished last in the league with a 34-97 record, but jumped back up in the standings the next year.

Despite their career, so-so, record, the Bronchos finished with the third best ERA in the league and produced six of the top baseball player in the country with Bob Barr, Henry Blauvelt, Sandy Griffin, Jimmy Knowles, Harry Lyons and Ted Scheffler.

(In the NY-Penn league is Rochester rural, Batavia baseball, which is included as part of Rochester sports history).

Batavia Muckdogs (New York-Penn Minor League (NY-Penn): 1939-present)

Also known as the Batavia Indians (1957-1959), Batavia Pirates (1961-1965), Batavia Trojans (1966-1987) and Batavia Clippers (1988-1997).

The Muckdogs are an affiliate, NY-Penn minor league baseball team to the MLB St. Louis Cardinals since 2007.

In the past, the team was a branch of other Major League Baseball teams: Cleveland Indians (1957-1959, 1976-1986), Pittsburgh Pirates (1961-1965), Philadelphia Phillies (1967, 1988-2006), Detroit Tigers (1968-1971) and New York Mets (1972-1974).

In 2008, they swept the NY-Penn League championship against Jamestown.

Batavia Clippers (New York-Pennsylvania League: 1988-1997)

Part of the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League from 1939-1953.

As the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies affiliation minor league team, the Clippers were a huge success before changing their name to the Muckdogs in ’97.

The team, made it to the finals 10 times, walking away as back-to-back league champions in 1945 and 1946. They were never ranked less than seventh place.

Batavia Trojans (New York-Pennsylvania League (NY-Penn): 1966-1987)

The Trojans had a semi-decent career, coming second in the league in 1967 and 1969. The only time they made it to the playoffs was in 1977 when they lost to the Jamestown Expos under manager, Gene Dusan and ended third in the league.

They produced notable players like Mike Jeffcoat, Andy Allanson, Dave Gallagher and Kelly Gruber for Major League Baseball’s Phillies, Tigers, Mets and Indians.

Batavia Pirates (New York-Pennsylvania League (NY-Penn): 1961-1965)

As the only MLB affiliation to Pittsburgh, the team made it to the playoffs twice in their career going, 1-1. The first year, they lost, but captured their only winning record and finished in third place.

Their final four-year record was, 259-365.

Batavia Indians (New York-Pennsylvania League (NY-Penn): 1957-1959)

The Indians best year came in 1957 when they finished in fourth place, but lost in the league finals. The team failed to have a winning season in the three-years they were in the league.

As the affiliation minor league team to the Cleveland Indians, they produced a handful of superstars picked by managers’, Don Richmond and Paul O’Dea.

FOOTBALL

Rochester Raiders (Indoor Football League (IFL): 2006-present)

Was formerly part of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (2006), Continental Indoor Football League (2007-08), American Indoor Football Association (2008).

In the Raiders three-year history, thus far, they have already won two league championships in 2007 and 2008, both times against the Port Huron/Michigan Pirates.

In 2008, they finished the regular season undefeated and are owned by former Buffalo Bill and NFL Hall of Famer, Thurman Thomas.

Rochester Brigade (Arena Football League: 2001-2003) 

The short-lived, Brigade, was one of 13 expansion teams to the league, but ceased operations in 2003, after the Buffalo Destroyers moved their team to Columbus, Ohio.

Owner, Mark Hamister said he felt no need to continue Arena Football in western New York.

The team finished with a losing career record of, 14-35. 

Rochester Jeffersons “Jeffs” (National Football League (NFL): 1908-1925)

Previously part of the Independent League from 1908-1919.

The Jeffs were Rochester’s first and only NFL team.

The first 10-years of the team’s existence was at the amateur level playing other Rochester football teams like the Scalpers and the Oxfords, but by the 1917 season, started to look on to play other teams from outside of upstate N.Y.

In the last five-years of the team’s unsuccessful run in the NFL with an, 8-27-4, record and a failed attempt to recruit Red Grange, who instead signed with the Chicago Bears, the Jeffersons folded.

Rochester Oxfords (New York Professional Football League: 1908-1926)

The Oxfords were one of many of Rochester’s pro football teams, based on a strong sandlot football circuit, but served as a professional team in western New York after the Rochester Scalpers ceased operations in 1920.

Rochester Scalpers (New York Professional Football League: 1908-1920)

For the first decade of their existence, the Scalpers played semi-professional teams, primarily from upstate New York and Ohio. Their biggest threat and competition were rivals, Rochester Royals, whom the team had tough success against.

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL

Empire State Roar (Women’s Football Alliance: 2005-present)

Were part of the Women’s Professional Football League from 2005-2008.

The first year the Roar struggled during the season with a 2-4 record, but only lost by a total of 11-points and have been consistently improving, each year.

In 2006, the team went 5-3 and missed the playoffs by one game.

The 2007 season was the most successful for the Roar as they ended with an 8-1 record, went to the American Conference Northern Championships, only to lose to the Houston Energy. 

BASKETBALL

Rochester Razorsharks “Sharks” (Premiere Basketball League (PBL): 2005-present)

Was formerly part of the American Basketball Association (2005-2007).

The Sharks had much success in their first season as they were ranked No. 1 and won the ABA Championship. In 2005, the team was ranked in the Top 10 minor league teams by probasketballnews.com.

In their next season, the Razorsharks went undefeated and captured their second consecutive championship and made history, setting the record of winning 24 home games in a row, since 1979.

