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Rats Look To Become Road Warriors

February 23, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany went 2-3-0-0 last week and saw its lead over the third-place Norfolk Admirals shrink to two points in the East Division standings. The River Rats defeated Norfolk 2-1 in their first game of the week on Monday night in Albany, but then suffered their worst loss of the season on Wednesday with a 9-2 set-back against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Portland stole a 3-2 decision from Albany with a pair of fluky goals on Friday night, but the team rebounded with a 2-1 home victory over the Adirondack Phantoms, which locked-up the Time Warner Cable Cup on Saturday. Albany finished its week on Sunday evening in Hershey, where Francois Bouchard broke a 3-3 tie midway through the third period to lift the Bears to a 5-3 win.

Week 22 Preview:

The River play a three- in-three on the road this weekend against a pair of Atlantic Division opponents, beginning Friday night with a 7:00 p.m. match-up against the Portland Pirates. Albany then travels to Manchester on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. face-off against the Monarchs, before returning to Portland for a rematch at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Week 22 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)

Friday, February 26th - 7:00 pm - Cumberland County Civic Center - Portland, ME

Sunday, February 28th - 4:00 pm - Cumberland County Civic Center - Portland, ME

vs. Portland Pirates (32-16-5-3, 72 pts)

2nd Place, Atlantic Division

- Portland defeated the River Rats 3-2 on Friday night in Albany and then traveled to Rochester for back-to-back games against the Americans. The Pirates edged the Amerks 4-3 on Saturday night for their franchise record-setting 11th straight win, and seemed likely to make it 12 in-a-row the following night when they led 2-1 late in their rematch against Rochester. However, Mike York knotted the game with two seconds remaining in regulation and the Americans won the ensuing shootout 3-2 to halt Portland's streak. The Pirates play a home-and-home series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this week before hosting Albany on Friday. They then play a road game in Hartford on Saturday and welcome the River Rats back to town for Sunday's rematch. Albany is 1-1-0-0 this season against Portland and has out-scored the Pirates 7-5. Sunday will be the fourth and final game of the season series.

- Leading Scorer: Mark Mancari (RW) - 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists) in 55 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Jhonas Enroth (G) - 2.40 GAA, .918 save pct., 25-14-1 in 40 GP.

- Who's Hot: Felix Schutz (C) has five points (4-1-5) with a plus-2 rating in his last five games. Mike Kostka (D) has four assists and a plus-4 rating in his last four games. Jhonas Enroth (G) has won his last 10 games.

Saturday, February 27th - 7:00 pm - Verizon Wireless Arena - Manchester, NH

vs. Manchester Monarchs (32-20-2-5, 71 pts)

3rd Place, Atlantic Division

- Manchester went 1-2-0-0 last week and maintained a four point lead over the fourth place Lowell Devils in the Atlantic Division standings. The Devils dealt the Monarch's a convincing 5-0 defeat on Friday night in Lowell, but Manchester rebounded the following night at home by blanking the Providence Bruins 4-0. Manchester finished its week with a tight game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which saw the Penguins break a 2-2 tie with a pair of third period tallies for a 4-2 win. Saturday will be the fourth and final game of the 2009-10 season series between Albany and Manchester. The Monarchs are 2-0-0-1 this season against the River Rats and have out-scored Albany 10-7.

- Leading Scorer: Bud Holloway (LW) - 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) in 55 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Jonathan Bernier (G) - 2.01 GAA, .939 save pct., 24-15-5 in 45 GP.

- Who's Hot: Justin Azevedo (C) has three points (2-1-3) in his last two games. David Kolomatis (D) and Bud Holloway (LW) both have two-game assist streaks heading into this week.

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 21)

Jerome Samson - RW - #17

Day Opponent G A Pts. Notable

Mon vs. Norfolk 0 0 0

Wed @ WB/Scranton 1 0 1

Fri vs. Portland 1 0 1 Scored his career high 23rd goal of the year

Sat vs. Adirondack 1 1 2 Netted the Game Winner in Albany's 2-1 win

Sun @ Hershey 2 0 2 Scored two-straight to tie the game at 3-3

Totals 5 Games 5 1 6 Four game scoring streak, two multi-point nights

Jerome Samson led the River Rats in scoring with six points (5-1-6) in five games last week to earn his club's Player Of The Week nomination. Samson's 49 points this season (26-23-49) lead all River Rats scorers and rank 15th in the league. The third year forward matched his career-high goals output on Wednesday night, netting his 22nd of the season and then surpassed it on Friday with his 23rd. Samson assisted on Albany's first goal the following night against Adirondack and scored the game winner in his club's Time Warner Cable Cup clinching 2-1 victory. The undrafted winger added two more goals on Sunday in Hershey to help his club erase a 3-1 deficit, before falling in the third period.

Rat Bites:

- SAMSON STREAKING - River Rats leading scorer Jerome Samson matched an Albany season-record by scoring a goal in four straight games last week. Samson set the original mark at the start of the season, registering goals in four consecutive games from October 11th - 17th.

- RACING ROOKIES - Four River Rats rookies are currently in the running for second place in the team scoring race, behind third-year forward Jerome Samson. Zach Boychuk and Jamie McBain currently lead the pack with 31 points each, and Stefan Chaput and Chris Terry are close behind with 30 and 28 points, respectively. Albany's second highest scoring non-rookie is Jacob Micflikier, who shows 26 points for Albany.

- TWCC - Albany won the Time Warner Cable Cup on Saturday night with a 2-1 victory over the Adirondack Phantoms. The River Rats are 7-1-1-0 in the 12-game season series and still have three crucial games against the Phantoms as both teams make their final push towards the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs. The clubs next meet in Adirondack on March 24th. The River Rats have earned the right to designate a local non-profit to receive a $5,000 grant from Time Warner Cable.

- LEAGUE LEADERS - Jerome Samson continues to lead the league in shots with 257, which is 59 more then the AHL's next highest total. Samson's 49 points (26-23-49) 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 and leads all defensemen. Justin Peters ranks fifth among goaltenders with 1,058 saves, and Jacob Micflikier ranks fifth in the league in shooting percentage with a 0.220% mark. Jamie McBain is tied for 11th place among AHL defensemen with 31 points (5-26-31) this season.

- ROOKIE LEADERS - Zach Boychuk and Jamie McBain are tied for 11th place in the league's rookie scoring race with 31 points each, while Stefan Chaput is tied for 15th place with 30 points. McBain's 134 shots ranks fourth among AHL rookies and Boychuk's five game-winning goals rank second.

River Rats Recent Transactions

February 2010 February 15 DELETE 0 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 (57)

Goals: Jerome Samson (26)

Assists: Jamie McBain (26)

Points: Jerome Samson (49)

Plus/Minus: Stefan Chaput (+10)

Penalty Minutes: Zack FitzGerald (230)

Power Play Goals: Jerome Samson (6)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Zach Boychuk (5)

Shots: Jerome Samson (257)

Shooting Percentage: Jacob Micflikier (0.220%)

Saves: Justin Peters (1,058)

Wins: Justin Peters (20)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.63)

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.



American Hockey League Stories from February 23, 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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