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River Rats Smother Binghamton 6-2

February 27, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


ALBANY, NY - Jamie Johnson and Joe Jensen each had three points and Pat Dwyer chipped in two goals as the Albany River Rats beat the Binghamton Senators 6-2 Wednesday night at the Times Union Center.

Things started off on the wrong foot for Albany as they conceded a goal to Greg Mauldin just 46 seconds into the game. But the River Rats righted the ship at 4:26 as Pat Dwyer took the puck behind the net and scored on a wrap-around goal, beating goaltender Jeff Glass to the left post for his eight goal of the season, assisted by Chris Blight; Dwyer's goal was the forward's 100th career AHL point. 24 seconds later Albany had the lead when Jakub Petruzalek ripped a sizzling wrist shot past Glass at 4:50, his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Trevor Gillies and Mark Flood. Stunned by the quick strikes Binghamton pulled their starter Glass and replaced him with back up Brian Elliott. But Albany showed no mercy on the rookie net minder, scoring their third goal of the period at 6:01, as Jamie Johnson tallied his 15th goal of the season, from Blight and Joe Jensen.

Niko Dimitrakos cut the lead back to 3-2 with a power play goal at 7:21, picking up a rebound on the back door and slotted his shot into the open net, but that would be as close as the Senators would get. Joe Jensen scored a far-post one timer at 8:40, finishing off a beautiful passing sequence from Jamie Johnson and new River Rats right wing Jeff Hamilton to make it 4-2 Albany after the first period.

The game calmed down in the second period, and while the B-Sens out-shot the River Rats 16-3 in the middle frame, the score remained 4-2 Albany.

The River Rats pulled away in the third period as both Dwyer and Jensen would each score for the second time on the night. First it was Dwyer at 8:45, his ninth goal of the year, knocking in a clever pass from Casey Borer and Jakub Petruzalek. Then Jensen made it 6-2 with a power play goal at 13:07, his sixth goal of the year, assisted by Johnson and Brett Carson.

Michael Leighton earned his 20th win of the season by stopping 33-of-35 shots in goal for Albany, helping the River Rats improve to 32-24-1-3 on the season. Brian Elliot took the loss, coming off the bench to play the remaining 55:07 and making 25 saves on 29 shots as Binghamton dropped to 26-24-5-4. Starter Jeff Glass received a no decision, but allowed two goals on five shots in 4:50 of action. The River Rats were 1-for-8 on the power play, while the B-Sens finished the game 1-for-2.

Notes: Left wing Trevor Gillies played in his 500th career Pro game on Wednesday night and Head Coach Tom Rowe recorded his 300th career AHL game as a head coach.

The River Rats return to action on Friday, February 29th as they travel to Massachusetts for a 7:30 pm face off with the Springfield Falcons at the MassMutual Center. Albany has two home games this weekend, against the Worcester Sharks on Saturday at 7:00 pm and against the Philadelphia Phantoms on Sunday at 5:00 pm at the Times Union Center.

Partial season tickets packages and flex tickets for the 2007-08 River Rats season are on sale now. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.

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