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Red Hot Rats Hit The Road This Weekend

December 14, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Albany River Rats News Release


Albany swept a second-consecutive three-in-three weekend to extend its winning streak to a league-best seven games and move to within a point of the East Division=leading Hershey Bears. The River Rats opened up with an impressive 3-0 shutout of the Bears, highlighted by goaltender Justin Peters' 36 saves. Jacob Micflikier assisted on all three River Rats goals, and Nick Dodge and Chris Terry each scored a goal and an assist in the home win. Albany kept it going Saturday against Providence, as Zach Boychuk netted the game-winner late in the second period and goaltender Mike Murphy stopped 33-of-34 shots for a 3-1 victory. Albany fished its weekend with a 2-1 shootout win in Hartford, as Jamie McBain and Micflikier netted shootout markers while Peters denied four-of-five Wolf*Pack attempts.

Week 12 Preview:

Albany plays two road games this weekend, starting Friday night in Lowell when they face the Atlantic Division's Devils at 7:00 p.m. The River Rats then visit the Syracuse Crunch for an East Division battle on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Week 12 Game Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on WROW 590 AM "Newstalk 590," are streamed free over the Internet at www.wrow.com and can be watched via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com)

Friday, December 18th - 7:00 pm - Tsongas Arena - Lowell, MA

vs. Lowell Devils (15-11-3-0, 33 pts)

T-Second Place, Atlantic

- The Devils opened their season with an impressive 10-5-3-0 record, but they've leveled-off recently and played .500 hockey over their last 12 games (6-6-0-0). Lowell split a pair of divisional match-ups last weekend on the road in Providence and Manchester. Dany Sabourin stopped 35 shots and notched his first shutout of the season Friday as the P-Bruins defeated the Devils 3-0 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Lowell answered Saturday in Manchester as Ben Walter had a hand in three first period scores to edge the Monarchs 3-2 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

- Leading Scorer: Ben Walter (C) - 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in 29 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Mike McKenna (G) - 2.52 GAA, .918 save pct., 9-6-0 in 15 GP.

- Who's Hot: Ben Walter (C) had three assists and a plus-3 rating in his last game. Matt Halischuk (RW) has five points (2-3-5) and a plus-2 rating in his last three games. Tim Sestito (C) has six points (2-4-6) in his last five games and ranks sixth on the team in points (9-7-16) in just 17 games played.

Saturday, December 19th - 7:30 pm - War Memorial Arena at Oncenter - Syracuse, NY

vs. Syracuse Crunch (10-14-2-2, 24 pts)

Seventh Place, East Division

- Syracuse went 1-2 last week and continues to occupy the bottom spot in the East Division. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins unloaded five first period goals and goaltender Jon Curry turned-in a 25 save shutout as the Baby Penguins downed the Crunch 6-0 Wednesday night in Central New York. Syracuse turned in its only win of the week Friday against Adirondack, scoring three second period goals in a span of four minutes en route to a 5-2 final. The Crunch finished their week Saturday with a 6-3 road loss to their arch-rivals, the Binghamton Senators.

- Leading Scorer: Dan Fritsche (C) - 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) in 25 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Kevin Lalande (G) - 3.27 GAA, .901 save pct., 6-7-1 in 17 GP.

- Who's Hot: Bates Battaglia (LW) has three points (2-1-3) in his last three games. Alexandre Picard (LW) has two points (1-1-2) in his last two games and ranks second on the team in scoring (9-9-18). Dan Fritsche (C) has six points (4-2-6) in his last seven games.

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 11)

Justin Peters - G - #35

Day Opponent GA SVS Notable

Fri. vs. Hershey 0 36 Recorded his first shutout and 10th win of the season

Sun. @ WB/Scranton 1 30 Stopped 4-of-5 shootout attempts and seven OT shots

Totals 1 66 0.985 save percentage, 2 W, 1 shutout

River Rats goaltender Justin Peters allowed just one goal in two River Rats wins this weekend to earn the club's Player Of The Week nomination. The fourth-year netminder made 36 saves Friday against the East Division-leading Hershey Bears for his first shutout of the season and the sixth of his AHL career. Peters then stopped 30 more shots Sunday in Hartford and denied 4-of-5 Wolf*Pack shooters to lead Albany to its seventh straight victory. Carolina's second round selection (38th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft is 11-5-2 this season, with a 2.03 GAA (fifth best in the AHL) and a 0.931 save percentage (fourth best in the AHL).

Rat Bites:

- DANIELS BREAKS EVEN - Second year bench boss Jeff Daniels improved to 50-50-4-6 in his head coaching career Sunday, marking the first time since March 13th, 2009 that he's been at or over .500 as a head coach.

