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Rats Look To Extend Streak After Break

January 18, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany went 2-1-0-0 last week to build an eight-point lead over the third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Adirondack Phantoms in the East Division standings. The River Rats opened their week by allowing 10 goals to the division leading Hershey Bears, including five goals in the first period. Alexandre Giroux had a five-point night as the Bears coasted to a 10-4 win at the Times Union Center. Albany rebounded in dramatic fashion the following night at home, as defenseman Jonathan Paiement tied the game with 14.5 seconds left in regulation and Nick Dodge scored the overtime-winner to lift Albany to a 4-3 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. River Rats forward Jacob Micflikier recorded his first career AHL hat trick Sunday afternoon in Providence to give Albany a 4-1 victory in their final game before the All-Star Break.

Week 17 Preview:

Justin Peters and Bryan Rodney will represent the River Rats in the Time Warner Cable 2010 AHL All-Star Skills Competition and Classic. Fans can catch all of the action on Time Warner Cable 3 in Albany, beginning with coverage of tonight's Skills Competition at 8:00 p.m. and concluding with Tuesday night's All-Star Game at 6:00 p.m. The River Rats host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then travel to Adirondack for Game Eight of the Time Warner Cable Cup series on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Week 17 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, January 22nd - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers (21-19-2-3, 47 pts)

6th Place, Atlantic Division

- The Sound Tigers lost four straight games last week and fell to sixth place in the Atlantic Division. Bridgeport returns to the Times Union Center just one week after suffering a 4-3 overtime loss to the River Rats. The Sound Tigers went on to drop their final game of the week 4-2 to the Worcester Sharks on Sunday. Friday night marks the third-of-four games this season between Albany and Bridgeport. The River Rats lead the season-series 2-0 and have out-scored the Sound Tigers 8-4. The clubs play their final regular season match-up on Tuesday, January 26th in Connecticut.

- Leading Scorer: Sean Bentivoglio (C) - 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 41 GP. Greg Mauldin (LW) - 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 42 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Scott Munroe (G) - 2.40 GAA, .921 save pct., 11-10-1 in 23 GP.

- Who's Hot: Jesse Joensuu (LW) has 13 points (5-8-13) in his last eleven games. Sean Bentivoglio (LW) is on a two-game goal-scoring streak. Greg Muldin (LW) is on a four game points streak (3-1-4), with a plus-2 rating over that stretch.

Saturday, January 23rd - 7:00 pm - Glens Falls Civic Center - Glens Falls, NY

vs. Adirondack Phantoms (20-18-2-0, 42 pts)

T-3rd Place, East Division

- Adirondack went a perfect 3-0-0-0 last week to climb into a third place tie with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the East Division. The Phantoms opened their week with a 3-2 overtime win at home against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and then swept a pair of games in Norfolk, 3-2 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday. Goaltenders John Grahame and Johan Backlund have shared time evenly during Adirondack's last 12 games. Saturday marks Game Eight of the 12 game Time Warner Cable Cup series between the River Rats and the Phantoms. Albany won the first four games of the series, but Adirondack has taken two of the last three meetings to cut Albany's TWCC record to 5-1-1-0. The River Rats have out-scored Adirondack 18-13 this season and the team's next faceoff in Albany on February 20th.

- Leading Scorer: Jon Matsumoto (C) - 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) in 40 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Johan Backlund (G) - 2.67 GAA, .910 save pct., 12-8-0 in 21 GP.

- Who's Hot: Krys Kolanos (LW) is on a three-game goal-scoring streak and has five points (3-2-5) with a plus-3 rating in his last three games. David Laliberte (RW) is on a three-game assist streak and has a plus-3 rating over that stretch. Johan Backlund (G) has won six straight games.

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 16)

Jacob Micflikier - RW - #18

Day Opponent G A Pts. Notable

Fri. vs. HER 0 0 0

Sat. vs. BRI 0 1 1 Tallied his ninth assist of the season

Sun. @ PRO 3 0 3 Scored his first career AHL hat trick

Totals 3 1 4 Climbed to sixth place in the River Rats scoring race, despite playing in just 22 of Albany's 43 games.

River Rats forward Jacob Micflikier led his team in scoring for the second consecutive week with four points (3-1-4) in three games to earn Albany's Player Of The Week nomination. The third year forward recorded his ninth assist of the season Saturday night against Bridgeport in Albany's 4-3 overtime win, and then tallied his first career AHL Hat trick Sunday afternoon in Providence to lift the River Rats to a 4-1 victory. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native ranks sixth on the team in scoring with 18 points (9-9-18), despite playing in just 22 of Albany's 43 games this season. His 0.82 points per game this season rank second to Pat Dwyer's 0.83 mark, and Micflikier is the only skater on Albany's current roster without a penalty this year.

