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River Rats Weekly

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


Week 3 Recap:

The River Rats struggled in Week 3, securing just one point from a possible six. Albany stormed out of the gate on Wednesday night to take a commanding 3-0 lead early in the second period against Binghamton. But the Senators chipped away at the lead, tying the game at 3-3 with 3:33 left in regulation and then scoring the game-winning goal 33 seconds into overtime. Friday in Springfield the Falcons scored three straight goals in the first period for a 3-1 advantage. Rookie Nick Dodge scored his first career Pro goal to cut the lead 3-2, but Falcons goaltender Devan Dubnyk had a stunning third period to protect the one goal lead. Saturday night was Albany's first look at Philadelphia since the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs. Although there was not much between the two teams, goaltender Scott Munroe proved to be the difference. Munroe stopped all 31 shots he faced for a 3-0 shutout in the River Rats first ever Saturday afternoon home matinee in franchise history.

Week 3 Preview:

News broke early Monday morning about the River Rats first call up of the season. Center Dwight Helminen, who is currently tied for second of the team in goals and points, was recalled to the Carolina Hurricanes after an injury to 'Canes rookie center Brandon Sutter Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum. It is anticipated that Helminen will make his NHL debut Tuesday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal against the Canadiens.

This week will be another challenging schedule for the Rats as they host the first place Hershey Bears on Friday night at the Times Union Center. Led by former Albany captain Keith Aucoin, who is currently leading the AHL in scoring (17 points) and assists (12), the Bears are off to a flying 7-1-0-0 start and their dangerous offense is averaging 5.5 goals per game. Saturday the River Rats make their only visit of the season to the XL Center in Hartford and on Sunday it's back to Bridgeport for their third game of the season against the Sound Tigers.

Week 4 Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on 104.5 FM "The Team" ESPN Radio and are streamed free over the Internet at www.ahllive.com)

Friday, October 31 - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center

vs. Hershey Bears (7-1-0-0, 14 pts)

First Place, East Division

Former River Rats captain Keith Aucoin faces his former team for the first time since signing with the Washington Capitals this summer. The Bears have scored an alarming 44 goals in their first eight games this season and are 13-for-52 on the power play, ranking 3rd in the AHL with a 25.0% success rate. Another former River Rat, defenseman Bryan Helmer, returns to face his former club as the Bears captain.

Leading Scorer: Keith Aucoin (C) - 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in eight games played.

Leading Goaltender: Daren Machesney (G) - 3.02 GAA, 0.878 save pct., 5-1-0 record in 6 GP.

Who's Hot: Keith Aucoin (C) - 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) and a +4 rating in last five games played. Alexandre Giroux (C) - 7 points (6 goals, 1 assist) and a +3 rating in last five games played. Sami Lepisto (D) - 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) and a +8 rating in last five games played.

Saturday, November 1 - 7:00 pm - XL Center

@ Hartford Wolf Pack (3-3-0-1, 7 pts)

Tied-Third Place, Atlantic Division

Albany will make its only trip of the 2008-09 season to Hartford Saturday night, where they have an all-time record of 6-13-1-0. The River Rats have a paltry 1-12-0-1 record against the Wolf Pack over the last five years. The last time Albany beat Hartford in Connecticut was on March 8, 2003, when five different River Rats scored goals in a 6-3.

Leading Scorer: Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (RW) - 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in seven games played.

Leading Goaltender: Miika Wiikman (G) - 2.11 GAA, 0.923 save pct., 3-2-1 record in 6 GP.

Who's Hot: Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (RW) - 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) and +1 rating in last three games played. Tommy Pyatt (C) - 3 assists in last two games played. Brodie Dupont (LW) - 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and a +1 rating in last five games played.

Sunday, November 2 - 4:00 pm - Arena at Harbor Yard

@ Bridgeport Sound Tigers (5-2-0-1, 11 pts)

Second Place, East Division

The Sound Tigers are a perfect 2-0-0-0 at home this season and have managed to secure seven out of twelve possible points in their six road games. They have out-scored their opponents 23-15, with ten of those goals coming from the line of Mike Iggulden, Trevor Smith and Kurtis McLean. Rookie goalie Peter Mannino is 2-0-1 in his first three professional starts, with one shutout, a miniscule 0.65 goals-against average and an incredible 0.980 save percentage (97 saves on 99 shots).

Leading Scorer: Mike Iggulden (LW) - 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in eight games played.