In the 2007-2008 season, they ended, again, as the No. 1 team in league with an 18-2 record and winning their third championship game, defeating the Arkansas Impact.

Jan. 19, 2009 marked the first home game loss to the Sharks in three seasons when they played Vermont.

Rochester Royals (National Basketball Association (NBA): 1945-1957)

Also known as the Rochester Pros (1943-1946) and Rochester Seagrams (1931-1942), and currently the Sacramento Kings since 1985, and formerly part of the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1945-1948 and Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1948.

In the Royals first year, they had immediate success winning the NBL championship. A year later, they won their second consecutive championship, ending the 1946-1947 season, 31-13. 

In 1948, the team made it to the NBA championship, losing to the Minneapolis Lakers, but still finished with the best record in the league.

By 1951, the Royals beat the New York Knicks in the NBA finals by one game and to date, it is the team’s only NBA championship title.

The team’s 12-year history in Rochester features 12 NBA Hall of Fame members (including an NFL Hall of Famer and Hollywood Walk of Famer): Al Cervi, Bob Davies, Alex Hannum, Les Harrison, Red Holzman, Arnie Risen, Maurice Stokes, Jack Twyman, Bobby Wanzer, Otto Graham and Chuck Connors.

Rochester Pros (Independent League: 1943-1946)

Part of the National Basketball League during the 1945-1946 season.

The Pros were one of the top professional teams in the country owned by NBA Hall of Famer, Less Harrison. 

Rochester Seagrams (Independent League: 1931-1942)

Formerly part of the District Basketball Association in 1932-1933 and the District Basketball League from 1933-1945.

The Seagrams held basketball star, Al “Digger” Cervi, 92, known as one of the great sandlot basketball players in the country. He was a five-time first-team All-Pro player.

Rochester Zeniths “Zs” (Continental Basketball Association (CBA): 1977-1983)

Part of the All-American Basketball Alliance (AABA) in 1978. 

Of the Z’s six-season history, they won four division titles (1978-1979, 1979-1980, 1980-1981, 1982-1983) and two league championships (1978-1979, 1980-1981).

The team’s success amounted to having the winningest record in league history.

In 1978-1981, the team produced the leagues Most Valuable Players and Rookies of the year in Andre McCarter, Glen Hagan, Larry Fogle, Larry Spriggs, Larry McNeil and Lee Johnson.

Rochester Colonels (Eastern Professional League: 1958-1959)

The Colonels lost all eight games they played before folding on December 7, 1958 and decided to erase all game and individual statistics from the official league records, unitl founded by sports historian, Doublas Brei.

GOLF (PGA/LPGA)

The 1995 Ryder Cup, 2003 PGA Championship and U.S. Open (1956 – Winner: Cary Middlecoff, 1968 – Winner: Lee Trevino, 1989 – Winner: Curtis Strange) was held in Rochester at the Oak Hill Country Club.

Every August the Xerox Classic tournament on the Nationwide Tour is held at the Locus Hill Country Club, along with the Wegmans LPGA tournament in June.

USA CYCLING

Rochester Omnium (USA Cycling: 2004-present)

The Omnium, as part of the USA Cycling association, which has a stop every year in Rochester during its race on the Tour de New York, expanded as a three-day event in 2008. 

In 2009, the professional bike racing team, will bike for three more days, extending to a total of six-days on Aug. 8-13.

MEN’S RUGBY

Rochester Aardvarks (Allegany Rugby Union: 1966-present)

Also known as Rochester Rugby Football Club (1966-2001)

The Aardvarks are one a few Rugby teams in the country to own it’s own field and travel all around the U.S. and Canada, and England, Ireland and the Bahamas to compete.

The team participates in the annual Empire State Games and in 2001, they won their first National Sevens competition.

All throughout the 1970s, the Aardvarks were the best rugby club in the country. 

Rochester Colonials (New York State Rugby Conference: 1977-present)

In the team’s 28-year history, the have won many championships, the most recent coming in 2007 with the USA Rugby National All-Star Championship. The Colonials are known for hosting more local and statewide tournaments than any other Rugby team in their league.

WOMEN’S RUGBY

Rochester Renegade (New York State Rugby Women’s Division: 1987-present)

The 20-women Renegade roster, uses their size to their advantage against their opponents, but only lay in the middle of the standings since the team was created. In addition to playing other professional teams, they compete (during off-season) against Division I collegiate teams such as Penn State.

WRESTLING

Pier 6 Wrestling “P6W” (Independent Professional Wrestling: 2005-present)

P6W is a promotion based wrestling team in Rochester. Their season starts every April since 2005 and participates in Shakedown events, somewhat like the WWE Smackdown.

In 2008, Preston Wyatt Parks and Sik Rik Martix won the P6W Title Tournament Finals and Parks walked away with the Championship.

Next Era Wrestling “NEW” (Premiere Wrestling Federation: 2004-present)

In autumn of 2005, the federation held it first shows and winner, LAX, was crowed as the NEW World Champion.

Since then, superstars in the wrestling industry have been created at NEW in Rochester: Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, Honky Tonk Man, Al Snow, Jerry Lynn, Matt Bentley, Koko B. Ware, Too Cool, Heart Throbs, etc. to name a few.

NWA Upstate (National Wrestling Alliance: 1848-present)

NWA is the largest governing wrestling body in the country and located in Rochester.

The most popular wrestler coming out of NWA Upstate is Rochester native, Colin Delaney, who is best known for his wrestling with the WWE.

