Banged Up River Rats Limp Into Holiday Break

Published on December 22, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany started off the week with a hard-fought, but low-scoring 2-1 loss in Norfolk on Wednesday night. The Admirals scored twice in the second period and Michael Ryan put the River Rats on the board before the second intermission, but in spite of hitting several posts and the crossbar twice, the Rats could not complete the comeback effort at Scope Arena. Things turned from bad to worse on Friday night in Norfolk as the Admirals took a 2-0 lead in the second period before blowing the game open with three third period goals en route to a 5-0 blowout win. Albany then had to travel 400 miles overnight from Virginia to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, but rallied for a strong effort against the Penguins Saturday night. Mike Angelidis scored two goals and rookie Ryan Weston had a goal and an assist, but the Rats fell just short 4-3 at Wachovia Arena.

While much of the Northeastern United States were being pounded by the first two snowstorms of winter, the River Rats roster took a beating last week during the much milder conditions in Virginia. Albany headed south with five injured players staying behind: Brett Bellemore, Ben Olson, Bobby Hughes, Dan LaCouture and Joe Jensen; rookie Stefan Chaput traveled with the team, but was not quite ready to suit up again. Wednesday saw Albany get their captain Tim Conboy back from the Carolina Hurricanes, only to have Conboy suffer a lower body injury during the game that night against Norfolk. Right wing Jerome Samson also picked up an injury and did not play Friday or Saturday, forcing the River Rats to dress eight defenseman and just 10 forwards for both weekend games. Thus, the AHL's Christmas Break could not have come at a better time for Albany, who is hoping that a few days off will aid the recovery process for their beleaguered roster.

Week 12 Preview:

The River Rats have a light week, just two games this weekend, but it begins a grueling stretch of five games in eight days over the next two weeks of action. Albany returns from the holiday break trying to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday, December 27th at 5:00 pm as they host the Rochester Americans at the Times Union Center. Rochester has been rejuvenated by the success of goaltender Mike Brodeur, who was called up from the defunct Augusta Lynx and shine in his Amerks debut by shutting out the River Rats 4-0 on December 7th. Brodeur has five wins and two shutouts in his first eight appearances for Rochester and his stellar play earned him the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week honors in Week 10.

Immediately after the game on Saturday, Albany will board the team bus and race south on a five-hour ride to Chocolatetown for a 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon face off with the first place Hershey Bears at Giant Center. Hershey has the AHL's best record and also leads the league with a staggering 13-2-0-0 record at home this season. Former River Rats captain Keith Aucoin and former Albany defender Bryan Helmer both spent time in the NHL with Washington recently, but they are back and looking to continue their feverish winning pace.

Week 12 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)

Saturday, December 27 - 5:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Rochester Americans (8-21-0-2, 18 pts)

Seventh Place, North Division

Goaltender Mike Brodeur is the story of Rochester's rise from their early season slumber. Brodeur has started eight straight games for the Amerks, winning five of those games with two shutouts and three 1-goal games. The Americans had their 3-game winning streak snapped on Sunday with a 6-0 loss at home to Grand Rapids. After the Christmas break, Rochester will Hamilton on Friday, December 26th and then travel to Albany Saturday. Even though they have three wins in their last five games, the Amerks have scored just six over that span. Leading Scorer: Janis Sprukts (C) - 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 25 games played. Leading Goaltender: Mike Brodeur (G) - 1.54 GAA, 0.945 save pct., 5-3-0 record in 8 GP. Who's Hot: Kenndal McArdle (LW) - 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in last five games played. Michael Duco (RW) - 2 goals in last five games played. Jacob Micflikier (LW) - 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist) in last five games played. Sunday, December 28 - 5:00 pm - Giant Center - Hershey, PA

@ Hershey Bears (22-7-0-1, 45 pts)

