River Rats find their form

December 6, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


The Albany River Rats host the Providence Bruins in another $10 Wednesday on December 8th at 7:00pm. The Bruins (10-10-2-2, T-4th Atlantic) scored five power play goals en route to a 6-2 home victory over the Hershey Bears on Sunday. C Patrice Bergeron leads the top affiliate of the Boston Bruins with 15 assists and 24 points, while LW Andy Hilbert leads the way with 11 goals, including two game-winners. G Hannu Toivonen ranks second on the circuit with 1,099:31 minutes played and shows an 8-9-1 record with a 2.13 goals against average in 19 games during the 2004-05 campaign. Albany holds a 22-15-6-2 record in the all-time regular season series against Providence, including a 12-6-3-2 record at Pepsi Arena. The River Rats defeated the Bruins 5-1 on October 23rd at Pepsi Arena and the teams will meet two times at the Dunkin Donuts Center on February 18th and March 13th to close out the season series.

The River Rats then make the second of three visits to the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night at 7:05pm. The Penguins (10-6-4-2, 3rd East) dropped a 4-2 decision to the Norfolk Admirals at home on Sunday, with the two teams meeting up again tonight. RW Michel Ouellet tops the club with 13 goals and 22 points during the 2004-05 season. Former R.P.I. Engineer LW Matt Murley shows 12 (4-8) points and a plus eight rating in 23 games for the top affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Albany holds a 10-15-5 record in the all-time regular season series against Wilkes-Barre, including a 7-5-3 mark at Pepsi Arena. The teams have split the first two games of the season series with each club scoring six goals. The East Division rivals meet another three times on December 15th in Wilkes-Barre, January 15th in Albany and finally on April 1st at Pepsi Arena.

Albany returns home to face-off against the Binghamton Senators on Saturday night at 7:30pm. Fans can participate in our annual Teddy Bear Toss, win New York Lottery prizes and meet Santa Claus! The Senators (11-10-2-2, 4th East) are coming off a 5-4 loss to the Manitoba Moose on the road Sunday night and will visit the Syracuse Crunch on Friday. C Jason Spezza leads the AHL with 24 assists and ranks third overall with 33 points for the top affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. LW Denis Hamel is tied for third in the league with 15 goals and tops the club with six power play markers during the 2004-05 season. Albany shows a 5-10-3-2 record in the all-time regular season series versus Binghamton, including a 3-5-1-1 record on home ice. The River Rats are 2-0 against the Senators, outscoring their New York opponents 9-4 in the process. The teams square off another seven times on December 22nd, 26th and January 29th in Binghamton, February 12th and 25th in Albany, March 5th in Western New York and finally on March 12th in the Capital District.

River Rats this week: * Practice times are subject to change, please call the River Rats office to confirm dates and times.

Tuesday - Practice at Pepsi Arena, 10:00am

Wednesday - Game Day Skate at Pepsi Arena, 10:00am; Providence Bruins @ RIVER RATS, 7:00pm

Thursday - Practice at Pepsi Arena, 10:00am; Travel to Wilkes-Barre

Friday - Game Day Skate at Wachovia Arena, 11:15am; RIVER RATS @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05pm

Saturday - Game Day Skate TBD; Binghamton Senators @ RIVER RATS, 7:00pm

Sunday - Off Day

Monday - Practice at Bethlehem Area YMCA, 10:00am

Rat Bites: * G Ari Ahonen became the franchise saves leader (3,711) during Friday night's 1-0 home loss to Syracuse. The Finnish netminder ranks second with 133 games played (P. Sidorkiewicz/152) and sixth in team history with 35 victories.

* The River Rats lead the AHL with 50 majors and stand fourth on the circuit with an average of 30.43 penalty minutes/game.

Over the Air:

Wed., Dec. 8th vs. Providence Bruins, 7:00pm (6:45pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Fri., Dec. 10th @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05pm (6:50pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Sat., Dec. 11th vs. Binghamton Senators, 7:30pm (7:15pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

** Hear all the action LIVE at www.albanyriverrats.com**

Community Outreach Appearances:

Mon., December 6th @ 1:00pm - Brett Clouthier and Pascal Rheaume will visit senior citizens at the Dayhaven Adultcare facility. The players will share stories of how they became involved in the sport. Dayhaven is located off of 107 Nott Terrace in Schenectady.

Mon., December 6th @ 4:00pm - Scott Clemmensen, Brett Clouthier, Ryan Murphy, Matt DeMarchi, and Ivan Khomutov will spend time at Equinox Inc. to help wrap holiday food baskets for needy family's in the Capital District. Equinox Inc. is located on 95 Central Ave, Albany.

Thurs., December 9th @ 3:30pm - "Rowdy" The Rat will be at the Cohoes Head Start program to spend time with children for a segment of the "Reading with Rowdy" program. Cohoes Head Start is located off of One Orgolon Place, Cohoes.

River Rats Rewind: Week 8 - November 22, 2004 (1-2-0-0, 2pts)

December 1st - HER 3 @ ALB 0 - G Tom Lawson stopped 28 shots for his first shutout and LW David Masse scored his fourth goal against Albany in Hershey's third win over their East Division opponents. G Scott Clemmensen stopped 35 of 37 shots for third star of the game honors as the River Rats were blanked for the second time this season.

December 3rd - SYR 1 @ ALB 0 - Crunch G Karl Goehring stopped all 26 shots on goal for his third victory over the River Rats this season. LW Rafael Sannitz scored the game's only goal in the first period on Albany G Ari Ahonen, who stopped 21 of 22 shots to become the franchise's saves leader with 3,711 saves in 133 games played.

December 4th - ALB 3 @ SPR 1 - LW Dean McAmmond opened the scoring and LW Ilkka Pikkarainen netted the game-winning goal at 1:55 of the second period as the River Rats snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-4-3-1). LW Ryan Murphy added an empty net goal and G Scott Clemmensen stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn first star of the game honors.

Upcoming Promotions:

Wed., December 8th vs. Providence Bruins @ 7:00pm - $10 Wednesdays!

The Best Deal in town is back as all seats are only $10!

U.S. Marines Toys-For-Tots!

(Fans are asked to donate new & unwrapped toys for needy Capital Region children)

Sat., December 11th vs. Binghamton Senators @ 7:30pm - Teddy Bear Toss & NY Lottery Holiday Shootout!

Bring Plush Animals to Throw on the Ice & Win Great Raffle Prizes!

One lucky fan will shoot to give ALL fans 18 & older a FREE NY Lottery scratch-off!

Come Meet Santa Claus!

U.S. Marines Toys-For-Tots concludes!

(Final game to donate new & unwrapped toys for needy Capital Region children)

Wed., December 29th vs. Rochester Americans @ 7:00pm - Hey Arnold! & A Trip to Disney World!

All Seats are just $10!

Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold! will be at the game with Stickers & Tattoos!

Radio Disney joins the fun with games, prizes and your first chance to register to

Win a trip for four (4) to Disney World in Orlando, Florida!



American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2004


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