Albany Looks To Sweep Tonight

April 19, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


The River Rats have taken a 3-0 lead in their first round, East Divisional semi-final series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Nick Dodge scored the game-winning goal with 51 seconds remaining in Game 1 of the series on Wednesday, as Albany earned a 4-3 home win despite giving up a one-goal lead at 18:38 of the third. The River Rats were in store for more late-game heroics in Game 2 of the series on Friday night, as Jamie McBain notched the game-winner with 4:02 remaining in Regulation, just 1:08 after Konstantin Pushkarev had evened the score for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Albany claimed a 3-2 home victory. The series shifted to Wilkes-Barre, PA., on Sunday afternoon, when River Rats Assistant Captain Mike Angelidis broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and Jerome Samson scored the eventual game-winner minutes later to lift the Albany River Rats to a 2-1 win.

River Rats First Round 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)

Game 1 - Wed., Apr. 14: W-B/Scranton 3 @ Albany 4

Game 2 - Fri., Apr. 16: W-B/Scranton 2 @ Albany 3

Game 3 - Sun., Apr. 18: Albany 2 @ W-B/Scranton 1

Game 4 - Mon., Apr. 19: Albany @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05

*Game 5 - Wed., Apr. 21: W-B/Scranton @ Albany, 7:00

*Game 6 - Sat., Apr. 24: Albany @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05

*Game 7 - Sun., Apr. 25: W-B/Scranton @ Albany, 5:00

*if necessary

Rat Bites:

- ALL TIME RECORD WHEN LEADING A SERIES... - The River Rats are 6-3 when leading a playoff series 1-0, 6-0 when leading a series 2-0, and 5-0 when leading a series 3-0. Albany is 4-1 in games in which it can sweep a series.

- PENGUINS DOWN 3-0 - The Penguins face a 3-0 series deficit for just the second time in their history. In the only prior instance, the 2008 Calder Cup Finals against Chicago, Wilkes-Barre won the next two contests before falling in Game 6.

- TIGHT THIRD FRAME - All three of Albany's victories have been decided by one-goal in the third period. The River Rats have out-scored the Penguins 5-4 in the final frame, while out-shooting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 34-33.

- DODGE JOINS THE CLUB - Nick Dodge recorded the 23rd two-goal playoff game in River Rats history on Wednesday night, becoming the 17th Albany skater all time to accomplish that feat. Bryan Rodney is the only other current River Rat to have turned-in a multi-goal playoff game for Albany, having done so on April 20, 2008 at Philadelphia. No River Rat has ever recorded a hat trick in the playoffs. Four River Rats players have scored two-goals in a playoff game on multiple occasions: Steve Brule did so four times, while Eric Bertrand, Scott Pellerin and Krzystof Oliwa each did so twice.

- ROUND TWO? - Albany has not advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs since 1998, when they made it to the third round (Western Conference Finals) and fell 4-2 to Philadelphia. The winner of the Rats-Penguins series will go on to face the winner of the Hershey-Bridgeport divisional semi-final, which Hershey currently leads 3-1. The Sound Tigers and Bears next meet on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in Hershey.

- PLAYOFF LEAGUE LEADERS - Nick Dodge is tied for ninth in the American Hockey League with four points (3-1-4). Jamie McBain's 13 shots in the playoffs are tied for fourth place in the AHL. Justin Peters tops the circuit with three wins, while he's tied for 5th among the league's goaltenders with a 2.00 GAA. Peters also ranks second with 88 saves and fifth with a 0.936 save percentage. Chris Terry ranks fourth among rookie scorers with three points (1-2-3), while McBain is in a first-place tie among rookies with two goals.

River Rats Recent Transactions

April 2010 April 16 ADD - Michal Jordan (D) - Signed to ATO

April 13 ADD - Jay Harrison (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

April 12 DELETE - Kevin Baker (D) - Released from PTO

DELETE - Jason Lepine (D) - Released from PTO

DELETE - Thomas Dignard (D) - Released from ATO

DELETE - Mike McKenzie (F) - Released from ATO

April 11 ADD - Bryan Rodney (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Casey Borer (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Drayson Bowman (LW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Jamie McBain (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

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

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

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: Nineteen Players Tied (3)

Goals: Nick Dodge (3)

Assists: Five Players Tied (2)

Points: Nick Dodge (4)

Plus/Minus: Casey Borer & Bryan Rodney (+4)

Penalty Minutes: Jay Harrison (9)

Power Play Goals:

Short Handed Goals:

Game-Winning Goals: Nick Dodge, Jamie McBain & Jerome Samson (1)

Shots: Jamie McBain (13)

Shooting Percentage: Nick Dodge (0.333%)

Saves: Justin Peters (88)

Wins: Justin Peters (3)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.00)

Save Percentage: Justin Peters (0.936)

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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.



American Hockey League Stories from April 19, 2010


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