First Place, East Division

Leading the East Division, the Bears are 8-2-0-0 in their last ten games and have been virtually unbeatable (13-2-0-0) at the Giant Center. AHL leading scorer Keith Aucoin is in his biggest scoring drought of the year, with just one assist in his last four games played; perhaps suffering an NHL hangover from being called up by the Washington Capitals for three games. Hershey had their trip to Wilkes-Barre postponed last Friday due to the heavy snowstorm in the northeast, so they only played two games last week; they beat Lowell and Lake Erie in two games at home. Leading Scorer: Keith Aucoin (C) - 37 points (9 goals, 28 assists) in 28 games played. Leading Goaltender: Simeon Varlamov (G) - 2.30 GAA, 0.909 save pct., 11-3-0 record in 14 GP. Who's Hot: Kyle Wilson (C) - 6points (4 goals, 2 assists) and a +6 rating in last five games played. Quintin Laing (LW) - 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and a +4 rating in last five games played. Bryan Helmer (D) - 3 assists in last four games played. Week 11 Game Results:

12/17/08 Albany 1 @ Norfolk 2

12/19/08 Albany 0 @ Norfolk 5

12/20/08 Albany 3 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 11)

Mike Angelidis - C - #10 3 GP, 2 Points (2 Goals, 0 Assists), Even rating, 9 PIMs

Assistant captain Mike Angelidis continues to show his leadership qualities during his third professional season. The Unionville, Ontario native scored two goals on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, his third two-goal game of the season, moving into the team lead with nine goals this season. Angelidis is one of five River Rats to play in all 30 games so far this year, he is fourth on the team with 55 penalty minutes and his 12 points (9 goals, 3 assists) rank eighth.

Rat Bites:

- GOAL-LESS - For the third straight week Albany has been shutout during one of their games, giving them an AHL-leading seven shutouts against this year. There is a big gap between first and second place in this category, three AHL teams have been shutout four times: Lowell, Providence and Syracuse. Six teams have not been shutout this year: Bridgeport, Grand Rapids, Portland, Rockford, San Antonio and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The River Rats were blanked a total of seven times during the entire 2007-08 season.

- ROOKIE GROWS ACCOUNT - After scoring his first professional goal to beat Portland last week, rookie Ryan Weston wasted little time getting his second and third career pro points. Weston tallied his first pro assist and then scored his second career goal on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, giving him the first multi-point game of his career.

- BACK FROM THE STORM - Two weeks ago Albany had six players (4 defensemen, 1 forward, 1 goalie) called up to Carolina at the same time. The call ups started coming back and this past week defensemen Tim Conboy and Brett Carson returned to the River Rats meaning that there are currently no Albany players on call-up with the Hurricanes.

- CLIMBING THE LADDER - River Rats left wing Trevor Gillies had 26 penalty minutes in his last two games, including 19 PIMs on Friday in Norfolk. The Cambridge, Ontario native ranks second in the AHL with 125 penalty minutes and he is fourth in majors (13). Gillies trails San Antonio's Francis Lessard (132 PIM) by seven minutes for the league lead.

- BRICK-STOP MILESTONES - Goaltender Justin Peters made his 18th appearance of the season for Albany on Friday in Norfolk, passing the 1000 minutes played mark on the year. The Blyth, Ontario native also made his 1,500th career AHL save on Friday and he is five games away from playing in his 100th career professional game.

River Rats Recent Transactions

December 19 - ADD Brett Carson (D) - Returned on loan from Carolina (NHL).

December 17 - ADD Tim Conboy (D) - Returned on loan from Carolina (NHL).

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Five players tied with (30)

Goals: Mike Angelidis (9)

Assists: Mark Flood & Jakub Petruzalek (11)

Points: Jakub Petruzalek (19)

Plus/Minus: Steve Ward (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Trevor Gillies (125)

Power Play Goals: Stefan Chaput, Dwight Helminen & Michael Ryan (3)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer, Mark Flood & Dwight Helminen (1)

Game-Winning Goals: Seven players tied with (1)

Shots: Jerome Samson (79)

Shooting Percentage: Ryan Weston (25.0%)

Saves: Justin Peters (531)

Wins: Daniel Manzato (6)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.76)

Save Percentage: Justin Peters (0.913)

####

The River Rats are currently off for the AHL's Christmas Break and will return to action on Saturday, December 27th at 5:00 pm against the Rochester Americans at the Times Union Center.

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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American Hockey League Stories from December 22, 2008


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