Albany River Rats Notebook

Published on January 22, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


The Albany River Rats play their final two games prior to the AHL All-Star break this week, hosting Syracuse Wednesday, January 24 at the Times Union Center and playing Saturday, January 27 at Manchester. News, notes and storylines heading into this week's action:

* The River Rats are 20-20-2-1 (.500) for 43 points after 43 games, a 12-point improvement over last season. They have won two of their last three games after going 0-5-0-1 January 5-14.

* The River Rats recorded their 20th victory of the season with a 4-1 win January 20 vs. Philadelphia in their 43rd game. They did not register their 20th win last season until February 26 in their 59th game.

* Center Keith Aucoin has accrued 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in his last 18 games. His 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) since December 31 are tied with Norfolk's Brandon Bochenski and Providence's David Krejci for the most in the AHL. The native of Waltham, Mass., will represent Albany at the 2007 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic January 28-29 in Toronto, Ontario.

* Left wing Ryan Bayda has scored goals in seven of his last nine games, registering nine goals and three assists in that span. His nine goals since December 31 are foremost in the AHL.

* Defenseman Jeff Finger returned to the lineup January 17 after being sidelined for nine games due to injury. The River Rats are 18-14-2-0 (.559) with Finger in the lineup and 2-6-0-1 (.278) in the games he has missed. Finger has two goals and seven assists with a plus-6 rating in 34 games this season.

* Left wing Cody McLeod registered his first career hat trick with three goals in Albany's 4-1 win January 20 vs. Philadelphia. The hat trick was the third of the season for the River Rats and the 40th in franchise history. McLeod was the sixth player to score Albany's first three goals in a game and the second to record a natural hat trick (three consecutive goals in a game).

ALBANY RIVER RATS UPCOMING GAMES

Albany River Rats vs. Syracuse Crunch (Columbus Blue Jackets)

When: Wednesday, January 24 at Times Union Center, 7 p.m.

Radio/Internet: ESPN Radio 104.5 FM (WTMM) & B2 Networks.

Promotions: First 100 fans through the doors receive a free lift pass from Killington Ski Resort. Everyone else receives a buy one, get one free lift pass ($65 savings).

Season Series: River Rats trail, 1-2-0-0 (0-1-0-0 at Times Union Center).

Last Meeting: River Rats lost 6-2 January 19 at Syracuse.

Notes: Syracuse has earned points in nine of its last 13 games, going 6-3-0-4 over that stretch...The Crunch have registered eight of their 14 wins away from home (8-12-0-3)...Syracuse has netted 53 of its 121 goals on the power play (43.8%), including nine of its 14 goals against Albany...RW Joe Motzko (12-23-35), LW Mark Hartigan (19-13-32) and C Geoff Platt (18-14-32) have accounted for 40.5% of the Crunch goals...Ex-Rat D Derrick Walser has recorded 15 points (4-11-15) with a plus-6 rating in 21 games with Syracuse since being acquired by Columbus from Carolina November 29 in exchange for Mark Flood...G Tomas Popperle (11-12-3, 3.00 GAA, .898 SPCT) has been between the pipes for 11 of Syracuse's 14 wins.

Albany River Rats at Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings)

When: Saturday, January 27 at Verizon Wireless Arena, 7:35 p.m.

Radio/Internet: ESPN Radio 104.5 FM (WTMM) & B2 Networks.

Season Series: 0-0-0-0.

Last Meeting: River Rats lost 2-0 April 8, 2006 at Manchester.

Notes: First of two meetings this season between the River Rats and Monarchs...Manchester enters the week in first place in the Atlantic Division with 59 points (26-12-6-1) and has won straight games and 11 of its last 13...Albany has never won in Manchester, going 0-6-1-1 in eight visits to the Verizon Wireless Arena dating to the 2001-02 season...The Monarchs are the AHL's top defensive team (tied with Hamilton), allowing an average of just 2.44 goals-against per games, and have the circuit's fourth-best power play (51-for-247, 20.6%)...LW Noah Clarke (16-19-35) and C Patrick O'Sullivan (16-16-32) lead Manchester in scoring...G Jason LaBarbera ranks first among AHL goaltenders in minutes (2,299), saves (1,169) and shutouts (five), second in wins (23) and save percentage (.931) and third in goals-against average (2.27).

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American Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2007


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