Roc City Wrestling “RCW” (Executive Wrestling: 2001-2006)

RCW was successful in its five-year history. The team’s major tournament, Samurai Slam 6, was one of the largest in western New York and was sponsored by local media in Rochester. 

PAINTBALL

Rochester Rhythm (American Extreme Paintball League (AXBL): 2006-present)

Also known as the Rochester N’Vasion (2006) 

The Rhythm is three-time league Champions and currently ranks second in the league for average points per game next to Rockland (Ill.).

Rochester N’Vasion (American Extreme Paintball League (AXBL): 2006)

In N’Vasion’s first year as a team, they won the league’s Championship games and were ranked No. 1 for the majority of the year.

Posts on skyscrapercity.com, say that Rochester produces the most professional athletes and sport figures from a single city than any other city in the country; some people even argue “in the world” with, more than, 200 athletes who turned professional.

Britney Milazzo is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. 

Their next game at home is on Sunday March 22, where they will host the San Antonio Rampage.

Sean Avery's stint at "Connecticut's Crossroads" with the Hartford Wolf Pack lasted just 21 days, or half as long as the time Jesus spent in the desert, but he faced the Devils, won, and returned home. Avery and the Rangers face the New Jersey Devils on March 30th.

While with the Wolf Pack, from February 10 to March 3, Avery was tested by eight teams: the Manitoba Moose, the Bridgeport Tigers, the Lowell Devils, Portland Pirates,  Manchester Monarchs, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Pirates, again.

Avery scored two goals, assisted on a game-winning goal, and earned eight penalty minutes. He tripped, cross-checked, elbowed, scored, and won six in a row on his way back into the NHL.

After losing their first two games with Avery in the line-up, playing his way back into game shape, the Wolf Pack went on a six game winning streak.

Their previous best this season was a three game winning streak.
Avery's first game was on Valentine's Day, when the Manitoba Moose beat the Wolf Pack 4-1. The Tigers shut out the Pack 1-0. And then Hartford started winning.

First they faced the Lowell Devils and beat them 5-2. It was the first victory in five tries against the Devils for the Wolf Pack. Next they beat the Portland Pirates, 2 to 1.

Right after breaking a stick, Avery assisted on the game-winning goal in overtime.

Next came a close game against the Manchester Monarchs that ended dramatically.

Manchester tied the game with only 6.5 seconds left in the period but the Wolf Pack scored with 5.2 seconds left, to take the game, 3-2. It was their third win in a row, equalling the team's longest winning streak of the season.

Their fourth win in a row was a 5-1 game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Penguins got the first goal and Avery tied the game with his first goal as one of the Wolf Pack.

The Wolf Pack came back from a 3-0 third-period deficit to post their sixth straight victory, a 4-3 shootout win over the Portland Pirates. Avery got the goal that tied the game, 38 seconds after Hartford had made it 3-2. He also had three penalties.

That first victory for the Wolf Pack with Avery in the line-up was a turning point for the team. After beating the Devils, they were on a roll that did not stop when Avery returned to the NHL and the New York Rangers.

The Wolf Pack won one more game, beating the Worcester Sharks 3-1, but then they lost 1-0 in overtime against the same Manchester Monarchs that had lost to the Wolf Pack 3-2 a few games earlier.

Avery's goal was to play himself into game shape, keep out of trouble, and get back into the NHL with the Rangers.

In his first game in New York City, he played 14 minutes, on 19 shifts, was credited with three hits, he drew the penalty that led to the power play that scored the winning goal, and he distracted the New York Islanders so that the Rangers were able to beat them 4-2, even though the Rangers were a little shaky and the Islanders played their best game of the year.

Avery wandered in the desert for three months, or 92 days, from December 2, 2008, to March 5, 2009. During that time, he successfully completed a joint NHL/NHLPA's counselling program to deal with whatever issues were going on in his private life.

He also shot a Gap ad. In February, the Gap released its new ads for the upcoming season and Avery was included in a long list of celebrities who served as models. The ads will be in September and October issues of national magazines, as well as in Gap stores and on billboards.

When Avery arrived in Hartford, along with a media circus, he told reporters he was a changed man, but did not want to go into it. When he rejoined the Rangers, he told the media he was a milder Sean Avery, but added that even a mild Sean Avery is not THAT mild.

In his first game of the season with the Rangers, Avery was tested numerous times by the Islanders but he backed away from fights. Instead of retaliating, he drew a penalty, and that led to a big goal. In the final period of the game, with the Rangers already winning by a score of 4-2, he took a penalty for cross-checking.

The Islanders fans booed Avery all night and only applauded when he fell. However, most media reports said the Rangers welcomed him back and he helped them win the game.

Last season, Avery played in 57 games with the Rangers, scoring 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points, and had 154 penalty minutes. He ranked second on the team in penalty minutes, sixth in plus-minus rating (plus six) and tied for third in game-winning goals (4).

He had a career-high for game-winning goals.

Avery had eight multiple-point performances on the season, including three two-goal efforts. He also posted two “Gordie Howe Hat Tricks” during the season, the fourth and fifth of his career.

He scored four goals and had three assists for seven points in eight post-season games with the Rangers. He tied for second on the club in playoff goals (four), and ranked fifth on the team in playoff scoring with seven points.

In 402 NHL games with the Rangers, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, and Detroit Red Wings, Avery has scored 68 goals and earned 109 assists for 177 points. He had 1,144 penalty minutes.

In 2006-07, Avery established career-highs in games played (84), goals (18), assists (30), points (48), and shots on goal (249).

