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Rats Fight For Second Place

March 1, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany went 2-1-0-0 in three road games last week, all against Atlantic Division opponents. The River Rats have one game in hand on the Norfolk Admirals, who went 3-1-0-0 last week to tie Albany for second place in the East Division. The River Rats opened their three-in-three weekend on Friday night in Portland, where Brad Herauf broke a 2-2 tie midway through the third period to lead Albany to a 4-2 victory. Drayson Bowman and Matthew Pistilli also scored for Albany and Jacob Micflikier chipped in a pair of assists, as the River Rats snapped Portland's eight-game home winning streak. Chris Terry assisted on each of Albany's first three goals the following night in Manchester, including Drayson Bowman's game-winner midway through the third period, as the River Rats downed the Monarchs 5-2. Manchester forward Scott Parse was dealt a five minute cross-checking major and a game misconduct for leveling an unsuspecting Steven Goertzen midway through the third period of a 2-2 game, and Albany scored two power play goals in 13 seconds during the ensuing man-advantage to take control of the contest. The River Rats and Pirates met again on Sunday afternoon, when Derek Whitmore scored two goals to lead Porltand to a 4-2 victory.

Week 23 Preview:

Albany plays three crucial East Division games this week, beginning on Tuesday morning with their first ever "Ratinee" day game at the Times Union Center against the Binghamton Senators at 11:00 a.m. Albany then travels to Norfolk for a pair of games against the Admirals on Friday and Saturday, both at 7:15 p.m.

Week 23 Rats Game Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on WKLI 590 "Magic" AM, are streamed free over the Internet at www.wkli.com and can be watched via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com)

Tuesday, March 2nd - 11:00 am - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Binghamton Senators (22-29-3-3, 50 pts)

7th Place, East Division

- Binghamton is winless in its last seven contests and currently sits at the bottom of the East Division standings, though the Senators did earn points in two-of-four games last week. Binghamton erased a 3-1 deficit with a pair of third period goals on Wednesday night against Norfolk, but Vladimir Mihalik netted the game winner with 2:32 remaining to lead the Admirals to a 4-3 victory. The Senators were tied again at 3-3 after two periods on Friday night against Providence, but the P-Bruins scored three goals in the third period en route to a 6-4 road victory. The B-Sens hosted Norfolk again on Saturday night and took the Admirals into a shootout, where three-of-four Norfolk shooters tallied for a 3-2 Admirals win. Binghamton finished its four-game week in Rochester on Sunday and took the Americans into overtime, where Jeff Taffe netted the game winner for a 4-3 Amerks win. Tuesday will be the sixth of eight meetings this season between the River Rats and Senators. Albany is 1-3-0-1 against Binghamton this season, while both teams have posted 14 goals in the season-series. The clubs next meet in a home-and-home series on March 20th in Binghamton and March 21st in Albany.

- Leading Scorer: Martin St. Pierre (C) - 52 points (17 goals, 35 assists) in 55 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Chris Holt (G) - 3.12 GAA, .904 save pct., 8-11-1 in 21 GP.

- Who's Hot: Josh Hennessy (LW) ranks third on the team in scoring and has six points (3-3-6) in his last five games. Zack Smith (C) has four points (3-1-4) with a plus-4 rating in his last four games. Derek Smith (D) leads all Binghamton defensemen in scoring and posted a goal and an assist in his last game.

Friday, March 5th - 7:15 pm - Norfolk Scope - Norfolk, VA

Saturday, March 6th - 7:15 pm - Norfolk Scope - Norfolk, VA

vs. Norfolk Admirals (33-26-3-1, 70 pts)

T 2nd Place, East Division

- The Admirals have won six of their last seven games to climb into a second place tie along side the River Rats in the East Division. Norfolk went 3-1-0-0 last week in four games that were each decided by just one goal. Vladimir Mihalik scored the game winner in the final minutes of regulation on Wednesday night in Binghamton to lift Norfolk to its fourth straight win with a 4-3 victory over the Senators. That streak ended on Friday night in Glens Falls, where the Adirondack Phantoms led 3-1 after two periods and held-on for a 3-2 win. Norfolk dropped Binghamton again on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win and then rolled through Syracuse on Sunday with a 3-2 victory behind Juraj Simek's third period game-winner. This weekend will mark the sixth and seventh meetings this year between Albany and Norfolk. The River Rats are 4-0-1-0 against the Admirals this season and have out-scored Norfolk 13-9. The teams' eighth and final match-up this season will be played on April 2nd in Albany.

