River Rats down Bears in shootout 4-3

December 9, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


HERSHEY, PA - The Albany River Rats snapped a three game losing streak to the Hershey Bears with a 4-3 shootout win Sunday afternoon at the Giant Center in Pennsylvania.

The River Rats jumped out with an aggressive start to the first period, hoping to take advantage of their extra rest to put the Bears on their heels. Albany out-shot Hershey 10-3 in the first eight minutes, but rookie goalie Daren Machesney kept them off the scoreboard. Jay Beagle gave Hershey the lead at 10:55, when he crashed the goal and knocked in a loose rebound. Jamie Johnson tied the game at 15:04, when he took a pass from Brandon Nolan and roofed a backhand shot over Machesney for a power play goal; Nolan and J.D. Forrest assisted Johnson's seventh goal of the year.

Albany grabbed the lead early in the second period as defenseman Mark Flood's shot powered off Machesney and continued into the net at 2:11, Flood's fourth goal of the season, assisted by Forrest and Keith Aucoin. The River Rats doubled their lead with a power play goal at 5:50. Bobby Hughes' one-timer rang off the left post and rookie Derek Damon batted the puck out of mid air and into the net for his second goal of the season, assisted by Hughes and Aucoin. But the Bears answered right back on a Kyle Wilson wrap around goal at 6:39 to make the score 3-2 Albany. Andrew Joudrey tied the game at 13:46 when he slipped picked up a loose puck, slipped between the two defensemen and snapped the puck over the glove of goalie Michael Leighton.

The River Rats had multiple chances to pull ahead in the third period, including a 69-second five-on-three advantage, but the Hershey penalty kill units did just enough to keep the game level.

After a scoreless overtime session the game went to a shootout with Albany shooting first. Keith Aucoin fired his shot through the legs of Machesney for a 1-0 lead, but Jay Beagle beat Leighton upstairs to tie the score after the first round. After two scoreless rounds Derek Damon came out as the River Rats fourth shooter and he cashed in with a beautiful move, faking out Machesney and firing the puck into the open net. Leighton then stopped Kyle Wilson in the fourth round and Grant Potulny in the fifth round to earn a 4-3 shootout victory.

Michael Leighton recorded his 10th win of the season, making 35 saves on 38 shots through 65 minutes of action and 4-of-5 saves in the shootout. Albany finished 2-for-9 on the power play as they improved to 14-10-0-2 on the season. Daren Machesney stopped 32-of-35 shots in regulation and overtime, and then blocked 3-of-5 shootout attempts for his second loss of the season. Hershey was 1-for-4 on the power play as they dropped to 13-9-0-2.

The River Rats will return home to prepare for a very busy four-game week, including three road games next week. Albany's first of three games in Glens Falls, NY will come on Saturday, December 15th as the River Rats will host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for a 5:00 pm face of at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Partial season tickets packages and flex tickets for the 2007-08 River Rats season are on sale now. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.



American Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2007


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.

OurSports Central