River Rats Weekly

Published on November 10, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


River Rats Honor Veterans With Free Ticket Offer Wednesday

The River Rats will offer all veterans and active military personnel a free game ticket for the team's game against the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday, November 12th at 7:00 pm at the Times Union Center. In order to receive their ticket, veterans should bring their military ID, American Legion or VFW Card, or a copy of the DD214 form to the River Rats office during regular business hours or to the Times Union Center Box Office at least two hours prior to the game. There is a limit of one ticket per veteran.

Week 5 Recap:

Before the games were played in Week 5 the River Rats lost another player to an NHL call-up. Left wing Michael Ryan, who had three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in Albany's dramatic comeback win over Bridgeport on November 2nd, became the third River Rats player to be recalled to Carolina, joining Albany forwards Pat Dwyer and Dwight Helminen for the Hurricanes' weekend home games.

It was a tough weekend at the Times Union Center for the River Rats in Week 5. Albany suffered a setback Friday night as the Hershey Bears dominated play, suffocated the Rats offense and rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov recorded his first AHL shutout in a 3-0 win over the River Rats. Albany rebounded with a stronger effort Saturday night against the Providence Bruins, scoring first and taking a 2-0 lead early in the third period. But the P-Bruins battled back from a 3-1 deficit to send the game into overtime. River Rats goaltender Justin Peters set a career-high by making 55 saves in the game, but it was not enough as the Bruins scored a power play goal 39 seconds into the extra session to steal two points from Albany.

Week 6 Preview:

Week 6 already has plenty of River Rats news, even before the first game puck is dropped. Monday the Hurricanes returned left wing Michael Ryan to Albany, after he played in two games for Carolina last weekend. The River Rats also made a transaction of their own, releasing forward Marc Cavosie from his 25-game PTO. This past weekend left wing Joe Jensen saw his first game action of the season, after being injured during Carolina's training camp, but Albany does have two players currently recovering from injuries; defensemen Brett Bellemore and Bryan Rodney.

Albany's game schedule starts off with a bang this week with a Wednesday night home game against their Upstate New York archrivals, the Syracuse Crunch. The River Rats will then hit the road on Thursday for a weekend trip into New England, starting with a Friday night game against the Portland Pirates at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. Saturday night Albany heads to Massachusetts to face their former affiliate the Lowell Devils at Tsongas Arena.

Week 6 Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on 104.5 FM "The Team" ESPN Radio, are streamed free over the Internet at www.albanyriverrats.com and can be watched via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com)

Wednesday, November 12 - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Syracuse Crunch (9-3-0-1, 18 pts)

Tied-Second Place, North Division

The intense rivalry between Albany and Syracuse always makes for exciting action on the ice. This game is the first of an eight-game season series and the first of four games between the two teams over the next 18 days. The Crunch have won two in a row and seven of their last ten games, including a perfect 5-0-0-0 record at home. Leading Scorers: Clay Wilson (D) - 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in 12 games played. Jonathan Sigalet (D) - 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 11 games played. Mike York (LW) - 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 12 games played. Leading Goaltender: Dan LaCosta (G) - 2.31 GAA, 0.921 save pct., 7-1-0 record in 8 GP. Who's Hot: Jonathan Sigalet (D) - 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) and a +3 rating in last five games played. Nikita Filatov (C) - 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) and a +2 rating in last five games played. Derek Dorsett (RW) - 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in last three games played. Friday, November 14 - 7:00 pm - Androscoggin Bank Colisee - Lewiston, ME

@ Portland Pirates (9-1-1-0, 19 pts)

First Place, Atlantic Division

This will be the first of four games between Portland and Albany this season. Neither of the River Rats two road games will be held in Portland at the Cumberland County Civic Center, the Pirates home arena. Albany's second road game against Portland will be held at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY, home of the NHL's Sabres, on February 10, 2009. The Pirates are currently on an eight-game unbeaten streak, going 7-0-1-0 over that span. Leading Scorer: Mark Mancari (RW) - 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in 11 games played. Leading Goaltender: Adam Dennis (G) - 2.34 GAA, 0.914 save pct., 4-1-0 record in 5 GP. Who's Hot: Mark Mancari (RW) - 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) and a +9 rating in last five games played. Tim Kennedy (LW) - 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) and a +5 rating in last five games played. Nathan Gerbe (C) - 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) in last five games played. Mathieu Darche (LW) - 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) and a +7 rating in last five games played. Saturday, November 15 - 7:00 pm - Tsongas Arena - Lowell, MA

@ Lowell Devils (4-6-1-1, 10 pts)