- Leading Scorer: Brandon Bochenski (RW) - 40 points (21 goals, 19 assists) in 42 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Dustin Tokarski (G) - 2.50 GAA, .916 save pct., 22-16-1 in 39 GP.

- Who's Hot: Juraj Simek (LW) has four points (2-2-4) with a plus-2 rating in his last two games. Zach Tarkir (D) is on a three-game assist streak (0-3-3) with a plus-2 rating over that stretch. Brandon Bochenski (RW) has eight points (5-3-8) in his last seven games.

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 22)

Chris Terry - LW - #25

Day Opponent G A Pts. Notable

Fri @ Portland 1 0 1 Scored 11th goal of the season

Sat @.Manchester 0 3 3 Posted assists on Albany's first three goals

Sun @ Portland 1 0 1 Scored 12th goal of the season

Totals 3 Games 2 3 5 Plus-3 rating, three game point streak

Rookie Chris Terry led the River Rats in scoring last week with five points (2-3-5) in three games to earn his club's Player Of The Week nomination. Carolina's 5th round selection (132nd overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft scored his 11th goal of the season on Friday night in Albany's 4-2 road win over Portland, and then had a career night with three assists in Albany's 5-2 win over the Monarchs on Saturday. The Brampton, Ontario native finished Albany's three-in-three weekend with his 12th goal of the season to pull into a two-way tie for second place on the team in scoring with 33 points (12-21-33). Terry is one of just three Albany players to have skated in all 60 games this season and is tied for 12th place in the league's rookie scoring race.

River Rats Player of the Month: (February)

Jerome Samson - RW - #17

GP G A Pts.

Totals 14 11 4 15

Jerome Samson led all River Rats in scoring last month with 15 points (11-4-15) in 14 games to earn his second straight Player Of The Month nomination. The third-year forward is currently on a team season-high seven-game scoring streak dating back to February 17th, which has seen the Greenfield Park, QC., native score nine points (6-3-9). The undrafted forward is leading the River Rats in scoring for the second straight season, and ranks 17th in the league with 52 points (27-25-52) through 60 games. Samson also paces the league with 270 shots, which are 68 more than the next highest total.

River Rats Rookie of the Month: (February)

Jamie McBain - D - #2

GP G A Pts.

Totals 14 1 12 13

Jamie McBain led all first-year River Rats in scoring with 13 points (1-12-13) in 14 February games to earn his club's Rookie Of The Month nomination. Carolina's 2nd round pick (63rd overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft ranks fourth on the team in scoring and leads all River Rats defensemen with 32 points, including a team-leading 27 assists. McBain's point totals also rank 13th among league defensemen and 15th among AHL rookies. The Faribault, MN., native's month featured a team season-high seven-game point streak from February 3rd to February 15th, as well as three multi-point games, including a career-best three-assist night on February 6th against Springfield.

River Rats Goaltender of the Month: (February)

Justin Peters - G - #35

GP GAA SV% W-L-SOL

Totals 8 3.17 .900 4-4-0

River Rats goaltender Justin Peters started eight games in February and went 4-4-0 with a 3.17 GAA and a 0.900 save percentage to earn his club's Goaltender Of The Month nomination. February also saw Peters post a 1.52 GAA with a 0.950 save percentage in his first career NHL action with the Hurricanes, in which he posted wins against the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils. Carolina's 2nd round selection (38th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft shows a 2.60 GAA with a .915 save percentage and a 22-16-2 record through 33 games this season.

