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Petruzalek's OT Goal Stuns Admirals

January 26, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


NORFOLK, VA - The Albany River Rats took maximum points in the two-game weekend series when they erased a 2-0 third period deficit to win an overtime thriller 4-3 over the Norfolk Admirals Saturday night at the Norfolk Scope.

Three of their four meetings have gone passed regulation time, but the River Rats fell into a hole early in the first period when Norfolk scored twice in the first eight minutes. Junior Lessard scored at 1:31, when he fumbled a pass that faked out goaltender Michael Leighton and Lessard had an open net to slide the puck in after he regained control. The Admirals doubled their lead on a Paul Szczechura goal at 6:57 as he combined with Karl Stewart for an excellent give-and-go. Stewart's return pass was precise it found the out-stretched backhand of Szczechura who redirected the puck into the open net. After the second goal the River Rats called their one and only timeout, looking to settle down Norfolk's momentum. Two fights followed; Tim Conboy dropped the gloves with Jay Rosehill at 10:38, but he also picked up an instigating penalty, and Mike Angelidis squared off with Radek Smolenak at 17:10.

In the second period, the River Rats continued their uninspiring effort, with the only notable exception being that they out-shot the Admirals 13-12.

But after a lackluster 40 minutes of hockey, Albany sparked an amazing comeback with their slumping power play leading the way. Mark Flood awoke the River Rats with a backhand shot from the low slot that beat goaltender Marc Denis at 3:57, assisted by Jamie Johnson and Dave Gove. Norfolk took another hooking penalty 21 seconds later and Albany cashed in to tie the game 2-2 at 6:04 as Johnson skated out from the left wing corner and, from just in front of the goal line, snapped a wrist shot through an impossibly small opening for another power play goal; Angelidis and Jakub Petruzalek got the assists. The Admirals responded and retook the lead on a Mario Scalzo rebound goal at 11:49, but the River Rats were not to be discouraged. With the clock almost expired, and the net empty, Dave Gove drew two defenders and then passed the puck from behind the net to an unmarked Pat Dwyer standing at the top of the crease. Dwyer one-timed the puck through the legs of Denis with 27.5 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into over time.

Friday night Albany almost lost the game in overtime when a bad penalty gave Norfolk a four-on-three advantage. Saturday night it was the Admirals turn to make a mistake, as Bracken Kearns pulled down Nicolas Blanchard and was sent to the penalty box with one minute left in overtime. Albany again threw everything at the net and again they found a way to score. Brett Carson's slap shot from the point rebounded right to Petruzalek's stick and he banged the puck back through Denis' pads and into the net for the game-winning power play goal with 15.1 seconds remaining in overtime.

Michael Leighton made 31 saves on 34 shots to record his 15th win of the season, helping Albany improve to 26-20-0-2 on the season. Marc Denis stopped 34-of-38 shots in goal for Norfolk, who dropped to 13-27-2-4 with the overtime loss. Albany finished the game 3-for-6 on the power play; Norfolk was 0-for-2.

The River Rats will return home for a few days off during the All-Star break. Captain Keith Aucoin and goaltender Michael Leighton will represent Albany in the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok on Monday, January 28th at 7:00 pm in Binghamton, NY. Albany's next home game comes on Friday, February 1st against their I-90 rivals, the Syracuse Crunch at 7:00 pm at the Times Union Center.

Partial season tickets packages and flex tickets for the 2007-08 River Rats season are on sale now. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.

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