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Rats Host Game One This Wednesday

April 12, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany split a pair of road games last week to close out the 2009-10 regular season with its best record since the 1998-99 season. Oskar Osala recorded his first hat trick of the season on Friday night, but a River Rats "own goal" midway through the third period turned out to be the game-winner as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins clinched a 2010 Calder Cup Playoff berth with a 4-3 victory. Albany rebounded the following night in the last regular season game in franchise history, as assistant Captain Mike Angelidis scored twice and Osala added the game-winner in the third period for a 3-2 victory over the Adirondack Phantoms. Albany improved to 10-1-1-0 in its 12-game Time Warner Cable Cup series against the Phantoms, including a perfect 6-0-0-0 mark at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

River Rats First Round 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)

Game 1 - Wed., Apr. 14 - W-B/Scranton at Albany, 7:00

Game 2 - Fri., Apr. 16 - W-B/Scranton at Albany, 7:00

Game 3 - Sun., Apr. 18 - Albany at W-B/Scranton, 3:05

Game 4 - Mon., Apr. 19 - Albany at W-B/Scranton, 7:05

*Game 5 - Wed., Apr. 21 - W-B/Scranton at Albany, 7:00

*Game 6 - Sat., Apr. 24 - Albany at W-B/Scranton, 7:05

*Game 7 - Sun., Apr. 25 - W-B/Scranton at Albany, 5:00

*if necessary

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Info:

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (41-34-2-3, 87 pts) 3rd Place, East Division

Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza - Wilkes-Barre, PA

- The Penguins went 2-1 last week to lock-up the East Division's third and final playoff seed. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton clinched a playoff berth on Friday night at home with a 4-3 win over Albany, as an "own goal" by Rats defenseman Tim Conboy broke a 3-3 tie midway through the third period. The Baby Pens went on to drop a 3-1 decision in Binghamton on Saturday night, as Zach Sill gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 1-0 lead at 2:27 of the first period, but Derek Smith answered just 16 seconds later and the B-Sens tacked on two insurance markers in the same frame. The Penguins wrapped up their regular season docket with a 3-0 home win over Binghamton, featuring a 28-save shutout from Brad Thiessen.

- Leading Scorer (Regular Season): Dustin Jeffrey (C) - 71 points (24 goals, 47 assists) in 77 GP.

- Leading Goaltender (Regular Season): John Curry (G) - 2.87 GAA, .891 save pct., 23-19-2 in 46 GP.

- Who's Hot: Eric Tangradi (F) has three points (1-2-3) in his last two games. Wyatt Smith (C) has three points (1-2-3) with a plus-3 rating in his last three games. Brad Thiessen (G) has won his last two starts, allowing three goals over that stretch.

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 28)

Oskar Osala - LW - #32

Day Opponent G A Pts. +/- Notable

Fri @ WB/Scranton 3 0 3 -1 First Hat Trick Of Season

Sat @ Adirondack 1 0 1 +1 25th goal of the season

Totals 2 Games 4 0 4 E

Left wing Oskar Osala scored four goals in Albany's final two games in franchise history to lead the River Rats in scoring while earning his club's Player Of The Week nomination. The third-year forward netted his second career AHL hat trick on Friday night at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, tallying Albany's only three goals in a 4-3 loss to the Penguins. Osala (6'4", 225 lbs.) then scored the game-winner on Saturday night in Albany's 3-2 victory over Adirondack. Wasinghton's 4th round selection (97th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft completed the 2009-10 regular season with a career-high 42 points, including a personal-best 25 goals.

Rat Bites:

- SHORT HANDED - The River Rats had six tryout players in their lineup during their season finale on Saturday night. Following the conclusion of Carolina's 2009-10 campaign, the Hurricanes restocked the depleted River Rats roster with six players that had been on recall. Albany may still see one more player returned from their NHL parent club, as defenseman Jay Harrison also appears on the club's clear day roster.

- IRON MEN - Nick Dodge and Chris Terry were the only River Rats to complete the season with 80 games played. Dodge completed the feat for a second straight season after being the only Rat to play in all 80 games during his rookie campaign in 2008-09.

- LEAGUE LEADERS - Jerome Samson is tied for second in the AHL with 37 goals. He's also tied for fourth in the league with 78 points, while leading the circuit with 332 shots. Zack FitzGerald leads the AHL with 311 penalty minutes, including a league-high 77 minor penalties. Justin Peters is tied for 17th in the league with a 2.54 GAA.

- ROOKIE LEADERS - Chris Terry's 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists) rank eighth in the league among rookie scorers, while Jamie McBain's 40 (7 goals, 33 assists) points have him in a 13th place tie. Stefan Chaput is tied for 18th among first year players with 38 (10 goals, 28 assists) points. Drayson Bowman is tied for the AHL rookie lead with five shootout goals.

River Rats Recent Transactions

April 2010 April 12 DELETE - Kevin Baker (D) - Released from PTO

DELETE - Jason Lepine (D) - Released from PTO

DELETE - Thomas Dignard (D) - Released from ATO

DELETE - Mike McKenzie (F) - Released from ATO

April 11 ADD - Bryan Rodney (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Casey Borer (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Drayson Bowman (LW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Jamie McBain (D) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

ADD - Jerome Samson (RW) - Returned on loan by Carolina (NHL)

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

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: Dodge & Terry (80)

Goals: Jerome Samson (37)

Assists: Jerome Samson (41)

Points: Jerome Samson (78)

Plus/Minus: Nick Dodge (+18)

Penalty Minutes: Zack FitzGerald (311)

Power Play Goals: Jerome Samson (10)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Jerome Samson & Zach Boychuk (5)

Shots: Jerome Samson (332)

Shooting Percentage: Zac Dalpe (0.250%)

Saves: Justin Peters (1,286)

Wins: Justin Peters (26)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.54)

Save Percentage: Justin Pogge (0.921)

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River Rats 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.



American Hockey League Stories from April 12, 2010


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.

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