River Rats Weekly

Published on March 3, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


2007-08 Record: 35-24-1-3, 74 points, (21-11-0-2 Home, 14-13-1-1 Road), Second Place, East Division

Week 22 Recap:

The River Rats have built their strongest run of winning for this season, sweeping all four games in Week 22 to go unbeaten in their last eight games, including seven straight wins. Albany started the week with a 6-2 win over Binghamton, their largest margin of victory since their 7-0 shutout of Norfolk on November 28th. Friday the Rats erased a 2-0 second period deficit and Pat Dwyer scored a shorthanded goal in the third period to lift Albany to a 4-3 win. Friday the River Rats again had to come back from a 2-0 deficit, scoring two third period power play goals and rallying to beat Worcester in a shootout 3-2. Sunday Albany hosted first place Philadelphia and out-dueled the division leaders 2-1.

Week 23 Preview:

Surging into second place and now holding a four point cushion over third place Hershey, the River Rats will travel to Binghamton for a Wednesday night showdown with the Senators. Friday night Albany will bus to Worcester for a rematch with the Sharks at the DCU Center. Saturday night the Rats will complete their week with their third and final regular season game at the Glens Falls Civic Center, a 7:00 pm face off against Glens Falls native Shawn Weller and the Binghamton Senators.

Week 23 Schedule: (Home Games in Bold)

(All games are broadcasted LIVE on ESPN Radio 104.5 FM The Team and on the Internet at www.albanyriverrats.com)

Wednesday, March 5 - 7:05 pm - Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

@ Binghamton Senators (27-26-5-4, 63 pts)

Sixth Place, East Division

The River Rats lost to Binghamton for the first time this season, in a shootout 3-2 on February 13th. But Albany exacted revenge by soundly knocking off the B-Sens 6-2 last Wednesday at the Times Union Center to improve their season record to 4-0-0-1 against Binghamton this year. Leading Scorer: Denis Hamel (LW) - 47 points (28 goals, 19 assists) in 49 games played. Leading Goaltender: Jeff Glass (G) - 2.78 GAA, 0.915 save pct., 14-10-3-4 record in 36 GP. Who's Hot: Denis Hamel (LW) - 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and +3 rating in last five games played. Josh Hennessy (C) - 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in last five games played. Justin Mapletoft (C) - 3 assists in last five games played.

Friday, March 7 - 7:05 pm - DCU Center

@ Worcester Sharks (24-26-4-4, 56 pts)

Sixth Place, Atlantic Division

After losing both games of the 2006-07 season series to Worcester, Albany has struck back by winning the first two meetings this year. The River Rats beat the Sharks 4-3 on January 12th and 3-2 in a shootout on March 1st. They have two trips to the DCU remaining on the schedule, including this game on Friday. Leading Scorer: Mike Iggulden (C) - 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 56 games played. Leading Goaltender: Dimitri Patzold (G) - 2.85 GAA, 0.902 save pct., 5-5-1-2 record in 14 GP. Who's Hot: Mike Iggulden (C) - nine points (4 goals, 5 assists) and +2 rating in last five games played. Tom Cavanagh (C) - seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) in last five games played. Graham Mink (RW) - six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in last five games played.

Saturday, March 8th - 7:00 pm - Glens Falls Civic Center

@ Binghamton Senators (27-26-5-4, 63 pts)

Sixth Place, East Division

Albany will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The River Rats are 0-5-0-0 in games held in Glens Falls, losing both regular season games this year and three 2007 Calder Cup playoff games to Hershey. Leading Scorer: Denis Hamel (LW) - 47 points (28 goals, 19 assists) in 49 games played. Leading Goaltender: Jeff Glass (G) - 2.78 GAA, 0.915 save pct., 14-10-3-4 record in 36 GP. Who's Hot: Denis Hamel (LW) - 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and +3 rating in last five games played. Josh Hennessy (C) - 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in last five games played. Justin Mapletoft (C) - 3 assists in last five games played.

