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Rats Look To Add To Seven-Game Point Streak

March 16, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany went 3-0-0-1 last week to extend its lead over the third-place Norfolk Admirals to eight points in the East Division. The River Rats have earned points in their last seven games and show a 7-1-0-2 record in their last 10. Albany's lone blemish came in its first game of the week on Wednesday night in Wilkes-Barre. Jerome Samson's second goal of the night tied the game at 3-3 with nine seconds remaining in regulation, but the Penguins out-dueled Albany 3-2 in the ensuing shootout to earn a 4-3 final. The River Rats rebounded in Rochester on Friday, when Oskar Osala tied the game with a pair of second period goals and Bryan Rodney scored the game-winner in the third to lift the Albany River Rats to a 4-3 victory over the Americans. The team returned home to the Times Union Center on Saturday for another game against the Penguins, which would again require a shootout. This time Albany came out on top 5-4, as Rodney scored the deciding marker in the fifth round for his second game-winning goal in as many nights. The River Rats secured their third straight win on Sunday, as Jamie McBain scored the game-winner in the second period and goalie Mike Morrison stopped 27-of-28 shots faced in a 3-1 home victory over Syracuse.

Week 25 Preview:

The River Rats open their week on St. Patrick's Day at home with a 7:00 p.m. game against Worcester. Albany then hits the road on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. match-up in Hershey and then plays a home-and-home series against the Senators. Binghamton hosts the first game on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. and Albany hosts game two at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Week 25 Rats Game Schedule:

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

Wednesday, March 17th - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Worcester Sharks (41-20-2-3, 87 pts)

1st Place, Atlantic Division

- The Sharks scored six goals in three straight home wins last week to build a six point lead over the second-place Pirates in the Atlantic Division. Worcester trailed 3-1 midway through their first game of the week on Wednesday night against Hartford, but scored four third period goals to earn a 6-4 comeback win. TJ Trevelyan scored twice and Danny Groulx had a three point (1-2-3) game on Friday night against Binghamton, to lead Worcester to their second straight 6-4 victory. The Sharks then turned in their most impressive win of the week on Sunday, unloading six straight goals against the Hershey Bears in a 6-2 victory. Wednesday night will be the second and final meeting of the season between the Sharks and River Rats. Worcester won the first match-up 5-3 on October 18th in Massachusetts.

- Leading Scorer: Steven Zalewski (C) - 57 points (21 goals, 36 assists) in 65 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Alex Stalock (G) - 2.62 GAA, .907 save pct., 35-15-2 in 53 GP.

- Who's Hot: Danny Groulx (D) has five points (2-3-5) with a plus-5 rating in his last three games. Andrew Desjardins (C) has six points with a plus-4 rating in his last three games. TJ Trevelyan (LW) has four goals in his last three games.

Friday, March 19th - 7:00 pm - Giant Center - Hershey, PA

vs. Hershey Bears (50-13-0-3, 96 pts)

1st Place, East Division

- The league-leading Hershey Bears have already clinched a playoff spot, but struggled to a 1-1-0-1 record in three road games last week. The Bears earned their lone win of the road trip on Friday night in Glens Falls, but needed former River Rat Brian Helmer's overtime winner to oust the Phantoms 5-4. Hershey headed to Springfield on Saturday, where the Falcons blew a 4-2 lead before reclaiming the game in the shootout on Rob Hisey fifth round tally. The Bears allowed six straight goals the next day in Worcester en route to a 6-2 loss. Friday will be the eighth and final game of the 2009-10 season-series between the River Rats and the Bears. Albany is 2-5 against Hershey this season and has been out-scored 32-19. The Bears have won their last four meetings with Albany.

- Leading Scorer: Keith Aucoin (C) - 86 points (32 goals, 54 assists) in 59 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Braden Holtby (G) - 2.32 GAA, .919 save pct., 19-5-2 in 28 GP.

- Who's Hot: Alexandre Giroux (LW) has nine points (6-3-9) in his last six games. Keith Aucoin (C) has six points (3-3-6) in his last five games. Steve Pinizzotto (C) has four points (2-2-4) with a plus-4 rating in his last three games.

Saturday, March 20th - 7:05 pm - Broome Veterans Memorial Arena - Rochester, NY

Sunday, March 21st - 3:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Binghamton Senators (28-31-5-3, 64 pts)

7th Place, East Division

- The B-Sens went 3-1 on their four-game road trip last week, but remain at the bottom of the East Division in a sixth place tie with the Syracuse Crunch. Binghamton scored the game's first three goals on Wednesday night in Manchester and Josh Hennessy led his club with three points (2-1-3) en route to a 5-3 win over the Monarchs. The Senators suffered their only loss of the week on Friday night in Worcester, where they closed a 5-2 deficit to one goal before the Sharks added an empty netter for a 6-4 final. Binghamton bounced back on Saturday with five straight goals to close-out a 6-2 victory over Portland, and the B-Sens kept it going on Sunday with a 4-3 decision in Providence on Josh Hennessy's third period game-winner. This weekend marks the final two games of Albany's eight-game season-series against the Senators. The River Rats are 2-3-0-1 against Binghamton this season and have out-scored the B-Sens 20-15.; Albany has won the last two meetings.

