River Rats Return to First

Published on November 4, 2002 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


What's Ahead:

The Albany River Rats host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Wednesday night at 7:00p.m. from Pepsi Arena in the first of eight meetings during the 2002-03 campaign. The Sound Tigers (5-3-1-1, 1ST East) shutout the Saint John Flames 1-0 on Saturday to extend their unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) games. The top prospects of the New York Islanders are led by C Eric Manlow's 14 (7-7) points and RW Trent Hunter, who has at least a point (7-6-13) in all eight-games he has played this season. Bridgeport tops the circuit with a 90% effective penalty kill, which includes two shorthanded goals. The River Rats show a 1-5-1-1 record in the all-time regular season series, with a 1-2-1 mark at Pepsi Arena. Albany and Bridgeport square off another seven times this season: Dec. 8 @ ALB, Feb. 1 @ ALB, Feb. 19 @ BPT, Mar. 1 @ BPT, Mar. 2 @ ALB, Mar. 28 @ BPT & Apr. 4 @ BPT.

Albany then makes the first of four visits to the Springfield Civic Center to skate against the Falcons on Friday night at 7:35p.m. The Falcons (4-8-0-0, 5TH East) dropped a 7-3 decision to the Providence Bruins on Sunday evening. LW Ramzi Abid (6-6) and D Darren Rumble (2-10), a former Eddie Shore Award winner, are tied for the club lead with 12 points in 12 games this season. Springfield has won two of the last three games but rank 27TH with 2.33 goals/game and 26TH in allowing 3.83 goals/game. The River Rats and Falcons face-off another six times this season (Dec. 18 @ ALB, Jan. 12 @ ALB, Jan. 20 @ SPR, Feb. 17 @ ALB, Mar. 21 & 29 @ SPR). Albany shows a 17-14-7-3 record against Springfield in the all-time series, including a 7-8-2-3 mark at the Civic Center.

The River Rats remain on the road and visit the Manchester Monarchs at Verizon Wireless Arena in the first of four meetings this season on Saturday night at 7:35p.m. The Monarchs (7-1-1-0, 2ND North) have won six straight and are unbeaten in their last eight games (7-0-1) following a 2-1 road overtime win over Portland on Saturday. The top minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings will host North Division rival, the Worcester IceCats on Friday night. Rookie C Mike Cammalleri leads all newcomers and the club with 14 (4-10) points this season, while Former R.P.I. Engineer Eric Healey (4-6) and veteran LW Steve Heinze (5-5) are tied for second among team point scorers. Albany owns a 1-0-1 record against Manchester in the all-time series, with an 0-1-1 road mark. The River Rats and Monarchs meet another three times this season: (Dec. 6 @ ALB, Jan. 8 @ ALB & Mar. 23 @ MCH).

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

Tuesday – Practice at Pepsi Arena, 10:00a.m.

Wednesday – Game Day Skate at Pepsi Arena, 10:00a.m.; Bridgeport Sound Tigers at River Rats, 7:00p.m.

Thursday – Practice at B.I.G. Arena, 10:00a.m.

Friday – Game Day Skate at B.I.G. Arena, 10:00a.m.; River Rats at Springfield Falcons, 7:35p.m.

Saturday – Game Day Skate at Verizon Wireless Arena 10:00a.m.; River Rats at Manchester Monarchs, 7:35p.m.

Sunday – OFF DAY

Monday – Practice at B.I.G. Arena, 10:00a.m.

Feature Ideas:

* Captain Ken Sutton – The 1998-99 Eddie Shore Award winner has proven that he can lead this Albany club, and with the influx of veterans, how are the younger players adding to the first-place standing?

* LW Joe Hulbig – After beginning the season on a tear, he missed a few games with a minor injury. Hulbig has points in two straight since coming back but does he have to ease himself back into the lineup to prevent re-injuring himself?

* LW Scott Cameron – The Rats' checking center added some muscle in the off-season and with linemates Max Birbraer and Chris Hartsburg has done the job. How does one prepare during practice to shutdown the opposition?

