River Rats Weekly

Published on October 21, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Week 2 Recap:

With only one game in their first week of action, the River Rats had to wait seven days to ease the disappointment of their season-opening loss to Bridgeport. Albany did that Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center with an action-packed 5-4 win over the Worcester Sharks. Jakub Petruzalek scored two goals, while Dwight Helminen, Casey Borer and Pat Dwyer each tallied goals of their own to pace the Rats offense. Rookie goaltender Daniel Manzato made 34 saves to record his first career AHL victory, helping the squad secure Head Coach Jeff Daniels' first career win as a bench boss.

Saturday the River Rats tried to avenge their week one loss by traveling to Bridgeport for the Sound Tigers home opener. Captain Tim Conboy returned from suspension to make his first appearance of the season, while rookie defenseman Benn Olson cracked Albany's lineup to make his professional debut. Rookie forward Harrison Reed scored a power play goal in the first period, his first career professional point, and Justin Peters looked sharp in net as Albany had a 1-0 lead through two periods. But things came undone in the third period as Sound Tigers forward Mike Iggulden scored a natural hat trick, including an empty-net goal, to lift Bridgeport to a 3-1 win.

Week 3 Preview:

The Rats will dive headlong into their schedule this Wednesday night as they face their first three-game week of the season. Wednesday Albany will get their first look at the Binghamton Senators when they host their East Division rivals for a 7:00 pm face off at the Times Union Center. Friday the Rats will enjoy their shortest road trip of the season, a brief 88-mile bus ride to Springfield, Massachusetts to face the Falcons at 7:30 pm at MassMutual Center. Saturday Albany is back home for a 1:00 pm game against the Philadelphia Phantoms; it will be their first game against Philly since their dramatic seven-game series in the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Week 3 Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on 104.5 FM "The Team" ESPN Radio (with the exception of Wednesday's game vs. Binghamton) and are streamed free over the Internet at www.ahllive.com)

Wednesday, October 22 - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center

vs. Binghamton Senators (3-0-0-1, 7 pts)

Third Place, East Division

The River Rats and goaltender Michael Leighton dominated Binghamton last year, going 6-0-0-2 in eight games against the B-Sens. No one was happier than the Senators to see Leighton sign a one-way NHL deal with Carolina; Leighton posted an astounding 0.97 goals-against average and 0.970 save percentage.

Leading Scorer: Zack Smith (C) - 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist) in four games played.

Leading Goaltender: Brian Elliott (G) - 1.27 GAA, 0.956 save pct., 2-0-1 record in 3 GP.

Who's Hot: Ilya Zubov (C) - 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) and a +1 rating in four games played. Ryan Shannon (RW) - 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and a +2 rating in four games played. Brendan Bell (D) - 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in four games played.

Friday, October 24 - 7:30 pm - MassMutual Center

@ Springfield Falcons (2-2-1-0, 5 pts)

Tied-Second Place, Atlantic Division

Albany and Springfield split their two-game series last season, with each team winning on the road. This year the AHL added two more games for a total of four between the River Rats and Falcons; Springfield is the closest geographical opponent to Albany at 88 miles apart. Forward Ryan Potulny, now with Springfield, returns to Albany for the first time since scoring the game-winning goal in the 5th overtime for the Philadelphia Phantoms last April.

Leading Scorer: Viacheslav Trukhno (LW) - 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in five games played.

Leading Goaltender: Devan Dubnyk (G) - 3.47 GAA, 0.902 save pct., 2-3-0 record in 5 GP.

Who's Hot: Tyler Spurgeon (C) - 4 assists and +2 rating in five games played. Ryan Potulny (C) - 3 goals in five games played. Gilbert Brule (C)- 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) and a +2 rating in three games played.

Saturday, October 25 - 1:00 pm - Times Union Center

vs. Philadelphia Phantoms (1-4-0-0, 2 pts)

Tied-Sixth Place, East Division

The Phantoms have struggled out of the gates, winning just one of their first five games this season. They return to Albany for the first time since April 24, 2008, when they beat the River Rats 3-2 in the fifth overtime of Game 5 of their East Division Semifinal series of the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs; it was the longest game in AHL history. Albany has a home scoreless streak of 105:44 against Philly at the Times Union Center; Kiel McLeod's goal at 17:14 of the second period in Game 5 was their last home goal against the Phantoms.

