River Rats hit home before heading back on road

March 1, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


The Albany River Rats host the Springfield Falcons on Wednesday night in a 7:00pm face-off at Pepsi Arena. The River Rats return to the road and begin a three-game trip against the Norfolk Admirals at 7:00pm on Friday night from Scope Arena. Albany completes the road trip with a pair of games against the Philadelphia Phantoms on Sunday at 6:05pm and then on Monday night at 7:05pm.

Rat Bites:

- LW Ahren Nittel became the sixth member of the River Rats to score his first AHL goal on Tuesday in Manitoba. He joins Alex Brooks, Matt DeMarchi, Tuomas Pihlman, Ilkka Pikkarainen and Aleksander Suglobov.

- C Craig Darby is tied for fifth in the AHL with 35 assists and ranks seventh overall with 52 points during the 2003-04 season.

- The River Rats completed their four-game road trip with 1-0-2-1 record to earn five out-of-a-possible eight points against Rochester, Hamilton and Manitoba.

- LW Steve Kariya recorded five (1-4-5) points in four games last week, while playing in his 200th American Hockey League contest on Wednesday night at Manitoba. He ranks second on the River Rats with 21 assists and 32 points this season.

Over the Air:

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

Community Calendar:

- Mon., March 1st @ 11:00am – "Rowdy" The Rat will be at Albany City Hall for the "Freedom Bicycle Ride" as Dan Forant kicks off his 2,500-mile fundraising bike ride from New York to California for our troops in Iraq.

- Mon., March 1st @ 2:00pm – LW Ryan Murphy and RW Chris Hartsburg will be spending time at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center visiting United States Veterans. The Veterans Affairs Medical Center is located at 113 Holland Avenue in Albany.

- Tues., March 2nd @ 6:00pm – D Ray Giroux & Mike Matteucci will be assisting a Bethlehem Pee-Wee Hockey practice at the B.I.G. Arena, located at 900 Delaware Avenue in Delmar.

- Thurs., March 4th @ 5:30pm – "Rowdy" The Rat will be signing autographs for fans at the Jewish Community Center Carnival. The Jewish Community Center is located at 340 White Hall Road, Albany.

River Rats Rewind: Week 21 – February 23, 2004 (0-2-1-1, 2pts)

- February 24th – ALB 2 @ MTB 2 F/OT– LW Ahren Nittel opened the scoring in the second period with his first AHL goal and LW Ilkka Pikkarainen forced overtime as the River Rats extended their unbeaten streak to four (1-0-3) games. LW Steve Kariya picked up an assist and G Ari Ahonen stopped 27 of 29 shots for his sixth tie of the year.

- February 25th – ALB 2 @ MTB 3 F/OT – LW Steve Kariya dished out two assists against his former club and G Ari Ahonen earned first star of the game honors by stopping 39 shots on goal. D Alex Brooks and LW Maxim Balmochnykh scored the Albany goals in the first period as the club earned at least a point for the fifth straight contest.

- February 27th – BRI 3 @ ALB 1 – LW Ryan Murphy notched his seventh goal with under a minute to play in the first period but the Sound Tigers would score three unanswered goals for the victory. RW's Chris Hartsburg & Jiri Bicek earned the assists, while G Ari Ahonen stopped 25 shots in his fifth consecutive start.

- February 28th – ALB 3 @ HER 6 – LW Steve Kariya capped off a five-point week with a goal and an assist but the Bears scored three times in the second period en route to victory. D Raymond Giroux posted his 11th goal and LW Greg Crozier added his ninth tally in front of G Matus Kostur, who stopped 37 shots for his fourth loss of the 2003-04 season.

Upcoming Promotions:

Wed., March 3rd vs. Springfield Falcons @ 7:00pm

$10 Wednesday – The Best Deal in Town!

ALL SEATS JUST $10 FOR THIS HARD-HITTING HOCKEY RIVALRY!

Wed., March 10th vs. Syracuse Crunch @ 7:00pm

$10 Wednesday – The Best Deal in Town!

ALL SEATS JUST $10 FOR THIS NEW YORK HOCKEY BATTLE!

Sat. March 13th vs. Providence Bruins @ 4:00pm

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American Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2004


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