In 117 AHL games with Hartford, Cincinnati and Grand Rapids, he scored 30 goals and earned 29 assists for 59 points. He had 500 penalty minutes.

An American Hockey League official and his family had tickets for Continental Airline Flight 3407 that crashed in Buffalo on Feb. 12.

Jeff Smith, AHL's senior referee, drove right past Buffalo-Niagara International Airport on Feb. 20 and saw planes either sitting on the runway or descending from the sky.

Then he drove past Clarence Centre, N.Y., on the New York State Thruway, I-90, as he made his way to Rochester, where he refereed that night’s AHL game between the Amerks and Hershey Bears.

As he passed each landmark, he wondered, "Why am I still here?"

Why did fate, luck, an angel—whatever the case—intervene and keep him and his family off Continental Flight 3407 eight days earlier?

Smith, 39, is still asking why he, wife Kathleen, and sons Paddon, 7, and Tanner, 4, are the lucky ones, and why 50 others perished when the plane crashed onto a house in Clarence Centre, a suburb of Buffalo, shortly after 10 p.m. on Feb. 12.

"Why would they protect me and not 50 others?" Smith asked when reached by phone from his native Port Elgin, Ontario, cottage, where he was spending a week-long working vacation with his family.

"I actually feel quite uncomfortable,” he said. “If it was a miracle for me, why not a miracle for the other 50 people?"

He knows he may never learn the answer, no matter how many times he stares at the boarding passes—seats 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B.

"We still have them," Smith said. "I don't know what we'll do with them."

The Smiths never used those boarding passes, because a Continental gate agent was sympathetic to his children.

Smith's family was coming along "so the kids could enjoy winter" while he officiated AHL games in Rochester; Toronto, and Hamilton, Ontario.

The Smith family was booked on the Continental flight from their home near Palm Beach, Fla., to Newark, N.J., and then to Buffalo.

They were in the gate area in Palm Beach, boarding passes in hand and their luggage was already checked onto the plane.

"We did everything we could to get on that flight," Smith said.

Both flights were scheduled to buck strong winds and when the gate agent, Jackie Papa, saw Smith's two kids, she told him he should consider an alternate route. The turbulence, she said, would be far too unsettling.

"If it was any other week, if my kids were not with me, I'd have been on that flight," Smith said. "I'd have said, 'What's a little turbulence?' It's probably the first flight I didn't get on in a thousand flights that I was supposed to be on."

The day of Feb. 12 was already chaotic for the airlines. The strong winds in the Great Lakes region of western New York were causing delays and passengers were restless.

While Smith has yet to speak with Papa—they'd been playing phone tag—he heard she had decided to be nice to him, because he had understood about the weather-related flight backups.

Smith can surely relate to the customer unrest she was dealing with at the counter. As a referee, his calls on the ice can anger players and coaches, so a voice of reason and diplomacy is key.

He took Papa's advice and flew U.S. Airways through Charlotte, N.C. and then to Buffalo, instead.

They learned of the Flight 3407 disaster, moments after arriving in the Buffalo-Niagara terminal and realized how lucky they were.

"It was just a fortunate chain of events," Smith said.

He's quite sure his entire family knew they were on the flight manifest, based on the plethora of questions he faced when he phoned Continental around 1 a.m. just to make sure they knew he wasn't on board.

"You don't necessarily think about it all the time, but it's amazing how many little things make you think about it," he said.

On Sunday there was a knock at his cottage door in Canada—a Continental baggage employee was delivering their luggage, which had been taken off Continental Flight 3407, but didn't get transferred to their U.S. Airways flight in enough time.

"He didn't really explain anything," Smith said. "But it still had the Flight 3407 bag tags."

On Monday his family flew back to Florida. "Ironically they’re on the same Continental flights," he said.

His oldest son, Paddon, is in first grade. A condition of missing school to go on a winter getaway was to write a daily journal.

Last Friday, he drew a picture of a crashed plane.

"Above it said, 'My plane crashed today, dad said.' Underneath it said, 'I wasn't on it'."

A week later Jeff Smith can't fully explain why, either.

"I look at the flight manifest," he said. "And realize there could have been 53 names.

Sources: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Kevin Oklobzija

Britney Milazzo is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. 

Sean Avery got three penalties and a goal in the game Hartford won over Portland tonight. In his previous seven games in the AHL, he had just one penalty.

He got caught for tripping, cross-checking, and elbowing. His team fell behind 3-0 in the first two periods but tied it by the end of regulation time. Hartford out-scored Portland 2-1 in the shoot-out for the 4-3 victory.

The Hartford Wolf Pack got their sixth win in a row when they played the Portland Pirates tonight in Maine. The game against the Pirates might have been the final appearance for Sean Avery in a Wolf Pack uniform.

Avery's 8th and probably final game in the AHL was the first sellout crowd (6,982) of the season at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

The Portland Pirates got the first goal of the game, five minutes in, on a power play, when Tim Kennedy scored, assisted by Marc-Andre Gragani and Mike Kosta, against Avery's line. Portland scored again, ten minutes later. Marek Zagrapan's goal was unassisted.

Both teams had 13 shots on net in the first period.

Portland made it 3-0 in the second period on a goal by Tyler Bouck.

Hartford made a major comeback and scored three goals to tie the game in the third period. Avery picked up a couple of penalties, for tripping and cross-checking, and then he scored a goal.

