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Albany Takes Two Of Three In Games Away From Times Union Center

March 9, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


The River Rats had four straight days without a game in Week 22 for the players to rest and recharge before a Friday night contest in Springfield. Forward Yannick Tifu returned to the ice for the first time since he was injured in the February 19th team-bus accident, and he notched an assist in the Rats' 5-3 victory over the Falcons. Pat Dwyer and Ryan Weston each scored two goals in the contest, marking each player's first two-goal performance of the season and the first of Weston's professional career. After the game Albany made the short trek to Worcester for Saturday's game at the DCU Center, where Tifu scored his first AHL goal of the season in a 4-1 losing effort against the Sharks. On Sunday the River Rats headed to their "home-away-from-home," the Glens Falls Civic Center, for a game against the Syracuse Crunch. Dwyer scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period, and ECHL call-up Aaron Clark got his first tally in an Albany uniform as the River Rats made it 3-for-3 on the season in Glens Falls with a 4-1 win over the Crunch.

Week 23 Preview:

The River Rats shaved two points off their deficit with Binghamton, but still trail the Senators by 12 points with 18 games remaining in the season. Albany still has two games in hand on the B-Sens and face them twice in April, but they have a difficult stretch of games coming up. This week the Rats host the first three of a four-game home stand at the Times Union Center, beginning Wednesday night with their eighth and final game of the season against the Norfolk Admirals. Friday Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is in town for a 7:00 pm face off - the home team has won every game of the season series thus far. Saturday, March 14th the River Rats battle the Philadelphia Phantoms in a special 5:00 pm face off; the Rats currently trail the Phantoms by six points for fifth place in the Division.

Albany lost the services of rookie center Brandon Sutter on Monday, as the Hurricanes' 2007 first round draft pick completed his two-week conditioning loan after Sunday's game in Glens Falls. Carolina recalled Sutter to the NHL club on Monday and said that he would be available for Monday nights nationally-televised game against the New York Rangers (Versus & Versus-HD, 7 pm). With six players still sidelined with injuries, the River Rats may need to call on some ECHL players this week if none of Albany's players on recall in Raleigh get sent down.

Week 23 Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on 104.5 FM "The Team" ESPN Radio, are streamed free over the Internet at www.albanyriverrats.com and can be watched via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com)

Wednesday, March 11 - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Norfolk Admirals (26-31-3-5, 60 pts)

Seventh Place, East Division

Norfolk is two points behind Albany for last place in the East Division, but the River Rats have three games in hand on the Admirals. In four games last week Norfolk went 2-2 with two home wins against Lowell; however, their two losses last week were against East Division opponents Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Rookie goalie Riku Helenius has played in 16 of Norfolk's last 19 games, since Karri Ramo and Mike McKenna were recalled to Tampa Bay. The Lightning were very active at the NHL trade deadline and will have new faces in the lineup this week. Richard Petiot debuted last week, while East Greenbush native Matt Lashoff was assigned to the Admirals and could make his debut on Wednesday. Forward Brock Hooton, who played in one game for Albany this season, is currently on a PTO with Norfolk. Wednesday will be the final game of an eight game season series between Albany and Norfolk. The home team has won each of the first seven games in the season series, giving the Admirals the 4-3 edge.

Leading Scorer: Brandon Bochenski (RW) - 48 points (25 goals, 23 assists) in 61 GP.

Leading Goaltender: Riku Helenius (G) - 2.34 GAA, .929 save pct., 7-8-0-1 in 16 GP.

Who's Hot: Blair Jones (C) - 6 points (5 goals, 1 assist) and a +3 rating in his last four games played. Justin Keller (LW) - 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and a +1 rating in his last five games played. Zenon Konopka (C) - 4 assists and a +2 rating in his last five games played.

Friday, March 13 - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (39-21-2-2, 82 pts)

Third Place, East Division

The Penguins are eight points in front of fourth place Binghamton and appear to be in a solid position heading towards the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs. Currently four points behind both Bridgeport and Hershey, the Penguins can still improve on their third place seeding; however, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have lost six of their last nine games. The home team has won each of the first five meetings this season between the Penguins and the River Rats, giving Wilkes-Barre Scranton a 3-2 advantage in the series. After Friday's game, there are two regular season games remaining this year between the clubs; March 16th in Albany and on April 10th in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Leading Scorer: Jeff Taffe (C) - 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists) in 59 GP.

Leading Goaltender: John Curry (G) - 2.39 GAA, 0.917 save pct., 25-12-0-3 in 38 GP.

Who's Hot: Janne Pesonen (LW) - 9 points (6 goals, 3 assists) and a +2 rating in his last seven games played. Mark Letestu (C) - 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) and a +4 rating in his last seven games played. Jeff Taffe (C) - 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) and a +1 rating in his last four games played.

