River Rats Spoil Senators Thanksgiving In Shootout

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


BINGHAMTON, NY - Dwight Helminen and Michael Ryan each scored shootout goals to help the Albany River Rats beat the Binghamton Senators 3-2 in a shootout in a Thanksgiving game on Thursday night at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

The River Rats had a great start to the first period and took advantage of an early power play to take the lead. Dwight Helminen took a cross-ice pass from Michael Ryan and snapped a wrist shot passed the glove of goaltender Jeff Glass at 7:09. The power play goal was Helminen's third strike of the year and was assisted by Ryan and Brett Carson. The Senators got on the board at 9:30, tying the game at 1-1 as Peter Regin was allowed to skate in uncontested on Albany goaltender Justin Peters and tuck the puck inside the far post. But the River Rats retook the lead 36 seconds later as Jakub Petruzalek raced down the right wing on a partial breakaway and, after seeing his initial shot blocked by Glass, finished off his own rebound for his fifth goal of the season, unassisted, at 10:06.

Momentum reversed in the second period as the B-Sens came out and appeared to have more energy than the River Rats as Binghamton Head Coach Cory Clouston shuffled all four of his forward lines looking to spark the offense. Binghamton out-shot Albany 12-6 in the middle frame, but could not get the puck passed Peters, who was outstanding.

Senators captain Denis Hamel ended a scoring slump by tallying his second goal of the year at 5:43 with a power play goal that tied the game at 2-2. Binghamton out-shot the River Rats 26-17 over the final two periods of play, but the deadlock continued into overtime.

Albany put the pressure on in the extra session, out-shooting the B-Sens 4-1 in overtime, but the goaltenders forced the game into a shootout. In the shootout Ilya Zubov put Binghamton ahead with a goal in the third round, only for Dwight Helminen to level the score in the fourth round and Michael Ryan to seal the win in round six.

Rats goaltender Justin Peters stopped 34-of-36 shots in 65 minutes of action, then turned aside 5-of-6 shootout attempts to record his third win of the season as Albany improved to 5-9-2-2. Binghamton goalie Jeff Glass blocked 31-of-33 shots and 4-of-6 in the shootout as the Senators fell to 9-8-2-2. Binghamton out-shot Albany 36-34 in the game and both teams were 1-for-3 on the power play.

After completing a three-game road stretch, the River Rats will return home on Friday, November 28th as they host the Hershey Bears at 7:00 pm at the Times Union Center. Saturday Albany will host the Syracuse Crunch at 5:00 pm at the TU 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 November 27, 2008


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