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River Rats Snap Losing Streak With 4-3 Shootout Win Over Philadelphia

April 8, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


ALBANY, NY - Justin Peters made thirty-nine saves and sealed the victory with a block in the ninth round of a shootout as the Albany River Rats beat the Philadelphia Phantoms 4-3 Wednesday night at the Times Union Center.

The red-hot Phantoms scored the game's first goal just 2:02 into the contest when nineteen year-old rookie James van Riemsdyk beat Albany goaltender Justin Peters for the first goal of his professional career; Michael Ratchuk assisted on the former first-rounder's (2nd overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft) first point in his fifth game with the Phantoms. Philadelphia out-shot the River Rats 12-8 in the frame and Phantoms goalie Scott Munroe kept a clean sheet through one.

Albany broke through on a two-on-one rush midway through the second period. Left wing Yannick Tifu drove to the net as puck-carrier Jakub Petruzalek blasted a low slap shot into Munroe's far leg pad, leaving a rebound on the doorstep for Tifu to bury at 11:28. The Phantoms reclaimed the lead just 3:15 later when defenseman Oskar Bartulis collected a beautiful cross-ice feed from Jared Ross and sent it behind Peters for his second goal of the season. River Rats forward Jakub Petruzalek made it a 2-2 game with a power play tally, deflecting a long Bryan Rodney slap shot passed Munroe at 17:58.

Philadelphia took its third lead of the game midway through the third period when Jonathon Kalinski banged in a rebound at the side of the net after Peters had made a strong initial save on Lasse Kukkonen's one-timer from point-blank range. With only 3:06 to play the River Rats tied it up again with another tip-in goal off a Rodney slap shot, this time from rookie Cory Quirk at 16:54; his fifth goal in just nine games this season.

Both teams played it close in a scoreless overtime period and the contest headed to a shootout. Albany shot first in the shootout, but Philadelphia's Jonathan Matsumoto was the first to score in round three. Down 1-0 going into round five it was do-or-die for the Rats, who sent out defenseman Jonathan Paiement. Paiement, who was returning to the lineup for the first time since being hospitalized during the team's February 19th bus crash, rose to the occasion with a clever move to his backhand to tie the game. Peters stopped Patrick Maroon on the Phantoms fifth shot, forcing the shootout into sudden death. Albany scored on the next three shooters with goals from Rodney, Paiement again, and Tifu, but were all answered by goals from Matsumoto, Ross and Sirianni. Tied at 4-4 in the shootout, Jakub Petruzalek scored on the River Rats' ninth attempt and Justin Peters stopped Maroon again to take the 4-3 shootout victory.

Albany goaltender Justin Peters stopped 39-of-42 shots to earn the win as the River Rats improved to 32-39-3-4 on the season and halted a seven-game losing streak. Philadelphia goalie Scott Munroe allowed three goals on 29 shots and took the loss as the Phantoms fell to 42-30-2-4 on the year. Philadelphia out-shot Albany 42-30 in the game and went 0-for-3 on the power play; the River Rats were 1-for-5 with the man advantage.

Notes: Cornell University forward Michael Kennedy made his professional and AHL debut wearing #12 for Albany in the game; he signed an amateur tryout with the River Rats prior to tonight's game. Right wing Jerome Samson recorded an assist on Cory Quirk's tying goal in the third period to extend his current point streak to six straight games. Samson has nine points (2 goals 7 assists) over that span, which is the second longest point streak by an Albany player this season; his seven-game point streak in mid-February was the longest.

Albany will travel to Pennsylvania for their final road game of the season on Friday, April 10th as they face off with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 pm at Wachovia Arena. The River Rats last home of the 2008-09 season is on Saturday, April 11th against Binghamton at 7:00 pm at the Times Union Center.

River Rats flex ticket packages and individual game tickets are on sale now at the River Rats office and the Times Union Center Box Office. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.



American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2009


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