Saturday, March 14 - 5:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Philadelphia Phantoms (32-26-2-2, 68 pts)

Fifth Place, East Division

The Phantoms are six points behind the Binghamton Senators, but they have two games in hand on the B-Sens with 18 games remaining. The Phantoms went 2-2-0-0 in their last four games and 6-6-0-0 in their last 12. Philadelphia won it's first three games this season against Albany, shutting them out 3-0 on October 25th and 5-0 on November 19th before the River Rats finally broke the shut-out streak that carried over from the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs in a January 18th 3-1 loss. In their last meeting on January 31st, the River Rats beat Philadelphia 2-1 at Wachovia Spectrum. The teams still have half of their season series to play, with their next three games coming on March 22nd in Albany, April 1st in Philadelphia, and finally on April 8th in Albany.

Leading Scorer: Jared Ross (C) - 49 points (22 goals, 27 assists) in 47 GP.

Leading Goaltender: Scott Munroe (G) - 2.62 GAA, .963 save pct., 23-17-1-3 in 42 GP.

Who's Hot: Jonathan Matsumoto (C) - 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in his last nine games played. Jared Ross (C) - 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in his last five games played. Boyd Kane (LW) - 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in his last 3 games played.

Week 22 Game Results:

March 6, 2009 Albany 5 @ Springfield 3

March 7, 2009 Albany 1 @ Worcester 4

March 8, 2009 Syracuse 1 @ Albany 4 - Glens Falls Civic Center

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 22)

Pat Dwyer - RW - #24 3 GP, 4 Goals, +3, 0 PIMs, 2 SHG, 1 GWG

Captain Pat Dwyer led by example in Week 22 as he netted four goals in three games, including two shorthanded goals and one game-winner for the River Rats. The Great Falls, Montana native started the week with a two-goal performance at Springfield, his first multi-goal game of the season, helping Albany to a 5-3 win over the Falcons. His first goal on Friday was his 30th point of the season, making Dwyer the sixth River Rats player this season to reach that milestone. On Sunday the captain was at it again as he scored two goals in the third period, including the game-winner and his second shorthanded goal of the week, as Albany beat Syracuse 4-1 at the Glens Falls Civic Center. On the season, Dwyer has 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) in 51 games; he leads the team with three shorthanded goals, is tied for second on the team in goals and ranks fourth in points.

Rat Bites:

- AN AWARDED GOAL - The River Rats received an awarded goal for the first time this season with one minute left against Syracuse on Sunday in Glens Falls. Captain Pat Dwyer was hauled down on a breakaway by Crunch center Mike York at the 19:00 mark of the third period. Ordinarily the referee would award a penalty shot, but since Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta was pulled for the extra attacker, Albany and Dwyer were credited with a shorthanded empty net goal.

- FIRST STRIKE - Left wing Aaron Clarke scored his first goal for Albany on Sunday against Syracuse. Clarke, called up from the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers, has chipped in with four points (1 goal, 3 assists) and a +3 plus-minus rating in seven games for the River Rats. The goal was his second career AHL goal; Clarke scored his first AHL goal with Binghamton on December 27th at Hershey, the game-winning goal.

- DOWN MEN - Albany played all three games with 17 skaters and two goaltenders; one player short of the 20-man maximum allowed lineup, so shorthanded situations did not faze the River Rats. Captain Pat Dwyer scored two shortys to increase his team-leading total to three this season and bump him up to a twelve-player tie for fourth in the AHL in that category.

- BACK FROM THE CRASH - Seven players were held out of Albany's first two games following the bus crash with injuries from the accident. D Brett Carson came back last week and this week saw the return of LW Yannick Tifu. Tifu had a big weekend by recording three points, including his first AHL goal of the year, helping Albany to two wins in three games. Five players remain sidelined due to injuries from the crash: Casey Borer, Nicholas Blanchard, Jonathan Paiement, Joe Jensen and Bobby Hughes.

- CARSON BACK WITH A VENGENCE - Defenseman Brett Carson missed two games due to an injury in the bus crash, but has come back on fire. Carson has recorded points in five straight games (1 goal, 4 assists) and on Sunday in Glens Falls he played in his 200th career Pro game.

River Rats Recent Transactions

March 9 - DELETE Brandon Sutter (C) - Recalled from Conditioning Loan by Carolina (NHL).

March 3 - DELETE Dwight Helminen (C) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL).

March 3 - DELETE Ryan Cruthers (RW) - Released from PTO

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Mike Angelidis & Nick Dodge (62)

Goals: Michael Ryan (25)

Assists: Jakub Petruzalek (30)

Points: Jakub Petruzalek (47)

Plus/Minus: Josef Melichar (+7)

Penalty Minutes: Mike Angelidis (135)

Power Play Goals: Michael Ryan (8)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (3)

Game-Winning Goals: Michael Ryan (4)

Shots: Jerome Samson (173)

Shooting Percentage: Michael Ryan (20.5%)

Saves: Justin Peters (1,122)

Wins: Justin Peters (15)

GAA: Daniel Manzato (2.73)

Save Percentage: Daniel Manzato (0.911)

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Albany will begin a four-game home stand at the Times Union Center on Wednesday, March 11th as they host the Norfolk Admirals for a 7:00 pm face off.

River Rats flex ticket packages and individual game tickets are on sale now at the River Rats office and the Times Union Center Box Office. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.

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