
River Rats Showing Consistency
December 16, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release
The Albany River Rats return home to skate against the Springfield Falcons on Wednesday night in a 7:00pm face-off at Pepsi Arena. The Falcons (14-15-1-0, 3RD East) defeated the Saint John Flames 4-3 on Sunday to extend their unbeaten streak to three (2-0-1) games. LW Ramzi Abid tops the American Hockey League with 15 tallies and has scored a league-best nine on the power play. C Jeff Taffe, who ranks fourth among AHL rookies with 26 (10-16) points, tops the club with those totals and three game-winners during the 2002-03 campaign. The teams have split the season series 1-1 thus far, with Albany outscoring Springfield 5-2. The River Rats and Falcons meet another five times on Jan. 12 @ ALB, Jan. 20 @ SPR, Feb. 17 @ ALB, Mar. 21 & 29 @ SPR.
The River Rats then meet the Syracuse Crunch in the second of three visits to the Oncenter on Friday night at 7:30pm. The Crunch (11-14-1-0, 5TH Central) have lost two straight games following a 6-3 home loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night. The top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets hosts Cincinnati on Wednesday before Albany comes to town. RW David Ling is second on the circuit and leads the Crunch with 24 assists, while LW Mathieu Darche, who has 50 career AHL goals, tops the club with 12 markers. Albany and Syracuse show a 1-1 record in the 2002-03 season series with both teams connecting for four goals. The two NY rivals will face-off three more times this season on Jan. 25 @ SYR, Feb. 26 @ ALB & Mar. 12 @ ALB.
The top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils return back to "The Pepsi" to meet the Worcester IceCats on Saturday evening at 7:00pm. The IceCats (15-10-4-1, 3RD North) defeated the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 4-1 on Sunday to improve their mark over the last 10 games to 5-3-2. The top affiliate of the St. Louis Blues hosts St. John's on Wednesday and Utah on Friday before the club's only visit to the Capital District. Center John Pohl, who has goals (4) in four straight games, ranks third in the league with 32 points and tops all rookies in goals (13) & points. The River Rats hold a 13-13-5-1 record in the all-time regular season series, including a 5-8-3 road mark. The teams face-off again on December 27TH @ the Centrum Centre in a 7:05pm contest.
River Rats this week: * Practice times are subject to change, please call the River Rats office to confirm dates and times.
Tuesday â Practice at B.I.G. Arena, 10:00AM
Wednesday â Game Day Skate at Pepsi Arena, 10:00AM; Springfield Falcons @ RIVER RATS, 7:00pm
Thursday â Practice at B.I.G. Arena, 10:00AM; Bus to St. Anne's Institute for Christmas Gift Giving, 11:30am-12:30pm
Friday â Game Day Skate at Pepsi Arena, 10:00AM; RIVER RATS @ Syracuse Crunch, 7:35pm
Saturday â Game Day Skate at Pepsi Arena, 11:15AM; Worcester IceCats @ RIVER RATS, 7:00pm
Sunday â TBA
Monday (23RD), Tuesday (24TH) & Wednesday (25TH) â OFF
Rat Bites:
* The Albany River Rats earned their fourth road victory of the season on December 13TH, surpassing the 2001-02 club's 40-game total.
* River Rats LW Greg Crozier has six (3-3) points in eight games with Albany and is tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals.
* River Rats assistant coach Chris Terreri laced up the skates for the first time in two years when he served as the club's back-up netminder in Friday's 3-2 road victory over Saint John.
* The Albany River Rats have more wins (4) & the same point-total (9) in six December games as the team earned in 16 November contests.