Tommy Pyatt scored Hartford's first goal, assisted by Mike Ouellette and Tomas Zaborsky, then Sean Avery, assisted by David Urquhart and Patrick Rissmiller, and then Ouellette scored 38 seconds later, assisted by Zaborski. Avery ran over goaltender Jeff Jakaitis and poked the puck home, according to OurSportsCentral.

In overtime, there were no goals. The teams were tied in the number of shots, too, with 32 apiece.

In the shootout, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Rissmiller, shooting first and last, scored for Hartford. Colin Murphy scored for Portland.

Hartford won the game without their top scorer. Ex-Pirate P.A. Parenteau, who leads the Wolf Pack with 26 goals, was scratched from the Hartford lineup after he was hit in the back of the head by a puck during warm-ups, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Bob Crawford, who writes Howlings, on the Wolf Pack's website, said, "It seems as though more than a year’s-worth of interest and attention has been directed at the Wolf Pack in the short time since Avery first practiced with the Pack last Tuesday."

He also said, "the way Avery conducted himself around the Wolf Pack was nothing like what seems to be the general perception of him. All I have to go on is what I have experienced and observed, and I can say without hesitation that he went out of his way to be extra cordial to me in any dealings I had with him, and he seemed to mesh very well with his new teammates."

Crawford also reported that, "the speed with which the other Pack players on the ice jumped in to have Avery’s back in the first scrum he was involved in Saturday night indicates that they have assimilated him quickly into the fabric of the team, and that they are eager to have his talents and energy on their side."

"Another thing that was obvious about Avery was his skill as a hockey player," Crawford notes. "One pass he made, between his own legs, from below the goal line right onto the tape of P.A. Parenteau was the kind that makes you say, 'Wow, how in the world did he think to do that?'"

Avery was expected to be placed on recall waivers by the Dallas Stars on Sunday or Monday and then reunited with the New York Rangers in the NHL.

The Rangers lost 12 of their last 14 games, going 2-8-4. Rangers fans hope Avery will add some spice to the team which has been termed 'vanilla' in recent months.

With the Wolf Pack, Avery had just one penalty in eight games. The last time that he played in the AHL, several years ago, with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, he had 304.

Avery joined the Wolf Pack earlier this month, and in seven games, the Hartford AHL team has won five in a row. This season, their previous best winning streak was three in a row.

The recent string of victories has put the Wolf Pack in second place, three points ahead of the Portland Pirates.

Hartford is 33-23-2-3 for 71 points.
Portland is 29-23-3-6 for 66 points.

The last time these two teams played, Avery set up defense-man Mike Sauer's goal at 2:21 into overtime, for a 2-1 win against the Pirates in Hartford.

The headline in the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram said "NHL Bad Boy In Town To Face The Pirates." The papers called Avery "the player fans love to hate", saying he was one of the NHL's top agitators for the past eight years, and promised him a very bad reception.

The Hartford Wolf Pack will be looking for their sixth win in a row when they play the Portland Pirates tonight in Maine and the game against the Pirates may be the final appearance for Sean Avery in a Wolf Pack uniform.

Avery is expected to be placed on recall waivers by the Dallas Stars on Sunday or Monday and then reunited with the New York Rangers in the NHL.

The Rangers have lost 12 of their last 14 games, going 2-8-4. Rangers fans hope Avery will add some spice to the team which has been termed 'vanilla' in recent months.

"They are widely perceived as a vanilla team that's a walk in the park as an opponent, Larry Brooks recently wrote in the New York Post. "They won't be either of those things once Avery comes back home again."

With the Wolf Pack, Avery has just one penalty. The last time that he played in the AHL, several years ago, with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, he had 304.

Avery joined the Wolf Pack earlier this month, and in seven games, the Hartford AHL team has won five in a row. This season, their previous best winning streak was three in a row.

The recent string of victories has put the Wolf Pack in second place—three points ahead of the Portland Pirates.

Hartford is 32-23-2-3 for 69 points.

Portland is 29-23-3-5 for 66 points.

The last time that these two teams played, Avery set up defenseman Mike Sauer's goal—2:21 into overtime, in a 2-1 win against the Pirates at Hartford.

The headline in the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram says "NHL Bad Boy In Town To Face The Pirates". The papers called Avery "the player fans love to hate", saying he was one of the NHL's top agitators for the past eight years, and promised him a very bad reception.

In their last game the Pirates beat the Sharks 2-1 in Worcester. The Pirates are returning home, after seven straight road games.

It will be Labatt Blue Light Hockey Night in Portland, with pregame drink specials at The Stadium from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive thundersticks, sponsored by U.S. Cellular. Positive 89.3 will present a live concert at the game.

The game will be televised on Time Warner Cable (Channel 22 in Cumberland and York Counties and on TWC where available). Fans can follow the Pirates on U.S. Cellular Pirates Radio Network or watch the game LIVE on the internet courtesy of AHL Live by clicking the icon on the left side of the home page.

The final score was 2-1, Hartford over Manchester in overtime. P.A. Parenteau scored the only goal in 10 tries in the shootout.

The Wolf Pack extended their win streak to five games and the Monarchs lost for the first time in overtime this year.

Sean Avery could be a Ranger as early as Sunday, Arthur Staples announced during the game, writing in Newsday.com.

He claimed that reports out of Canada say the Stars, who still own the rights to Avery, will recall the current Hartford Wolf Pack forward either Sunday or Monday, allowing the Rangers to claim Avery on re-entry waivers.

Newsday also reported that Avery has told friends he wants to play only for the Rangers.