Rat Bites:

- SAMSON STILL STREAKING - River Rats leading scorer Jerome Samson matched his own River Rats season high scoring streak last week, tallying a point in seven straight contests. Samson's initial seven game streak came between January 2nd to January 23rd, while Jamie McBain also reached a seven game point streak from February 3rd to February 15th. Samson will look to take sole possession of the category on Tuesday morning against the Binghamton Senators.

- RATINEE - The River Rats will host their first ever "Ratinee" day game, presented by the New York State Union of Teachers, on Tuesday morning at 11:00 a.m. against the Binghamton Senators. Schools from throughout the Capital Region have signed up to attend this special 11:00 a.m. game, which will feature educational and interactive demonstrations on the Times Union Center concourse designed around the Albany River Rats student workbook.

- SUCCESS IN THE ATLANTIC - The River Rats improved to 12-7-1-1 (26 points) in 21 games against the Atlantic Division this weekend, but they only face two more Atlantic opponents in their remaining 18 contests. The River Rats are 17-15-2-2 (38 points) in 36 games against East Division opponents, whom they face 15 more times this season. Albany also plays its fourth and final game of its season series with Rochester of the North Division on March 12th.

- LEAGUE LEADERS - Jerome Samson continues to lead the league in shots with 270, which are 68 more then the AHL's next highest total. Samson's 52 points (27-25-49) rank 15th among the league's scoring leaders. Zach FitzGerald's 59 minor penalties rank first in the league, while his 230 penalty minutes are the third highest in the league and lead all defensemen. Jamie McBain is tied for 13th place among AHL defensemen with 32 points (5-27-32) this season.

- ROOKIE LEADERS - Zach Boychuk (14-19-33) and Chris Terry (12-21-33) are tied for 12th place in the league's rookie scoring race, while Jamie McBain (5-27-32) is tied for 15th place among rookie scorers. Boychuk's five game-winning goals rank second among first year players and Drayson Bowman's three shootout goals are tied for second.

River Rats Recent Transactions

February 2010 February 28 DELETE - Justin Peters (G) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Ryan Mior (G) - Signed PTO.

February 15 DELETE - Milan Gajic (RW) - Returned on loan to Florida (ECHL)

February 13 ADD - Zach Boychuk (C) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Justin Peters (G) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Steven Goertzen (RW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Zach Boychuk (C) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

February 7 ADD - Zach Boychuk (C) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Yannick Tifu (LW) - Released from PTO

February 6 ADD - Milan Gajic (RW) - Recalled from loan to Florida (ECHL)

ADD - Mike Morrison (G) - Recalled from loan to Utah (ECHL)

DELETE - Tyler Sims (G) - Released from PTO

February 5 DELETE - Justin Peters (G) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Zach Boychuk (C) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Tyler Sims (G) - Signed PTO

February 4 DELETE - Mike Morrison (G) - Returned on loan to Florida (ECHL)

ADD - Jiri Tlusty (LW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

Febryart 3 ADD - Yannick Tifu (LW) - Signed to PTO

February 2 DELETE - Steven Goertzen (RW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

Promotional Information

Ratinee Game

Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 vs. Binghamton Senators

Time: 11:00 a.m. at Times Union Center

School Day Game: Schools from throughout the region have signed up to attend this special 11:00 a.m. game at the Times Union Center. Educational activities will include interactive demonstrations on the concourse, as well as a River Rats student workbook, filled with challenging tasks to be completed throughout the day.

Ticket Info: Tickets can be purchased by calling the Times Union Center box office at 487-2000, by visiting or calling www.tickets.com at 1-800-30-EVENT, or by visiting select Price Chopper Outlets.

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Chaput, Dodge & Terry (62)

Goals: Jerome Samson (27)

Assists: Jamie McBain (27)

Points: Jerome Samson (52)

Plus/Minus: Stefan Chaput (+10)

Penalty Minutes: Zack FitzGerald (230)

Power Play Goals: Jerome Samson & Drayson Bowman (6)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Zach Boychuk (5)

Shots: Jerome Samson (270)

Shooting Percentage: Jacob Micflikier (0.222%)

Saves: Justin Peters (1,120)

Wins: Justin Peters (22)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.60)

Save Percentage: Mike Murphy (0.917)

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River Rats 2009-10 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.



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