Leading Goaltender: Yann Danis (G) - 2.38 GAA, 0.911 save pct., 3-2-0 record in 5 GP.

Who's Hot: Brett Skinner (D) - 8 assists in last five games played. Mike Iggulden (LW) - 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) in last four games played. Sean Bentivoglio (LW) - 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) and +3 rating in last three games played.

Week 3 Game Results:

10/22/08 Binghamton 4 @ Albany 2

10/24/08 Albany 2 @ Springfield 3

10/25/08 Philadelphia 3 @ Albany 0

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 3)

Jakub Petruzalek - RW - #16 3GP, 3 Points (1 Goal, 2 Assists), Even Rating

For the second week in a row Jakub Petruzalek has led the River Rats in points. He had an assist Wednesday night against Binghamton and then produced his second multi-point game of the season Friday night at Springfield. His five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in six games played gives him the team scoring lead and he is one of two River Rats amongst the team's top ten scorers to have zero penalty minutes.

Rat Bites:

- THE MUNROE WALL IN ALBANY - Philadelphia goaltender Scott Munroe blanked the River Rats 3-0 Saturday afternoon at the Times Union Center, extending his shutout streak in Albany to 165:44. Munroe has not allowed a goal to the Rats at the Times Union Center since Kiel McLeod's goal at 17:14 of the second period of Game 5 of the East Division Semifinals of the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs.

- LONG WAIT FOR ANOTHER CRACK AT THE STREAK - Munroe's impressive shutout streak in Albany will hold up for a while. The River Rats will not get another chance to face Munroe and the Phantoms at the Times Union Center until Saturday, March 14, 2009. Albany's season series with Philadelphia is back heavy, with four of their eight games coming in the final five weeks of the 2008-09 season.

- PENALTY SHOT STATS - Albany has already experienced two penalty shots during their young 16th season of AHL action. Bridgeport was awarded a penalty shot during the Rats home preseason game on October 1st, then Saturday Philadelphia forward Jonathon Kalinski was given a penalty shot against goaltender Daniel Manzato. Manzato made the save on Kalinski, just like rookie goalie David Leggio's save on Bridgeport's Robert Henniger in preseason; Leggio is currently on loan with the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

- TWO POINT EFFORT - Defenseman Mark Flood had a goal and an assist Wednesday night against Binghamton to be just the third River Rats player (first defenseman) this season to record a multi-point game. With two goals and two assists in six games played, Flood is currently tied for second on the team in scoring.

- A FIRST FOR ANOTHER FIRST - Center Dwight Helminen was recalled by Carolina on Monday, becoming Albany's first player of the 2008-09 season to be called up to the NHL. Helminen, who has 107 points (51 goals, 56 assists) in 204 career AHL games, is now poised to play in his first career NHL game on Tuesday night when Carolina travels to Montreal.

- GOALS AGAINST, NOT GOALIES, HURTING RATS - The River Rats have received strong goaltending from Justin Peters and Daniel Manzato in all six of their games this season, but the team's goals-against have hurt them so far. Albany has allowed 21 goals in their first six games, an average of 3.5 goals per game. The Rats have conceded three or more goals in each game thus far (3 goals three times and 4 goals three times).

River Rats Recent Transactions

October 27 - DELETE Dwight Helminen (C) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL).

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Fourteen tied with (6)

Goals: Jakub Petruzalek (3)

Assists: Marc Cavosie (3)

Points: Jakub Petruzalek (5)

Plus/Minus: Nick Dodge (+2)

Penalty Minutes: Tim Conboy (43)

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

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

Game-Winning Goals: Pat Dwyer (1)

Shots: Pat Dwyer (19)

Shooting Percentage: Harrison Reed (20.0%)

Saves: Daniel Manzato (97)

Wins: Daniel Manzato (1)

GAA: Justin Peters (3.05)

Save Percentage: Daniel Manzato (0.907)

Albany returns to action on Friday, October 31st when they welcome their former captain Keith Aucoin and the Hershey Bears to the Times Union Center for a 7:00 pm Halloween night face off. This weekend the River Rats hit the road for a pair of games in Connecticut. Saturday Albany travels to Hartford for a 7:00 pm game against the Wolf Pack and Sunday, November 2nd the Rats are back at the Arena at Harbor Yard at 4:00 pm for their third game of the year against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

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 October 27, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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