The Hartford Wolf Pack, with Sean Avery in the lineup for his seventh game in the AHL, hosted the Manchester Monarchs at the XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Manchester Monarchs dropped a 3-2 decision to the Hartford Wolf Pack with six seconds left in the game in front of 5,137 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday evening.

The Wolf Pack’s late attack squashed the Monarchs comeback.

Corey Potter got the first goal of the game at 1:05, so the Hartford Wolf Pack took an early 1-0 lead over the Manchester Monarchs.

Potter is a defenseman who doesn't score a lot of goals. That was his seventh for this season.

Potter was a top defenseman in the ECHL last year with the Charlotte Checkers and played for Michigan State University before that.

There were a couple of fights after that, resulting in five minute major penalties for two Monarchs and two players from the Wolf Pack.

Manchester tied it up eight minutes into the second period when Justin Azevedo got his tenth goal of the year, in just 28 games.

Azevedo was a member of the OHL’s Champion Kitchener Rangers squad last year.

He had a career high 43 goals, plus 81 assists for 124 points in 67 games with the Rangers and won the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player in the OHL.

He also won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy for being the top scorer in the OHL

He was the top scorer of the Memorial Cup and won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award for the most outstanding player in the OHL playoffs.

In the second period, there were a couple of penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct, as well as tripping, hooking, and interference.

The second period ended in a 1-1 tie and so did the third. Avery came close to breaking the tie when his shot hit the goalie and the right post before ricocheting out at 15:31.

Monarchs' goaltender Daniel Taylor stopped 4-of-5 snipers in the shootout as he denied left wing Sean Avery, center Greg Moore, left wing Patrick Rissmiller and center Tommy Pyatt. Parenteau was the only player to score a goal in the shootout, according to OurSportsCentral.

Hartford is in second place in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the AHL.

In 60 games, they have 32 wins, 23 losses, two overtime losses, and three shootout losses, for 69 points.

They are on a five game winning streak—their best string this season so far.

Manchester is in sixth place in the same division.

In 59 games, they have 27 wins and 26 losses, and six shootout losses (27-26-0-6, 60 points).

The Wolfpack, with Avery, travel to Portland for their next game, to take on the Portland Pirates.

For the record, this is the story of Sean Avery in the AHL.

He has gone from the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks to the Hartford Wolf Pack, via the Red Wings, Kings, Rangers and Stars.

In six games in the AHL, after being suspended for six games by the NHL and not invited back, playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack, Sean Avery has a game tying goal, an assist on a game winning goal in overtime, and just one penalty.

The PIM statistic is incredible. The first time Avery played in the AHL, he had 304 minutes in penalties. This time, he has two.

The first time he played in the AHL, Avery was with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.

When he went undrafted after four impressive years in the OHL, he drove down to Detorit, got himself a try-out and won a solid contract as a free agent with the Red Wings.

In his rookie year, the Wings won the Stanley Cup.

An undrafted OHL player making a Stanley Cup winning team is incredible. On his first shift in the NHL, he got into a fight with Trevor Linden.

In his rookie year, he also played for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks; the Red Wings affiliate team, shared with Anaheim.

The next year, he played the full season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and racked up 304 PIM.

After that, he led the NHL in PIMs for two-years, playing for the Kings.

From the Wings and the Kings, Avery went to the New York Rangers. In New York, he cut down on penalties by 65 percent.

Instead of taking a lot of penalties, he turned himself into the kind of guy who gets other guys to take a lot of penalties. Following in the footsteps or skates, of players like Kenny Linsmen and Essa Tikkanen, if not Claude Lemieux, Avery became a pest and an agitator.

He was called the “super pest” and the king of the agitators.

He showed the Rangers he also had other skills.

He was a very good fighter—going undefeated in 53 bouts—and an excellent chirper, but he was also an excellent skater with soft hands; he was a tenacious checker and an enforcer who would not hesitate to come to the rescue of a teammate.

He became a fan favourite as well as a hockey player loved by the media in New York City.

He showed he was the kind of hockey player who went into the corners and got the puck out. He got himself in front of the net to screen the goalie or take a pass and score a goal. He scored 18 goals in one year.

He back checked, fore checked, annoyed the goalies and kept chirping and fighting. At the same time, he got his name in page six of the New York Post even more times than he scored goals in games.

The Rangers signed him once and then they signed him up again. The NHL invented a new rule for unsportsmanlike conduct and named it after him.

The Avery Rule was celebrated with a tee-shirt that said "Avery Rules!"

The Dallas Stars signed him to a multiyear, multimillion dollar deal.

Not bad for an undrafted hockey player!

He became more famous than hockey heroes like Sidney Crosby, as he crossed over from hockey into the worlds of fashion and Hollywood. He dated actresses and models and got his name in People magazine and The New Yorker.

Before he went to Texas, he was a celebrity intern at Vogue, for the summer and a guest editor for Men's Vogue, with a workout video on-line and a column published that inspired a movie like a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada.

For some reason, after all that, he did not fit in when he got to Texas. The Dallas Stars got off to a sluggish start and so did he.

He was a star in New York and a star in Los Angeles, but the Dallas Stars did not like what they saw of Avery.

When the NHL slapped Avery with his first suspension—six games for trash talking to the media—the Stars said they did not want him back.

It was not the first time Avery got in trouble with the NHL for things he said. They had warned him, before. They sent him to anger management.

Avery missed about three months of hockey.

Some say he shot a Gap ad and worked on the movie based on his Men's Vogue report. He graduated from anger management and found himself back in the AHL.

