Andrew MacDonald

The Islanders and Rangers have been battling for New York bragging rights since the Isles entered the NHL in 1972. But for four rookies—Andrew MacDonald, Joe Callahan, Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz—and one veteran—Dean McAmmond—Thursday was their first experience of the intense rivalry.
 
"It was pretty intense right from the first shift," said MacDonald. "They were all over us and we were all over them. It just goes to show the tradition the teams have between the two of them. You just have to go out there and play your game. You can sense before the game the guys really want to win. Guys were saying before the game ‘let’s go out and hammer these guys. You just want to follow up.’"
 
The Islanders rookies played key roles in the contest against the Rangers. Callahan logged 15:50 of ice time, Rechlicz recorded an assist, Joensuu dished out two hits and MacDonald saw ice time with the game winding down.
 

Joel Rechlicz

"The guys played with tremendous energy and all the guys that came up from Bridgeport played well," said Head Coach Scott Gordon. "It was a great environment to be a part of."
 
While the players have experienced other rivalries, such as Bridgeport facing instate foe Hartford in the AHL, the New York rivalry is like few others in sports.
 
"The experience definitely lived up to my expectations," said Rechlicz. "Just being in the locker room and out there on the bench with all of the guys was something else. It was crazy hearing the Islanders fans and the Rangers fans going right back at them. It makes for a great rivalry. This is up a couple levels from the Bridgeport-Hartford rivalry. The fans were really into it—slamming on the glass and screaming in warm-ups. It just carried on from there."
 
Having experienced both the Calgary-Edmonton and the Ottawa-Toronto matchups, McAmmond knows all about rivalries in the NHL. In his first game against the Rangers as a member of the Islanders, he was impressed with his newly adopted rivalry.
 

Joe Callahan

"The atmosphere in the building was great," said MacAmmond, following his sixth game in an Islanders uniform. "One thing I’ve noticed is that these fans really have a mutual disgust for each other. On the ice it’s fairly similar. You hate losing to those rival teams and you love beating them."
 
Even when playing for other teams or while in the AHL, players know about the Islanders-Rangers rivalry. Joensuu—playing his first year in North America—knew what to expect.
 
"Whenever there are two teams in the same city, they usually don’t like each other," said Joensuu. "I’ve heard this is one of the big rivals in pro sports. It was an experience to be a part of it."