Week 22 Game Results:

2/27/08 Binghamton 2 @ Albany 6

2/29/08 Albany 4 @ Springfield 3

3/1/08 Worcester 2 @ Albany 3 - Shootout (3-2)

3/2/08 Philadelphia 1 @ Albany 2

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 22)

Marc Cavosie - LW - #9 4 GP, 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points, +2, 2 PIMs

Center Marc Cavosie made his River Rats debut this week and it did not take long for the Albany-native to start producing as he scored five points in four games. Friday night in Springfield, his second Albany game, he scored two points in a come-from-behind win over the Falcons. Saturday Cavoise factored in both third period goals, including scoring the game-tying goal to send the game into overtime; he also scored in the shootout. Sunday Cavosie registered an assist on Jeff Hamilton's game-winning goal, helping the River Rats beat Philadelphia and extend their winning streak to seven games.

Rat Bites:

- A STRANGE FIRST - The River Rats had a new first on Sunday against Philadelphia; the team did not take a single minor penalty and held the Phantoms without a power play. It was the first time all season Albany has not had to kill off a penalty. With just five penalty minutes as a team, it was the second lowest single-game total of the season; Albany had just two PIMs on November 30th vs. Norfolk.

- 300 AND COUNTING - Albany Head Coach Tom Rowe recorded his 300th career AHL game on Wednesday in the River Rats 6-2 win over the Binghamton Senators. In 303 career AHL games behind the bench, Rowe has a 148-124-12-19 record, with a 0.540 career winning percentage.

- 500 GAMES - LW Trevor Gillies played in his 500th career Pro game on Wednesday night against Binghamton. Gillies has appeared in 285 career AHL games and has 1,138 penalty minutes in the AHL.

- WINNING AT A SEASON-HIGH - The River Rats win on Sunday over Philadelphia was the team's seventh win in a row. The season-high winning streak is the longest Albany run since the 2004-05 season and the last time an Albany team won eight straight games was back in the 1997-98 season. The River Rats All-Time franchise record is a 15-game streak from November 11th to December 22nd during the 1995-96 season.

- MILESTONE WEEK - LW Pat Dwyer scored his 100th career AHL point with an assist on Wednesday night against Binghamton. He then played in his 200th career AHL game on Saturday night versus Worcester. In 201 AHL games over three seasons, Dwyer has 102 points (42 goals, 60 points).

- MORE MILESTONES - C Marc Cavosie scored his first River Rats goal, his 100th career AHL point, on Friday in Springfield. C Kiel McLeod scored his 50th career AHL point on Saturday vs. Worcester and needs just 1 point to record his 150th career Pro point. RW Jeff Hamilton had four assists this week and needs 1 assist to record his 100th career AHL assist.

River Rats Recent Transactions

February 28 - ADD Chris Murray (D) - Signed PTO, called up from the Phoenix Roadrunners (ECHL).

February 27 - ADD Kiel McLeod (C) - Signed standard AHL player's contract, called up from the Victoria Salmon Kings (ECHL).

February 26 - ADD Jeff Hamilton (RW) - Loaned from Carolina (NHL). ADD - Marc Cavosie (C) - Signed PTO, called up from Reading (ECHL). ADD Tim Conboy (D) - Returned on loan from Carolina (NHL). DELETE - Tim Conboy (D) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL).

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Jamie Johnson (63)

Goals: Brandon Nolan (22)

Assists: Keith Aucoin (37)

Points: Brandon Nolan (48)

Plus/Minus: Casey Borer (+14)

Penalty Minutes: Tim Conboy (189)

Power Play Goals: Jerome Samson (12)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Brandon Nolan, Jerome Samson (5)

Shots: Jerome Samson (176)

Shooting Percentage: Kiel McLeod (28.6%)

Saves: Michael Leighton (1265)

Wins: Michael Leighton (22)

GAA: Michael Leighton (2.12)

Save Percentage: Michael Leighton (0.931)

The River Rats hit the road this week with a Wednesday, March 5th trip to Binghamton for a 7:05 pm face off with the Senators at the Broome County Veterans Memorials Arena. Albany's next home game will take place on Saturday, March 8th as they host Binghamton at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 7:00 pm.

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.



American Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2008


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