Leading Scorer: Danny Syvret (D) - 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in five games played.

Leading Goaltender: Scott Munroe (G) - 2.00 GAA, 0.932 save pct., 1-1-0 record in 2 GP.

Who's Hot: Danny Syvret (D) - 5points (1 goal, 4 assists) in five games played. Jonathan Matsumoto (C) - 3 goals in five games played. Darroll Powe (C) - 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) and +2 rating in five games played.

Week 2 Game Results:

10/17/08 Worcester 4 @ Albany 5

10/18/08 Albany 1 @ Bridgeport 3

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 2)

Jakub Petruzalek - RW - #16 2GP, 2 Points (2 Goals, 0 Assists), +1 Rating

Petruzalek scored two goals in the River Rats 5-4 win over Worcester Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center; through three games this season Petruzalek is the only Albany player to tally a multi-goal game. His first goal tied the game at 1-1 in the first period on a fierce wrist shot from the right face off circle. He then scored a highlight-reel goal to tie the game at 4-4 late in the third period; Petruzalek picked off a defenseman's pass, out-raced two Sharks defenders while tipping the puck forwards to himself, then tucked a sharp angle shot up over the glove of Worcester goaltender Thomas Greiss.

Rat Bites:

- FIRST WIN, THREE TIMES OVER - Albany's first win of the season, a 5-4 victory over the Worcester Sharks Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center was goaltender Daniel Manzato's first career AHL win, in his second career AHL start. It was also Head Coach Jeff Daniels' first victory as a head coach.

- TWICE AS NICE - RW Jakub Petruzalek scored two goals Friday in Glens Falls, becoming the first River Rats player to record a multi-goal game this season. Petruzalek's efforts gave him his first points of the season.

- DWYER & GLENS FALLS WORK WELL - It is unclear if Rats RW Pat Dwyer enjoys playing games at the Glens Falls Civic Center in general, but it is easy to say that he has thoroughly enjoyed his last two outings in the Adirondacks. Dwyer scored the game-winning goal Friday night to beat Worcester 5-4, complimenting his overtime goal against Binghamton last March, giving Albany their first back-to-back wins in Glens Falls since the Adirondack Red Wings moved to Michigan.

- ANOTHER FIRST - Rookie forward Harrison Reed took just three professional games to record his first career Pro goal. Reed scored Albany's lone goal Saturday night in Bridgeport, a first period power play goal, giving the Newmarket, Ontario native his first career professional point.

- GETTING IN ON THE ACTION - Second year defenseman Noah Babin was a healthy scratch for the season opener, but made his 2008-09 debut Friday in Glens Falls. In the process Babin recorded his first career professional fighting major, dropping the gloves with Worcester forward Jamie McGinn. Rookie D-man Benn Olson made his professional debut the next night, hitting the ice for the first time as a Pro on Saturday, October 18th against Bridgeport at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

River Rats Recent Transactions

October 15 - DELETE Ryan McGinnis (D) - Assigned to Florida Everblades (ECHL).

October 18 - ADD Tim Conboy (D) - Activated from AHL Suspension.

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Sixteen tied with (3)

Goals: Dwight Helminen & Jakub Petruzalek (2)

Assists: Marc Cavosie, Nick Dodge & Dwight Helminen (2)

Points: Dwight Helminen (4)

Plus/Minus: Casey Borer, Brett Carson, Pat Dwyer & Bryan Rodney (+1)

Penalty Minutes: Trevor Gillies (10)

Power Play Goals: Dwight Helminen & Harrison Reed (1)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer, Mark Flood & Dwight Helminen (1)

Game-Winning Goals: Pat Dwyer (1)

Shots: Pat Dwyer (12)

Shooting Percentage: Harrison Reed (50.0%)

Saves: Justin Peters (54)

Wins: Daniel Manzato (1)

GAA: Justin Peters (3.04)

Save Percentage: Justin Peters (0.900)

The River Rats begin a three-game week on Wednesday, October 22nd at 7:00 pm as they will get their first look at the Binghamton Senators 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.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 21, 2008


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