The Dallas Stars do not have an affiliate team in the AHL, yet, and the New York Rangers were interested in getting him back so, the Stars loaned Avery to the Rangers affiliate team in Hartford.

He had to be put on waivers and clear waivers and he had to get himself in game shape in the AHL, so he could return to the NHL. His goal was to get in shape without getting injured.

Avery got a lot of attention from the media, fans and the whole hockey world for being in anger management.

He showed them all he could be diplomatic, during interviews and he could chirp or trash talk, on the ice, without being labeled sexist or racist or getting arrested for verbal abuse.

As a high profile NHLer playing in the AHL, again, Avery expected to run into guys who were like him when he first signed with the Red Wings and played for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks—guys who wanted to make names for themselves by getting a piece of him.

On his first shift in his first game in the AHL with the Wolf Pack, he got into a skirmish. By the second game, he was up to his old tricks—chirping, agitating and stirring things up.

After losing two games with Avery, the Wolf Pack went on a four game win streak. He got an assist on a game winning goal in overtime in his fourth AHL game and he got his first penalty.

In his last game, he got a goal and was named the game's second star.

Meanwhile, in the NHL, the Dallas Stars went on a winning streak, too, but the Rangers went in the opposite direction.

The Rangers started the season going 10-2 but had a mid-season slump, going 2-10.

Rangers General Manager, Glen Sather, fired coach, Tom Renney and replaced him with John Tortorella.

Torts, as he's known, said some harsh things about Aver on TSN, but Sather assured him he would learn to love him after he saw what No. 16 could do for his team.

Rangers’ fans called him the spine of the team. Others said he played his heart out, or at least his spleen, for the Rangers.

As the NHL trade deadline draws closer, the Rangers slipped in the standings, day-by-day, so that making the play-offs looked more and more like a long-shot.

Rangers’ fans called for Renney's head, and got it and some are still calling for Sather to resign. They still blame him for losing last year's stars: Jagr, Shanahan, Straka and Avery.

Jagr's now the star of the KHL. Shanahan's a Devil, playing for the Rangers rivals across the river, in New Jersey. Straka went back to the Czech Republic.

Avery's down the road, playing himself into game shape, inspiring the Wolf Pack towin in the AHL instead of the Rangers in the NHL and the AHL loves it.

Attendace in Hartford games has gone way up and the same thing happens wherever Avery and the Wolf Pack play.

AHL fans are seeing a new Sean Avery, quite unlike the Avery they saw the first time he played in the league and racked up 304 PIMs.

They are seeing a Sean Avery seasoned by several years in the NHL, not to mention anger management.

Sean Avery was called the best hockey player on the ice, was named the second star of the game, and got his first goal with the Hartford Wolf Pack, leading them to a 5-1 win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins and on a four game winning streak.

The Hartford Wolf Pack won their season-best fourth game in a row, 5-1 over the 'Baby' Penguins, and Sean Avery's first goal with the team tied the game. Avery's line was on the ice for three of Hartford's goals and Avery was named second star of the game. Hartford won by four goals despite being out-shot 40-25.

Avery was the best player on the ice, Paul Sokoloski reported for the Times Leader. He said Avery used his superior skills to score Hartford’s first goal against the Penguins and was skating with such speed that even Scranton/Wilkes-Barre players had to stop and admire.

He spent most of his shifts skating away from confrontation, Sokoroski claimed. Avery briefly lost his temper just once, when he was tripped by Jean-Phillipe Cote late in the game and responded with a shove.

Also, at the end of Wednesdayh’s pregame warmups, Avery and Sugden exchanged words with Penguins left wing Paul Bissonnette. On his first shift of the night, Avery smacked Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie John Curry with his stick.

Later on, he bodied up to Curry with an annoying screen at the net. Avery was jawing with the Penguins’ Luca Caputi after some post-play contact in the third period.

Matt Zaba made 39 saves for the Wolf Pack, who are a season-high eight games above .500 (31-23-2-3). The Penguins had nine power plays. Avery stayed out of the penalty box and Hartford turned the power-play disadvantages into opportunities by scoring two shorthanded goals in the third period to beat the Penguins.

Sean Avery scored his first goal with the Hartford Wolf Pack tonight against Marc-Andre Fleury of the 'Baby' Penguins of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Pennsylvania. It is Avery's sixth game in the AHL after being suspended for six games by the NHL.

Avery missed close to three months of hockey after he was suspended on December 2nd. He joined the Wolf Pack on February 10th and got in his first game on the 18th. The Wolf Pack went on a three game winning streak with Avery in the line-up, with victories against the Portland Pirates, the Lowell Devils, and the Manchester Monarchs.

Avery's goal tied his team's game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the first period in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza.

The Penguins got on the scoreboard first, halfway through the first period, when Alex Goligoski put the pack past. Sean Avery tied it up ten minutes later, scoring his first goal as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack. The period ended with a 1-1 tie with the Penguins out-shooting Hartford 16 to 6.

Avery dug out the puck along the boards and ripped a tough-angle slapshot over John Curry, according to the Timesleader.com. Avery fought off a Penguin checker on left wing and drove a rolling puck past the goalie, according to Oursports.com.

Avery, trying to make his way back to the National Hockey League by playing for Hartford, made a strong case that he’s ready for the majors, the Wilkes Beacon reported. For his goal, he collected a pass from teammate Bobby Sanguinetti, maneuvered around All Star defenseman Ben Lovejoy, and fired a slap shot over the glove of John Curry, according to the Wilkes Beacon.

