River Rats Fall Short In Wilkes-Barre 3-2

February 27, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


WILKES-BARRE, PA - Brandon Sutter scored two goals, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton erased a one-goal third period deficit to beat the Albany River Rats 3-2 Friday night at Wachovia Arena.

With a shootout win and a subsequent practice under their belt, the River Rats began the game with a much higher intensity level then they did on Wednesday night. Albany's fore-check caused lots of problems with the Penguins defensemen and the River Rats defense kept the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forwards from registering a shot on goal over the first eight minutes of the game. But the Penguins got their feet settled and grabbed the lead at 9:51 as Nick Johnson finished off a three-on-two counter attack by cutting to the middle and lifting a backhand shot up into the top left corner of the net. The Rats responded and tied the game four minutes later as newcomer Aaron Clarke and rookie Nick Dodge combined to set up Jakub Petruzalek skating down the left wing. Petruzalek took Dodge's pass in stride and powered a wrist shot through the pads of goaltender John Curry for his 14th goal of the year at 14:01. With three minutes left in the period Albany received a bench minor for two-many-men on the ice, but the River Rats penalty killers held the Penguins without a shot on goal in the only power play of the period.

Wilkes-Barre jumped back in front early in the second period as rookie Janne Pesonen collected his own rebound and slammed his shot into the back of the net at 2:18. The River Rats answered right back to tie the game at 2-2 with a power play goal on a great passing connection between Noah Babin and Brandon Sutter. Babin drew all the attention in his direction in the high slot and then snapped a clever pass to the far post to Sutter for a back door goal at 3:39, Sutter's second goal in as many games. Shortly after the goal, the Penguins received a power play, but instead gave Albany another scoring chance. Pat Dwyer stole the puck at the blue line and raced in on a breakaway, only to be denied by Curry with a strong save. The Penguins skated back up the ice and Sutter caused a turnover and skated off on another breakaway. Sutter threw a fake, went to his backhand and slid the puck around Curry and into the net for his second goal of the game, an unassisted shorthanded goal, and a 3-2 Albany lead at 5:30. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had two more power plays in the frame, but Peters and the River Rats held on to a one-goal lead heading into the second intermission.

In the third period the Penguins took advantage of their scoring opportunities to get back into the game. Dustin Jeffrey scored his seventh goal of the year at 4:26 when Luca Caputi's wrap-around shot hit off the heel of Albany defenseman Mark Flood and kicked right to Jeffrey at the far post, tying the game at 3-3. The teams battled for ten scoreless minutes before Wilkes-Barre/Scranton retook the lead for good. The Penguins capitalized on a bad Albany line change that sent defenseman Deryk Engelland down the right wing. Engelland's shot rebounded off Peters' right leg pad right to the driving Paul Bissonnette who fired home the puck at 14:26 for a 4-3 advantage. Albany had a power play immediately after the goal, but they could not find the equalizer and the Penguins held on for the one-goal win.

Goaltender John Curry picked up his 23rd win of the season as he made 20 saves on 23 shots to help the Penguins improve to 37-18-1-1 on the year. Albany goalie Justin Peters blocked 22-of-26 shots in the losing effort as the River Rats fell to 25-26-3-3. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton out-shot the Rats 26-23 and went 0-for-5 on the power play; Albany was 1-for-5 with the man-advantage.

The River Rats will complete their three-game road trip on Saturday, February 28th at 7:30 pm against the Syracuse Crunch at the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter. Albany's next home game is scheduled for Sunday, March 1st against the Norfolk Admirals; a 5:00 pm face off at the Times Union Center.

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.



American Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2009


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