Penguins Hold Off River Rats 4-3

Published on April 11, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


ALBANY, NY - Former River Rat Dave Gove scored two goals, including the game-winner, to lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Albany River Rats Saturday night at the Times Union Center.

It was a playoff type atmosphere for Albany's final regular season home game, as 6,429 filled the building to see this heavyweight East Division battle. Former River Rat forward Dave Gove opened the scoring with an excellent shorthanded effort. Gove broke up a pass and cleared the defensive zone, then shadowed Jakub Petruzalek down the ice and picked off the clearing attempt and snapped a quick shot over the glove of goaltender Michael Leighton to score an unassisted, shorthanded goal, putting the Penguins ahead 1-0.

Five minutes into the second period it was 2-0 when J.M. Daoust collect the puck off the back boards and threw a backhand shot towards the net that snuck between Leighton's right pad and the near post at 5:03. But Albany rallied in the closing minutes of the period, starting with red-hot forward Nicholas Blanchard tipping in a power play goal at 18:56. The goal was Blanchard's 11th goal of the season, assisted by Joey Mormina and Ben Cottreau, and it extended his career-high goal-scoring streak to five games. The River Rats tied the game in the final seconds of the period when defenseman Bryan Rodney raced in from the blue line and jumped on a loose puck, poking it up over the shoulder of goaltender John Curry with 3.5 seconds left.

The Penguins retook the lead at 10:46 of the third period as Gove set up Tim Wallace at the far post on a well-executed two-on-one rush. Gove then tallied his second goal of the game, and 22nd of the year, blasting home a slap shot from above the left face off circle at 15:58. But the River Rats would not go away, cutting the lead in half at 17:53 on Mike Angelidis' 10th goal of the season, a backhand shot from the top of the crease, assisted by Jerome Samson and Brett Carson. Albany received a power play with 38 seconds remaining in the game and pulled Leighton for a six-on-four advantage, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held on for the 4-3 win.

John Curry recorded his 24th win of the season as he stopped 34-of-37 shots, helping the Penguins improve to 47-26-2-4. Michael Leighton made 28 saves on 32 shots in the loss for Albany, who fell to 43-28-3-4 on the year. The River Rats finished the game 1-for-4 on the power play, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was 0-for-3.

Notes: Prior to the opening face off River Rats goaltender Michael Leighton and defenseman Tim Conboy were recognized for their recent AHL awards. Leighton was presented the First Team AHL All-Star trophy and the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial award as the AHL's outstanding goaltender. Conboy was presented with a trophy for being selected as Albany's Man of the Year. Trevor Gillies wore the captain's "C" tonight and skated in his 300th career AHL game. Defenseman Joey Mormina skated in his 200th AHL game tonight.

Albany will complete the 2007-08 regular season on Sunday, April 13th in Philadelphia for a 5:05 pm game against the Phantoms at the Wachovia Spectrum. The 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs will begin on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008.

River Rats playoff ticket packages and individual game tickets for the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs are on sale now, with special pricing available for children and seniors. 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 April 11, 2008


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