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River Rats hit high note

April 4, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


What's Ahead:

The Albany River Rats visit the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the fourth and final time on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. The Sound Tigers (33-34-4-1, 6th East) turned in a 5-2 home win over the Binghamton Senators on Sunday night. RW Rob Collins tops the club with 21 goals and 57 points in 71 games during the 2004-05 campaign. D Chris Campoli scored twice yesterday and ranks fifth among AHL defenders with 45 (13-32) points during his rookie season for the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders. Albany holds a 7-14-5-4 record in the all-time regular season series against Bridgeport, including a 1-9-2-3 record on the road. The River Rats are 2-1-2-1 against the Sound Tigers this season and have been outscored 15-14 in the six previous games. The teams close the season series on April 13th in Albany. LW Dean McAmmond leads the River Rats with six (2-4) points, while Collins holds five (3-2) points versus Albany this year.

Albany moves on to Norfolk for a pair of 7:30 p.m. match-ups against the Admirals on Friday and Saturday night at Scope Arena. The Admirals (41-26-4-6, 3rd East) are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to Philadelphia at home on Saturday and will host the Phantoms again on Wednesday. LW Rene Bourque leads the team and is tied for second among all AHL rookies with 58 (33-25) points during the 2004-05 campaign. The AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks tops the circuit with a 90.6% penalty kill efficiency and ranks third overall with a 2.32 goals against average this season. Albany holds a 3-11-2-2 record in the all-time season series against Norfolk, including a 0-5-1-2 mark on the road. The River Rats are 1-2-0-1 against the Admirals this season and have been outscored 14-10 in the four previous games. Albany C Zach Parise tops the club with six assists versus Norfolk, while LWs Bourque (3-1) and Matt Ellison (1-3) each show four points in the season series.

The River Rats close the weekend with the club's final visit to the Wachovia Spectrum in a 6:05 p.m. face-off against the Philadelphia Phantoms on Sunday. The Phantoms (43-22-3-4, 2nd East) posted a 4-2 home victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday. They visit Norfolk Wednesday, host Bridgeport Friday before facing Hershey on the road Saturday night. LW Jon Sim is tied for fourth in the AHL with 35 goals and has 53 (33-20) points in 57 games since coming over from Utah. Rookie C R.J. Umberger leads all rookies with 39 assists and is fourth among newcomers with 57 points this year. Albany shows a 14-15-4-3 record in the all-time regular season series against Philadelphia, which includes a 5-10-2-1 road record. The River Rats are 0-2-1-1 against the Phantoms this season and have been outscored 15-9 through four games. Albany's McAmmond leads with five (2-3) points, while Sim shows six (4-2) points during the season series.

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

Tuesday, April 5th - Practice at Pepsi Arena, 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday, April 6th - RIVER RATS @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 7:05 p.m.

Thursday, April 7th - Travel to Norfolk

Friday, April 8th - Game Day Skate at Scope Arena, 11:15am; RIVER RATS @ Norfolk Admirals, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 9th - Game Day Skate at Scope Arena, 11:15am; RIVER RATS @ Norfolk Admirals, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 10th - RIVER RATS @ Philadelphia Phantoms, 6:05 p.m.

Rat Bites: * LW Ryan Murphy set a career-high with four (3-1) points on Sunday, including the River Rats' first road hat trick since March 2, 2001. The California native has established personal bests with 11 goals and 32 points during the 2004-05 season.

* G Ari Ahonen is 4-1 with a 1.29 goals against average in his last five starts and matched a career-high with his 13th win on Sunday. New Jersey's first round pick in 1999 tied a team record last week with his third shutout of the season.

* The River Rats are on a season-high four-game winning streak and have surpassed last year's win total (21), while already matching the 62 points with eight games remaining in the regular season.

* LW Ahren Nittel has seven goals in the last 10 games and is tied for the team lead with 23 markers this season. The 21-year-old has put up 31 (23-8) points in just 42 games during the 2004-05 campaign.

Over the Air:

Wed., April 6th @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 7:30 p.m. (7:15 p.m. Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Fri., April 8th @ Norfolk Admirals, 7:30 p.m. (6:45 p.m. Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Sat., April 9th @ Norfolk Admirals, 7:30 p.m. (7:15 p.m. Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Sun., April 10th @ Philadelphia Phantoms, 6:05 p.m. (5:50 p.m. Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

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

-More-

Community Outreach Appearances:

Mon., April 4th @ 9:15 a.m. - "Rowdy" The Rat will visit Holy Sprit School to read to youngsters as a part of the "Reading with Rowdy" program. The Holy Spirit School is located at 54 Highland Drive in East Greenbush.

Wed., April 6th @ 12:00 p.m. - "Rowdy The Rat returns to Holy Sprit School for a second segment of the "Reading with Rowdy" program. Holy Spirit School is located at 54 Highland Drive, East Greenbush.

Sat., April 9th @ 1:00 p.m. - "Rowdy The Rat will be at the Albany Auto Show to participate in a Mascot race to benefit the Albany Medical Center Children's hospital. This year's event will take place at Pepsi Arena.

River Rats Rewind: Week 25 - March 28, 2005 (3-0-0-0, 6pts)

April 1st - WBS 1 @ ALB 2 - LWs Ilkka Pikkarainen and Ahren Nittel scored 13 seconds apart during the first period as Albany split the season series 3-3-0-0 with the Penguins. G Ari Ahonen stopped 29 of 30 shots in the final meeting between the East Division rivals.

April 2nd - ROC 2 @ ALB 4 - LW Ilkka Pikkarainen scored for the third straight and joined LW Tuomas Pihlman with a one goal, two assist performance as the River Rats earned their first win over Rochester. RW Brian Gionta scored his first goal of the season early in the third period and G Scott Clemmensen stopped 25 of 27 shots for his 12th win.

April 3rd - ALB 6 @ WOR 2 - Albany LW Ryan Murphy set a career-high with four (3-1) points and G Ari Ahonen stopped 40 shots in the River Rats' fourth consecutive win. LW Dean McAmmond added a goal and an assist, while RW Brian Gionta chipped in two assists in the last ever meeting between the clubs. The IceCats will be moving to Peoria, Illinois for the 2005-06 season.

Upcoming Promotions:

Wed, April 13th vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers @ 7:00 p.m. - $10 Wednesday!

All seats are just $10 for the final time this season!

Sat, April 16th vs. Philadelphia Phantoms @ 4:00 p.m. - Fan Appreciation Day!

Meet The Wild Thornberry's Donnie & Eliza! Radio Disney AM 1460 with the FINAL drawing for a trip to Disney World!

River Rats prizes including Autographed Jerseys, sticks and much more!

Intermission prizes from NY Lottery, Panera and Phillips Hardware!

Pre-Game Block Part@ 1:00PM!

Live Music from North Allen!

Food, Games and Fun!

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