Albany Heads Into All-Star Break With Road Sweep In Norfolk

Published on January 28, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Week 17 Recap:

Bolstered by the return of All-Star goaltender Michael Leighton from Carolina, the River Rats were looking to made strides as they headed into the All-Star Break. Their offense sputtered against a tough Hartford team that came in Wednesday and handed the River Rats a 1-0 loss, the third time this year Albany has failed to score in a game. Leighton continued his NHL form as the team headed to Norfolk, Leighton's old stomping grounds with the Blackhawks organization. The River Rats claimed all four points, but had to do so in a shootout on Friday night and in overtime on Saturday. The last minute heroics of both games have brought Albany back into a three-way tie for second place in the East Division.

Week 18 Preview:

The team will get the rare opportunity for some time off, four days during the AHL All-Star break, returning to practice on Thursday, January 31st as they prepare for the beginning of their February game schedule. The River Rats will start the new month with a home game on Friday, February 1st against the Syracuse Crunch, a 7:00 pm face off at the Times Union Center. They will complete their two-game week with a Saturday night game, February 2nd at the Giant Center in Hershey, Albany's fourth and final trip to Hershey during the regular season.

Week 18 Schedule: (Home Games in Bold)

(All games are broadcasted LIVE on ESPN Radio 104.5 FM The Team and on the Internet at www.albanyriverrats.com)

Friday, Feburary 1st - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center

vs. Syracuse Crunch (22-24-2-1, 47 pts)

Third Place, North Division

Albany beat Syracuse 3-2 in their first meeting of the season on October 24th, but since they it has been all Crunch. The Crunch have won four-straight games against Albany, three of them in Syracuse. All the games have been close, hard-fought contests, with the exception of the 6-1 drubbing the Crunch gave the River Rats on January 4th in Albany.

Leading Scorer: Joakim Lindstrom (LW) - 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists) in 36 games played.

Leading Goaltender: Adam Munro (G) - 2.40 GAA, 0.914 save pct., 9-8-1-1 record in 21 GP.

Who's Hot: Clay Wilson (D) - 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) and a +1 rating in last five games played. Joakim Lindstrom (LW) - 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) in last seven games played. Adam Pineault (RW) - 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in last five games played.

Saturday, February 2nd - 7:00 pm - Giant Center

@ Hershey Bears (25-16-0-4, 52 pts)

Tied-Second Place, East Division

The River Rats have evenly split their first six games against Hershey this season and they are 2-1 against the Bears at the Giant Center. Albany has won their last two games against Hershey, winning 4-3 in a shootout on December 9th in Hershey and then a 4-2 win at the Times Union Center on January 18th.

Leading Scorer: Joe Motzko (RW) - 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 37 games played.

Leading Goaltender: Daren Machesney (G) - 2.13 GAA, 0.931 save pct., 13-3-0-2 record in 21 GP.

Who's Hot: Josef Boumedienne (D) - 10 points (1 goal, 9 assists) and a +7 rating in last eight games played. Sami Lepisto (D) - 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) and a +7 rating in last five games played. Kyle Wilson (C) - 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) and a +3 rating in last five games played.

Week 17 Game Results:

1/23/08 Hartford 1 @ Albany 0

ALBANY, NY - Goaltender Michael Leighton made 31 saves on 32 shots in his first start since returning from his NHL call up with Carolina, but Hartford goalie Miika Wiikman stopped all 26 shots he faced to beat Albany 1-0. The Wolf Pack got a first period power play goal from Alex Bourret at 8:28, the only scoring they would need as Wiikman recorded his first career AHL shutout; it was just the third shutout of the season against Albany. Brandon Nolan had a 10-game point streak snapped and Keith Aucoin had a 6-game point streak broken in the game. 1st Star - Miika Wiikman, 2nd Star - Michael Leighton, 3rd Star - Alex Bourret.

1/25/08 Albany 3 @ Norfolk 2 - Shootout (2-1)

NORFOLK, VA - The Admirals took the lead with a first period power play goal from Karl Steward at 14:02. Jakub Petruzalek set up Brandon Nolan's 19th goal of the season with a beautiful assist on a two-on-rush in the second period to level the score at 1-1. Petruzalek then scored his 7th of the season at 10:52 of the third period and then he and Jamie Johnson scored Albany's two shootout goals to earn a 4-3 win. Michael Leighton made 36 saves through regulation and overtime, then denied 4-of-5 Norfolk shootout attempts to earn his 14th win of the year. 1st Star - Jakub Petruzalek, 2nd Star - Paul Szczechura, 3rd Star - Michael Leighton.

