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Rats Set For Final Regular Season Games In Franchise History

April 6, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany went 1-1-0-0 in its last ever regular season home games last weekend to clinch the second seed in the East Division. Albany clinched a 2010 Calder Cup Playoff berth on Friday night by way of a Bridgeport regulation loss. The River Rats also lost that night, as Justin Keller's second goal of the game snapped a 1-1 deadlock at 13:29 of the third period and the Norfolk Admirals held on for a 2-1 victory. The River Rats bounced back on Saturday against Adirondack with a 4-2 win in Game 11 of the Time Warner Cable Cup. Jacob Micflikier, Brad Herauf and Zac Dalpe scored in the opening two periods to give Albany a 3-0 lead, and Steven Goertzen added an empty-net dagger to hold off the struggling Phantoms.

Week 28 Preview:

The River Rats will hit the road for their final regular season games in franchise history this weekend, beginning on Friday, April 9th at 7:05 p.m. against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Albany then travels to Glens Falls for the 12th and final game of the Time Warner Cable Cup series on Saturday, April 10th for the 2009-10 season finale at 7:00 p.m.

Week 28 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, April 9th - 7:05 pm - Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza - Wilkes-Barre, PA

vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (39-32-2-3, 83 pts)

3rd Place, East Division

- The Penguins went 1-1 last week and sit four points ahead of the fourth-place Norfolk Admirals for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the East Division. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton edged the Adirondack Phantoms 3-2 in its first game of the week on Wednesday night at home, and then dropped a 6-2 decision on the road in Binghamton on Saturday. The Baby-Pens can clinch a 2010 Calder Cup Playoff berth with a win on Wednesday night in Norfolk. Should they fall to the Admirals, the Penguins would still have a one-point lead with one game in hand on Norfolk. After facing the River Rats, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will close out its regular season with a home-and-home series against Binghamton, which the Baby-Pens are 4-2-0-0 against this season. Albany is 2-4-0-1 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season and has been out-scored 26-19 by the Penguins. Friday night will be the eighth and final meeting of the regular season between the River Rats and Baby-Pens. Albany won its last meeting against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5-4 in a shootout at the Times Union Center, but the Penguins had won the previous four match-ups.

- Leading Scorer: Dustin Jeffrey (C) - 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists) in 73 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: John Curry (G) - 2.86 GAA, .892 save pct., 23-18-2 in 45 GP.

- Who's Hot: Dustin Jeffrey (C) has two goals in his last two games. Chris Conner (RW) has two assists in his last two games. Mark Letestu (C) has two points (1-1-2) in his last two games.

Saturday, April 10th - 7:00 pm - Glens Falls Civic Center - Glens Falls, NY

vs. Adirondack Phantoms (31-39-3-4, 69 pts)

7th Place, East Division

- The Phantoms went 0-3 last week and saw their losing skid reach six games, as the team continues to search for Head Coach Greg Gilbert's 300th career win. Adirondack started the week with a 3-2 road loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins scored the game's first two goals in a span of 7.9 seconds in the final minute of the first period to grab the lead. Adirondack struck back with two goals in the second period, including an unassisted shorthanded goal from captain Jared Ross, but Marc Letestu batted a puck out of mid-air at 5:15 of the middle frame for the eventual game-winner. The Phantoms out-shot the Syracuse Crunch 49-19 on Friday in Glens Falls, but Syracuse rallied for a 3-2 win on Chad Kolarik's game winner with 2:19 to play. Adirondack then traveled to the Times Union Center on Saturday to battled Albany in the River Rats' last ever regular season home game. Jacob Micflikier scored on a penalty shot in the first period and two second period goals gave Albany a 3-0 lead. Danny Svyret, returning for a lengthy shoulder injury, scored a power play goal and rookie Erik Gustafsson fired home his first pro goal to cut the lead to 3-2 in the final minute of regulation, but Steven Goertzen scored an empty net goal with 0.8 seconds left to cap off a 4-2 River Rats win. Saturday will be the 12th and final meeting between Albany and Adirondack. The River Rats have a 9-1-1-0 record against the Phantoms this season and have out-scored their Time Warner Cable Cup rivals 33-20.

- Leading Scorer: Jon Matsumoto (C) - 61 points (29 goals, 32 assists) in 77 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Johan Backlund (G) - 2.79 GAA, .906 save pct., 21-17-2 in 41 GP.

