Murphy, Rats Blank Phantoms 1-0

December 31, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


GLENS FALLS, NY - Zach Boychuk scored the game's only goal and River Rats rookie goaltender Mike Murphy turned-aside all 34 shots faced in the contest to earn his first career shutout as Albany blanked the Adirondack Phantoms 1-0 Thursday afternoon at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Boychuk put Albany on the board at 16:02 of the opening period and Murphy took care of the rest, as Albany halted a three-game losing streak and took a 5-1 lead in the 2009-10 Time Warner Cable Cup series.

The rookie forward flew down the left wing on the power play and drove wide of defenseman Logan Stephenson, who hauled down the speedy winger and was whistled for a tripping penalty; despite being sent to the ice, Boychuk was able to muscle a shot on goal and poke-home his own rebound for the first round draft pick's team leading 11th of the season and his third in three games.

Murphy won his eighth game of the season to lift Albany to a 19-14-1-2 record this season, and a 6-8-1-1 mark on the road. Phantoms goalie Johan Backlund stopped 23-of-24 shots and took the loss, as Adirondack fell to 15-15-2-0 this year. The Phantoms out-shot the River Rats 34-24 in the game and went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Albany was 1-for-2 on the man-advantage.

Albany travels to Syracuse Saturday for a 7:30 faceoff against the East Division's Crunch. River Rats 2009-10 pro-rated season and flexible ticket 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 December 31, 2009


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