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River Rats set for busy second week

October 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


What's Ahead:

The Albany River Rats visit the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a 7:05pm face-off on Wednesday from the Arena at Harbor Yard. The River Rats then host the Sound Tigers at 7:00pm on Friday night in the third consecutive game between the two teams over the last week. The Sound Tigers (2-0-0-0, 1st East) are unbeaten following opening weekend wins over the River Rats on Saturday and Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. Center's Ryan Kraft (2-2-4) and Justin Mapletoft (0-4-4) are tied for the team lead in points, while the top affiliate of the New York Islanders has limited opponents to three goals in the two match-ups. Albany has a 5-14-5-1 record in the all-time regular season series against Bridgeport, including a 1-9-2-1 record on the road. The River Rats dropped a 4-1 decision to the Sound Tigers at Bridgeport on Saturday night.

Albany welcomes the Providence Bruins to town for the club's first 7:30pm Saturday night start of the season on October 23rd. The Bruins (1-1-0-1, 4th Atlantic) are coming off a 4-0 shutout victory over the Springfield Falcons yesterday at home. C Brad Boyes leads the top affiliate of the Boston Bruins and is tied for fourth in the American Hockey League with six (1-5-6) points in three games. LW Yorrick Treille tops the club with three goals, including two on the power play. The River Rats are 21-15-6-2 all-time against Providence, which includes an 11-6-3-2 record at Pepsi Arena. Albany went 2-1-0-1 against Providence during the 2003-04 season series, winning both games at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

The Albany River Rats hit the road to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5:05pm face-off on Sunday evening. The Penguins (0-3-0-0, 7th East) dropped a 5-3 decision to the Lowell Lock Monsters on the road yesterday. RW Shane Endicott leads the way with four (3-1-4) points, followed closely by LW Ramzi Abid who has three goals through three games. The top affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins has allowed 18 goals against in their first three games of the 2004-05 campaign. Albany shows a 9-14-5-0 mark in the all-time series versus Wilkes-Barre, which includes a 2-10-2 road mark. The River Rats were 1-3-2 against the Penguins, being outscored 20-13 in the six match-ups last season.

Rat Bites:

* C Zach Parise scored his first goal as a pro on his first shot in the first period of the 6-2 home win over the Senators on Friday. The 20-year-old pivot is the only player to pick up at least a point (1-2-3) in both games this season.

* C Pascal Rheaume was named the ninth captain in team history on Wednesday and posted a goal and an assist on Friday night. The Quebec City native is one goal away from third place on the team's all-time list and six points from 200 in a Rats uniform.

* Head coach Robbie Ftorek earned his 300th AHL career victory on Friday against Binghamton. He ranks second among active coaches behind Binghamton's Co-Coach John Paddock.

Over the Air: Wed., Oct. 20th @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 7:05pm (6:50pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)
Fri, Oct. 22nd vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 7:00pm (6:45pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)
Sat., Oct. 23rd vs. Providence Bruins, 7:30pm (7:15pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)
Sun., Oct. 24th @ WB-Scranton Penguins 5:05pm, (4:50pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game Show, AM 1160 WABY)
** Hear all the action LIVE at www.albanyriverrats.com**

ROSTER INCREASE APPROVED ... The AHL's Board of Governors today approved the increase in the size of playing rosters to 18 skaters and two goaltenders, up from 17. The change will take place beginning immediately, and be in effect until the end of the work stoppage in the National Hockey League.

Community Calendar:

* Monday, October 18th - Albany Open MRI Youth Hockey Visits:

Capital District Youth Hockey Association @ Albany Airport Rink: Capital Mites - 5:15pm-6:15pm (Ryan Murphy, Brett Clouthier); Capital Pee-Wee - 6:15pm-7:15pm (Phil Cole, Cam Janssen)

Bethlehem Youth Hockey @ Bethlehem Area YMCA: Bethlehem Mites - 5:30pm-6:30pm (Rob Skrlac, Adrian Foster)

Saratoga Youth Hockey @ Saratoga Ice Rink: Saratoga Mites - 6:00pm-7:25pm (Ilkka Pikkarainen &Ari Ahonen)

Troy-Albany Youth Hockey Association: TAYHA Pee-Wee - 7:40pm-8:50pm @ Frear Park Arena (Pascal Rheaume, Dean McAmmond); TAYHA Mites - 6:30pm-7:50pm @ Albany Academy Ice Rink (David Hale, Aaron Voros); TAYHA Bantam - 8:00pm-9:20pm @ Albany Academy Ice Rink (Teemu Kesa, Tuomas Pihlman)

River Rats Rewind: Week 1 - October 13, 2004 (1-1-0-0, 2pts)

October 15th - BNG 2 @ ALB 6 - RW Aleksander Suglobov set a new career-high with four points on two power play goals and two assists as the River Rats won their first season-opening game since 1998. C Zach Parise added a goal and an assist, while G Ari Ahonen stopped 21 of 23 shots for his first win of the season in front of a 6,248 opening night crowd.

October 16th - ALB 1 @ BRI 4 - C Zach Parise earned a point for the second straight night with an assist on LW Ilkka Pikkarainen's first goal of the season late in the second period. The River Rats went 0-10 on the power play, while the Sound Tigers earned the victory behind G Wade Dubielewicz's 23 saves and a 3-6 showing with the man advantage.

Upcoming Promotions:

Sat., October 30th vs. Norfolk Admirals @ 7:00pm - Pepsi Mouse Pad Night & Post-Game Autograph Session

The first 2,500 fans receive a FREE Mouse Pad courtesy of Pepsi! ALL fans are invited to stay & come meet ALL The Players on the ice after the game! Albany Open MRI Youth Hockey Skills Challenge: Puck Control Relay for all age groups (Mini-mites, Mites, Squirts & Pee-Wee) All Winners will receive a River Rats fan pack!

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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.

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