- Who's Hot: Erik Gustaffsson - has four points (1-3-4) in his first two professional games. Danny Syvret (D) had two points (1-1-2) in his is first game since separating his shoulder on January 12th while playing with the Philadelphia Flyers. Jon Matsumoto (C) has eight points (5-3-8) in his last six games.

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 27)

Jacob Micflikier - RW - #18

Day Opponent G A Pts. +/- Notable

Fri vs. Norfolk 0 1 1 E 19th assist of the season

Sat vs. Adirondack 1 0 1 +1 18th goal of the season; 3-game point streak

Totals 2 Games 1 1 2 +1

Right wing Jacob Micflikier scored a goal with one assist in a pair of home games last week to earn the River Rats' Player Of The Week nomination. The third-year forward set up Albany's only goal on Friday night in a 2-1 loss to Norfolk, and scored the game's first goal on Saturday with a penalty shot tally in Albany's 4-2 win over Adirondack. Micflikier began the 2009-10 season with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and earned ECHL Player Of The Month honors in November, with 28 points (7-21-28) in just 11 games. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native has been with Albany on a full time basis since November 27th and has 37 points (18-19-37) in 55 games. Micflikier also leads all River Rats with a 0.209 shooting percentage.

Rat Bites:

- SAMSON CLOSING IN ON PPG SEASON - River Rats leading scorer Jerome Samson's 78 points (37 goals, 41 assists) through 74 games this season are the tenth highest single-season total in River Rats history. If the third-year winger maintains his better-than point-per-game pace over the final two games, he could become just the Eighth player in River Rats history to reach the 80 point mark.

- RATS PENALTY SHOTS - Jacob Micflikier scored the seventh penalty shot goal in River Rats history on Saturday night against Adirondack. It marked Albany's first penalty shot tally since February 20, 2007, when Keith Aucoin beat goalie Wade Dubielewicz in Bridgeport. Aucoin also scored Albany's last home penalty shot goal, beating Bridgeport's Mike Morrison on November 24, 2007. Micflikier broke a string of five fruitless River Rats penalty shots.

- MCKENZIE DEBUTS - Forward Mike McKenzie recorded an assist in his professional debut on Saturday night in Albany's 4-2 win over Adirondack. McKenzie signed an ATO with Albany on March 23rd after completing his senior season at St. Lawrence University.

- SAMSON STILL STREAKING - Jerome Samson has recorded an assist in five straight games, matching defenseman Jamie McBains team season-high mark set between February 6th and 15th. Samson is also on a six-game point streak, just two games shy of his team season-high record, set between February 17th and March 2nd.

- LEAGUE LEADERS - Jerome Samson ranks second in the league with 37 goals and fourth in the league with 78 points. Samson tops the circuit with 332 shots. Zack FitzGerald leads the AHL with 307 penalty minutes, including a league-high 75 minor penalties. Justin Peters is tied for 14th in the league with a 2.52 GAA, while Justin Pogge ranks 17th with a 2.55 GAA.

- ROOKIE LEADERS - Chris Terry's 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists) are tied for seventh in the league among rookie scorers, while Jamie McBain's 40 (7 goals, 33 assists) points have him in a 12th place tie. Stefan Chaput is tied for 17th among first year players with 38 (10 goals, 28 assists) points, and Zach Boychuk is tied for 18th with 36 points (15goals, 21 assists). Drayson Bowman is tied for the AHL rookie lead with five shootout goals.

River Rats Recent Transactions

April 2010 April 2 ADD - Thomas Dignard (D) - Signed to ATO

April 1 DELETE - Mike Morrison (G) - Returned on loan to Utah (ECHL)

Promotional Information

RECOVERY SPORTS GRILL VIEWING PARTY

Date: Saturday, April 10th vs. Adirondack Phantoms

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: Recover Sports Gill, 62 New Scotland Avenue in Albany, across from Albany Medical Center

Promotions: Watch the game live with "Rowdy" the Rat and the Café Hollywood Ice Mice. There will also be Special River Rats giveaways including a team signed photo, food and drink specials, and tickets to the opening round of the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs.

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 (78)

Goals: Jerome Samson (37)

Assists: Jerome Samson (41)

Points: Jerome Samson (78)

Plus/Minus: Nick Dodge (+18)

Penalty Minutes: Zack FitzGerald (307)

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: Jacob Micflikier (0.209%)

Saves: Justin Peters (1,225)

Wins: Justin Peters (25)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.52)

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 6, 2010


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