It was Avery’s first goal since November 30, when he scored in an NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers.

On his first shift he whacked at John Curry behind the play, and later he swung his stick into the back of Deryk Engelland’s legs and exchanged words with Connor James, the Times Leader reported.

Avery, a left winger in the NHL, played centre for the Wolf Pack. During the game, the Globe and Mail announced that it would not be long before Avery was playing in the NHL.

The New York Rangers hired their new coach, John Tortorella, on a condition of employment, according to the Globe and Mail: It was almost certain he would be coaching Avery before the season is done.

Hartford went ahead 2-1 on a goal by Jordan Owens in the first two minutes of the second period. The Wolf Pack went up by two in the third period when Greg Moore got a short-handed goal at 1:24.

The Wolf Pack got another short-handed goal at 10:53 by Patrick Rissmiller. The Pack equaled a franchise record with two shorthanded goals in the game.

It was 5 to 1 after Greg Moore got his second goal of the game a few minutes later while the Wolf Pack had a powerplay.

The Wolf Pack won their last game against the Penguins, too.

The Baby Penguins now have a record of 36-17-1, for 75 points. Hartford is now 31-23-2-3, for 67 points. They are battling Hershey for first place in their division.

The Wolf Pack's third win in a row tied their longest winning streak of the season. With their last win, they took sole possession of second in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Portland.

The Baby Penguins saw a nine-game winning streak end with a 4-1 loss Saturday in Hamilton.

Hartford has recalled goaltender Maxime Daigneault from its ECHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Daigneault has appeared in 57 career AHL games, with the Wolf Pack, Portland, Hershey and Milwaukee. The fifth-year pro’s overall AHL record is 30-15-3, with a 2.65 GAA, a 90.9% save percentage and five shutouts.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, with Sidney Crosby out of the line-up, recalled Finnish forward Janne Pesonon from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, their affiliate team in the AHL.

Pesonon had zero points in seven games with Pittsburgh this season, but he is second in scoring for the Baby Penguins with 49 points.

Mark Bell, the 28-year-old forward, who had been playing for the AHL Marlies, was claimed off re-entry waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs by the New York Rangers today.

There still might be cap space for Sean Avery, if the Rangers can claim him on recall waivers if and when the Stars decide to do so, according to Steve Zipay on Newsday.com.

The Wolf Pack return home to the XL Center this Friday night, February 27, for a game against the Manchester Monarchs (7:00). Adult tickets for Wolf Pack home games can be purchased for as low as $10 each for the rest of the regular season.

"Bad-boy Avery’s coming to town" the headline said on CitzensVoice.com, referring to Wednesday's game when the  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are scheduled to host the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Jonathan Bombulie, writing for Citizens Voice, said, "Like it or not, Sean Avery is the biggest attraction in the AHL these days, and he is scheduled to pay a visit to the Wachovia Arena this week."

"If Avery is in the lineup Wednesday, he’s a player the Penguins will have to account for," he added,  noting that  Avery is one of the premier agitators in hockey, having rankled opponents ranging from Georges Laraque to Darcy Tucker to Martin Brodeur over the years.

The Penguins have a record of 36-17-1, for 75 points. Hartford is 31-23-2-3, for 67 points. The Wolf Pack's third win in a row tied their longest winning streak of the season. They took sole possession of second in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Portland. The Penguins saw a nine-game winning streak end with a 4-1 loss Saturday in Hamilton.

Avery has been handed just one minor penalty in Hartford, but he did punch Bridgeport’s Tyler Haskins square in the face while lining up for a face-off while the referee’s attention was elsewhere last Wednesday, he warned the Penguins.

“He’s an above average player in the NHL. When he comes down to this league, he’s a star,” Bombulie quoted Penguins winger Paul Bissonnette.

It was widely believed that the New York Rangers would acquire Avery’s rights and call him up after a conditioning stint with the Wolf Pack in an effort to spark the NHL club out of a slump, but the Rangers fired head coach Tom Renney on Monday, perhaps scuttling those plans.

Tortorella, as a television hockey commentator this season, had this to say about Sean Avery: "He's so rehearsed...It's just ridiculous...He should be suspended. Send him home," according to Newsday.com adding that "Soon those two feverish personalities could be co-saviors at the Garden."

The Pittsburgh Penguins' top minor league affiliate throughout the 1990s was the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL. The Penguins purchased the Cornwall Aces AHL franchise from the Colorado Avalanche and placed it in Wilkes-Barre. The team is affectionately referred to as "The Baby Penguins" by fans.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins interim head coach Todd Reirden remembers playing against Sean Avery in the AHL several years ago and says he is fully aware of Avery’s agitating, push-the-limits style of play and knows that his antics on the ice can make opposing players lose their cool, according to Tom Venesky, writing in the Times Leader.

It’s not that antics that Reirden is concerned about when Avery’s Hartford Wolf Pack visits the Penguins on Wednesday night, Venesky says. Reirden is more concerned about Sean Avery the hockey player, not the pest.

He  quoted the Penguins' Paul Bissonnette describing Avery as a gifted hockey player.  Bissonette compared him to another NHL pest, Jarkko Ruutu, who is also good at getting under players’ skins and drawing penalties.

With both Avery and tough guy Brandon Sugden back in the lineup, Hartford’s toughness increases considerably, he notes

Bissonnette said Avery’s presence is good for the league and having Avery on the roster has helped attendance at Hartford games.