The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the "Amerks") compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) and is owned and operated by the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g a m e s in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Americans are the fourth oldest franchise in the AHL and have the second longest continuous tenure among AHL teams in their current locations after the Hershey Bears.

Rochester was awarded a new franchise in June 1956, when the Pittsburgh Hornets were forced to suspend operations after losing their arena in an urban renewal project. With the Hornets franchise in limbo until a new arena could be built, there was room in the league for a team in Rochester.

The Americans' team colors are red, white and blue. The logo is a patriotic badge with "Americans" written in cursive script. They have won the AHL's Calder Cup six times and lost in the Calder Cup
Finals ten times. In 2023, the Amerks lost in the conference finals to the eventual league champions, the Hershey Bears.

The Buffalo Sabres became the Icemen's NHL affiliate in July of 2023. The Sabres compete in the NHL's Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference and are one of the fastest rising teams in the NHL. Buffalo's prospect pipeline was recently ranked #1 by the NHL Network heading into the 2023-24 season.

The Sabres were established in 1970, along with the Vancouver Canucks when the league expanded to 14 teams. The Sabres have played their home games at KeyBank Center since 1996, having previously played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium since their inception. The Sabres are owned by Terry Pegula, who also has a controlling interest with the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

The team has twice advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975 and to the Dallas Stars in 1999.
Notable Alumni: Gilbert Perreault, Pat Lafontaine, Dominik Hasek, Tim Horton, Rene Robert, Danny Gare, Ryan Miller, Rick Martin, Dale Hawerchuk.