River Rats Power Past Portland 5-2

Published on October 9, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


ALBANY, NY- River Rats rookie Zach Boychuk tallied a game-high three points, including his first professional goal, as Albany defeated the Portland Pirates 5-2 Friday night at the Times Union Center.

Forwards Pat Dwyer, Jerome Samson, Brandon Sutter and Chris Terry also recorded multi-point nights, as Albany unloaded four straight goals in the second and third periods to earn the first River Rats win of the season.

Despite out-shooting the Pirates 16-5 in the opening period, Portland escaped the frame with a 1-1 tie. Albany rookie Drayson Bowman broke the draw on the power play early in the second period, when he slid a loose puck beneath Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth for his second goal of the season; Terry and Samson assisted on the go-ahead tally. Later in the frame Samson gave Albany a two goal cushion, chipping home a rebound left behind by a blocked Boychuk break-away for the eventual game-winner.

Boychuk's first professional goal came midway through the third period on the power play, when Brandon Sutter found the rookie for a one-timer in the low slot. Rookie Chris Terry finished off the River Rats scoring with his second goal in as many games, completing a 2-on-1 rush with Dwyer by guiding a crisp pass from Albany's captain into the back of the net. Nathan Gerbe scored Portland's second goal with under two minutes remaining in the game.

The River Rats lone first period tally came 4:50 into the contest on the power play, when center Sutter deflected a heavy Brett Carson slap shot past Enroth; Boychuk recorded the secondary assist on Sutter's first of the year. Midway through the period Pirates center Cody McCormick knotted the game at 1-1 with a close-range shot that bounced off of a defenseman and fluttered behind Peters. Albany's power play unit had three more chances in the frame, but Enroth kept his rebounds close and escaped the first period with a 1-1 tie. Albany goaltender Justin Peters stopped 24-of-26 shots faced and earned the win as Albany improved to 1-1-0-0 on the season. Pirates goalie Jhonas Enroth allowed five goals on 34 shots and took the loss, as Portland fell to 0-2-0-0 this year. The River Rats out-shot the Pirates 34-26 in the game and went 3-for-6 on the power play; Portland went 0-for-5 on the man advantage.

Albany returns to action tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. when they face the Rochester Americans at the Times Union Center. River Rats 2009-10 season and flex ticket packages are now on sale at the River Rats executive offices at the Times Union Center, by calling (518) 487-2244 or by logging onto www.albanyriverrats.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 9, 2009


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