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River Rats look to coninue tripping up competition

December 13, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


The Albany River Rats make their third and final visit to the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday night at 7:05pm. The Penguins (12-7-4-3, T-2nd East) defeated the Philadelphia Phantoms 6-4 at home on Saturday. RW Michel Ouellet has scored in four straight games and continues to lead the top affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins with18 goals and 27 points this season. C Kris Beech has picked up assists in six straight games and leads the team with 19 assists in 26 games during the 2004-05 campaign. Albany holds an 11-15-5 record in the all-time regular season series against Wilkes-Barre, including a 4-10-2 mark on the road. The River Rats lead the 2004-05 season series 2-1, having outscored the Penguins 11-8 in three previous games. The East Division rivals meet two more times on January 15th and April 1st at Pepsi Arena.

The River Rats then move on to face-off in a 7:30pm contest against the Hershey Bears on Friday night at the GIANT center. The Bears (11-15-1-0, 7th East) dropped a 4-0 decision to the Lowell Lock Monsters at home on Sunday and will visit Bridgeport on Wednesday. D Brett Clark leads the club and all AHL defenders with 19 assists and his 21 points is tops on the Hershey roster this year. LW Mathieu Darche leads the top affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche with 10 goals, including a team-high three on the power play during the 2004-05 campaign. Albany shows a 22-22-1-3 record in the all-time regular season series versus Hershey, including a 13-11-0-3 record on the road. The River Rats are 0-2-1-0 against the Bears, having been outscored 11-5 in the three previous matches. The teams meet another three times on January 5th & 7th at Albanys Pepsi Arena and finally on January 30th in Hershey.

Albany closes out the week on Saturday night against the Springfield Falcons in a 7:00pm face-off at the Springfield Civic Center. The Falcons (7-16-2-1, 7th Atlantic) have lost five straight games after a 4-3 road loss to the Manchester Monarchs on Sunday night. Former River Rat C Craig Darby tops the Falcons with 13 assists and ranks third on the club with 14 points in 24 games during the 2004-05 season. RW Shane Willis leads the top affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning with 21 (11-10) points, and is second on the roster with two power play goals this year. The River Rats are 1-1 against the Falcons this season, outscoring their Massachusetts neighbors by a 6-5 margin. The teams face-off another three times after Saturdays meeting on February 9th in Albany, March 19th at the Springfield Civic Center and finally on March 26th in a 4:00pm matinee 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, 10:30am; Travel to Wilkes-Barre

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

Thursday Practice at Wachovia Arena, 10:00am; Travel to Hershey

Friday Game Day Skate at GIANT Center, 11:15am; RIVER RATS @ Hershey Bears, 7:30pm

Saturday RIVER RATS @ Springfield Falcons, 7:00pm

Sunday Off Day

Monday Practice at Bethlehem Area YMCA, 10:00am

Rat Bites:

* C Zach Parise matched an AHL-high and established a career-high with four assists on Wednesday night against Providence. He leads all AHL rookies with 15 assists and 20 points in his first season out of the University of North Dakota.

* The River Rats earned five (2-0-0-1) points last week, after trailing in each of the three contests they played. Albany erased a 4-2 deficit on Wednesday and came back from a pair of 2-0 deficits on Friday in Wilkes-Barre & Saturday vs. Binghamton.

* After missing the first 24 games of the season, LW Ahren Nittel scored goals in consecutive games on Friday in Wilkes-Barre off a face-off and on Saturday against Binghamton.

Over the Air:

Wed., Dec. 15th @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05pm (6:50pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Fri., Dec. 17th @ Hershey Bears, 7:30pm (7:15pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

Sat., Dec. 18th @ Springfield Falcons, 7:00pm (6:45pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)

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

Community Outreach Appearances:

Tues., December 14th @ 4:30pm Rowdy The Rat will appear at a Reading With Rowdy session at Compeer For Kids, an after school program for youths. Compeer For Kids is located at 306 Central Avenue in Albany.

River Rats Rewind: Week 9 December 6, 2004 (2-0-0-1, 5pts)

December 8th PRO 5 @ ALB 4

F/SO RW Aleksander Suglobov (2-2) and C Zach Parise (0-4) each set career highs with four points as the River Rats earned a point by erasing a 4-2 third period deficit. LW Dean McAmmond added three (1-2) points and G Ari Ahonen stopped 21 shots in a game that saw Albany score three power play markers.

December 3rd ALB 5 @ WIL 2

D Matt DeMarchi notched a goal and an assist, leading five different scorers in Albany second straight come-from-behind win in Wilkes-Barre. C Pascal Rheaume netted the winner midway through the contest and LW Ahren Nittel posted his first goal in front of G Scott Clemmensen, who stopped 32 shots for first star of the game honors.

December 4th BNG 2 @ ALB 3

F/OT RW Aleksander Suglobov scored the games final two goals, including the winner 49 seconds into overtime as the River Rats snapped a 10-game home winless streak. The Russian winger earned CCM/Vector AHL Player of the Week honors by posting seven (5-2-7) points in three games. G Scott Clemmensen earned his third straight victory with 32 saves.

Upcoming Promotions:

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

All Seats are just $10!

Nickelodeons 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!

Sat., January 1st vs. Philadelphia Phantoms @ 5:00pm Hannaford Supermarkets Kids Club Post-Game Skate!

All Hannaford Supermarkets Kids Club Members get to skate on the ice with the players!

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