Rats fall 4-3 on own goal

Published on April 9, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


WILKES-BARRE, PA - Oskar Osala recorded his first hat trick of the season, but a River Rats "own goal" midway through the third period held up as the game-winner and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins clinched a 2010 Calder Cup Playoff berth with a 4-3 victory on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Osala and the Baby-Pens exchanged goals through 40 minutes of action en route to 3-3 score heading into the third period. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain Wyatt Smith was credited with the deciding tally at 8:45 of the third period, when River Rats defenseman Tim Conboy pushed a pass towards goalie Justin Peters in an effort to freeze the play, only to see the puck instead sneak over the goal line for the game-winner.

Defenseman Jason Lepine recorded a pair of assists in his River Rats debut after signing an amateur tryout contract earlier in the day. Forward Jiri Tlusty also assisted on two of Osala's tallies. Eric Tangradi scored a pair of goals and added an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while Smith also chipped in a three-point night with a goal and two helpers.

Tim Wallace put the Penguins on the board first at 15:11 of the opening period, but Osala responded with a rebound tally just 2:05 later on Albany's first power play of the night. Tangradie reclaimed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's lead at 1:25 of the second frame, but Osala struck again for Albany on a scrappy rebound put-away at 5:44.

Osala's third goal of the night gave the River Rats their first lead at 13:13 of the second period, when the big-bodied winger deflected Jonathan Paiement's power play blast past Penguins goalie Brad Thiessen. Tangradi then jammed home his second goal of the night at 15:18 to level the score heading into the third period.

Thiessen stopped 17-of-20 shots faced in the game and earned the win as the Penguins improved to 40-33-2-3 this season. Peters stopped 31-of-35 shots faced and took the loss, as the River Rats fell to 42-29-3-5 this year. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton out-shot Albany 35-20 in the contest and went 2-for-4 on the man-advantage, while the River Rats were 2-for-2 on the power play.

Notes: Prior to the game, the Carolina Hurricanes recalled River Rats leading scorer Jerome Samson. In a separate move, the River Rats signed defenseman Jason Lepine from the IHL's Bloomington Prairie Thunder to an amateur tryout contract (ATO). Lepine and Tomas Dignard each made their River Rats debuts against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The River Rats play their regular season finale on Saturday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center in the 12th and final game of the Time Warner Cable Cup series against the Phantoms at 7:00 p.m. 2010 Calder Cup playoff 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.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 9, 2010


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