1/26/08 Albany 4 @ Norfolk 3 - OT

NORFOLK, VA - Norfolk led 2-0 after the opening seven minutes on goals by Junior Lessard and Paul Szczechura, a lead they carried into the third period. But Albany mounted a brilliant comeback with power play goals from Mark Flood and Jamie Johnson to tie the game 2-2. Mario Scalzo put the Admirals back ahead at 11:49, but with the net empty Pat Dwyer scored with 27.5 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. With one minute left in the extra session Norfolk forward Bracken Kearns took a tripping penalty, giving Albany a 4-on-3 power play. Jakub Petruzalek knocked in a rebound from a Brett Carson shot with 15.1 seconds left on the clock to give the River Rats a dramatic 4-3 overtime win. 1st Star - Brandon Nolan, 2nd Star - Junior Lessard, 3rd Star - Paul Szczechura.

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 17)

Jakub Petruzalek - RW - #16 3 GP, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, +2, 2 PIMs

Right wing Jakub Petruzalek was Albany's go to guy in Week 17 as he helped the River Rats earn maximum points in their weekend sweep of the Norfolk Admirals. After Albany was shutout by Hartford on Wednesday, Petruzalek factored in both goals Friday night in Virginia. He set up Brandon Nolan's goal, then scored a goal of his own, before helping win the game with one of the River Rats two shootout goals. Saturday he had one assist in Albany's dramatic third period comeback, then won the game with his overtime goal to clinch the 4-3 win over Norfolk. In 46 games for Albany this season, Petruzalek has 26 points (8 goals, 18 assists).

Rat Bites:

- THE STAR OF EXTRA TIME - RW Jakub Petruzalek scored a shootout goal Friday night and then the game-winning goal in overtime on Saturday, leading the River Rats to a two-game road sweep of Norfolk.

- LEIGHTON RETURNS WITH A VENGENGE -River Rats All-Star goalie Michael Leighton returned from the NHL and picked up back-to-back wins over Norfolk this week. Leighton leads the AHL in goals-against average (2.12), is tied for the lead in shutouts (5), ranks 2nd in the league in save percentage (0.930), is 5th in saves (900) and sixth in minutes (1927).

- BICENTENNIAL - RW Pat Dwyer played in his 200th career Pro game on Saturday in Norfolk. Dwyer capped off his milestone by scoring the game-tying goal with 27 seconds remaining in the third period. Dwyer has 101 points (38 goals, 63 assists) in his 200 pro games, with 186 of those games coming in the AHL.

- A PIMS LEADER - D Tim Conboy leads Albany with 180 penalty minutes in 46 games played this season, which ranks 5th in the AHL and 1st amongst defensemen. Conboy, who is also 2nd in the league in minor penalties, had 163 PIMs in 75 games last year and needs just five minutes to pass Mitch Love's total from the 2006-07 season (184), which led the River Rats.

- THREE PERIODS NOT ENOUGH - In five games against Norfolk this season, Albany has gone into overtime four times and into a shootout twice. The River Rats are 4-0-0-1 against the Admirals this season, winning twice in overtime and once in a shootout. Albany has played in seven overtime/shootout games this season, with a 5-0-2 record.

- OVER THE HILL - C Keith Aucoin is the first Albany skater to reach the 40-point mark this season. Aucoin has 8 goals and 32 assists in 36 games played this year and he ranks 19th in the AHL in points and is tied for 5th in the league in assists.

River Rats Recent Transactions

There were no transactions made during Week 17.

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Jamie Johnson (48)

Goals: Brandon Nolan (19)

Assists: Keith Aucoin (32)

Points: Keith Aucoin (40)

Plus/Minus: Casey Borer (+11)

Penalty Minutes: Tim Conboy (180)

Power Play Goals: Jerome Samson (9)

Short Handed Goals: Keith Aucoin, Nicolas Blanchard, Pat Dwyer (1)

Game-Winning Goals: Dave Gove & Brandon Nolan (4)

Shots: Jerome Samson (131)

Shooting Percentage: Jordan Fox (28.6%)

Saves: Michael Leighton (900)

Wins: Michael Leighton (15)

GAA: Michael Leighton (2.12)

Save Percentage: Michael Leighton (0.930)

East Division Standings:

EAST GP RECORD PTS

Philadelphia 47 (29-15-1-2) 61

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 44 (26-16-0-2) 54

Hershey 45 (25-16-0-4) 54

Albany 48 (26-20-0-2) 54

Binghamton 46 (22-17-4-3) 51

Bridgeport 46 (23-22-1-0) 47

Norfolk 46 (13-27-2-4) 32

The River Rats will enjoy a few days off during the AHL All-Star break. Captain Keith Aucoin and goaltender Michael Leighton will represent Albany in the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok on Monday, January 28th at 7:00 pm in Binghamton, NY. Albany's next home game comes on Friday, February 1st against their I-90 rivals, the Syracuse Crunch at 7:00 pm at the Times Union Center.

Partial season tickets packages and flex tickets for the 2007-08 River Rats season are on sale now. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2008


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