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Second-Place Rats To Play Three

November 17, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


Albany went 1-2-0-1 in a grueling four-games-in-five-days last week, including a trio of East Division match-ups. The River Rats jumped-out to a 3-1 lead Wednesday in Syracuse, but saw the Crunch rally for a pair of third period goals to knot the game, before capping-off the comeback with three shootout goals in a 4-3 shootout loss. River Rats defenseman Zach FitzGerald scored the only goal on Friday as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Brad Thiessen turned-aside 38 shots for a 3-1 Penguins victory at the Times Union Center. The River Rats hit the win column Saturday night with a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind overtime win over Norfolk. River Rats captain Pat Dwyer tied the game with 1:55 remaining in regulation and then set-up rookie Zach Boychuk for the overtime-winner. Albany was overmatched the following afternoon in Springield, as the Falcons scored the first five goals of the game and goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 32 stops on the way to a 6-2 win.

Week 8 Preview:

The River Rats play their only home game of the week on Wednesday, November 18th when Syracuse comes to town for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff. Albany then travels to Manchester for a 7:30 p.m. start against the Monarchs on Friday, November 20th and finishes its three-game week in Binghamton on Saturday, November 21st at 7:05 p.m.

Week 8 Game Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on WROW 590 AM "Newstalk 590," are streamed free over the Internet at www.wrow.com and can be watched via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com)

Wednesday, November 18th - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center - Albany, NY

vs. Syracuse Crunch (5-7-2-2, 14 pts)

Seventh Place, East Division

- The Crunch travel to Albany one week after stealing two points from the River Rats in a 4-3 come-from-behind shootout win. Syracuse dropped its next two games last week, falling 2-1 in a shootout to the Providence Bruins at home and then traveling to Hamilton where they suffered a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs despite leading 1-0 early in the contest. Wednesday night will be the second of eight divisional meetings this season between Albany and Syracuse, with their next match-up scheduled for Wednesday, November 25th at the Times Union Center.

- Leading Scorer: Alexandre Picard (LW) - 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 15 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Dan LaCosta (G) - 3.77 GAA, .894 save pct., 3-6-1 in 10 GP.

- Who's Hot: Dan Fritchse (RW) - seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) and a plus-5 rating in his last seven games. Alexandre Picard (LW) - 3 points (2 goal, 1 assists) and a plus-1 rating in his last four match-ups.

Friday, November 20th - 7:30 pm - Verizon Wireless Arena - Manchester, NH

vs. Manchester Monarchs (11-4-1-1, 24 pts)

First Place, Atlantic Division

- The Monarchs won nine of their first 11 games to start the season, but have now lost four of their last six. Manchester still enters the week atop the Atlantic Division standings, having earned a point in three of those four losses. The club won the first game of a home-and-home against Hartford with a 2-1 decision on Wednesday, but the WolfPack returned the favor Friday night in Hartford with a 2-0 victory. Manchester finished its week in Binghamton on Saturday, earning a 6-5 shootout decision despite blowing a 5-1 lead over the Senators. Friday will be the second of four games this season between the River Rats and the Monarchs. The two teams first squared-off in the 2009-10 season opener on October 3rd when Manchester earned a 6-3 win in Albany. The Monarchs return to the Times Union Center for game three of the four game season-series on January 8th.

- Leading Scorer: Andrei Loktionov (C) - 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 16 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Jonathan Bernier (G) - 1.65 GAA, .951 save pct., 7-4-1 in 12 GP.

- Who's Hot: Corey Elkins (C) - three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in his last game. Andrew Campbell (D) - three points (1 goal, 2 assists) and a plus-2 rating in his last three games. Oscar Moller (C) - three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in his last four games and ranks second on the team in scoring (6-6-12).

Saturday, November 21st - 7:05 pm - Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena - Binghamton, NY

vs. Binghamton Senators (7-7-2-1, 17 pts)

Tied-Fourth Place, East Division

- The B-Sens enter the week in a fourth-place tie with Norfolk, just one point behind Albany in the East Division Standings. Binghamton split a pair of games last week against the Admirals, and then traveled to Glens Falls where they unloaded five unanswered goals on the Phantoms for a 5-0 blow-out. Binghamton concluded its four-game week at home on Saturday against Manchester, battling back from a 5-1 deficit to force overtime, and eventually loosing 6-5 in a shootout.

- Leading Scorer: Ryan Keller (RW) - 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) in 17 GP.

