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Leighton Baffles Wilkes-Barre 3-0

March 21, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


WILKES-BARRE, PA - Rookie forward Ben Cottreau scored two goals in his pro hockey debut and goaltender Michael Leighton recorded his AHL-leading seventh shutout of the season as the Albany River Rats blanked the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-0 Friday night at Wachovia Arena.

This big-time East Division match up got off to an intense start with two marathon fisticuffs bouts early in the first period, both of which drew standing ovations from the crowd. Joel Rechlicz dropped the gloves with Wilkes-Barre veteran enforcer Dennis Bonvie and on the next drop of the puck Trevor Gillies went toe-to-toe with Paul Bissonnette. Albany capitalized on the momentum when Kiel McCleod picked up his own rebound and snapped the puck past goaltender John Curry at 15:44, his fifth goal of the year assisted by Marc Cavosie and Bryan Rodney.

Mercyhurst College senior Ben Cottreau signed with the River Rats on Thursday and probably would have been content to see Albany win the game while he make his AHL and pro hockey debut, but there was a storybook script in the works for this game. Early in the second period, Cottreau collected a rebound in the low slot and fired a wrist shot into the open net at 2:03 for first career AHL and pro goal, assisted by Chris Blight and Mike Angelidis. But the dream start for the rookie was not done; two minutes later Cottreau found another rebound in his reach and this time he fired a scorching wrist shot into the top corner at 4:08. Angelidis again assisted on the goal, Cottreau's second goal of the game and his career, giving the River Rats a 3-0 lead. The Penguins pulled starter John Curry from the net after Cottreau's goal, replacing him with backup David Brown, a move that seemed to stop the bleeding.

Albany's three-goal lead was all goaltender Michael Leighton needed as he constantly frustrated the Penguins and dazzled the fans with save after save. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stormed out in the third period, looking for a spark, but Leighton kept the fire from lighting. Albany fought off the Penguins to win 3-0 and to move within one point Wilkes-Barre for second place in the East Division standings.

Michael Leighton stopped all 35 shots in the game, including 15 shots in the third period, to record his AHL-leading seventh shutout of the season and his 25th win of the year as Albany improved to 39-26-2-4. John Curry was tagged with the loss in goal for Wilkes-Barre, stopping 10-of-13 shots in 24:06 of action as the Penguins dropped to 41-24-0-3; backup David Brown stopped all nine shots he faced in 35:44 of relief. Albany was 0-for-1 on the power play, while Wilkes-Barre was 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

Notes: McLeod's first period goal marked the first time in 12 games that Albany had scored the first goal of a game, spanning back to Mark Flood's power play goal on February 24 in Bridgeport. In 11 straight games allowing the first goal, the River Rats posted a 7-2-1-1 record (16 points). Leighton's seventh shutout of the year adds to his River Rats single season franchise record and it gave him 29 career AHL shutouts, moving him ahead of Jason LaBarbera for sole possession of sixth on the AHL's all-time list.

The River Rats continue their seven-game road stretch on Saturday, March 22nd at the DCU Center, taking on the Worcester Sharks at 7:05 pm for the fourth and final time during the regular season. Albany's next home game is on Wednesday, April 9th against the Norfolk Admirals; a 7:00 pm face off at the Times Union Center.

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