Over the Air:
Wed., December 18TH vs. Springfield Falcons, 7:00pm (6:45pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game, Fox Sports Radio AM 980)*
Fri., December 20TH at Syracuse Crunch, 7:30pm (7:15pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game, Fox Sports Radio AM 980)*
Sat., December 21ST vs. Worcester IceCats, 7:00pm (6:45pm Capitaland Motors GMC Pre-Game, 102.3 KISS FM)
* Web broadcast available at www.albanyriverrats.com
Community Calendar:
Mon., December 16TH â River Rats LW's Joe Hulbig & Jason Lehoux, RW Max Birbraer, and D Victor Uchevatov & Krisjanis Redlihs will wrap Holiday Gift Baskets with youth volunteers at the Equinox Inc., from 4:00pm-5:00pm
Thurs., December 19TH - The Albany River Rats will make their annual visit to give Holiday Gifts to the children of the St. Anne's Institute located at 116 North Main Street. The entire team will bus over to the facility courtesy of Yankee Trails Bus Lines at 11:30am and will be on hand when the children open their gifts.
River Rats Rewind:
December 13TH ALB 3 @ SJN 2 â LW Greg Crozier was first star of the game with two (1-1) points including the game-winner with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. G Ari Ahonen made 31 saves on 33 shots to pick up his fifth win of the season.
December 14TH - ALB 1 @ SJN /OT â River Rats Captain Ken Sutton picked up a goal 2:10 into the third period and G Ari Ahonen made 37 saves in the loss. The club picked up three of a possible four points in the weekend series at Harbour Station.
Upcoming Promotions:
Wed., December 18TH vs. Springfield Falcons @ 7:00PM â Trustco Take It To The Bank Skills Challenge! The Albany River Rats and Trustco Bank want you to be prepared for the Holidays, so do not miss your chance to win the jackpot which now stands at $2,000! Fans are selected through a random drawing for the chance to come onto the River Rats ice and participate in a variety of skills challenges. If successful, the winner will be awarded the cash prize and if not, another $1,000 will be added to the bank with a total of $12,000 available courtesy of Trustco Bank and the Albany River Rats.
Sat, December 28TH vs. Binghamton Senators @ 7:00PM â SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS HOCKEY NIGHT! The Albany River Rats welcome the underwater hero to Pepsi Arena for the first ever game against the Binghamton Senators at Pepsi Arena!
· Come meet Spongebob Squarepants & you could win a trip to Universal Studios to see a LIVE Spongebob show!
· See the River Rats announce the #9 Moment in Team History with 10TH Anniversary prizes courtesy of the New Jersey Devils!
· One of 10 Authentic Autographed Devils jerseys signed by Patrik Elias, Scott Stevens, Martin Brodeur or Joe Nieuwendyk!
· One of 10 Autographed sticks from the New Jersey Devil players!
· One of 10 pairs of tickets to see the New Jersey Devils play on either January 1ST vs. Florida or January 15TH vs. the Islanders!
American Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2002
- Saint John Flames Weekly - Saint John Flames
- Checkers Close Last Week with Big 7-2 Win - Charlotte Checkers
- Rochester takes eight-game unbeaten streak into weekend games against Hershey and Cincinnati - Rochester Americans
- First Place Sound Tigers Make First Ever Trip To Texas - Bridgeport Islanders
- Sound Tigers Release Gaffney & David - Bridgeport Islanders
- Griffins Host Red-Hot Rampage - Grand Rapids Griffins
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Wolves Showing Their Teeth - AHL
- Sauve Earns Player of the Week - AHL
- Phil Sauve Named Sher-wood AHL Player of the Week - Hershey Bears
- Pirates Roster Shuffled - Portland Pirates
- River Rats Showing Consistency - Albany River Rats
- Give Blood, Play Hockey - Worcester IceCats
- Pirates Continue Winning Ways at Home - Portland Pirates
- Syracuse Home For The Holidays - Syracuse Crunch
- Moose Continue Eight Game Homestand - Manitoba Moose
- Phantoms Weekly - Adirondack Phantoms
- Canucks recall Komarnski - Manitoba Moose
- Aeros Looking for Holiday Cheer - Houston Aeros
- Bulldogs on Seven Game Winning Streak - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Winless Skid Hits Five Games - Norfolk Admirals
- Bears in First Place - Hershey Bears
- Penguins Fall to Hershey, 3-0 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
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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