River Rats Rewind:

Fri., November 1ST - SPR 2 @ ALB 1: River Rats D Raymond Giroux opened the scoring with a power play goal late in the first period but the Falcons scored in each of the last two periods to earn their third victory of the season. Albany G Scott Clemmensen stopped 26 of 28 shots as the club saw its three-game, home-winning streak snapped.

Sat., November 2ND – ROC 0 @ ALB 3: River Rats G Ari Ahonen made 27 saves for his first North American shutout. LW Dave Roche scored twice and LW Michael Rupp added his third goal, as the club remains unbeaten (2-0-1) against the Amerks this season.

Sun., November 3RD - ALB 1 @ BNG 1: LW Joe Hublig scored a power play goal at 7:51 of the third period to keep Albany's PPG streak alive at 11 games. Captain Ken Sutton pitched in an assist to run his point-scoring streak to six games (1-5-6) and G Scott Clemmensen made 34 saves on 35 shots in the first ever meeting between the two clubs.

Rat Bites:

* G Ari Ahonen recorded his first North American shutout with 27 saves against the Rochester Americans on Saturday. It was the club's first SHO since March 10, 2001 vs. Louisville, a span of 103 games.

* D Krisjanis Redlihs picked up his first pro point with an assist on Sunday. He was New Jersey's 7TH choice (154TH overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

* G Scott Clemmensen ranks third among active netminders with 2.26 goals against average in seven games this season.

* The Albany River Rats killed off 15 straight penalties in three games over the weekend.

Over the Air:

Wed., November 6TH vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 7:00p.m. (6:45p.m. Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game, Sportstalk 980 AM)*

Fri., November 8TH at Springfield Falcons, 7:35p.m. (7:20p.m. Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game, Sportstalk 980 AM)*

Sat., November 9TH at Manchester Monarchs, 7:35p.m. (7:20p.m. Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game, Sportstalk 980 AM)*

* Available on-line at www.albanyriverrats.com

Community Calendar:

* Tues., November 5th and Thurs., November 7th: Head coach Red Gendron and a few Albany River Rats players will be making guest coaching appearances at Clifton Park Youth Hockey Mite practices from 5:15-6:15p.m. at the Clifton Park Arena.

Upcoming Promotions:

* Wed., November 6TH vs. Bridgeport - Trustco Bank Skills Night: A fan will be selected at random for the chance to earn some FREE CASH by going onto the ice to participate in a skills challenge. If successful, the winner will be awarded a $2,000 check and if there is no winner, another $1,000 will be added to the bank with a grand total of $12,000 available courtesy of the Albany River Rats and Trustco Bank.

* Fri., November 15TH vs. Hamilton – SWEET Other Ones: The Albany River Rats will raffle off two Pepsi Arena suite tickets for the SOLD OUT Other Ones concert at Pepsi Arena! This is the FINAL chance to score your tickets for this limited engagement tour!

* Sat., November 23RD vs. Syracuse – CSEA Ice Scraper Night: Just in time for winter, the first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a FREE ice scraper courtesy of the Albany River Rats and CSEA!

* Sat., November 30TH vs. Rochester – Harry Potter/Team Picture/Post-Game Autograph Session Night:

THIS IS THE NIGHT FOR FAMILY FUN!

Join the Albany River Rats in celebrating the release of the motion picture Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with a night of games, fun and prizes featuring Radio Disney! There will be a MUGGLE SHUFFLE broomstick relay race on the ice, Nimbus 2000 Limbo, Harry Potter Trivia, the Cauldron of Goo, and a Harry Potter-themed arts & crafts table!

The River Rats will also announce the Number "10" Moment in team history as voted upon by the fans, and to celebrate, some lucky fans will receive prepaid phones, cellular accessory packages, and other great merchandise courtesy of Verizon Wireless.

The club will then hold one of its annual Post-Game Autograph sessions on the ice with players! Get your favorite River Rat player to sign the FREE Phoenix Team Picture that will be given out to all fans in attendance.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from November 4, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central