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Rats Take Down Portland In Shootout

February 7, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


GLENS FALLS, NY - Pat Dwyer and Jonathan Paiement each scored shootout goals and Justin Peters stopped all four shootout attempts he faced as the Albany River Rats defeated the Portland Pirates 3-2 Saturday evening in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,462 at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

River Rats defenseman Casey Borer scored the game's first goal 15:59 into the first period when his long slap shot redirected off of the iron and in behind Portland goaltender Jhonas Enroth; Mark Flood and Nick Dodge assisted on Borer's fourth of the year and his second in Glens Falls. Albany out-shot the Pirates 11-6 in the frame, but could not add to their 1-0 lead before the horn sounded.

Portland's Colton Fretter evened the score just 1:48 into the second period with a low backhander; the goal gave the Pirates momentum as they out-shot the River Rats 9-1 over the first half of the middle frame. Albany eventually halted the onslaught and would bounce back to register 20 shots in the period, but it was Portland who grabbed the lead. With 2:45 remaining Mark Mancari scored a power play goal on a shot into the upper corner of the near post over the shoulder of Albany's Justin Peters.

Five minutes into the third period Albany's Mark Flood tied the game with another long shot from the point, assisted by Dwight Helminen and Nick Dodge at 5:01; Flood's four goal of the year. That was all the scoring for the frame as strong defense at both ends of the ice forced overtime.

A Pirates penalty in the final seconds of the third gave the River Rats 57 seconds of four-on-three action to start the extra period, but Enroth was outstanding as he kept Albany off the scoreboard. Neither team would score in overtime and the game went to a shootout.

Pat Dwyer scored in the third round of the shootout to give Albany the 1-0 lead and Jonathan Paiement capped the victory in the fifth round with a beautiful fake shot and deke around Enroth as the River Rats celebrated their 21st victory in front of the big Glens Falls crowd.

Albany goaltender Justin Peters stopped 27-of-20 shots and denied all four shootout attempts to earn the win as Albany improved to 21-23-3-2 on the season. Portland starter Jhonas Enroth earned third star honors as he made a whopping 44 saves on 46 shots and allowed two goals on five shootout attempts for the loss as the Pirates fell to 25-21-1-2 on the year. The River Rats out-shot Portland 47-29 in the game and went 1-for-8 on the power play; the Pirates went 1-for-4 on the man advantage.

The River Rats will again battle with Portland at 7:00 pm next Tuesday, February 10th at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, home of the Buffalo Sabres. Albany's next home game at the Times Union Center is scheduled for Friday, February 13th as they host the Springfield Falcons for a 7:00 pm face off.

River Rats flex ticket packages and individual game tickets are on sale now at the River Rats office and the Times Union Center Box Office. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.

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