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River Rats in a Pennsylvania state of mind

November 15, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


The Albany River Rats host the Hershey Bears in the first of three games at Pepsi Arena this season on Friday night at 7:00pm. It will be Guys Night Out with appearances by the Fire and Ice USA Dancers & The Apprentice's Jennifer Crisafulli. The East Division rivals will also square off at Hershey's GIANT Center on Sunday evening at 5:00pm. The Bears (4-8-1-0, 7th East) have dropped two straight games following a 5-0 loss at Manchester on Saturday and visit Norfolk on Wednesday night. LW Mathieu Darche ranks first with 10 (6-4) points for the top affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. D Brett Clark stands second among AHL defensemen with nine assists and tops all team blueliners with that total. Albany holds a 29-20-1-2 record in the all-time regular season series against Norfolk, which includes a 16-9-1 record on home ice and 13-11-0-2 road mark. The teams play another four times following the pair of games this weekend on December 1st in Albany, December 17th in Hershey, January 5th in Albany and finally on January 30th back in Hershey.

Albany then welcomes the Philadelphia Phantoms to town for a 7:30pm face-off at Pepsi Arena on Saturday night. That game features an Advance Auto Parts Rally Banger giveaway to all fans in attendance. Fans are asked to donate comfort goods and will have the ability to send a videotaped message to Capital Region troops overseas through the NY National Guard's Operation Reach-Out. The Phantoms (10-2-0-0, 2nd East) have won 10 consecutive games after a 3-2 overtime victory over Norfolk yesterday and host Binghamton on Wednesday & Bridgeport on Friday. C Patrick Sharp leads the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers with 12 (5-7) points in 12 games during the 2004-05 campaign. Philadelphia acquired LW Jon Sim (2-2 in 12 games) from the Utah Grizzlies for longtime C Peter White on Sunday. Albany shows a 14-13-4-1 record in the all-time regular season series versus Philadelphia, including a 9-5-2 record at Pepsi Arena. The River Rats and Phantoms face-off another five times this season on January 1st in Albany, January 9th & 23rd in Philadelphia, April 10th also in Philadelphia before closing out the seasons series on April 16th at Pepsi Arena.

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

Tuesday - Practice at Bethlehem Area YMCA 10:00am

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

Thursday - Practice at Pepsi Arena, 10:00am

Friday - Game Day Skate at Pepsi Arena, 10:00am; Hershey Bears @ RIVER RATS, 7:00pm

Saturday - Game Day Skate at Pepsi Arena, 10:00am; Philadelphia Phantoms @ RIVER RATS, 7:30pm

Sunday - RIVER RATS @ Hershey Bears, 5:00pm

Monday - TBD

Rat Bites: * C Pascal Rheaume posted two points in Saturday's win at Portland to become the 4th player in team history to earn 200 points.

* The Albany River Rats earned their first victory when trailing after two periods of play against the Portland Pirates on the road last Saturday night.

* C Zach Parise picked up two assists over the weekend and ranks among the AHL rookie leaders in assists (8/2nd) and points (12/3rd) in 13 games during the 2004-05 season.

* The Albany River Rats have killed off nine consecutive penalties against to move up to ninth on the circuit with an 86.6% penalty kill rate. The club ranks fourth on home ice with a 92.9% penalty killing record.

Over the Air:

Fri., Nov. 12th vs. Hershey Bears, 7:00pm (6:45pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Sat., Nov. 13th vs. Philadelphia Phantoms, 7:30pm (7:15pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Sun., Nov. 21st @ Hershey Bears, 5:00pm (4:45pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

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

Community Outreach Appearances:

Tues., November 16th @ 6:00pm - The Albany River Rats will hold a Season Ticketholder Meet & Greet with the players at Jillian's from 6:00-8:00pm. Jillian's is located at 58 North Pearl Street Albany New York.

Wed., November 17th @ 2:00pm - C Eric Johansson will be the mystery reader and sign autographs for 2nd grade students at Bradt Elementary. The Bradt Elementary School is located at 2719 Hamburg Street in Schenectady.

River Rats Rewind: Week 3 - November 8, 2004 (1-1-0-0, 2pts)

November 12th - NOR 4 @ ALB 2 - RW Aaron Voros totaled a goal and an assist and LW Dean McAmmond netted his first goal as a River Rat in the club's third loss to the Admirals this season. G Ari Ahonen stopped 20 shots as the club dropped its third consecutive contest on home ice.

November 13th - ALB 3 @ POR 2 F/SO - LW Ryan Murphy and C Pascal Rheaume each posted a goal and an assist as the River Rats erased a 2-0 third period deficit. G Scott Clemmensen stopped 30 of 32 shots for his third victory and C Zach Parise's goal in the first shootout round ended up as the game-winner.

Upcoming Promotions:

Fri., November 19th vs. Hershey Bears @ 7:00pm - GUYS NIGHT OUT!

Marvel at the FIRE & ICE USA Dancers!

Meet Jennifer Crisafulli from The Apprentice 2!

Great Prizes including Two Miller Lite Fire & Ice Grills plus a La-Z-y Boy recliner from Furniture Theater!

Three-month Delmar Health & Fitness trial memberships!

Zero Gravity Laser Tag giveaways, Butcher Block vouchers & a Sunday Football Pizza Party from Mild Wally's!

NY Lottery "Dashing For Dough" with Giveaways, Prizes & Yolanda Vega will sign autographs!

Sat., November 20th vs. Philadelphia @ 7:30pm - Advance Auto Parts Rally Banger & Support The Troops Night!

All fans receive a FREE pair of Advance Auto Parts River Rat Rally Bangers!

NY National Guard Operation Reach-Out:

All Fans are invited to send a video message to Capital Region Troops Overseas!

Comfort Goods like shaving cream, soap, toothpaste, etc. will be collected for the Troops!



American Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2004


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