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River Rats roll to first place in East

October 25, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... There's a familiar face behind the bench. There's timely offense, solid defense and sharp goaltending. And the River Rats are in first place. So far, so good in Albany.

After four straight seasons without postseason hockey in New York's capital, there is reason for early optimism in 2004-05. The River Rats are 4-1-1-0 through the first two weekends of the season, good for a perch atop a very competitive East Division. Following back-to-back losses at Bridgeport on Oct. 16 and 20, Albany rebounded with a strong weekend, winning three games in three nights for the first time since Jan. 21-23, 2000.

Albany scored four power-play goals to defeat the Sound Tigers, 5-1, in a rematch on Friday, then took care of Providence by the same 5-1 score on Saturday before scoring four times in the final 5:21 to come away with a 5-2 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Albany, which did not win its fourth game last season until Nov. 21, is a perfect 3-0-0-0 at the Pepsi Arena this season, and has won three in a row overall for the first time since a five-game streak in March 2003. Aleksander Suglobov, who missed much of his rookie season in 2003-04 due to injury, leads the River Rats with nine points (four goals, five assists), and rookies Aaron Voros (4g, 4a) and Zach Parise (3g, 4a) are off to fast starts as well.

Pascal Rheaume and Dean McAmmond were added to provide veteran leadership up front. Adrian Foster, a 2001 first-round draft pick whose playing career has been plagued by injury, hopes to stay healthy and contribute big numbers. Finnish forwards Ilkka Pikkarainen and Tuomas Pihlman now have a full year of AHL action under their belts.

The River Rats' defensive corps has been shored up as well, with the additions of Ray Schultz fresh off captaining Milwaukee to the 2004 Calder Cup championship, David Hale after spending his entire rookie season in the NHL with New Jersey in 2003-04, and Bobby Allen in his fourth AHL season out of Boston College. They join blue-line returnees including third-year pro Krisjanis Redlihs and two-time NCAA champion Matt DeMarchi in front of the goaltending tandem of Ari Ahonen and Scott Clemmensen, now in their fourth year sharing duties in the Albany crease.

Robbie Ftorek, who coached the River Rats to two division titles, two 100-plus-point seasons and a Calder Cup championship in his first stint in the mid-1990's, leads his club back into action on Wednesday night when Albany visits division rival Norfolk.

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BOYES OH BOYES ... A four-point night by Brad Boyes included his second career hat trick as Providence posted a 6-2 victory over Lowell at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Friday night. Boyes, a 2000 first-round draft pick and a 30-goal scorer in each of his first two pro seasons in the AHL, scored twice on the power play during the Bruins' four-goal first period, and capped his performance with an empty-netter with just 90 seconds left in the game. The four points tied a personal career high.

With the win, Providence has now earned a standings point in each of its last 22 meetings with Lowell.

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STILL PERFECT ... Only three teams still boast perfect records heading into the last week of October: the Grand Rapids Griffins, Hartford Wolf Pack and Manchester Monarchs, all at 4-0-0-0.

The Griffins swept a two-game set in San Antonio over the weekend, and now return to Van Andel Arena for a nine-game homestand, beginning Tuesday against Rochester. The Wolf Pack, who last year allowed the second-fewest goals in an 80-game season in AHL history, have given up just five through four games in 2004-05. And the Monarchs have outscored their opponents 22-8, including Saturday's 5-0 win over Utah at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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OFF THE ICE ... Reality TV star Rupert Boneham of Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: All-Stars dropped the first puck and signed autographs at Sunday's Cincinnati-Rochester game at Cincinnati Gardens... Phantoms defenseman Dennis Seidenberg will be assistant-teaching an after-school language club at Father Judge High School in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon; the club is currently studying German, Seidenberg's native language... Fans at the Bradley Center on Saturday will have the opportunity to take pictures with Admirals players on the ice after Milwaukee's game with Utah.

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ETC. ... Jiri Hudler has recorded a point in each of Grand Rapids' four games this season, including a hat trick in Sunday's 4-3 overtime win at San Antonio... Ilya Bryzgalov is off to a 4-0-0 start in goal for Cincinnati, including two shootout victories... Rookie Rene Bourque had two goals and two assists for Norfolk in a two-game series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last week; Saturday's rubber match in Wilkes-Barre was postponed due to a water main break in town (make-up date: Dec. 6)... Chuck Kobasew had four goals and an assist in three games for Lowell last week... Former Sound Tigers Jeff Hamilton (goal, assist) and Steve Valiquette (26 saves) helped Hartford to a 3-2 win in Bridgeport on Saturday... Former Aeros Cory Larose (overtime goal) and Travis Roche (two assists) helped Chicago to a 5-4 victory over Houston on Wednesday... After going scoreless in 65 NHL games last season, Albany's David Hale netted his first pro goal on Sunday at Wilkes-Barre... Manchester forward Tom Kostopoulos leads the AHL with eight assists and a plus-9 rating on the year... Philadelphia defeated Hershey on Saturday, 3-2 in overtime, for its 13th straight win over the Bears... Worcester's 9-0 win at Springfield on Saturday afternoon marked the most one-sided shutout by an AHL road team since Providence beat the Springfield Indians, also 9-0, during the 1993 Calder Cup Playoffs... Edmonton is off to a 5-1-1-0 start despite going just 1-for-36 on the power play... Eight of the 19 games played in the AHL on Saturday and Sunday were decided in overtime; one more was determined in a shootout.

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