- Leading Scorer: Jamie Johnson (C) - 62 points (23 goals, 39 assists) in 68 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Alexander Salak (G) - 2.74 GAA, .913 save pct., 28-13-0 in 43 GP.

- Who's Hot: Clay Wilson (D) (1-3-4) and Victory Oreskovich (RW) (2-2-4) are both on four game point streaks. Daniel Steiner (RW) has assists in his last three games (0-3-3).

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 24)

Jamie McBain - D - #2

Day Opponent G A Pts. +/- Notable

Wed @ WB/Scranton 0 2 2 +1 Scored a shootout goal

Fri @.Rochester 0 2 2 +2 Assisted on Game-Winner

Sat vs. WB/Scranton 0 1 1 +1

Sun vs. Syracuse 1 0 1 E Scored Game Winning Goal

Totals 4 Games 1 5 6 +4 Extended his point streak to six games

Defenseman Jamie McBain led the River Rats in scoring last week with six points (1-5-6) and a plus-4 rating in four games to earn his club's Player Of The Week nomination. Carolina's second round pick (63rd overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft registered his sixth and seventh multi-point games of the season with back-to-back two assist efforts against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday and Rochester on Friday. McBain then added his team-leading 34th assist of the season on Saturday against the Penguins and extended his point streak to six games with his seventh goal of the season on Sunday against Syracuse. The Faribault, Minnesota native's 40 points (7-33-40) this season rank second on the River Rats in scoring, eighth among AHL defenseman and tied for eighth among AHL rookies.

Rat Bites:

- LAWSON DEBUTS - Defenseman Kyle Lawson made his professional debut on Sunday, March 14th and recorded a plus-1 rating with two shots on goal in Albany's 3-1 win over Syracuse. Carolina's seventh round pick (198th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft signed a two-year contract with Carolina on March 10th after completing his senior season at Notre Dame.

- MARCH MADNESS - After posting their first sub-500 month of the season in February (6-7-0-1), the River Rats have gone undefeated in the first half of March, with a 5-0-0-2 mark.

- ROAD STREAK - The River Rats are on a season-high four-game road point streak (2-0-0-2) dating back to March 5th in Norfolk. Albany's current seven-game point streak is two shy of their season-high run from November 25th to December 3rd.

- LEAGUE LEADERS - Jerome Samson continues to lead the league in shots with 292, which are 70 more then the AHL's next highest total. Samson's 62 points are tied for eighth in the league and his 32 goals are tied for third. Zach FitzGerald's 65 minor penalties rank first in the league, while his 252 penalty minutes are the third highest in the AHL. Jamie McBain is tied for 8th place among AHL defensemen with 40 points (7-33-40) this season, while Bryan Rodney ranks 14th among defensemen with 35 points (7-28-35).

- ROOKIE LEADERS - Jamie McBain (7-33-40) is tied for eighth place in the league's rookie scoring race, and Chris Terry (15-24-39) is on his heels in a 10th place tie. Zach Boychuk (15-21-36) and Stefan Chaput (10-26-36) are each tied for 13th in scoring among AHL rookies.

River Rats Recent Transactions

March 2010 March 14 ADD - Jerome Samson (RW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

March 13 DELETE - Jerome Samson (RW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

March 12 ADD - Oskar Osala (LW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

March 10 DELETE - Oskar Osala (LW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Kyle Lawson (D) - Signed ATO

March 9 DELETE - Milan Gajic (RW) - Returned on loan to Florida (ECHL)

March 5 ADD - Milan Gajic (RW) - Recalled from loan to Florida (ECHL)

March 3 ADD - Justin Pogge (G) - Loaned by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Oskar Osala (LW) - Loaned by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Cedric Lalande-McNicoll (C) - Loaned by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Harrison Reed (LW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Zach Boychuk (C) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

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

Promotional Information

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day With The Rats

Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 vs. Worcester Sharks

Time: 7:00 p.m. at Times Union Center

Promotions: St. Patrick's Day themed contests, prizes and giveaways.

Ticket Info: Tickets can be purchased by calling the Times Union Center box office at 487-2000, by visiting or calling www.tickets.com at 1-800-30-EVENT, or by visiting select Price Chopper Outlets.

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Chaput, Dodge & Terry (69)

Goals: Jerome Samson (32)

Assists: Jamie McBain (33)

Points: Jerome Samson (62)

Plus/Minus: Stefan Chaput & Nick Dodge (+13)

Penalty Minutes: Zack FitzGerald (252)

Power Play Goals: Jerome Samson (8)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Jerome Samson & Zach Boychuk (5)

Shots: Jerome Samson (292)

Shooting Percentage: Jacob Micflikier (0.215%)

Saves: Justin Peters (1,120)

Wins: Justin Peters (22)

GAA: Justin Pogge (2.55)

Save Percentage: Justin Pogge (0.921)

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River Rats 2010 Calder Cup playoff 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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