Rat Bites:

- RAT TRICK - Jacob Micflikier scored Albany's first hat trick of the season Sunday afternoon in the River Rats' 4-1 win over the Providence Bruins. The feat marked Albany's 45th hat trick in franchise history, and was the first since Pat Dwyer's trick on March 21, 2009 in a 4-5 loss at Syracuse. Dwyer, Matthew Pistilli, Drayson Bowman, Jerome Samson and Brad Herauf all had two-goal games this year for Albany.

- SEASON-HIGH STREAK - Jerome Samson tied Albany's season-high five-game point streak Sunday with a goal against Providence, marking the second time this season that Samson has hit the five-game mark. He currently shares the season-high record with Chris Terry, Jacob Micflikier and Mike Angelidis.

- IRON MEN - Stefan Chaput, Nick Dodge and Chris Terry are the only Albany skaters to have played in all 43 River Rats games this season. Dodge was the only River Rat to play in all 80 games for the club last year.

- FIRST GOAL - The River Rats show an 18-1-1-1 record when scoring the game's first goal and are 14-0-2-1 when leading after the first period.

- THIRD GOAL - Albany is 19-4-2-2 when scoring three or more goals in a game.

- LEAGUE LEADERS - Jerome Samson continues to lead the league in shots with 186, while Zach FitzGerald's 35 minor penalties also top the circuit. Jacob Micflikier's 0.281 shooting percentage is second in the league and Justin Peters' 789 saves are good for fifth place. Zach Boychuk (11-13-24) and Stefan Chaput (7-17-24) are tied for 12th in the league's rookie scoring race.

River Rats Recent Transactions

January 2010 January 16 ADD - Mike Morrison (G) - Recalled from loan to Florida (ECHL)

January 15 DELETE - Drayson Bowman (LW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

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

ADD - Tom Zanoski (LW) - Signed PTO

January 14 ADD - Harrison Reed (RW) - Reassigned by Carolina (NHL) from Florida (ECHL)

January 12 DELETE - Harrison Reed (RW) - Reassigned by Carolina (NHL) to Florida (ECHL)

January 9 DELETE - Marc Cavosie (C) - Released from PTO

January 7 DELETE - Jerome Samson (RW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

January 6 ADD - Marc Cavosie (C) - Signed to PTO

January 5 DELETE - Jiri Tlusty (LW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

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

January 2 ADD - Jiri Tlusty (LW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Zach Boychuk (C) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

January 1 ADD - Matthew Pistilli (RW) - Recalled from loan to Florida (ECHL)

ADD - Matt Schepke (LW) - Signed to PTO

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

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

Promotional Information

Hall of Fame Night

Date: Friday, January 22, 2010 vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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

Dollar Dogs: All fans can get $1.00 hot dogs and small sodas at select Times Union Center concession stands.

HOF: John Cunniff, Geordie Kinnear and Steve Sullivan make up the first class to be inducted into the River Rats Hall Of Fame. The three will have their names and history with the organization displayed in the Times Union Center Exhibition Hall. Other historical pieces in the Hall of Fame include a replica of the 1995 Calder Cup Championship trophy, along with team and league awards, signed memorabilia and more.

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness: The Lustgarten Foundation will set up a table with information about pancreatic cancer and with 50/50 tickets to support the Seventh Annual Capital District Walk for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Elm Avenue Park on Sunday September 12th

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 (43)

Goals: Jerome Samson (15), Zach Boychuk & Pat Dwyer (11)

Assists: Jerome Samson (18), Stefan Chaput (17), Jamie McBain (14)

Points: Jerome Samson (33), Zach Boychuk & Stefan Chaput (24)

Plus/Minus: Jonathan Paiement (+10), Nick Dodge (+8), Jacob Micflikier (+7)

Penalty Minutes: Zack FitzGerald (125), Nicolas Blanchard (109)

Power Play Goals: Drayson Bowman, Zach Boychuk, Pat Dwyer & Jerome Samson (3)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Zach Boychuk (4), Jerome Samson (3)

Shots: Jerome Samson (186)

Shooting Percentage: Jacob Micflikier (0.281%)

Saves: Justin Peters (789)

Wins: Justin Peters (15)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.41)

Save Percentage: Mike Murphy (0.923)

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River Rats 2009-10 pro-rated season and flexible 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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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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