Rats Drop 4-3 Shootout Decision To Falcons

Published on October 30, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


ALBANY, NY - River Rats rookie Matthew Pistilli and Springfield points leader Chris Minard each had two goal nights, but Minard's first-round shootout marker held-up as the game-winner and the Falcons defeated Albany 4-3 in a shootout Friday night at the Times Union Center.

River Rats shooters Harrison Reed and Drayson Bowman rang shots off of the post in the first and third rounds of the shootout, respectively. Ryan Potulny scored in the fourth round for Springfield.

Albany erased a 2-0 deficit late in the second period, but Minard's second of the night gave the Falcons a 3-2 lead midway through the third. The River Rats again drew even with 6:17 to play, on Pistilli's second goal of the contest.

Springfield came out firing in the second period and took a 2-0 lead just 5:37 into the frame. Minard scored the game's first goal at 4:07 and, less than two minutes later, Viacheslav Trukhno doubled the Falcons lead on a penalty shot. Pistilli responded for Albany at 6:22 with a strong individual play for his first career professional goal. The 21 year-old blocked a shot in the River Rats defensive zone, exploded down the ice for a breakaway and made a quick move to his backhand to elevate the puck past Springfield goalie Devan Dubnyk. Zach Boychuk evened the score at 2-2 in the period's closing minutes with a rising screamer from the high slot.

The Falcons took 11 minutes and 30 seconds to register their first shot of the game, but Albany failed to take a lead in that span and the teams remained scoreless through the opening 20 minutes of action.

Springfield goalie Devan Dubnyk stopped 33-of-36 shots and denied all four River Rats shootout attempts to earn the win as the Falcons improved to 5-4-1-1 on the season. Albany goaltender Justin Peters stopped 34-of-37 shots and allowed two goals on four shootout attempts as the River Rats fell to 5-4-0-1 on the year. Springfield out-shot Albany 38-36 in the game and went 1-for-3 on the power play; the River Rats went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Albany hits the road tomorrow for a 7:00 p.m. Halloween faceoff with the Hershey Bears. River Rats 2009-10 season and flex 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.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from October 30, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central