Tied-Fifth Place, Atlantic Division

The first of a four-game season series between Albany and their former affiliate. The Devils are currently on a five-game winless streak, going 0-4-1-0 over that span. The River Rats swept the 2007-08 season series against Lowell, winning all four games and out-scoring the Devils 13-5. Albany has an All-Time record of 6-2-0-0 in eight games against Lowell. With an injury to Martin Brodeur in New Jersey, former River Rat goaltender Scott Clemmensen has been recalled to the NHL, leaving Lowell with two young goaltenders. Leading Scorer: Pascal Rheaume (C) - 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 12 games played. Leading Goaltender: Jeff Frazee (G) - 2.69 GAA, 0.911 save pct., 0-1-0 record in 2 GP. Who's Hot: Pascal Rheaume (C) - 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) and a +4 rating in last five games played. Alexander Vasyunov (LW) - 3 goals in last five games played. Patrick Davis (RW) - 3 goals in last five games played. Tyler Eckford (D) - 3 assists in last four games played. Week 5 Game Results:

11/7/08 Hershey 3 @ Albany 0

11/8/08 Providence 4 @ Albany 3 - OT

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 5)

Justin Peters - G - #35 1 GP, 3.96 GAA, 0.932 Sv. Pct, 55 saves

After being knocked out of his previous start with an injury, River Rats goaltender Justin Peters responded with his strongest performance of the season on Saturday. Facing the potent Providence Bruins, Peters made an incredible 55 saves on 59 shots, the highest total of shots faced and saves made so far in the AHL this year. Peters kept the P-Bruins off the board in the first two periods, making 31 saves in the process, but had his shutout bid cut short on a bizarre goal where two players collided and slid into the net with the puck. Peters continued to make save after save, facing 26 shots alone in the third period, before falling in overtime on Providence's second power play goal of the game.

Rat Bites:

- PK STREAK SNAPPED - Albany had their consecutive penalties killed off streak broken on Saturday night against Providence. After killing off the Bruins first eight power plays in the game Providence scored a power play goal at 15:44 of the third period, ending the River Rats run of 28-straight successful penalty kills dating back to October 24th at Springfield.

- NEW PRO ACCOUNT - Rookie center Stefan Chaput scored his first career professional goal with a power play strike on Saturday against Providence. He also had an assist in the game to record the first multi-point game of his pro career.

- WORKHORSE EFFORT - Goaltender Justin Peters faced a massive 59 shots on Saturday against the Providence Bruins, the most shots faced by any goaltender in the AHL this season. In the process Peters set a new career single-game high with 55 saves, also the highest individual AHL mark to date in 2008-09. Peters' previous career high was 49 saves, set with the Florida Everblades (ECHL) on December 28, 2007 at the Mississippi Sea Wolves.

- ANOTHER NEW PRO - Rookie defenseman Benn Olson tallied his first career professional point on Saturday against Providence. Olson assisted on Jerome Samson's second period goal, opening his professional point account in just his third pro game played.

- BACK IN THE AHL - Veteran left wing Dan LaCouture made his River Rats debut on Friday against Hershey, after playing in the Carolina Hurricanes first 11 games this season. On Saturday, LaCouture recorded an assist against Providence; it was his first AHL point since March 18, 2007 when he scored a goal against Hartford while playing for the Lowell Devils.

- THE 150 CLUB - Defenseman Brett Carson played his 150th career AHL game on Friday against Hershey. Carson has 46 points (5 goals, 41 assists) in 151 career AHL games. River Rats right wing Jakub Petruzalek is one game short of his 150th AHL game; in 149 AHL games played he has 82 points (28 goals, 54 assists).

River Rats Recent Transactions

November 10 - ADD - Michael Ryan (LW) - Returned on loan from Carolina (NHL).

November 10 - DELETE - Marc Cavosie (C) - Released from 25-game PTO.

November 7 - DELETE - Michael Ryan (LW) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL).

November 5 - ADD - Joe Jensen (C/LW) - Assigned by Carolina (NHL).

November 4 - ADD - Dan LaCouture (LW) - Assigned by Carolina (NHL).

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Nine players tied with (11)

Goals: Jakub Petruzalek (4)

Assists: Mark Flood (6)

Points: Mark Flood (8)

Plus/Minus: Nick Dodge (+4)

Penalty Minutes: Tim Conboy (49)

Power Play Goals: Nine players tied with (1)

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

Game-Winning Goals: Pat Dwyer & Michael Ryan (1)

Shots: Pat Dwyer (30)

Shooting Percentage: Harrison Reed & Michael Ryan (20.0%)

Saves: Justin Peters (170)

Wins: Daniel Manzato (2)

GAA: Daniel Manzato (3.01)

Save Percentage: Justin Peters (0.909)

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The River Rats will complete their three-game home stand on Wednesday, November 12th as they host their I-90 Rivals the Syracuse Crunch for a 7:00 pm face off 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 November 10, 2008


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