- HOME SWEET HOME - The River Rats leads the AHL with 13 homes wins this season. Albany's 57 goals scored at home are also a league-high.

- SHOOTOUT MUSCLE - Rookie Defenseman Jamie McBain improved to 2-for-2 in shootout attempts this season with Sunday's game-winner in the third round against Hartford. Newcomer Jiri Tlusty is the only other River Rats player with more than one shootout marker this season (3-for-4), but all of his attempts so far have come as a member of the Toronto Marlies. Zach Boychuk (0-for-3) and Chris Terry (1-for-2) are the only other Albany skaters with more than one attempt this season. Jacob Micflikier (1-for-1) has the River Rats' only other shootout goal this year.

- ONE AND DONE - The River Rats have allowed one goal or less in their last six games. Goaltender Justin Peters has started four of those contests, including Albany's first shutout of the season, and improved to 11-5-2 with a 2.03 GAA and a 0.931 save percentage. Murphy is responsible for two of the recent one-goal games and has improved his mark to 6-6-0-0 with a 2.59 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage.

- FEAST AND FAMINE = VICTORY - Albany unloaded a single-period, season-high 19 shots in the opening frame of their 2-1 shootout win at Hartford on Sunday. The River Rats then took a single-period season-low four shots in the third stanza. Albany's all-time highest shot total in a single-period is 28 (FEB 15, 1997 vs. ADK, 3rd, Tied, 2-2) and the River Rats have taken an all-time single-period season-low one shot four times in their 17-year history.

- HARTFORD WINLESS STREAK SNAPPED - Albany's 2-1 shootout victory over the Wolf*Pack on Sunday marked the club's first win in Hartford since March 8, 2003. The River Rats had lost eight straight games in Hartford before this weekend.

- SEASON-HIGH POINT STREAKS - Forwards Mike Angelidis and Jacob Micflikier both saw five-game scoring streaks come to a close this weekend. They join Chris Terry and Jerome Samson in a four-way tie for the team's longest individual point streak of the season. Pat Dwyer is currently on a four game point streak (2-2-4) and will look to make it a five-way tie Friday in Lowell.

- FIRST GOALS - The River Rats have scored the game's first goal in their last six contests to improve to 12-1-0-1 this season when scoring first. Albany has taken a lead into the first intermission in seven of its last nine games and now stands at 8-0-1-1 when leading after 20 minutes.

- LEAGUE LEADERS - Jerome Samson continues to lead the league in shots with 135. Zach FitzGerald's 26 minor penalties top the AHL. Jacob Micflikier is second in the league in shooting percentage with a 0.286 mark (4-for-14). Justin Peters' 2.03 GAA is good for 5th in the league and his 0.931 save percentage ranks fourth. Stefan Chaput is tied for eighth-place in the rookie scoring race with 19 points and is tied for third place among first-year skaters with 14 assists. Zach Boychuk is tied for 11th place in rookie scoring with 18 points (7-11-18) and has three game-winning goals, good for a second-place tie among rookies.

River Rats Recent Transactions

December 2009

December 13 ADD - Pat Dwyer - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Jiri Tlusty - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

December 12 ADD - Michael Leighton (G) - Loaned by Carolina (NHL)

December 11 DELETE - Pat Dwyer (C) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Jiri Tlusty (LW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Harrison Reed (RW) - Reassigned by Carolina (NHL) from Florida (ECHL)

ADD - Matthew Pistilli (RW) - Reassigned by Carolina (NHL) from Florida (ECHL)

December 7 DELETE - Brett Carson (D) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

December 6 ADD - Bryan Rodney (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Jay Harrison (D) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

December 3 ADD - Jiri Tlusty (LW) - Loaned by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Jacob Micflikier (RW) - Recalled from loan to Florida (ECHL)

DELETE - Bryan Rodney (D) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Matthew Pistilli (RW) - Loaned to Florida (ECHL)

December 1 ADD - Pat Dwyer (RW) - Returned to loan by Carolina (NHL)

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Five Players Tied (30

Goals: Pat Dwyer & Jerome Samson (11)

Assists: Stefan Chaput (14)

Points: Jerome Samson (23)

Plus/Minus: Nick Dodge (+10)

Penalty Minutes: Zack FitzGerald (97)

Power Play Goals: Pat Dwyer & Jerome Samson (3)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Zach Boychuk & Jerome Samson (3)

Shots: Jerome Samson (135)

Shooting Percentage: Jacob Micflikier (0.286%)

Saves: Justin Peters (500)

Wins: Justin Peters (11)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.03)

Save Percentage: Justin Peters (0.931)

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River Rats 2009-10 season and flex ticket packages are now on sale at the River Rats executive offices at the Times Union Center, by calling (518) 487-2244 or by logging onto www.albanyriverrats.com.

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