- Leading Goaltender: Mike Brodeur (G) - 2.73 GAA, .907 save pct., 5-3-1 in 14 GP.

- Who's Hot: Erik Karlsson (D) - six assists in his last three games. Denis Hamel (LW) - six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in his last four games and is tied for second on the team in scoring (6-10-16). Ryan Keller (RW) - three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in his last game and leads the team in scoring (9-9-18).

River Rats Player of the Week: (Week 7)

Pat Dwyer - RW - #24

Day Opponent G A Pts. Notable

Wed. at Syracuse 1 0 1 Scored his team-leading 7th of the year

Fri. vs. WBS 0 1 1 Assisted on Albany's only goal

Sat. vs. Norfolk 1 1 2 Scored to force overtime with 1:55 remaining and set-up the overtime winner (primary assist)

Sun. at. Springfield 1 0 1 Scored his team-high 9th of the season

Totals 3 2 5

Captain Pat Dwyer scored a point in all four River Rats games last week to earn River Rats Player Of The Week honors for Week 7. Dwyer began his points streak Wednesday night in Syracuse with his team-high seventh goal of the season. The 26 year-old then assisted on Albany's only goal in their 3-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday, before playing a crucial part in Albany's 4-3 comeback win against Norfolk on Saturday, sending the game into overtime with 1:55 remaining in regulation and then assisting on Zach Boychuk's game-winner at 1:46. The Great Falls, Montana native stretched his points-streak to a season-high four games Sunday in Springfield with his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Rat Bites:

- COAST-TO-COAST - Assistant Captain Brett Carson scored from his own zone Sunday afternoon in Springfield to spoil goaltender Devan Dubnyk's shutout bid at 6:56 of the third period. Center Nick Dodge won a defensive-zone draw to Carson, who was lined up next to a Falcons winger at the hash mark. Carson one-timed a clearing attempt down the length of the ice to Dubnyk, who couldn't handle the bouncing puck. Carson (2-3-5) has now registered a point in all but one of his six games this season.

- STICKING UP TOP - Center Brandon Sutter has scored seven points (4-3-7) in ten games since being recalled by Carolina on October 24th, good for a seventh-place tie in the Hurricanes scoring race despite playing just over half of their 19 games. Defenseman Bryan Rodney has played three games with Carolina since his November 11th recall and has already recorded two assists. Both former River Rats scored a point in the Hurricanes 5-4 shootout win over Minnesota Sunday afternoon, as Carolina ended a 14-game losing streak.

- ROAD WOES - The River Rats are winless in their last five away games and are 1-4-0-1 on the road this season. Albany has been out-scored 24-12 outside of the Times Union Center, and its last road win was in the first of the season, a 2-1 overtime win over Adirondack on October 17th.

- MINOR-LESS - Rookies Zach Boychuk and Jamie McBain are the only two River Rats skaters to have played in each of Albany's 18 games without recording a penalty minute. Defensemen Brett Carson (6GP) and Jay Harrison (7GP) have also stayed out of the box in limited action this season.

River Rats Recent Transactions

November 11 DELETE - Bryan Rodney (D) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

November 8 ADD - Zach Boychuk (C) - Returned to loan by Carolina (NHL)

November 5 DELETE - Zach Boychuk (C) - Recalled from loan by Carolina (NHL)

November 3 ADD - Jay Harrison (D) -Loaned from Carolina (NHL)

DELETE - Jacob Micflikier (LW) - Returned to Loan with Florida (ECHL)

Promotional Information

Wednesday, November 18th - Fans can by four tickets, four hotdogs and four sodas for just $40 when the River Rats host the Syracuse Crunch at 7:00 p.m.

Albany River Rats Team Leaders:

Games Played: Nine Players Tied (18)

Goals: Pat Dwyer (9)

Assists: Jerome Samson (11)

Points: Jerome Samson (17)

Plus/Minus: Brett Bellemore (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Zach FitzGerald (59)

Power Play Goals: Pat Dwyer (3)

Short Handed Goals: Pat Dwyer (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Jerome Samson (2), Pat Dwyer (2), Zach Boychuk (2)

Shots: Jerome Samson (89)

Shooting Percentage: Brett Carson (0.154%)

Saves: Justin Peters (336)

Wins: Justin Peters (6)

GAA: Justin Peters (2.43)

Save Percentage: Justin Peters (0.913)

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River Rats 2009-10 season and flex ticket packages are now on sale at the River Rats executive offices at the Times Union Center, by calling (518) 487-2244 or by logging onto www.albanyriverrats.com.

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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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